Three U.S. presidents have been impeached by the House. President Donald Trump is about to be the first to be impeached twice and for the most serious impeachment charge in history: inciting an insurrection that left five dead as part of a plot to keep him in power by forcing Congress to overturn the results of an election he lost.

The House of Representatives plans to vote to impeach Trump on Wednesday. Its unclear what will happen next and whether the (soon-to-be-formerly) Republican-controlled Senate will launch a trial within the final days of Trumps term.

But it isnt just about Trumps time in office, proponents of impeachment argue. If Trump doesnt face consequences, any future president would know they could encourage a violent insurrection and get away with it. A future president could push to remain in power by throwing out votes for their opponent. And unless hes banned from running again, that future president could be Trump.

Trumps actions make him an imminent threat, perpetrating an ongoing assault on our democracy that demands an immediate need for action, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) wrote in a letter to the House Democratic Caucus.

We cannot allow this unprecedented provocation to go unanswered, Democratic Reps. Jamie Raskin (Md.), David Cicilline (R.I.) and Ted Lieu (Calif.) said in a statement Monday. Everyone involved in this assault must be held accountable, beginning with the man most responsible for it President Donald Trump.

[W]e have seen presidents abuse their power, but we had never witnessed an American president incite a violent mob on the citadel of our democracy in a desperate attempt to cling to power, Cicilline wrote in The New York Times .

The Democratic majority on the House Judiciary Committee released a 76-page impeachment report on Tuesday evening detailing Trumps culpability in inciting the insurrection. The report calls the president an imminent threat to the nation.

President Trump poses an imminent threat to the safety and security of the United States, the report says. His continued presence in office is a clear and present danger to the United States. He has interfered with the peaceful transition of power and his actions show that he will continue to do so unless removed.

The report provides plenty of evidence that Trump incited the crowd that stormed the Capitol: tweets, public statements and a speech directly to them just before the insurrection. It also provides evidence that the insurrectionists responded to Trumps statements. And there is little question among constitutional scholars that inciting an insurrection as part of a plot to steal an election is grounds for impeachment.

It is just what Hamilton asked for, Philip Bobbitt, the co-author of Impeachment: A Handbook, said.

Inciting An Insurrection