WASHINGTON, January 14. /TASS/. The United States has been seeing an unprecedented attack on freedom of speech, President Donald Trump said in a video address on Wednesday.

"I also want to say a few words about the unprecedented assault on free speech we have seen in the recent days. These are tense and difficult times. The efforts to censor, cancel, and blacklist our fellow citizens are wrong and they are dangerous," he said. "What is needed now is for us to listen one another, not to silence one another. All of us can choose by our actions to rise above anger and find common ground and shared purpose. We must focus on advancing the interests of the whole nation delivering the miracle vaccines, defeating the pandemic, rebuilding the economy, protecting our national security and upholding the rule of law."

The address came after the House of Representatives had voted 232 to 197 to impeach the incumbent president. 

The Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives introduced an article of impeachment Monday in a renewed attempt to ouster President Donald Trump in the last days of his term, accusing him of "incitement of insurrection" over last week's storming of the United States Capitol by a pro-Trump mob seeking to overturn his defeat in the November election. Besides the impeachment initiative, the House is also pressuring Vice President Mike Pence into invoking the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office before his term expires on January 20. Pence has rebuffed the ultimatum.

On January 6, Trump supporters stormed the Capitol Building in Washington DC to stop lawmakers from officially certifying the results of the November presidential election in a last-ditch attempt to prevent Democrat Joe Biden from becoming the new president. One protester was shot dead during the unrest. In addition, three others died, the causes of their deaths were qualified as medical emergencies. Biden’s inauguration is scheduled for January 20.