Mike Pence breaks his silence on the Jan. 6 insurrection

Former vice president Mike Pence broke his silence on the Jan. 6 insurrection aimed at overturning his election loss.

Supporters of former president Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol as Pence presided over the certification of President Joe Biden's election win, and rioters loudly proclaimed their desire to hang the vice president if he did not undo the loss -- but he wrote a new op-ed published Wednesday by The Daily Signal website justifying the insurrectionists' concerns.

"The tragic events of Jan. 6 — the most significant being the loss of life and violence at our nation's Capitol — also deprived the American people of a substantive discussion in Congress about election integrity in America," Pence wrote.

The former vice president pointed out that elections are governed at the state level, and argued that the proposed For the People Act would invite fraud by requiring universal mail-in ballots and other measures aimed at increasing access to voting.

"Congress will vote this week on HR 1, the so-called For the People Act, a massive 800-page election overhaul bill that would increase opportunities for election fraud, trample the First Amendment, further erode confidence in our elections, and forever dilute the votes of legally qualified eligible voters," Pence wrote.

Republican state legislatures have responded to Trump's election loss by imposing new restrictions on voting, and Pence said they've got the right idea.

"Polling shows that large numbers of Democrats did not trust the outcome of the 2016 election and that large numbers of Republicans still do not trust the outcome of the 2020 election," he wrote.

"Leftists not only want you powerless at the ballot box, they want to silence and censor anyone who would dare to criticize their unconstitutional power grab," he added.