Protect Free Speech: Oppose Trump Overreach in Domestic Terrorism Directives

Today I take pen in hand to write and urge you to oppose the recent presidential directives — which carry no force of law — aimed at countering domestic terrorism and organized political violence. While public safety is paramount, these directives threaten to infringe upon our fundamental right to free speech and peaceful assembly. Trump’s Executive Orders are broad in scope and are vague in language, and that’s their intent. It would be used as an excuse — without any legal or factual explanation — to the suppression of legitimate political dissent. By potentially labeling a wide range of political activities as "domestic terrorism," it risks criminalizing constitutionally protected speech and association. This approach has been written about and well-documented as reminiscent of historical overreaches by dictatorships that have stifled civil liberties and disproportionately targeted marginalized communities. Of particular concern is the directive's focus on investigating "all participants" in alleged criminal conspiracies. What does that even mean? It is intended to simply grant the Attorney General broad powers, unchecked by Congress of state laws, to designate any organization as a terrorist organization. That might include artists, musicians, entertainers, scientists, environmentalists, or even people supporting those causes. When will they target civil rights and legal organizations? It doesn’t take much imagination to know that that this band of lawless operatives loosely adhering to the rules of our government, will try. The real violence is all on one side, despite the recent shooting of a right-wing crackpot, it’s hardly proof of a vast, dark left-wing conspiracy. It’s just empty words, backed up by power. Our nation's strength lies in its commitment to free expression and the right to dissent. We must not sacrifice these principles in a misguided attempt at security. I ask that you speak out against this directive and work to ensure that our response to domestic threats remains consistent with our constitutional values. I urge you to back our civil rights organizations, for that is surely these criminal next target. I ask that you join Representatives Pocan, Huffman and Jayapal and work on actual legislative protections against these Executive Orders channeled through Trump from his deranged advisors. Thank you.