A Call for Constitutional Accountability and Human Decency

I am writing as your constituent and fellow Iowan to ask for your leadership in defending both the Constitution and the dignity of those it protects. The strength of this nation has always rested on its commitment to liberty under law, not on the fear of its own citizens. In recent months, credible reports from cities including Portland, Chicago, and Los Angeles have described children restrained with zip ties during federal operations, nonviolent demonstrators and clergy struck with so-called “less-lethal” weapons, and the use of military or paramilitary tactics against peaceful assemblies. Such actions are inconsistent with both the Constitution and the basic decency our country should embody. Federal law sets clear boundaries. The Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C. § 1385) prohibits using the U.S. military to carry out domestic law enforcement except under specific, narrow circumstances authorized by Congress. The First Amendment protects the right to peaceable assembly, and the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments guarantee due process to every person. These are not partisan principles—they are the foundation of our shared republic. I ask you plainly and respectfully: Can you, in good conscience, defend the use of zip ties on children? Can you justify the firing of “less-lethal” weapons at priests, journalists, or citizens who are present but not violent? How does cruelty toward children or force against unarmed countrymen serve the cause of justice or the security of this nation? Such acts diminish public trust and weaken the moral authority that distinguishes a free society from a fearful one. Your voices matter deeply in this moment. Silence, whether born of caution or calculation, will be read as consent. If you speak only through prepared talking points rather than through compassion and conviction, the public is left to wonder whether empathy still guides those in power. I urge you to stand clearly on the side of the Constitution and the rule of law. Call for independent investigations into operations in Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles, and elsewhere where children were restrained or peaceful demonstrators injured. Affirm that neither ICE nor the National Guard should ever be used as domestic police forces or as tools to suppress lawful dissent. Every elected official takes an oath to uphold the Constitution. That oath is not symbolic—it is a promise to place principle above politics and humanity above expedience. Iowa deserves to see that promise honored in both your words and your actions.