John,

By now you may have seen the videos circulating of Senator Alex Padilla being handcuffed and removed from a public press conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Let’s be clear John: Senator Padilla did not commit any crime. He was simply doing his job.

We’ve seen a lot of dangerous actions from the Trump administration so far, but I’m reaching out personally because this action today shook me like few have so far. It was appalling and intolerable.

If a senator is no longer allowed to ask questions at a public press conference, then our democracy is in real peril.

Dissent and the separation of powers are essential to our democracy — they are not threats to it.

This is a step toward authoritarianism that cannot be ignored. Everyone should know about what happened to Senator Padilla today — so I’m just writing to ask that you share this email and spread the word about the stakes for our democracy.

These are not normal times, and they demand a response from all of us.

Thank you,

Noah Bookbinder
President
CREW