Listen to this: Donald Trump told generals that “America is under invasion from within… no different than a foreign enemy,” and said people without uniforms could be “taken out.”

Let that sink in. When a national leader calls his fellow citizens “the enemy,” that’s exactly the kind of language dictators use to justify violence against their own people.

And this isn’t theoretical — we’re seeing it in Chicago right now. Outside the Broadview ICE facility, peaceful protestors were singing, praying, and linking arms for their immigrant neighbors. In response, ICE agents fired rubber bullets, launched tear gas, and threw protestors to the pavement.

We’ve seen this pattern before. Time and again, Trump has shown there’s no line he won’t cross: attacking the press and even comedians, threatening protesters, and demonizing communities he disagrees with. He’s made it clear that anyone who won’t bow down to him is in his crosshairs.

This is Trump’s vision of America. Dehumanize our neighbors. Normalize violence. And silence anyone who dares to stand up.

We cannot treat this as normal. We cannot let violent, authoritarian language become accepted — not in Illinois, and not in America.

I’ve spent my life standing up for Illinois — as a mother, a daughter, and a public servant. And I’m not going to let Trump’s cruelty become our new normal. That’s why I’m running for U.S. Senate: to take this fight to Washington and stop Trump and his allies from turning our democracy into a dictatorship.

Will you stand with me? Chip in $3, $25, or whatever you can to support my campaign — so I can fight back against this kind of authoritarian rhetoric and the real threats it enables in the U.S. Senate.

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We will not be intimidated. We will call out threats when we see them, and we will defend the freedoms that make this country what it is.

In solidarity,

Juliana Stratton