I am not trying to be alarmist, but the president of the United States is engaging in increasingly authoritarian behavior.

President Trump called for the arrest of Chicago’s Mayor Brandon Johnson and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker -- just hours after Trump federalized the Texas National Guard to move into Illinois against their will -- simply because they stood up to him. They refused to let him send armed federal forces into their state, and now he’s trying to punish them for it.

And this isn’t an isolated incident.

After New York Attorney General Letitia James did her job -- holding Trump accountable under the law -- he pushed the Department of Justice to indict her on baseless charges. A jury had already agreed that Trump was guilty of fraud, but now he’s using the full power of the federal government to go after the person who exposed him. That’s not justice. That’s what authoritarian leaders do when they fear accountability.

Right now, federal agents in masks are patrolling American streets, firing pepper balls at ministers, and even gassing local police officers in Chicago. They are untrained, unaccountable, and completely out of control. And now, the President is threatening to imprison elected officials who stand up to him.

Trump has already said that he wants to be a “dictator on day one” and every day he’s marching us closer to that reality. These are the kinds of actions we used to condemn in other countries.

This is a dangerous and unprecedented moment that should concern every American, no matter your politics. But we are not powerless.

We are not a country that sends soldiers into our own cities as if they’re enemy territory. We are not a people who sit quietly while our democracy is dismantled in plain sight. We can and must stand up, peacefully and together, to stop this descent into authoritarianism.

I’ll keep doing everything I can to defend our democracy and protect our communities. Thank you for standing with me.

Mahalo,

Brian