Rep. Eric Swalwell on Tuesday slammed Donald Trump's threats to imprison election workers he believes will commit fraud and cheat in the upcoming presidential election.
"Donald Trump wants to be a dictator," Swalwell told CNN. "He tells us that every day and he makes threats like a dictator."
Over the weekend via social media, the former president threatened to jail lawyers, political operatives, election officials, and others “involved in unscrupulous behavior” in the 2024 election. Trump has a history of threatening his political enemies with prosecution, but this post appears to be his most direct threat against election workers this cycle.
While illegal voting activity is rare, Trump's suggestion casts aspersions on the integrity of our elections, similar to what he did in 2016 and 2020. In 2020, Trump sowing doubt in the election results fueled, in part, the events during the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
"It's on us, though, as to whether we're going to let that happen in our country," Swalwell added. "Because we know, when you have a dictator, rights can vanish."
"Women enjoyed the right to make a decision about their own bodies for 50 years, and then he put three justices on the [U.S. Supreme] Court who have worked out of his hand and that right has vanished like that," the California Democratic congressman said. "So, we know other rights will vanish."
