Murphy warns of ‘dizzying’ Trump crackdown on dissent after Kirk killing

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) warned on Sunday that the Trump administration could be preparing a “dizzying” crackdown on political dissent, pointing to officials’ escalating rhetoric against left-leaning groups.

“Pay attention. Something dark might be coming,” Murphy wrote in a thread on the social platform X.

“The murder of Charlie Kirk could have united Americans to confront political violence. Instead, Trump and his anti-democratic radicals look to be readying a campaign to destroy dissent,” Murphy added.

Murphy said Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) has “led the way” in stressing “the need to depoliticize our fight against violence,” adding, “But Trump and his lieutenants are spinning a lie. That the only threat is from the left.”

Murphy pointed to several examples of the “kind of rhetoric” that is “gaining traction in MAGA world.”

He included a screenshot of a post from far-right activist Laura Loomer, who said on X, “I have to say, I do want President Trump to be the ‘dictator’ the Left thinks he is, and I want the right to be as devoted to locking up and silencing our violent political enemies as they pretend we are.”

Murphy also pointed to Trump’s renewed threats last week to investigate prominent liberal philanthropist George Soros, accusing him of funding violent protests, which, Murphy said, “is just made up out of thin air. Totally, completely false.”

The Democratic senator expressed concern about what he described as the false “narrative that Dems are cheering Kirk’s murder or that left groups are fomenting violence,” saying Democratic leaders are united in condemning the violence.

He said he worries the narrative will be used as a pretext to crack down on political opposition.

“The right has been looking for a pretext to destroy their opposition for a long time. Increasingly, the right views the left as an existential [threat] to a white, Christian majority nation and thus must be destroyed, as Michael Anton wrote, at any cost,” Murphy wrote, linking to an article in New York Magazine.

“That’s why it was so important for Trump sycophants to take over the DoJ and FBI, so that if a pretext arose, Trump could orchestrate a dizzying campaign to shut down political opposition groups and lock up or harass its leaders,” he continued. “This is what could be coming – now.”

“I hope I’m wrong. But we need to be prepared if I’m right. That means everyone who cares about democracy has to join the fight – right now,” he added, urging the public to mobilize, join a protest group or donate to progressive media.

The White House blasted Murphy in a statement responding to his post, accusing him of using “inflammatory rhetoric that drives leftists to violence.”

“Days before Charlie was assassinated, Chris Murphy proudly told his followers that we were at ‘war’ and they needed to ‘be willing to do whatever is necessary.’ Now he’s warning about something dark coming? Something dark already came – a Christian and conservative activist was brutally assassinated in front of the whole world for peacefully sharing his beliefs, his murderer was literally trying to ‘silence dissent,’” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement to The Hill.

“Chris Murphy must stop spreading lies about his political opponents and leaning into inflammatory rhetoric that drives leftists to violence,” Jackson continued.

Murphy’s statement came shortly before Trump said on Sunday that left-leaning groups would be investigated after the Charlie Kirk assassination. He did not provide details.

“If you look at the problem, the problem is on the left. It’s not on the right, like some people like to share the right, the problem we have is on the left,” Trump told reporters. “And when you look at the agitator, you look at the scum that speaks so badly of our country, the American flag burnings all over the place, that’s the left. That’s not the right.”

When questioned on whom he plans to investigate, he added, “We’ll see. We’ll be announcing.”