This is what authoritarianism looks like in real time.

Sen. Mark Kelly — a Navy combat veteran, a former astronaut, and a public servant who has spent his entire life defending this country — is now facing death threats from Donald Trump and an unprecedented investigation from Trump’s Pentagon.

And why? Because he said the most basic, common-sense truth imaginable: American service members must follow the law — no matter who is president.

That’s it. That’s the “crime.”

Kelly joined other veterans in a simple video reminding our troops of what every soldier already knows: their oath is to the Constitution, not a king. Not to illegal orders. Not to a wannabe strongman. To the rule of law.

Trump responded by calling for Kelly and others to be arrested, calling their words “seditious,” and even suggesting such “crimes” were once “punishable by death.”

This is the same tactic Trump always uses: Intimidate. Harass. Threaten. Punish. Use the machinery of government to crush anyone who refuses to bend the knee.

If Trump can do this to a U.S. Senator and a decorated Navy captain, imagine what he’ll do to the rest of us if no one pushes back.

We are fighting to protect leaders like Mark Kelly — leaders who put country over king — and to elect more veterans and public servants who will not flinch in the face of Trump’s bullying.

But we can’t do that on anger alone. Every ad we run, every organizer we support, every candidate we help in a tough district is powered by grassroots donations from people like you. Trump has billionaire megadonors and corporate allies. All we have is our ability to stand together and refuse to be intimidated.

If we want a Congress that will stand up to illegal orders instead of rubber-stamping them, we have to build it — seat by seat, race by race, dollar by dollar.

Will you chip in whatever you can today to help us defend democracy, stand with Mark Kelly, and stop Trump from using the Pentagon as a weapon against his political opponents?

If you've saved your payment info with ActBlue Express, your donation to Building Blue will process immediately:

America deserves leaders who uphold their oath — not a president who threatens to destroy anyone who honors it.

Thank you for standing with us in this fight.

— Team Building Blue