John -

Last night, the FBI's Counterterrorism Division appeared to open an inquiry into me in response to a video the President did not like.

In that video, I directly quoted the Uniform Code of Military Justice alongside five other Members of Congress with service and veteran backgrounds. Officers and enlisted in our military are trained to follow lawful orders, and refuse to follow illegal orders. It’s part of the training. This has been the case since World War II.

Since then, the President has misquoted me, and then called for my arrest, trial, and death by hanging. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth has threatened my friend, Senator Mark Kelly, with court martial. And now, it appears the president has directed the FBI to target the rest of us.

This is exactly why we made that video in the first place.

President Trump believes in weaponizing the federal government against his perceived enemies and does not believe laws apply to him or his Cabinet. He uses legal harassment as an intimidation tactic, to scare people out of speaking up. He’s done it to law firms, universities, private sector companies and private individuals.

But these kinds of tactics won’t work on me. And neither will the total wave of death threats, bomb threats, and general harassment he has unleashed.

I have always worked to be upfront and honest in these emails. This latest news from the FBI means that I have had to start thinking through a legal defense strategy – and we do not know exactly where President Trump and his Department of Justice will take this inquiry. And for the time being, all of that planning is being paid for through campaign dollars.

So, your split contribution to Hillary Scholten and me will be put to work immediately to ensure I have the resources to fight back.

To be frank, the whole thing isn’t about one line from one video. The events of the last week do not represent the country we know and love.

I refuse to believe that this is the new normal — where the President of the United States uses fear and intimidation against people with whom he disagrees.

But Hillary Scholten and I can’t do this alone.

Thank you for reading — and thank you in advance for your help.

Elissa Slotkin