U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing with FBI Director Kash Patel (not pictured), on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) hit back in a Friday statement after an Arizona Republican state lawmaker called for her to be executed.
State Rep. John Gillette, who represents Kingman, made the post in response to an excerpt from Jayapal's "Resistance Lab" series, according to the Arizona Mirror, in which she said people opposed to the Trump administration should be "strike ready" and "street ready" to protest.
"Until people like this, that advocate for the overthrow of the American government are tried convicted and hanged... it will continue," Gillette wrote.
Jayapal, who previously chaired the Congressional Progressive Caucus, was not advocating for violence. The clip was part of a broader series "in which she and others discuss protest movements and non-violent actions. The session in question featured a speaker who studied political violence and spoke about non-violence," the Mirror noted.
“Two days ago, an elected member of the Arizona State House of Representatives called for me and those who advocate for nonviolent resistance training to be ‘tried, convicted and hanged.’ This is appalling, unacceptable, and dangerous from anyone, but particularly from an elected official," wrote Jayapal in her statement. "It is a call to violence designed to suppress nonviolent democratic organizing against authoritarianism and further polarize the American public for political gain. Sadly, it makes the world a more dangerous place for each of us."
“My trainings, which have reached over 15,000 people in all 50 states, explicitly teach about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi’s principles of nonviolent resistance," she continued. "They give people a voice and a means to effect change without resorting to the exact sort of violent escalation that Representative Gillette is calling for. I intend to continue to train and organize for nonviolent change in our country that lifts up all people and preserves our democracy.”