Connecticut Democratic Senator Chris Murphy argued that President-elect Donald Trump’s alleged plan to “paralyze” US democracy has already been put into action.

Murphy went to X to state his case, saying: “It’s happening right before our eyes. It has increased sharply in the last 24 hours. I’m not sure why everyone doesn’t see this.”

“Can I take a minute to understand the context – how Trump is executing a plan to cripple our democracy in ways from which we may never recover?” he asked.

Murphy, 51, was responding to a post from the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee introducing a Republican report recommending that former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney be prosecuted for her work on the special committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots to investigate criminally.

“He wasn’t kidding when he said the Democrats were No. 1. “It was the greatest threat to America and had to be fought by law enforcement and the military,” Murphy wrote Tuesday. “House Republicans’ referral of Liz Cheney for criminal prosecution – on trumped-up charges – shows you the plan.”

Trump said members of the Jan. 6 special committee, which has since been disbanded, should “go to jail” for their service on the panel.

Murphy went on to question who would support Cheney and others Trump wants to prosecute, noting that the president-elect’s nominee to lead the FBI, Kash Patel, is unlikely to do so.

“Kash Patel was elected to lead the FBI BECAUSE he wants to prosecute Trump’s opponents,” the senator argued. He added that the Justice Department was also unlikely to be able to stand up for Cheney, saying, “Trump’s compliant Justice Department can pick its own jurisdiction with a MAGA judge.”

“Not every Trump opponent will give up, but many will. “If you have a family at home, are you really going to stand up to Trump if there’s a risk you could end up in prison?” he asked. “History shows that selectively pursuing a regime’s opposition has a far-reaching deterrent effect.”

Murphy also pointed to Trump’s legal battles with the press, saying, “The second part of Trump’s plan is to use the White House to destroy the free media.” Trump filed a lawsuit against it The Des Moines Register and pollster Ann Selzer on Tuesday about a poll released before the election showing Vice President Kamala Harris leading in Iowa.

“We shouldn’t pretend this is normal,” Murphy wrote.

Trump recently settled a libel lawsuit against ABC News for $15 million after anchor George Stephanopoulos said the former president was found liable for rape when a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing and defaming writer E. Jean Carroll made, but not for rape.

“You’re already seeing the big media companies cave in. ABC paid Trump $15 million even though his defamation lawsuit had no merit,” Murphy argued. “Bezos told the Post not to support Trump. MSNBC is for sale because Comcast doesn’t want to get in trouble.”

Murphy quoted Trump as saying that after losing a case against a journalist, the former president said, “I did it to make his life difficult, which I’m happy about.”

“He readily admits that this is about intimidation,” Murphy said, adding that Trump has suggested using the Federal Election Commission to crack down on news organizations.

“Even though he rarely uses this power, media companies have already shown they are unwilling to fight back,” Murphy said.

The senator said there was a possibility it was all “show and bluster” but recent developments, including ABC and Register The lawsuits and Cheney’s referral for prosecution “all indicate that this is very, very real.”