John Washington III Says Threats Are Not the Answer — the Answer Is a Government That Answers to the People

Presidential candidate John Washington III is drawing a line he says America has to hold: challenging the government is a right, threatening a life is not. In a written statement, John Washington III pointed to the case of a Michigan man who, he wrote, "has now been charged with allegedly threatening to kill FBI Director Kash Patel," and said the episode "goes much deeper than one man threatening an FBI director."

"While I believe every American has the right to challenge their government, criticize elected officials, and speak out against corruption, there is a big difference between standing up for your rights and threatening someone's life," John Washington III wrote. He said he does not support threats, violence or intimidation against anyone — "whether they're an ordinary citizen, a police officer, an FBI director, or the president of the United States."

John Washington III argued the harder question sits underneath the charge: why, he asked, are so many Americans losing trust in the institutions that were created to serve and protect them? "Our government is supposed to work for the people, not the other way around," he wrote, adding that he also does not support "a government that expects respect without accountability" and that nobody should be above the law, "and that includes the people enforcing it."

He closed with the route he says the country should take instead: protect freedom of speech, uphold due process, demand transparency and hold public officials accountable without resorting to violence. "The answer is not to threaten the government," John Washington III wrote. "The answer is to make the government answer to the people."