Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate and voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams is raising alarm over what she calls a “flagrant abuse of power” by President Donald Trump.
The respected author is accusing the president of weaponizing the Department of Justice to target his political opponents while millions of Americans struggle amid a prolonged government shutdown.
In a fiery video message, Abrams framed the escalating political battle as a test of American democracy, declaring:
“No matter what you hear, there are only two sides in this fight — freedom or tyranny.”
Abrams’ comments come on the heels of shocking news that the Department of Justice, under Trump’s influence, has indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James — the same prosecutor who successfully pursued Trump for civil fraud earlier this year. The unprecedented move, Abrams argued, marks a dangerous turning point in the erosion of democratic norms.
“Last week, he crossed a red line no president ever has,” Abrams said in the video. “At his public urging, the Department of Justice indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James, the woman who held him accountable for fraud.”
‘Weaponizing Power for Revenge’
According to Abrams, the indictment represents a new phase in Trump’s ongoing effort to reshape the federal government into a vehicle for personal retribution — a warning echoed by democracy advocates who have long cautioned against the influence of Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation–backed conservative blueprint for consolidating presidential power.
“This is what happens when you install loyalists across the government,” Abrams said. “Step five: when your personal attorney becomes a tool for revenge.”
She accused Republicans of “using the full weight of political power to go after their enemies — to launch smear campaigns, fabricate cases, drain them with costly legal fights, and destroy their reputations.”
For Abrams, the implications extend far beyond partisan politics. She linked Trump’s alleged retaliation against Letitia James to the broader chaos of a government shutdown that has left millions of Americans in limbo — from federal employees working without pay to low-income families losing access to healthcare and nutrition programs.
“While millions of workers try to keep us safe without pay, Donald Trump has spent his time going after his political opponents,” Abrams said. “Babies who rely on federal programs for formula may go without, and their mothers will go without healthcare — just so Republicans can prove a point.”
A Moment of Moral Clarity
Abrams’ remarks reflect growing concern among Democrats and civil rights leaders that Trump’s actions, if left unchecked, could permanently damage the nation’s legal institutions.
She warns that silence in the face of authoritarian tactics is complicity.
“This is not right,” Abrams said. “We have to speak up against this flagrant abuse of power. If we let this regime use the rule of law as a weapon of revenge, it won’t stop here.”
An Unfolding Constitutional Crisis
The indictment of a sitting state attorney general by federal prosecutors at the behest of a president is, by any measure, unprecedented.
Abrams’ message — urging Americans to “speak up” before it’s too late — is part of a broader Democratic effort to rally public opposition to what they describe as creeping authoritarianism under Trump’s leadership.
“History shows us that democracies don’t die overnight,” Abrams wrote as the caption of her intense video. “They fade when good people stay quiet. So I’m asking — don’t stay quiet now.”
