With one day to go until a crucial fundraising deadline, U.S. Rep. John Larson’s reelection campaign issued a warning in an email blast: The congressman had been added to a “Homeland Security Watchlist” and could use the support in the face of criticism from the Trump administration.
“We must support the members of Congress who have the courage to stand up to Trump and his authoritarian regime. John isn’t backing down, and neither can we,” Monday’s email read, with several links that redirect to a campaign donation page.
Connecticut Democrats in Washington have all been publicly outspoken since President Donald Trump’s return to the White House. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy has been one of the most visible, with repeated warnings about an eroding democracy, prompting the president himself to directly call him out on some occasions.
But Larson was the only member of Connecticut’s delegation who ended up on a list compiled earlier this month by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. It named Democrats and groups whom the agency characterized as having “hateful and violent” rhetoric, specifically in regards to immigration enforcement officials.
In recent weeks, his campaign has drawn a lot of attention to the department’s list in fundraising pleas, and Larson recently called it a “badge of honor.” It could prove to be beneficial — an inadvertent boost by DHS — as the 14-term congressman seeks to confront criticism from Democratic challengers that he and others in Congress need to do more to resist Trump.
Larson said he felt compelled to speak out because of raids carried out by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that were happening in Connecticut’s 1st Congressional District — even as his office has experienced an increase in “threatening calls.”
“Based on what transpired in Newington, Connecticut, in my district, with mothers being snatched from their children, how could you be silenced? How can you not speak out on the behalf of those individuals? If [DHS] is offended with the analogy, where else have you seen in American history those that need to enforce the Constitution do so with black masks and weapons drawn,” Larson said in an interview.
The Department of Homeland Security compiled a list of more than 30 examples of what they characterize as incendiary remarks toward agents and personnel who work for ICE. The department called on those lawmakers and others listed to stop “demonizing” law enforcement. But the release didn’t issue any specific directives or actions beyond that.
Larson is the only person from Connecticut on the Homeland Security list.
“Following the evil act of political violence in the country this week and two brutal assaults on our brave ICE law enforcement last week, we are once again calling on the media and the far left to stop the hateful rhetoric directed at President Trump, those who support him, and our brave DHS law enforcement,” DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
“This demonization is inspiring violence across the country,” she continued. “We have to turn down the temperature before someone else is killed. This violence must end.”
DHS singled out Larson’s comments at an August press conference in Connecticut. In it, the visibly frustrated congressman shouted about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement and compared masked ICE agents, who are conducting raids and arrests across the U.S., to the “SS” and “Gestapo.”
“This is not Germany. That is the SS and the Gestapo,” Larson said at the time. “This is the United States of America. Unmask yourselves.”
In response to DHS’ characterization of his remarks, Larson said Wednesday he didn’t see the remarks as hateful and said they were “intended to make a point.”
“If you’re not going to speak out about that, what are you going to speak out about? I wasn’t intimidated and won’t be,” he said. “If you’re offended by [the analogy], well then so be it.”
Larson took particular issue with masked ICE agents arresting multiple workers at separate car washes in Newington and Southington, which are both in his Hartford-based district. The congressman has co-sponsored federal legislation, called the “No Secret Police Act of 2025,” that seeks to bar ICE agents from wearing any kind of face covering and requires them to provide identification.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong has called the DHS report “reckless.” And he called the Trump administration irresponsible for naming political opponents, which he warned could lead to more acts of violence.
Larson, 77, faces his first competitive primary since winning an open seat in 1998.
He has drawn several Democratic challengers, including former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin, 46, and state Rep. Jillian Gilchrest, 43, of West Hartford. They have called for generational change and questioned whether current members of Congress, especially those who have served for a while, are up for the task of standing up to the administration.
Larson’s challengers have called into question, both directly and indirectly, his ability to be an effective communicator and disruptor in this Trump era.
“We can’t bring the change we need by doing the exact same things the exact same way,” Gilchrest said during her August campaign announcement. “I appreciate the work he has done, but I think we need elected officials who can work on multiple issues at the same time and can be out there pushing for change every single day, and I don’t see that happening currently.”
Without explicitly naming Larson, Bronin has also questioned how Congress currently operates and cited several lawmakers around the country, including Murphy, whose communication and messaging style should be replicated.
“They’re just communicating with a relentlessness and an energy that is different, and that’s what we need,” Bronin said during an interview with the Connecticut Mirror in early September. “I think we need to see that from every member of Congress. The job of being a member of Congress is different, and that’s what we need.”
But Larson has brushed off the criticism from his opponents, who, he quipped, were “the ones who nominated me for office” in previous years.
“I think the truth speaks for itself. And when you don’t have much to campaign on, when you say you agree with all the votes I’m taking and how I’ve conducted myself and what we’ve been able to do for the district, I think you gotta ask them,” Larson said.
Larson’s campaign has sent out a few emails in recent weeks with fundraising appeals highlighting the pushback he got for his comments and his promise that he “will not back down” to Trump. The most recent carried the subject line “Stop Trump’s Democratic Watch List,” with buttons to contribute money before the end of the fundraising deadline, which was Tuesday.
One email linked to an article noting the same comments that landed him on the DHS list. The email said Fox News was “attacking me again for holding Donald Trump’s Administration accountable.” Another noted that Larson used to work as a high school history teacher and asked the reader to see if they could tell “if America were sliding toward dictatorship.”
The administration’s list isn’t the first time Larson has drawn national attention for his impassioned remarks about President Trump. He had a breakout moment in March where he complained that then-DOGE leader Elon Musk wouldn’t answer questions from Congress about Social Security and how federal cuts could affect the program.
While the primary is still in the early stages, the upcoming fundraising reports will offer a first snapshot of the financial health of each campaign.
Bronin raised over $800,000 in the two weeks after jumping into the race, according to figures provided by his campaign in August. Larson and the others will similarly need to post big numbers this month. All declared candidates will need to file the next quarterly fundraising numbers by Oct. 15.
The congressman’s most recent filing from July showed he had about $262,000 in his campaign account. (That report covered April through June, before anyone had jumped into the race.) That number is largely on track with quarterly fundraising hauls in recent election cycles, though he didn’t face primary challengers in those races.
Attention from the administration can be a double-edged sword. While it can help rally Democrats’ base and encourage fundraising, that scrutiny can also bring a groundswell of targeted pushback that can range from relatively harmless to credible threats of violence.
Debate over political rhetoric became magnified in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting earlier this month. And so have overall concerns on safety.
Lawmakers and political leaders are becoming increasingly worried about threats of political violence as both parties face more threats. Congress wants to beef up security funding with $30 million for congressional lawmakers and $58 million for the judicial and executive branches. They included that pot of money in short-term funding bills, but it has stalled indefinitely with the federal government in a shutdown.
Staff with Larson’s office said they receive an “uptick” in threats over the phone when the congressman calls out the administration like he has recently. They said they work closely with Capitol Police and local law enforcement to make sure the threat is handled properly.
“I worry about the people around me, about staff who are concerned, and I worry about my family,” Larson said. “But personally, no. Suffice it to say, when confronted with the right thing to do, you do the right thing.”
The Connecticut Mirror/Connecticut Public Radio federal policy reporter position is made possible, in part, by funding from the Robert and Margaret Patricelli Family Foundation.
This story was originally published by the Connecticut Mirror.
