Washington, D.C. –  Adam Jentleson, Deputy Chief of Staff for Communications for Senator Harry Reid, released the following statement after Kellyanne Conway, senior adviser to President-elect Donald Trump, threatened legal action in response to Senator Reid’s comments on Trump’s election:

 “It only took five days for President-elect Trump to try to silence his critics with the threat of legal action. This should shock and concern all Americans.

“Trump has always used threats and intimidation to silence his critics. Now he wants to silence a discussion of the acts of hate and threats of violence being committed in his name across the country. Silencing this discussion normalizes hate and intimidates the victims.

“The facts are stark and shocking. Since Trump was elected, acts of hate against Muslims, Jews, women and people of color have spiked dramatically. The KKK is planning a parade to celebrate Trump’s victory because the KKK sees Trump as their champion. Today, a headline in one newspaper reads, ‘Popular neo-Nazi site urges readers to troll liberals into suicide,’ while another reads, ‘Post-election spate of hate crimes worse than 9-11.’

“But instead of rising to the responsibility of his office, Trump is hiding behind his Twitter account and sending his staff on TV to threaten his critics.

“If this is going to be a time of healing, Trump must take action immediately to stop the acts of hate and threats of violence that are being committed in his name across the country. Trump owes the nation leadership, not petty attempts to silence his critics.”