The charges leveled against Donald Trump aren’t about law enforcement, they’re about intimidating dissenting Americans, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said Thursday.

“These charges aren’t about enforcing the law. Democrats barely pretend they are. They are the Left telling the nation, we are in charge here. And if you threaten us, we will destroy you,” Sen. Hawley tweeted, reacting to news reports that a grand jury had voted in indict Trump.

“This ‘indictment’ is a message from the Democrats to America: we will use power to get our way. Whatever the cost. We can’t let them get away with it,” Hawley wrote in a follow-up post, introducing a video clip from his interview earlier with Fox News Channel’s Jesse Watters.

“It’s nothing to do with the rule of law, Jesse, obviously,” Hawley told Watters:

“This is about power. It is a demonstration of raw power. I think the Democrats know this has nothing to do with the law - they are sending a message.

“And the message is: they will use any power that they have to interfere in the next presidential election.

“They will not willingly allow Donald Trump to run for president.

“They will not willing lose the next election.

“They’re going to use every means at their disposal.”

Even before Trump’s indictment, the Biden Administration has ruthlessly used excessive power against Americans who disagree, Hawley noted:

“These are the same people who have sent SWAT teams to pro-life activists, who use the FBI against parents at school board meetings.

“They will do anything, use any kind of power, to try and hold on to their own privileges, their own positions. And, we are seeing that tonight.”

“This is just unprecedented in American history. And the only way out now is to win,” Hawley concluded.