Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance are seeking to “exploit” political violence, claiming they want to “silence” their political opponents.

Vance and other Trump administration officials are blaming “a violent left-wing extremist” for a shooting at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Wednesday morning in Dallas, Texas. The shooting comes two weeks after Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was killed in Utah, and four weeks after a transgender shooter opened fire on a Catholic school in Minneapolis.

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Murphy, however, said it shouldn’t matter if “radicalization” originates from either Republicans or Democrats. He also said Trump and Vance have the chance to unite the country after Kirk’s murder, but they “refuse” to do this.

“What they are trying to do is exploit these murders and these shootings in order to silence only dissent and political opposition on the left,” Murphy said on MSNBC’s Morning Joe Thursday.

“No, criticizing the way that ICE is rounding up people in this country in a deeply inhumane and immoral way is not an incitement to violence. There is a moment where you cross the line, but what they are trying to do is to destroy the ability for people who oppose their policies to legitimately engage in political debate, and we are not going to let them do that.”

Murphy also said Trump is trying to stop “dissent and protest” on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, saying Trump is warning “there will be a price to pay for speaking up.” He said this price would range from losing a job or “[going] to jail” for partaking in free speech.

REPUBLICANS BLAME DEMOCRATS’ ANTI-ICE RHETORIC FOR DALLAS FACILITY SHOOTING

The Department of Homeland Security called on Democratic lawmakers, legacy media outlets, and organizations to stop “demonizing DHS law enforcement” in the wake of Kirk’s murder and the Dallas shooting. DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said the political temperature must go down “before someone else is killed.”

Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA) asked the White House not to “cherry-pick” acts of political violence to condemn, saying “it doesn’t matter if it’s coming from one side or the other.” Shapiro survived a political attack in April when someone set his governor’s mansion on fire.