Shri Thanedar Takes Aim At Trump Ahead Of The President’s Michigan Rally

India-West News Desk

DETROIT, MI — In downtown Detroit, a towering billboard just blocks from Huntington Place reads in bold capital letters: “TRUMP MUST BE IMPEACHED — DEFEND DEMOCRACY.” Below it is the name and face of Rep. Shri Thanedar, who has become one of President Donald Trump’s most vocal critics.

The message isn’t subtle — and it isn’t just a billboard. It’s part of a broad, defiant campaign by Thanedar, who on Aprl 28  formally filed seven articles of impeachment against President Trump, just days before Trump is scheduled to hold a high-profile rally in Detroit to mark 100 days into his second term.

“If we let this stand, we are saying the president is above the law,” Thanedar said. “That the United States Constitution is optional. I won’t be silent.”

Thanedar is using every platform available to call attention to what he views as an increasingly authoritarian presidency. His articles of impeachment, though unlikely to advance in a Republican-dominated House, amount to a symbolic declaration that Trump has “crossed every line,” Thanedar says.

“In this country, we have presidents, not kings,” he said. “That’s not just misconduct. It’s impeachable misconduct.”

The seven articles lay out a sweeping case. Among them: Trump’s tariff regime, which Thanedar argues has wrecked global supply chains and American businesses. There’s also his treatment of the press — a sustained campaign, according to Thanedar, to undermine First Amendment protections through threats, bans, and public humiliation of journalists.

Another article accuses Trump of corruption within the justice system — specifically, weaponizing prosecutions, issuing politically strategic pardons, and interfering in federal investigations. One charge highlights the unauthorized collection of American citizens’ personal data, raising alarm over surveillance and digital privacy abuses.

Then there’s the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Thanedar points out bypassed Congress to unilaterally slash federal funding for climate and social programs. That, he argues, is a violation of the constitutional separation of powers.

But perhaps the most controversial charge is rooted in the future — and a hat. In recent weeks, the Trump Organization began selling “Trump 2028” merchandise, prompting concerns that the president is laying the groundwork to pursue a third term. “This is not a joke,” Thanedar said. “He is testing the waters, floating the idea of permanent power. That is textbook authoritarianism.”

Then he cited the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a legal U.S. resident wrongfully deported to El Salvador in defiance of a unanimous 9–0 Supreme Court ruling. Thanedar called it “the final straw.”

“Donald Trump has already done real damage to our democracy,” he said. “But defying the highest court in the land? That’s an assault on our institutions. It’s time we impeach Donald J. Trump.”

For Thanedar, the effort isn’t about the odds — it’s about the principle.

“Enough is enough,” he said. “History will remember who stood up.”