By Hannah Saunders
1:24 p.m. UPDATE: Chaudhry issued TtS a statement: “Fighting for my husband’s freedom last year against ICE and the weaponized federal government across four federal jurisdictions with no lawyers – and winning – taught me a lesson I’ll ever forget: when you stand up to bullies, they fold.
“But that takes courage. Steadfastness. And a willingness to tolerate threats and uncertainty, and still keep fighting anyway. Not just “against them,” but FOR justice, truth, and peace.
“So yes, this development means more security. It means more awareness. It never, EVER means backing down. This is America. This is our country. Ours to reclaim. Ours to repair. Ours to rebuild.
“I have dedicated my life to the best of what America stands for. I’m not going anywhere.”
Melissa Chaudhry, Washington Congressional candidate for District 9, received several phone calls at around midnight last night. She refused to answer, but the caller left two voice messages containing anti-Muslim death threats:
“We’re going to hang you for treason, and we’re going to do it publicly.”
“We’re going to hang you for treason, you anti-American, Muslim piece of shit.”
Chaudhry said this incident has been reported to local law enforcement and the FBI, and that she is done remaining silent about such cases. On her Substack, she expressed similar experiences from her campaign in 2024, which included death threats, rape threats, violent property destruction outside her home, and hate notes on her car.
“Seattle Police did nothing. Folks, I’m an American. I’m as American as they come. I was born here. On my mom’s side, I trace my roots back to the American Revolution and the Mayflower,” Chaudhry said.
Her paternal grandfather survived in a Nazi concentration camp for over two years before dying from his wounds in the U.S., and spoke about her family’s military careers.
“Service, and sacrifice, and love for America has been me and my family’s life work since childhood,” Chaudhry said. “If this is what’s happening to me, imagine what’s happening to other women or women of color, let alone immigrant women. I have dedicated my life to the best of what America stands for: equality, freedom, and Justice for all.”
Chaudhry explained that she is running for Congress to make sure every American has safety, opportunities, and dignity. She noted how she is campaigning to improve the lives and well-being of all, including the male who threatened to publicly hang her.
“Mayor Katie Wilson: If racist abusers who want to hang me have my phone number, I’m sure you do, too. This is happening in your city. What are you going to do about it?” Chaudhry asked.
She explained how women across several cultures throughout history have worn headscarves like hers, including Jesus’s mother, Mary.
“It’s a sign of dignity, modesty, and self-respect, and it tells anyone around that I value myself beyond however you might objectify my body. Is the only worth of a woman her skin? Or the objectification of her body? But really, my decision to wear it boils down to one thing I have loved about America since I was three-years-old: It’s a free country, right? And if me wearing it brings solidarity to those oppressed women in America— yes, oppressed women in America— then maybe that’s good solidarity also,” Chaudhry said.
TtS reached out to Chaudhry, who did not respond at the time of publication.
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