To the editor: Charlton misses an opportunity to condemn government violence against citizens
The Chester Telegraph | Feb 03, 2026 | Comments 9
On Jan. 29, Rep. Tom Charlton voted no to the Vermont’s state legislature’s expression of approval for Gov. Scott’s statement regarding ICE’s actions in Minnesota.
His explanation was that the governor “missed an opportunity to call for de-escalation on all sides.” (The full text of the resolution can be read here.)
This explanation is in direct contradiction to the rallying cry of Charlton’s campaign for “common sense solutions.” There is nothing common sense about what is occurring in Minnesota. Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol deployed to Minneapolis-Saint Paul are violating laws and fundamental constitutional protections daily. They are armed with semi-automatic and automatic weapons, tear gas and pepper spray. Those protesting their actions are armed with whistles and phone cameras.
Furthermore, his vote does not represent the views of his constituents in Chester, Grafton, Athens and Windham, who have turned out by the hundreds in multiple demonstrations to protest the actions of the Trump administration. Who is he representing when he echoes sentiments of our president who notoriously stated there are “good people on both sides?” Mr. Charlton is very proud of his many listening tours. We wonder: Who has he been listening to?
Mr. Charlton’s explanation for his vote is neutrality and complicity dressed up as common sense. If our government killing individuals exercising their rights doesn’t motivate Tom Charlton to speak out against the administration, what will?
The president and his administration stoke the fire on the ground and actively support violence with their inflammatory comments. Their immediate reactions upon the killings of Renée Nicole Good and Alex Pretti were to state outrageous lies calling the victims of government violence terrorists and assassins.
This administration is a party of escalation, and we support the governor’s condemnation of it. There simply are not two sides to this story. Unfortunately, Rep. Charlton was the one who missed an opportunity to condemn violence and support every citizen’s constitutional rights.
Steve Dock
Chair, communications committee
Chester Town Democratic Committee
Filed Under: Commentary • Letters to the Editor
Inflicting political retribution by turning tools of state (such as national law enforcement, the military, or national intelligence) against the American people whom they were established to protect, is indefensible textbook fascism that cannot be tolerated in any functional democracy. There is no ‘both sides’ when state agents are allowed to assassinate their own citizens with impunity. Shame on Tom Charlton.
I attended Tom Charlton’s pubic forum on Feb 6th. I was dismayed when he attempted to equate protesters armed with phone cameras and whistles to the physical assaults, property damage, kidnapping and murder by ICE agents.
In truth the thousands of protesters across the country have shown remarkable restraint in the face of horrendous illegal actions and needless thuggery by ICE. Blaming “both sides” and chiding protesters to “de escalate” by hinting that THEY are causing the problems is cravenly disingenuous. (It sounded remarkably like telling a battered wife that she just needs to “behave” to avoid trouble.)
Tom stated that he did not sign the resolution in support of the Governor’s statement due to “politics”. I nearly laughed out loud. How quaint. His statement rang truer than perhaps he intended. I can only wonder that his reluctance to take a stand was tied to the political expediency of not overtly bucking the agenda of his republican leadership handlers. Unfortunately no one rises in the ranks of this administration if they are not willing to eschew moral principles, decency and common sense. Outliers are severely punished or shunned, political careers vaporize.
Our republican governor showed principled courage. After the meeting I was left to wonder just how far Tom expects his constituents to “de escalate” as ICE and this administration ignore judicial rulings and obliterate Constitutional and Civil Rights? Does he feel protesters even have a right to stridently object to the detention, disappearance and murder of citizens?
Are Tom’s loyalties with the Constitution? Or, is he seeking to deliver to his leadership silent constituents, compliant and unquestioning shamed into politely accepting any capricious whim of a rogue and lawless president? It will be important to know this before we head to the polls in a couple of weeks.
Here is Rep Charlton’s explanation of his vote recorded in the House Journal on 1/29/26 pg 61. ( 2952 Journal of the House)He explained this extensively last night at his Representative update at the town hall in Chester.
Rep. Charlton of Chester provided the following vote explanation: “Madam Speaker: I voted no. I do support the Governor’s prerogative to issue his statement and have no doubt I am very deeply concerned by recent events in Minneapolis. This resolution as written, however, misses an opportunity to call on all parties to de-escalate confrontational action and inflammatory rhetoric. This is one of the first principles of conflict mitigation. With this omission the document falls from being something which may have helped de- escalation to theatrics on an already crowded stage. We can do much better than this. If we think to lead, we must be different.
the democrats and their propaganda machine is preying on their weak minded and mentally unstable supporters to create chaos and division. how else do you explain how ICE is working in numerous other municipalities with no issues at all? and furthermore what compels a person to want to protect violent criminals especially sexual predators? never in my 70 years did I imagine that criminals were the good guys and law enforcement as the bad guys.
I agree, Tom really missed the boat on this one. He had an opportunity and he blew it.
Representative Charlton traffics in false equivalents.
The fallacy of false equivalence is a logical error where two things are treated as if they have equal weight or validity, despite significant, relevant differences, often by focusing on a single superficial similarity to create a misleading sense of balance or moral parity. This fallacy is common in the President’s and Republican party’s politics, used to obscure crucial distinctions, deflect criticism, or give undue legitimacy to fringe ideas or misinformation by presenting them as equal to fact-based arguments. By highlighting minor similarities, it hides the vast gulf in scale, impact, or morality between the compared items.
Yes, Representative Charlton missed an opportunity to do the right thing…..once again.
Tom Charlton is one of the most intelligent, caring, and reasonable people that any of us who know him have ever met. I agree with Larry Semones, when he points out that Tom Charlton was voted in by the majority and has a huge amount of integrity and support. Attacking him is really the wrong approach and will likely push more and more people away from your point of view.
Well said, Steve. Thank you.
I believe Chester’s population is around 3000. So if Mr. Charlton doesn’t represent the hundreds of demonstrators maybe they have a minority view.