“To hear him praise the Montana congressman in the wake of Khashoggi’s killing was just too much, too awful, too soon, and I thought we have to, as a group of journalists, stand up and protest this,” Wheeler told The Washington Post. “Of course, the trouble is working journalists can’t sign a document like this. That’s why it’s mainly people who are retired or teaching in journalism.”…

“One of the pillars of a free and open democracy is a vibrant free press,” the letter said. “At his inauguration the President of the United States swears to protect the U.S. Constitution, including the First Amendment. This President is utterly failing to do so and actively working not simply to undermine the press, but to incite violence against it as well.”

It continued: “We denounce Donald Trump’s behavior as unconstitutional, un-American and utterly unlawful and unseemly for the President of the United States and leader of the free world.”