A former Republican congressman came under fire Friday after he compared the death of a prominent Vladimir Putin critic to the many criminal accusations made against former president Donald Trump.

Lee Zeldin took to X, formerly Twitter, on Friday to make a post meant as a tribute to Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, who died in a Russian jail while serving a 19-year sentence on extremism charges.

Zeldin, who served New York from 2015 to 2023 before running a failed gubernatorial campaign, decided to mourn Navalny by comparing his situation to Trump’s current legal problems:

“As the world reflects on the murder of Alexei Navalny at the hands of Putin, it’s worth remembering that Democrats are actively doing Biden’s bidding as they also try to imprison his chief political opponent, Donald Trump, remove him from the ballot, and ensure he dies in prison.”

Considering that Navalny was a political prisoner fighting for democracy and Trump attempted to stop a peaceful transfer of power, many people on social media were shocked by Zeldin’s post.

And many people didn’t mince words, including former Republican congressman Joe Walsh.

Others piled on Zeldin.

Zeldin eventually responded to one post critical of him and claimed that President Joe Biden “and his loyalists” are trying to deny Americans the right to choose who they want in the White House.

He added, mocking language from liberal group Meidas Touch: “These extremist Democrats have no bottom. How shameful. How disgusting.”