With British King Charles III addressing a joint session of Congress, U.S. Rep. Michael Rulli, R-Salem, introduced a resolution “condemning the ongoing assault on freedom of speech and expression by officials of the United Kingdom.”

Rulli said Tuesday the resolution came about because among his “guilty pleasures” is “British politics,” and he’s seen a number of British subjects on social media objecting to “assaults on their rights to free speech and freedom of expression.”

Rulli said: “The gall to go to your house because you criticize the national health system. It’s a slippery slope. I’m never living in that country.”

Rulli said the issue isn’t with the king, but with other British officials such as Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Rulli said British authorities arrest more than 12,000 people each year for “speech-related offenses. Is this something the Western Culture modern-day man should put up with? No. They have to do better. You shouldn’t be threatened for questioning your government. This is to say we disapprove and it’s in the record.”

Rulli said his bill is “a very English way to smack someone on the hand without being too offensive.”

Rulli introduced the bill with U.S. Reps. Warren Davidson, an Ohio Republican, and Jefferson Van Drew, a New Jersey Republican, as co-sponsors.

Rulli said: “Our Founding Fathers made clear that the right to speak freely and to criticize one’s government without fear of punishment is a cornerstone of any free society. Yet today, those principles are being chipped away. Prime Minister Starmer’s continued erosion of these values are spiraling the United Kingdom towards a dystopian future.”

The resolution expresses disapproval of Starmer and the Labour Party for its stance on the rights to freedom of speech and expression, “condemns statements and actions by officials of the United Kingdom that seek to extradite American citizens for exercising the rights to freedom of speech guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States,” and “urges the Trump administration to employ all necessary resources, including tariffs, sanctions, revocation of visas and other measures, to hold accountable officials of the United Kingdom who act as though they are above the Constitution of the United States.”

The bill was referred to three House committees.

For Rulli, who is running for reelection this year, it is the latest piece of legislation he’s introduced that seemingly has little to do with his congressional district.

Last month, Rulli introduced legislation to make it a crime, punishable by up to five years in federal prison, for people, after being given a verbal warning not to approach, to be within 25 feet of on-duty federal immigration officers and “harass” them.

Other Rulli proposals introduced in the past year include a resolution to formally censure Democratic Congressman Al Green for a protest during Trump’s State of the Union address, a resolution to designate July 13 as Faith and Defiance Day to honor Trump’s “unshakable courage in the face of life-threatening hatred” during an assassination attempt on that date in 2024, a bill to punish any government that celebrates Indigenous Peoples’ Day instead of Columbus Day, and another bill to redirect an estimated $300 million in federal gambling taxes from the U.S. Treasury to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

None of his bills has been heard by House committees.