Skip to content

In A Democracy, Dissent Is Not Terrorism

In this newsletter, we explore how the Trump administration and state leaders are criminalizing dissent by weaponizing the DOJ, ICE, and other law enforcement tools at their disposal. We highlight some of the more high profile attacks – on George Soros, James Comey, and Letitia James – but also discuss how for every high profile and well-resourced person under a microscope, this administration and those in many states are targeting ordinary Americans who speak their minds, with little regard for their rights or for the truth. 

When we see all the ways that elected leaders are willing to suppress dissent in its many peaceful forms, we have a clear picture of what they value – not democracy, but total loyalty and subservience. 

But the price is too high, and ordinary people are recognizing that. At the end of our newsletter, we also discuss the brave people fighting back, regardless of the potential cost.

Trump and his allies are making false accusations about protesters as a pretext to suppress dissent.
  • On Saturday, over 7 million protestors gathered to peacefully voice their dissent at the second “No Kings” demonstration. 
  • For weeks prior to (and now after) that event, congressional leaders and the administration called the planned protest a “Hate America” rally and a “terrorist” event filled with violent “antifa” and “paid protestors.” 
  • There is no evidence to support these conclusions: these officials are simply trying to discredit the tremendous amount of anger growing at this administration’s policies and discourage Americans from engaging in their First Amendment right to speak out. 
  • But this characterization cannot be viewed in isolation. 
  • By depicting protestors as terrorists paid by the Soros network, the administration is laying the groundwork for investigating its political opponents. 
  • The administration and its allies have already threatened progressive non-profits with criminal prosecution for engaging in work they disagree with, including threatening George Soros,  a liberal philanthropist, with RICO charges. 
  • Now, they are using this intimidation tactic against those who engage in the critical right to protest. 
The administration is also using ICE to squash dissent.
  • The administration has also transformed ICE from an immigration enforcement agency into a secretive, unrestrained, federal police force engaged in a frequently violent clampdown on lawful assembly and speech.
  • ICE is also targeting journalists. Perhaps the most striking case is its attack on Mario Guevara, a Spanish-language reporter and longtime resident with legal status, who was deported just months after covering a No Kings Protest.
    • Mr. Guevara had been in the U.S. with lawful status for decades and is the father of a U.S. citizen. The respected journalist known for documenting ICE abuses became a victim of them when ICE detained him for more than 100 days and then DHS deported him. 
    • DeKalb County police arrested Mr. Guevara at a June No Kings rally for “obstructing law enforcement officers, unlawful assembly,” and jaywalking while livestreaming the protest, but the prosecutor’s office quickly dismissed all charges. Video supports his contention that he was merely standing on the sidewalk with other journalists, clearly identified as “PRESS.” when police took him into custody. Yet ICE proceeded with his deportation based on his arrest and even argued “his livestreaming activity posed a danger to law enforcement activity.”
  • Mr. Guevara’s deportation comes after months of attempts by DHS and ICE to deport student leaders, one for merely writing an op-ed opposed to administration policies on Israel and Palestine. 
The administration is likewise using the DOJ to attack opponents.
States are extending these scare tactics into communities to stifle dissent.

We often say that states are the laboratories for anti-democratic policies and that continues to be the case.

  • Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is using taxpayer dollars to fund an “undercover investigation” into “liberals,” meaning any group opposing the racist, xenophobic, dictatorial policies of Texas. 
  • Texas has also threatened to fire state employees who criticize Charlie Kirk.
  • Just this month, Governor Greg Abbott announced that Art Markman, a 27-year UT Austin professor, was dismissed as senior vice provost for “ideological differences.” He wrote that “Texas is targeting professors who are more focused on pushing leftist ideologies rather than preparing students to lead our nation.”
  • In Tennessee, authorities charged a man with threatening mass violence when he reposted a quote from Trump saying that Americans need to “get over” the murder of students at Perry High School. 
  • Ohio legislators introduced a bill this week, HB 544, that would chill free speech by making it a serious felony to, among other things, warn someone about imminent ICE actions. 
  • In Florida, a senior citizen sent a note to Florida’s Chief Financial Officer stating: “You Lack Values.” A few months later, armed police officers showed up to the senior’s home to conduct a “threat assessment.”
  • And in Missouri, the Secretary of State is not only refusing to count signatures for a ballot measure allowing voters to weigh in on radical redistricting, but he is also threatening criminal charges against those gathering signatures. The use of a technicality to sidestep an abortion rights ballot initiative by Missouri’s prior secretary of state earned a rebuke from the state’s Supreme Court. That has not stopped the current officeholder from trying again, this time with the threat of criminal actions against activists.  

These authoritarian tactics by states are given cover by the outrageous conduct of the federal government, creating a vicious cycle; and they also provide a testing ground for the federal government to follow. They send a clear message that those who disagree with people in power are not safe in the free exercise of their rights. But the good news is:

The people are fighting back and will not be kowtowed.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Follow Wren on BlueSky