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Trump is Testing His Police State

From deploying thousands of troops against peaceful protesters to seizing control of local police departments, President Trump has chaotically, but methodically, gone after our country’s democratic institutions one by one since taking office. His takeover of Washington, D.C., after storming the streets of Los Angeles earlier this year, reveals a calculated and sinister plan to normalize federal takeovers of American cities.

Trump is no stranger to lies, and he manufactures crises to justify authoritarian overreach. In L.A., we saw him use immigration enforcement as cover for his campaign of terror. In D.C., he is claiming a public safety “emergency” despite crime being at a 30-year low. His true agenda rings clear – testing the limits of what he can get away with until someone stops him.

We have written about Trump’s use of military force to stamp out dissent. Trump’s dangerous actions in Los Angeles were only the beginning, as tanks roll through Washington, D.C., and he is now threatening takeovers of New York City, Baltimore, and Oakland. Trump’s racism is on full display here. As Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said, it’s “notable that each and every one of the cities called out by the President has a Black mayor, and most of those cities are seeing historic lows in violent crime.”

Below, we provide background information on Trump’s ramping up of his police state as well as suggestions on how to talk about this escalation of force and ways people are fighting back.

Los Angeles Was Trump’s Testing Ground For A Police State
  • Earlier this year, Los Angeles experienced a military takeover by Trump.
  • In L.A., Trump manufactured an “emergency,” perpetuated by various right-wing talk shows and social media posts. He said that the city’s peaceful and righteous protests against ICE kidnapping neighbors were a lawless destruction of the city.
  • Trump deployed 5,000 National Guard troops to L.A., against the will of city and State leaders, and the courts failed to act as a backstop to this fascist display. In fact, the Ninth Circuit took Trump’s assertion that these protests were dangerous at face value.
  • It was clear then, as is painfully evident now, that Trump’s real purpose of the L.A. takeover was to test federal military deployment against protests and civil unrest. Trump wanted to scare immigrant communities and those standing up for their rights.
  • His actions in L.A. set a precedent for using “emergency” powers to override local authority.
Trump’s Takeover of D.C. Will Not Keep D.C. Residents Safe
  • D.C.’s status as a federal district makes it more susceptible to Trump’s interference than other cities, since Congress can override local decisions made by D.C.’s elected officials under the Home Rule Act.
  • Trump’s takeover of local police and use of the National Guard is all about optics and has nothing to do with reducing crime.
  • Trump is specifically targeting D.C.’s unhoused population, which is disproportionately Black – weaponizing law enforcement against communities of color while criminalizing poverty.
  • Trump has manufactured yet another crisis to distract from his tanking of the economy and the Epstein files – there are only 800 unsheltered people in a city of 700,000, and the way to help house those folks is certainly not by throwing them in jail, but to provide access to social services and housing.
  • Trump’s move is an unprecedented power grab, and this is the first ever use of the Home Rule Act to federalize local police.
  • Public safety requires community trust, not federal militarization.
Crime Data Destroys Trump’s Narrative
This is Testing a Police State
  • In the short term, the imposition of martial law in D.C may help Trump distract people from the Epstein scandal and poor job data, but the long-term goal is far more sinister.
  • History teaches us that authoritarians have deployed the military against citizens to maintain a climate of fear, suppress political opponents, and quiet dissent.
  • These deployments are justified under the guise of crime prevention, but are really meant to play on people’s fears about safety, especially privileged groups who are not exposed to crime but imagine it at their door.
  • Trump has already used troops to suppress non-violent protests and patrol cities with significant numbers of black and brown people (Trump’s favorite bogeyman).
  • Reports indicate that Trump is planning a military “rapid reaction” force to police “civil unrest”, a term broad enough to include any form of dissent, no matter how peaceful.
  • The acquiescence of the Courts and Congress to Trump has allowed him to flagrantly violate the Constitution without consequence.
  • Trump is already deploying our military to go after our neighbors. What’s stopping him from sending soldiers to voting sites in blue areas? Or to universities that refuse to surrender to his demands? Or to shut down newspapers that criticize him?
  • Again, we have seen this movie before. Mussolini, Hitler, and many other dictators employed the military under the guise of national security to crush opponents and manufactured enemies.

We Must Fight Back

We are witnessing an unprecedented executive power grab that threatens to undo what remains of our democratic institutions. But all is not lost:

  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has declared that Senate Democrats will deny any requests from Trump to extend federal control of D.C., as is required after 30 days.
  • Support D.C. Organizations involved in violence prevention. The Public Welfare Foundation put together a list of vital organizations that “support adult and youth criminal justice policy, understand the data around crime, and guard against rhetoric that vilifies youth.”
  • We must not normalize this. Continue to speak out about this terrifying power grab.