Washington, D.C. — As the Trump administration continues to abuse government power and undermine the rule of law, a new report from the Center for American Progress shows how Americans can fight back through protest and nonviolent resistance.
The report also reviews past instances of the U.S. government’s suppression of protest, highlighting how such actions led to the suppression of free speech and were used to support horrific attacks against marginalized communities.
“The United States is at a crossroads: Will it reverse course and once again strengthen its democracy or slip further toward a more autocratic and repressive form of government?” said Sydney Bryant, a policy analyst at CAP and author of the report. “It is the continued peaceful resistance of Americans that will turn the tide against democratic backsliding.”
The report recounts how President Donald Trump has targeted political opponents with investigations and attempted indictments, deployed the military and federal agents in American cities, fanned tensions between communities, and encouraged state violence against protestors.
The Trump administration has also cracked down on dissent through aggressive politically motivated prosecutions and intimidation tactics, echoing the political repression of the darkest moments of American history.
The report argues that Americans from every part of society can confront these tactics. Citizens can make their voices heard through protest and voting. Judges can protect the First Amendment right to protest instead of bowing to the wants of a despotic executive. Members of the military and federal officers can abide by the Uniform Code of Military Justice, which mandates disobeying illegal orders, especially those that are unconstitutional. And members of Congress from both sides of the aisle must remember their oath to the Constitution and use every tool at their disposal to rein in the executive branch’s abuses of civil liberties.
Read the report: “Protecting Constitutional Freedoms of Speech and Assembly During the Second Trump Administration” by Sydney Bryant
For more information, or to talk to an expert, please contact Sam Hananel at [email protected]