The US Has Devolved into Full Authoritarianism

Authoritarianism: a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political status quo, and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and the rule of law.

... given the many, very recent and very public attacks on our rule of law, our national security, and attacks on individuals, provides clear proof that the actions of the trump administration are the very definition of authoritarianism.

This article is presented as the foundation to begin a series of discuss sessions titled, Identifying Immediate Threats and Planning Resistance Response. The first discussion is scheduled for Sunday morning: Identifying Immediate Threats and Planning Resistance Response | NH Forward

I don’t make this statement to be an alarmist. I believe that given the many, very recent and very public attacks on our rule of law, our national security, and attacks on individuals, provides clear proof that the actions of the trump administration are the very definition of authoritarianism.

VIOLATING THE RIGHTS OF THE PEOPLE: Illegal Deportation - Arrests – Detention

What we are witnessing across the country with the ILLEGAL arrest, deportation and detention of hundreds of people living in the US was something we truly thought unimaginable!

• 238 Men Violently Deported with little to no evidence - 238 men that the trump administration “claimed” were Venezuelan gang members (without providing a shred of proof), were deported to el Salvador, in direct violation of ruling by a Federal Court. The men received ZERO Due Process under the law; they were brutally treated in violation of human rights laws; and were turned over to a vicious prison system, which will, most likely, subject them to further human rights abuses. Are they gang members or simply Venezuelan immigrants with tattoos?

• Nashua NH Resident Abducted By ICE – Nashua resident, Fabian Schmidt, was abducted by ICE on March 17 and has been detained since that date, but no charges have yet been filed against him. It is outrageous that he has a court date scheduled for June and is expected to be kept in custody, without being charged??, until that court date. June court date set for Nashua man detained by ICE

• 2 Grad Students Detained for Standing up for Palestine – Mahmoud Khalil, a grad student at Columbia, was arrested by ICE and has been detained since March 9th, his only charge is that he helped organize and participated in protests at Columbia in support of the Palestinian people. ICE arrests Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil | AP News

  
  

  Abduction and Detention of Rumeysa Ozturk - And now, the most recent atrocity, the literal abduction of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Tufts Ph.D. student living in Somerville MA. Rumeysa’s only charge is that she wrote and OpEd piece for the school newspaper speaking out against the violence being perpetrated on the people of Palestine. Here is the chilling video of her abduction which every single American citizen should watch. Pay close attention and listen to the bystander asking the undercover abductors to identify themselves: https://youtu.be/gAl6YqBkhPE?si=rxouHIQ7sIsFXJkS

COMPLETE DISREGARD FOR THE LAW

It is abundantly clear, the law does not apply to trump or his administration. There are now hundreds of instances where trump and his goons don’t just side-step the law, they completely ignore it. As in the case of the deportation to el Salvador in direct violation of a court order. Trump has pardoned hundreds of J6 felons, releasing them back onto our streets. Trump and his administration have hundreds of court cases pending across the entire US as the result of their illegal actions, wrongful firings, corruption, unlawful dismantling of government agencies and so much more! And, what’s their plan to fight all of this? To have his DOJ fire or impeach any judge or court that rules in favor of our Constitution and our established law, if that judgement is not favorable to HIM!

It is painfully obvious that trump and his administration have ZERO intention of abiding by any law, or any court. That leaves us, the American people with absolutely ZERO guardrails.

THE DEMOCRATS ARE NOT FIGHTING HARD ENOUGH – that is my personal feeling, and I know I am far from the only one with this opinion. While Bernie and AOC, Tim Walz and others, are storming the Midwest to convert vulnerable republicans back to AMERICANS, I think the effort from Shaheen and Hassan is weak at best. Their lack of presence and visibility is deafening. I’m not impressed or inspired by the “canned” emails they send out where they tell us what they’ve been up to. In fact, it's become a common joke among NHF members that all we get from them is “We’re using everything in the toolbox…”. And I for one think they have brought marshmallows to a gun fight!

IT'S GOING TO BE UP TO US – I sit here writing this in a state of surrealness. I keep checking my pulse and taking my temperature to see if I am overreacting. But honestly, all I need to do is open any reputable new source, or check in on Facebook or Bluesky to see the onslaught of fresh atrocities. And I’m sure this is true for every one of us who is paying attention. My motto now is, “If you’re not terrified, you’re just not paying attention!”. I also add my voice to those who are declaring that we are not overreacting, in fact we are under reacting. I believe we all need to step up our game. The stakes just could not be any higher.

NO KINGS!!