Trump Can Threaten Us All He Wants. We Will Not Be Silenced.
Yesterday, Donald Trump escalated his assault on political opposition and free speech.
In a new memo to the Department of Justice, Trump suggested that any group that opposes ICE could be treated as a terrorist organization and “investigated and disrupted.”
Think about what that means: If you raise your voice against ICE raids. If you demand accountability for the abuses they inflict on people living in this country under the protection of the Constitution. If you stand with immigrant families in your own community.
Trump could brand you a terrorist.
This is the language of authoritarianism. This is another step toward fascism. It is the tactic of regimes that cannot win the argument, so they try to outlaw the opposition.
Trump wants to be clear that dissent will not be tolerated. Speak out, and you could face the most extreme punishments our government can impose.
That’s a chilling threat. We’ve seen it work on law firms, universities, and media companies. But it won’t work on us.
Trump and his allies know they cannot win if Americans continue to resist and oppose them. They know they cannot maintain power unless they frighten people into silence. Fear is the foundation of authoritarian power.
That is why they escalate their rhetoric. That is why they want to criminalize opposition. That is why they want to equate peaceful, lawful, constitutional resistance with terrorism.
We have an answer for the President.
The Save America Movement will not back down. We will not be intimidated. And we will not stop documenting ICE activities in Los Angeles and across the country. Every raid, every abuse, every violation of the Constitution will be exposed — and those who perpetrate them will be held accountable under the law.
The First Amendment is both our sword and our shield. Nonviolent resistance is our strategy. And truth is our weapon.
Trump and his allies can call us whatever names they want. They can threaten us. They can try to come after us. But we will not be silenced.
This movement will continue to non-violently resist in the streets, in the courts, and in the public square, because democracy itself depends on it.
We are here. We are loud. And we are not going anywhere.
Trump can threaten us all he wants. We will not be silent. His intimidation is the language of fear, but we answer with courage, solidarity, and truth. Democracy depends on voices that refuse to be silenced and ours will only grow louder.
Not going anywhere.
When my Yankee grandfather, WWI Purple Heart recipient, was being walked into the back of an ambulance in his later years, the attended warned that he would have to bow his head to get inside.
My grandfather shouted back at the terrified young man, bow my head?! Bow my head?!! I don’t bow my head and never will.
I suppose he bent his knees.