Protests and Local Government Can Defeat Fascism

They Know This.

Even though violent crime is down in all the cities the Trump administration plans to target, the administration plans to deploy the National Guard in order to test the waters of what would be a new "norm" – to supersede local government – to more efficiently detain, kidnap and deport anyone who doesn't support his racist agenda and quell any opposition through military force. Los Angeles was but a small taste of this, which was a disaster for said administration, in part and thanks to the efforts of its citizens, protesting their presence, who continue to call out ICE for the evil fascists they are. In fact, it sort of backfired, as it gave ICE and its evil a more national presence while also giving hope to other cities being targeted by ICE thugs. It showed that it's okay to call them out. And it's okay to stop them from attempting to kidnap through resistance. It shows that resistance in general is out there. And that people being targeted are not alone. People will protest. People will resist their presence. People will put themselves on the line for those being targeted. They are not alone.

Local government and protestors, the citizens, the people who make up the cities Trump hates and wants to fill with his own military guard, are the true line of defense and the Trump administration's real opposition. They know this. That's why they sent thugs to Gavin Newsom's rally. Intimidation tactics. They want this to be the new norm. They want you to get used to the fact that the current administration can send their thugs or the military, to intimidate, to make those participating in their right to protest afraid so they will stop.

Especially ever since Democratic candidate for mayor of New York Zohran Mamdani's victory earlier in the year, a plan to invade cities Trump considers– to put it mildly, "troublesome" seems to have been brewing in attempts to quell some of that enthusiasm - in order to stop further progressive politics for the sake of gaining power locally. The talk of dismantling the support systems of sanctuary cities has also always been a part of this.

It doesn't help things that he's also trying to rally his supporters over something, over anything in an attempts for them to forget his Epstein problem - even having the American government turn on its citizens– fueled on the blatant racism he ran on. Encouraged by Stephen Miller, a known white nationalist, planned through project 2025, as well as something to something to distract his supporters and help them forget that he was best friends with a monster.

Of course, this plan has been brewing for quite some time, at least since his deployment of National Guard troop in Los Angeles. Trump has also suggested deploying the National Guard in other cities, including New York, Chicago, Baltimore and Oakland. Surprising, a city Trump usually targets, Minneapolis, is not on Trump's - not yet, at least. During the George Floyd protests, after he was murdered by a police officer, Trump went on a tantrum tirade. He became so obsessed to bringing "law and order" to the city of Minneapolis that if asked, he'll claim that it was him that brought in the National Guard, when it was actually Minnesota governor Tim Walz who called them in.

The play that the Trump administration seems to be going for is power through fear and intimidation. Local control of citizens– where the average person still has some power to say something, to do something. The Trump administration wants that gone. Through fear of violence. The mob tactics he has always admired. The same tactics he himself has used in his own business enterprises.

That intimidation starts at the local government level. First it starts with asking of cooperation, and then when there is some push back, the administration will use its propaganda to turn that push back into villainy.

While attempts to restrain the local government continue through said propaganda, those same tactics will be used for those who protest as well, through outlets like Newsmax and Fox News, comparing them to violent mobs, arsonists and looters. Calling them those names as well in attempts to get those who consider those viable news sources to consider those names as fact. Even going as far as kidnapping activists just for the sake of intimidation.

Why go through all this effort on a local level if the Trump administration controls the conversation on a national level? Most of the mainstream outlets have paid him off. These same companies are even canceling projects just because they might upset Trump. We are missing out on art, knowledge, and reminders of protest and of fight against oppression, just because they're afraid of upsetting Trump. The worst part is that some very influential people and organizations, in control of what gets reported and what popular media is offer for consumption, have decided to embrace the Trump administration's fascism rather than fight it.

Wouldn't that be enough though? That amount of control the Trump administration has over the mainstream, wouldn't that be enough to extinguish any general opposition to the monstrous actions he has set out to accomplish? The evils he has planned for the country? For its people?

Believe it or not, the answer to that question is no, especially the way information can get to someone at a national and local level. Social media can be used to influence for the worse. But it can also be used to transmit messaging to those who otherwise wouldn't get the information. What's better, a lot of this information is visual. People can pull out their phones and start filming. They can film the atrocities these freaks are doing to innocent people. They can film the abuse in power, they can film the attempted kidnappings. They can do this live. It's why a lot of these ICE agents wear masks - they don't want to be shamed into stopping their evil. They don't want you to know who you are because they know you can repay them for that evil with shame.

Luckily, there continues to be fight at the local government level as well . DC has already sued and has won in order to block the Trump administration from directly taking over the city's police department, though the administration remains in overall control. Any win to maintain as much control on a local level should be considered so.

But where are the democratic leadership at the national level backing up those at the local level? Trump has his allies in his effort, but where are the Democratic leaders in all this? It seems they are still trying to come up with the right messaging. Even though crime is down, polling suggests that people seem to think otherwise. Democrats, it seems, don't want to seem soft on crime and would rather focus on getting the messaging straight rather than realize the risk of state and local government losing its ability to govern its own cities.

Chuck Schumer, rather than take any real action or offer any real insight seems to think that the takeover of a city is just "a distraction". Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat called it " a phony, manufactured crisis." The government takeover of any city through use of military force should not be shrugged off. Those we elected at a national level, to do some of this push back for us, can't even get their messaging straight. If not careful, while playing softball politics, they'll lose the power they do have, through lack of action or even through violent means.

To give some credit, governors such as Wes Moore of Maryland along with other elected officials through joint statement as well as Gavin Newsom, replied with words of opposition.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called Trump's move "unsettling and unprecedented" through press conference. Mayor Brandon Johnson of Chicago, through statement, called Trump's claims "misinformation". Even Mamdani offered the following statement:

"Donald Trump does not respond well to cowardice. He requires a response that showcases the ability to fight back against that same agenda, and that’s what I would do if and when he makes these kinds of threats with regard to New York City.”

Local Push Back is Important

During a recent ICE raid at a Home Depot, a day laborer, a man, named Montoya Valdez just trying to earn a living to support himself, to support his family, fled from ICE agents, fled for his life onto the 210 freeway. He was killed after being struck by an SUV.

The Department of Homeland Security, through a statement, said he was not being pursued. But as NBC Los Angeles reports, through another person who also fled, because ICE generates a fear, because people don't know, no matter their status, they wont know where they will end up. The blame should be on ICE and their tactics. Just ask yourself: why would someone who just wanted to provide through hard, honest work, why would they risk it all trying to get away? Why would they put themselves in a dangerous situation like that? Maybe someone who feared being kidnapped, who might have been forced to go to a country they have never been before, where they might not even speak the language, or a gulag in a strange land, or a concentration camp in the middle of swamp- maybe someone would risk themselves to escape that potential threat. This is a fear being utilized by Trump and his fascist organization.

Local government, local organization – communities willing to help each other, willing to stick together, no matter the background are the key to defeating fascism. It's the key to preventing needless death like Montoya's. Through information, both in gathering and making it available. Through creating communities that can be a source for that information, as well as creating opposition through numbers.

We've seen this in action in Los Angeles, and we are seeing it in D.C. through protest, through the average person being defiant for the sake of protecting those that need it. People recognize the need for that protection. Provide that service if and when you can. That's the key to defeating fascism. Any sort of resistance, organized or otherwise is the key to defeating fascism, no matter how small the action, people will recognize the fight.