Ivan Luevanos-Elms and Sarah Johnson: This Is What Authoritarian Intimidation Looks Like
By Ivan Luevanos-Elms and Sarah Johnson
During the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump said he would be an authoritarian on his first day in office. More than 100 days in, he has flexed his dictatorial muscles nonstop to coerce compliance with his ideological mission. From his assault on immigrant communities and campaign against civil rights to his obsessions with ending diversity, equity, and inclusion, this presidency has been laser-focused on undoing the progress our nation has built since the Great Society. But in addition to targeting immigrants, seniors, and federal workers, Trump is now targeting local elected officials in an effort to force compliance with his agenda. Trump, and those around him, know the limits of his office and, learning from his previous term, is attempting to bully, intimidate, and coerce local elected officials into submission.
Donald Trump knows that to execute on his vision, he needs the compliance of local officials. He needs mayors to greenlight his executive overreach to disappear our neighbors into domestic black sites, he needs obedient judges to affirm his illegal executive orders, and he needs local district attorneys to issue sentences that reward his allies and punish his enemies. His authoritarian vision for this country only works if the people at every level of government opt for acquiescence over resistance.
In the past month, members of our organizations have come under direct threat from the federal government for simply doing their jobs. In Newark, Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested by federal authorities for trying to conduct a visit to an ICE facility in the city he represents. In Minneapolis, Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty received a letter that she was the subject of a Department of Justice investigation for handing down sentencing guidelines well within her legal rights. Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan is facing federal charges for allegedly helping an undocumented man evade arrest. Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell was also threatened with a federal investigation because he dared to seek information about a recent ICE action that led to nearly 100 Nashville residents being arrested. And just this past week, the DOJ announced unprecedented criminal charges against Representative LaMonica McIver for trying to carry out the oversight functions of her job as a member of Congress.
In each of these instances, elected officials have found themselves in the crosshairs of President Trump and his goon squads just for doing their jobs. These actions are creating an environment of fear for thousands of local officials across the country and bring into question whether they can actually do their jobs without the threat of a federal subpoena.
But while the president’s actions have escalated in the past month, these sorts of threats are part of a longstanding playbook by the far-right. Our organizations have already seen what happens on the local and state levels when authoritarian executives have threatened local officials into submission. In Florida, local officials and prosecutors have been removed from their posts by Governor Ron DeSantis for daring to oppose his agenda. State legislators in Montana, Oklahoma, and Tennessee have been censured, and in some cases even expelled, for exercising their right to voice opposition. This is a tried and true playbook that has silenced dissent across the country – and now Trump is trying to nationalize it
Despite these threats, we continue to see incredible courage from elected leaders. Since January, we have seen dozens of states and localities take action to protect immigrants, stand up for the Queer community, and support diversity measures. In Philadelphia, local leaders passed groundbreaking legislation to expand legal protections for domestic workers, including protection from employers threatening retaliation against workers based on their immigration status. In Alameda County California, the Board of Supervisors formed a committee to secure protections for Queer community members whose civil rights and safety have been impacted by Trump’s assault on LGBTQ Americans. In Washington state, King County officials have led a lawsuit to push back against federal funding cuts as a result of local commitments to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Across the country and in the face of growing threats, our members are standing strong for their communities.
The Tuesday after his arrest, Mayor Ras Baraka and immigrant leaders went back to Delaney Hall. Just the day before the arrest of Judge Dugan, Milwaukee County Board Members passed a resolution firmly opposing ICE operations within the courthouse. As the federal government escalates by threatening to arrest Members of Congress, we are seeing hundreds of elected officials at all levels stand in solidarity with each other. California elected officials said it best in a video they released last week, “If you come for one of us, you come for all of us. We won’t back down.” In each of these instances of federal intimidation, elected officials – alongside powerful organizers and supporters in their communities – have responded with courage. We need dozens and hundreds more to follow their lead.
These local elected leaders are on the frontlines of democracy. They are the people who ensure the trash is picked up, misdemeanors are charged, and public money is spent on our community’s priorities. Americans voted for them to be our representatives and to carry out our vision of America. They are an essential part of the fabric of our society, and if we don’t stand by them, the integrity of our communities is at risk. If they can be bullied into submission by this president, there is nothing to stop him from steamrolling every part of civil society into compliance. The more we all give in to the fear, the easier complacency becomes, and the actions of this presidency become normalized.
When Trump and his lackeys attack elected officials, they are attacking us and our chosen representatives. Disenfranchisement doesn’t just happen at the ballot box. That’s why we all need to stand with elected officials against this unprecedented overreach by the Trump administration. Our right to choose those who represent us is at stake.
Ivan Luevanos-Elms is the Executive Director of Local Progress, and Sarah Johnson is the Deputy National Director, State Power for Working Families Party.
