“Judge Young’s ruling comes at what might be an inflection point in the fight against authoritarianism and the fight for Palestinian rights, showing just how inextricably bound together those two fights are.” jacobin.com/2025/10/pale...

Calling all lawyers! Nonprofits under attack need your help NOW. Volunteer with the Nonprofit Legal Defense Network to provide FREE legal support through risk assessment clinics. Help movement orgs identify gaps before the government finds them. Sign up ➡️

By withdrawing from global human rights standards, the U.S. is continuing a much longer trajectory of avoiding scrutiny and accountability by the international community. Not only that, authoritarians around the world are also taking note so they can do the same.

MMA instructors watching for ICE at school drop-off. Whistles with codes. Cyclists following ICE vehicles. Volunteers delivering groceries to families too afraid to leave home. Real safety is solidarity against ICE’s terrorization of communities. www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...

Brazil faced a coup attempt in 2023, similar to Jan 6. But their judicial response was swift. Bolsonaro: 27+ years for election interference & conspiracy to undermine democracy. What can U.S. democracy defenders learn from Brazil? Learn about it here: substack.com/home/post/p-...

The U.S. refused to participate in the UN review of its human rights record. The 1st country to do so. The withdrawal gives cover to authoritarians worldwide & sends a message: no one can hold the U.S. accountable. Rejecting scrutiny is rejecting democracy. www.movementlawlab.org/blog/a-mll-m...

Chicago, Portland, DC, Memphis, LA, Bay Area: communities are organizing resistance to National Guard deployments. Get our National Guard resource and community primer. More deployments expected. NOW is the time to connect with local orgs. static1.squarespace.com/static/6421f...

Our first Resistance Docket is out. Get resources, analysis, and opportunities to resist authoritarianism. Subscribe to Movement Law Lab’s newsletter. Sign up to receive it here: www.movementlawlab.org/email-sign-up

They were sleeping, driving, walking in Memphis. Then Trump’s police task force came. Read the latest from 👇 @wendicthomas.bsky.social @kathsburgess.bsky.social @propublica.org mlk50.com/2025/11/03/t...

7 million people, the largest single-day protest in American history. This isn’t “anti-American” dissent. Protesters reclaimed patriotism from authoritarians who think it means loyalty to a king. This is the people power the law should defend. jacobin.com/2025/10/trum...

NEW: A federal court temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard in Oregon, ruling that the president's actions violated federal law and the Constitution. A permanent block is expected to be issued this week.

📽️ WATCH: The U.S. government doesn’t track how often immigration agents detain citizens. So ProPublica did. We found more than 170 incidents since the start of Trump’s second term. Americans have been kicked, dragged and held for days without access to lawyers. ➡️ Full story: propub.li/3LjuAVS

In just a few weeks, we're joining a delegation of movement lawyers and movement organizers at the People's Summit, along with @terradedireitos.bsky.social. Communities should be at the forefront of shaping climate change and environmental policy, not corporations. #COP30

Censorship of political speech (including revoking visas) chills dissent everywhere and is a key element of the authoritarian playbook– and we need to recognize it as such. theintercept.com/2025/10/15/s...

In remarks to a private audience in 2023, Russell Vought, who is Trump’s budget chief and the intellectual force behind Trump’s unprecedented power grab, said he championed the term “invasion” because it “unlocked” extraordinary presidential powers. (Published May) By @mtredden.bsky.social

Operation Midway Blitz terrorizes families, but ICE raids are met by rapid response & neighbor defense: from whistles & photos to resistance. Safety comes from networks of care. Active organizers send a mesage: ICE isn’t welcome & collective power is our protection! inthesetimes.com/article/ice-...

ICE expands surveillance to control activists & immigrants, deploys new technology for “security”. Organizers build collective defense, educate communities, & advocate for rights. Power is growing through the networks that protect our communities from intrusive control. www.msn.com/en-us/techno...

Authoritarians fear art because it inspires & mobilizes. Creatives lead resistance, energize movements & fuel hope for collective liberation. Art is more than expression. It’s infrastructure for change. It helps movements break barriers & reimagine futures. www.theartnewspaper.com/2025/10/16/a...

Law can be twisted into a weapon. The Trump admin has used it to target dissent, pardon insurrectionists, and criminalize protest. This is the authoritarian playbook, but organizers challenge the system by pushing for justice beyond courtrooms. www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

They "have been dragged, tackled, beaten, tased and shot by immigration agents. They’ve had their necks kneeled on. They’ve been held outside in the rain while in their underwear. At least three citizens were pregnant when agents detained them. One of those women had the door of her home blown off."

“If the officers learn that the individual they stopped is a U.S. citizen or otherwise lawfully in the United States, they promptly let the individual go.” -Justice Brett Kavanaugh The reality: 1/

ICE detained 170+ U.S. citizens this year. This is an abuse fueled by unchecked power. Safety & dignity depend on collective defense. www.propublica.org/article/immi...

America moves toward unchecked executive power & weakened institutions. Resistance happens not in policy alone, but in daily acts by communities who organize, educate, & mobilize. Democracy survives through people power. Let’s build it. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

This was a really great discussion. Things are quite bad for reporters, protesters and the First Amendment. But newsrooms and civil society can develop defensive tools and plans to fight attacks on expression. Watch for more ⬇️

1/ Brazil faced a coup attempt in 2023 after its presidential election. It was strikingly similar to the Jan 6 attack in the U.S. But Brazil’s swift judicial response contrasts sharply with the U.S. experience. Here’s why it matters. 👇 movementlawlab.substack.com/p/what-democ...

From Gaza to the U.S., protestors face bans & repression, but every effort to silence outrage has sparked louder solidarity. Organizers lift up truth, demand justice for Palestine, & show resistance is stronger than fear. When communities unite, power shifts! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...

America moves toward unchecked executive power & weakened institutions. Resistance happens not in policy alone, but in daily acts by communities who organize, educate, & mobilize. Democracy survives through people power, let’s build it. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

As fed power tries to turn Chicago into a war zone, community defenders, rapid response teams, & city leaders build sanctuary & share Know Your Rights. Chicago proves safety is solidarity. Neighbors protect neighbors, refuse to be divided, and plant seeds for change. jacobin.com/2025/10/chic...

More people have died this year in immigration detention than any other year in decades. The best way to prevent abuse and deaths in ICE custody is for Congress to stop funding the ICE detention machine.

BREAKING: In a 26-20 vote, the North Carolina Senate passes a Trump-approved congressional gerrymander that aims to dismantle one of the state’s Black Democratic seats. The House redistricting committee is set to take up the measure this afternoon.

A Tarrant County resident who has worked as an election judge criticized the county’s move to cut more than 100 polling sites. “You’re not saving money,” she said. “You’re sacrificing democracy to save a buck.” With @fortworthreport.bsky.social @texastribune.org

Over 50 bar associations signed onto a joint statement w/the ABA. They rejected attempts to punish firms for who they represent or judges for how they rule. Their refusal to let the Trump regime remake the legal profession into a tool for the powerful is a wakeup call for the entire legal sector.

Chicago’s mayor created “ICE-free zones” in city-owned spaces to push back on federal overreach. Let this serve as an example of how we can organize our local elected officials to protect and defend their constituents. time.com/7323667/chic... #MovementLawyering #Democracy #NationalGuard

1/ Trump is deploying National Guard troops to Oregon, Chicago, Memphis, and D.C. under the banner of “public safety.” Let’s call it what it is: authoritarian control disguised as law enforcement.

1/ A federal judge blocked Trump’s attempt to deploy National Guard troops to Oregon and Illinois. Governors call it what it is: a federal invasion.

“We’re not going to leave any space to ICE. We fill spaces of fear with strength.” - Organizer Cristóbal Cavazos.

Trump recently raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act after several courts stymied his National Guard deployment efforts. But with some courts enabling the president’s federalization of troops, what could come next? https://bit.ly/3KHchcR

The Regime's goal is to grind everyone down. Plain & simple. Our goal is to refuse this by taking turns to fight where and how we can. When one group needs to bow out, then another group needs to step in and so on. We don't all have to do everything. We can all do something though. Stay in the fight

1/ A federal judge ruled that ICE violated a consent decree and the Fourth Amendment when agents arrested 22 people without warrants.

A federal judge ruled that Trump officials unconstitutionally targeted pro-Palestinian students for deportation to silence dissent. This is what authoritarianism looks like. www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-t...

1/ In a new twist, the US govt is framing political protest as a “hate crime.” The DOJ is now suing protesters using a law originally intended to stop blockades at abortion clinics.

“Individuals are allowed to protest.They are allowed to speak. That is guaranteed by the First Amendment of our constitution, and it is a bedrock right that upholds our democracy.” -U.S. District Judge Ellis

Next week, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could determine the future of the Voting Rights Act. At stake in Louisiana v. Callais is Black voters’ ability to elect their candidates of choice in Louisiana, and all voters' ability to challenge racially discriminatory maps.

“Civil society strengthens and protects democracy, and true democracy is impossible without it.” Authoritarians know this, which is why they attack independent nonprofits and advocacy groups first.

Portland, Memphis, and other cities don’t need occupation, they need opportunity. Federal crackdowns bring intimidation, not safety. Real security comes from jobs, schools, & healthcare, not troops in the streets. #Memphis #Portland #Chicago #DC apnews.com/article/port...

What he said 👉 “It’s illegal, unconstitutional. It’s dangerous. It’s wrong. This is not about deportation, this is not about safety for this president, this is about authoritarianism.” -Chicago Mayor

Monstrous. "federal agents detained nearly every resident of the 130-unit building—including children and babies—placing them in zip ties and separating them by race into vans for more than two hours early Tuesday morning."

"A war from within" ???? The President of the United States is openly talking about waging war against US cities because he doesn't like their mayors and governors. This is how a dictator talks.

From Hungary to Argentina to the U.S., authoritarians share some common tactics: criminalize protest, weaken institutions, and scapegoat the vulnerable.Lawyers and movements must connect across borders to stop the drift. convergencemag.com/articles/wha...

Armed federal agents in Chicago. National Guard deployments in Portland and Memphis. These are not public safety measures, they are intimidation tactics. Lawyers & communities, you need to know your rights. Here’s a resource on how you can prepare: www.movementlawlab.org/nationalguard