BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT
This week, Republican leaders equated peaceful No Kings protesters with “antifa” and “terrorists.” The rhetoric is bad enough. But in light of the Trump administration’s efforts to ramp up investigations into progressive groups under the false guise of terrorism, the words carry more worrisome weight than usual.
WHAT HAPPENED
House Speaker Mike Johnson called this coming Saturday’s No Kings protest a “hate-America rally” that would draw “the pro-Hamas wing” and “the antifa people.” He was quickly echoed by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who described it as “the terrorist wing of the Democratic Party,” and Senator Roger Marshall, who demanded that the National Guard be deployed in response. Trump Cabinet member Sean Duffy piled on, adding conclusively: “This is part of antifa.”
These casual insults are cowardly attacks on free speech. And in light of recent events, the coordinated messaging is potentially more sinister, since the words of GOP leaders could be rhetorical precursors to state action.
TREASON was among the first publications to report that Trump’s latest national security directive (NSPM-7), issued in September, provided sweeping authorization to federal agencies to prioritize probing any individuals or groups that “directly or indirectly” support domestic terrorist organizations. The same week, the administration designated antifa as such an “organization” — a move that, while technically meaningless (only Congress can criminalize domestic terrorism), carries political, investigatory, and legal consequences.
By linking No Kings protesters to antifa, GOP officials are effectively calling law-abiding Americans potential terror suspects. Again, this is absurd on its face, but the people in power in the White House, Justice Department, and Department of Homeland Security have been huddling on how these terrorist “designations” can be used to pursue surveillance, investigations, and harassment against opposition groups under the cover of counterterrorism.
WHAT IT MEANS
I discussed this on MSNBC (video above) with the incredible Mary McCord, former Acting Assistant Attorney General, who rightly implied that courts and juries would likely view such cases with deep skepticism. NSPM-7 is a constitutional mess, after all, and doesn’t confer any new surveillance or investigative powers on the Trump administration.
But the Trump administration doesn’t need new authorities or counterterrorism laws. It’s already powerful enough. All it needs are directives like NSPM-7 to prioritize investigations into its rivals and opposition groups in order to make their lives miserable. Indeed, many Trump officials don’t care whether actual prosecutions are successful; in their eyes, the process itself is the punishment. Unfortunately, they are right.
Ask James Comey. Ask Letitia James. Ask John Bolton. Ask the dozens of employees and contractors whose livelihoods were destroyed after Trump ordered an investigation into me, causing my business to fall apart and costing those people their paychecks and financial stability.
If the Trump administration actually tried to prosecute me for treason in a court of law, I’m confident a judge would cough up her lunch with laughter and send DOJ lawyers scurrying out of the courtroom chasing after their incinerated legal careers. But they don’t need to indict me for treason. The court of public opinion — and the resulting social fear — was already impactful enough.
When the government’s power is weaponized to destroy lives, the damage is already done before the issue ever reaches a federal court. This is where the Trump team is thinking in crueler, savvier, and more systematic ways than the opposition. They want to do what they did to me on a much larger scale, including against progressive leaders, pro-democracy funders, protest groups, nonprofits, and beyond.
That’s why it’s more important than ever that we stick together. I worked with these people. I know how they think. They are not simply engaging in political theater. They are building the case for repression by drafting the talking points that will justify the next wave of raids, audits, and investigations. But if we continue to act collectively — and show up en masse — it will deprive them of their argument that we are some radical fringe. We are the mainstream.
WHAT’S NEXT
The danger of authoritarianism is that it cloaks repression in law and order. So let me be crystal clear: equating protest with terrorism is not law and order. Frankly, it’s the death knell of both.
Which brings us to Saturday.
Protesting at No Kings rallies is not an act of violent extremism. If anything, these rallies are the antidote to it. They represent the most patriotic act possible in this very moment. Citizens are asserting their constitutional rights against a government that will strip them away if it gets the chance.
This is the very reason you must protest. We cannot let their saber rattling scare us from taking to the streets peacefully. In fact, any regime that equates lawful speech with terrorism deserves to be protested twice as loud and twice as often.
So on Saturday, we shall.
P.S. WHAT’S HAPPENING ON TREASON
Here’s what’s coming up.
TODAY / Weds, Oct 15 (12noon ET) - Subscribers Only - Weekly Wednesday Coffee - Bring a cup of Joe. Bring your questions for a chance to win a signed book. We’ll do another round of Q&A about what’s going on here in DC. You can join here.
TODAY / Weds, Oct 15 (5p ET) - Ryan Lizza drains the swamp - Leading Washington journalist (CNN, Politico, Telos News) Ryan Lizza joins me on Substack LIVE to take stock of the administration’s revenge campaign, nine months in. You can join here.
In Case You Missed It / Yesterday - Tara Setmayer cut through the noise - Former Lincoln Project senior advisor and long-time GOP strategist (now ex-GOP) Tara Setmayer sat down with me on Substack LIVE. You can catch the replay here.
