“A standing military force, with an overgrown Executive will not long be safe companions to liberty.”—James MadisonThe Rutherford InstitutionJohn & Nisha WhiteheadMay 06, 2025We are being frog-marched into tyranny at the end of a loaded gun. Or rather, hundreds of thousands of loaded guns.Let’s not mince words: President Trump’s April 28 executive order is the oldest trick in the authoritarian playbook: martial law masquerading as law and order.Officially titled “Strengthening and Unleashing America’s Law Enforcement to Pursue Criminals and Protect Innocent Citizens,” this order is a “heil Hitler” wrapped in the goosestepping, despotic trappings of national security.Don’t be fooled by Trump’s tough-on-crime rhetoric, cloaked in patriotic language and the promise of safety.This is the language of every strongman who’s ever ruled by force.The White House claims the order will “empower state and local law enforcement to relentlessly pursue criminals and protect American communities.” But under this administration, “criminal” increasingly includes anyone who dares to exercise their constitutional rights.The order doesn’t merely expand policing—it institutionalizes repression.It sets us squarely on the road to martial law.
So lets stop for a minute and think about...
- Trump & Company on their first day, they fired Admiral Fagan. Then one after another the generals and admirals were let go. General Charles Q. Brown Jr.: Fired as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Lisa Franchetti: Dismissed as Chief of Naval Operations, General James Slife: Removed from his position as Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Judge Advocates General (JAGs): The top military lawyers for the Army, Navy, and Air Force were also dismissed.
- They were replaced with Trump loyalist.
- Purging trans servicemembers from the military.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth opposes women in combat roles.
The Army Times writes that,
In the two months since President Donald Trump returned to the White House, his administration has cleared the military of most of its top female ranking officers, disappointing many women veterans and active-duty personnel.Trump touted plans during his campaign to flush out military leadership. And following a series of high-profile departures in recent weeks, the U.S. military was without a single woman in a four-star general or admiral leadership position.The president’s actions have since raised serious questions from women veterans and service members about whether his administration’s trademark campaign on abolishing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives played a role. In addition, some troops have begun to express concern about whether the firings could signal a growing vacuum of support for its female officers.
[...]After she was fired, Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran and Purple Heart recipient, wrote on her X account that Fagan was “more qualified to serve in her role than Pete Hegseth is to be Defense Secretary.” She added that “Trump would rather appear ‘anti-woke’ than keep our military strong.”
The Rutherford Institution article goes on to report,
The order doesn’t merely expand policing—it institutionalizes repression.It sets us squarely on the road to martial law.If allowed to stand, Trump’s executive order completes our shift from a nation of laws—where even the least among us had the right to due process—to a nation of enforcers: vigilantes with badges who treat “we the people” as suspects and subordinates.Without invoking the Insurrection Act or deploying active-duty military forces, Trump has accelerated the transformation of domestic police into his own paramilitary force.With the stroke of his presidential pen, he has laid the groundwork for a stealth version of martial law by:Expanding police powers and legal protections;
- Authorizing the DOJ to defend officers accused of civil rights violations;
- Increasing the transfer of military equipment to local police;
- Shielding law enforcement from judicial oversight;
- Prioritizing law enforcement protection over civil liberties;
- Embedding DHS and federal agents more deeply into local policing.
Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has moved systematically to dismantle what little accountability remains:
- Terminating the National Law Enforcement Accountability Database;
- Halting DOJ investigations into abusive police departments;
- Expanding immigration enforcement while eliminating oversight;
- Dismissing internal watchdogs at DOJ and DHS;
- Weakening civil rights tools and body camera requirements;
- Suspending or eliminating consent decrees nationwide.
All of this has occurred without congressional debate, judicial review, or constitutional scrutiny.
Couple all this with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth who has articulated a vision for the U.S. military that intertwines religious identity, particularly a conservative Christian worldview, with national defense. Freedom From Religion Foundation reports...
Fox News host Peter Hegseth, President-elect Trump’s shocking choice to head the Department of Defense, has no experience as a lawmaker or in defense policy and the Senate must not approve him.Hegseth has immersed himself in a culture of right-wing Christianity and political extremism. The Department of Defense is tasked with protecting our nation, upholding the Constitution, and preserving all Americans’ rights — regardless of religious belief or lack thereof. But if Hegseth were to be helming the Pentagon, we could see it weaponized for his Christian crusade.Hegseth has been associated with multiple prominent Christian nationalists, including Doug Wilson, who has set up a Christian nationalist community in Moscow, Idaho, and Joshua Haymes, who believes that surrogacy should be banned and that abortion and gender-affirming care should be punishable by death.Hegseth has at least two controversial tattoos raising concerns, including the Jerusalem Cross (Crusaders’ Cross) on his chest, which reportedly prevented him from being part of the security detail for President Biden’s inauguration. A fellow National Guard member said Hegseth’s “Deus vult” tattoo raised alarms about his motivations. “Deus vult” translates to “God wills it,” and Thomas Lecaque, a historian focusing on religion and political violence, describes the phrase as “a First Crusade battle cry … There is no other way you can interpret this. This is not some warm and fuzzy ‘we should, you know, pray and do acts of service’ — this is a call to religious violence.”
I don't know about you, but I am very concerned where we as a nation is heading!
As you are reading this, I'm on a Zoom meeting for the legislative LGBTQ+ Justice & Opportunity Network. The network was created by an act of the state legislature. Somehow, I don't see Republican states creating a committee like this.
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