John Kelly comes out swinging against Trump, says he fits 'fascist' definition (October 2024)
abcnews.go.com

... "And I think this issue of using the military on -- to go after -- American citizens is one of those things I think is a very, very bad thing -- even to say it for political purposes to get elected -- I think it's a very, very bad thing, let alone actually doing it," Kelly said.

The former general held nothing back, arguing that Trump could fit the bill of a "fascist."

"Well, looking at the definition of fascism: It's a far-right authoritarian, ultranationalist political ideology and movement characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hierarchy," he told The Times. ...

OpEd: America Tips Into Fascism
www.doomsdayscenario.co

... The United States, just months before its 250th birthday as the world's leading democracy, has tipped over the edge into authoritarianism and fascism. In the end, faster than I imagined possible, it did happen here. The precise moment when and where in recent weeks America crossed that invisible line from democracy into authoritarianism can and will be debated by future historians, but it's clear that the line itself has been crossed.

I think many Americans wrongly believe there would be one clear unambiguous moment where we go from "democracy" to "authoritarianism."

Instead, this is exactly how it happens -- a blurring here, a norm destroyed there, a presidential diktat unchallenged.

Then you wake up one morning and our country is different. ...

Trump's plan to create Guard units to quell civil unrest alarms experts
abcnews.go.com

... One retired Guard vice chief calls the president's move 'extremely disturbing.'

President Donald Trump on Monday ordered the Pentagon to create National Guard units in Washington, D.C., and across the country that would be designated to tamp down civil protests and ensure public safety -- a job that historically and legally has belonged to civilian law enforcement.

Critics called Trump's desire to build a kind of rapid "reaction force" for civil unrest alarming, insisting his order pushes legal boundaries for the National Guard, an auxiliary force whose mission is to help fight foreign enemies abroad or aid Americans in times of extraordinary crisis like hurricanes and floods.

In an executive order signed Monday, Trump called on Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to designate Army and Air National Guard members in each state who could rapidly deploy to help federal, state and local law enforcement "in quelling civil disturbances and ensuring the public safety and order whenever the circumstances necessitate, as appropriate under the law." ...

Gestapo?
en.wikipedia.org

... The Geheime Staatspolizei (['ham' tatspolitsa] ", lit.''Secret State Police''), abbreviated Gestapo (['stapo] "),[3] was the official secret police of Nazi Germany and in German-occupied Europe.

The force was created by Hermann Gring in 1933 by combining the various political police agencies of Prussia into one organisation. On 20 April 1934, oversight of the Gestapo passed to the head of the Schutzstaffel (SS), Heinrich Himmler, who was also appointed Chief of German Police by Hitler in 1936. Instead of being exclusively a Prussian state agency, the Gestapo became a national one as a sub-office of the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo; Security Police). From 27 September 1939, it was administered by the Reich Security Main Office (RSHA). It became known as Amt (Dept) 4 of the RSHA and was considered a sister organisation to the Sicherheitsdienst (SD; Security Service).

The Gestapo committed widespread atrocities during its existence. The power of the Gestapo was used to focus upon political opponents ...

www.axios.com

... The images of masked, heavily armed immigration agents snatching people off the streets and taking them away in unmarked cars have shocked many Americans -- and led to a simple question: Is all of this legal?

- - - It is -- at least for now.

Why it matters: Since Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was created after the 9/11 attacks, its agents have operated with vastly more enforcement power, less transparency and fewer guardrails than local police.

- - - ICE's rules were designed largely to give the agency broad leeway in helping the FBI identify and arrest domestic terror suspects.

- - - Now the Trump administration is using that power to go after unauthorized immigrants potentially millions of them with a frequency and aggressiveness that has sent ripples through communities nationwide.

Zoom in: Under Trump, critics say, ICE has become the closest thing the U.S. has to a secret police force.

- - - ICE agents aren't required to wear body cameras, can cover their faces, don't have to provide badge numbers or identify themselves, can arrive in unmarked cars and don't need a warrant from a judge to detain someone.

- - - Like those with other federal enforcement agencies, they can ignore rules that govern local police departments, particularly those local agencies with histories of abuse or that operate under court-imposed restrictions on racial profiling.

- - - In some cases, ICE agents can even arrest U.S. citizens but they aren't supposed to place them in immigration detention units. Even so, a few U.S. citizens have been detained in recent ICE raids because of agents' mistakes or negligence. ...