A call to resist the coup in progress

The ongoing coup that began — as publicly promised– immediately after the inauguration, is not a product of Donald Trump’s fever dreams. It is a carefully planned wrecking of the regulatory state and its capacity to function. The ground was laid for this coup over decades by a billionaire elite and their acolytes in business, the military, and the banks, etc. The capture of the state apparatus (both federal and some states) will ensure it expedites and protects increasing capital accumulation by any means necessary.

The billionaire elites forged a marriage of convenience with a deeply autocratic theocratic movement that provides the “cover story” for the coup and the political base and shock troops for fascism. Open and public support for white supremacy, patriarchy, culture wars, militarism, xenophobia, and homophobia provide the rocket fuel for dismantling the tattered Roosevelt New Deal, including environmental protections, trade union rights, the expansion and defense of civil rights, public education, and voting.

Timothy Snyder, Yale History Professor and author of several books about fascism, has been warning us for years about what was being planned. 

He writes: “Imagine if it had gone like this: ten Tesla cyber-trucks, painted in camouflage colors with a giant X on each roof, drive noisily through Washington DC. Tires screech. Out jump a couple of dozen young men, dressed in red and black Devil’s Champion armored costumes. After giving Nazi salutes, they grab guns and run to one government department after another, calling out slogans like ‘all power to Supreme Leader Skibidi Hitler.’

”Historically, that is what coups looked like,” Snyder explains. “The center of power was a physical place. Occupying it, and driving out the people who held office, was to claim control. So if a cohort of armed men with odd symbols had stormed government buildings, Americans would have recognized that as a coup attempt. And that sort of coup attempt would have failed.

“Now imagine that, instead, the scene goes like this:

“A couple dozen young men go from government office to government office, dressed in civilian clothes and armed only with zip drives. Using technical jargon and vague references to orders from on high, they gain access to the basic computer systems of the federal government. Having done so, they proceed to grant their Supreme Leader access to information and the power to start and stop all government payments.

“In the third decade of the twenty-first century, power is more digital than physical,” explains Snyder. “The buildings and the human beings are there to protect the workings of the computers, thus the workings of the government as a whole, in our case a (in principle) democratic government organized and bounded by a notion of individual rights. The ongoing actions by Musk and his followers are a coup because the individuals who are seizing power have no right to it. Elon Musk was elected to no office and there is no office that would give him the authority to do what he is doing. It is all illegal.”

The seizure of power via “digital and emergency order” exposes the essential elements of the coup, including the targeting of women, migrants, transgender, and other vulnerable populations. Internationally, it restores the logic of the American Empire and cements the US leadership of a “fascist international.”

It is also a coup in its intended effect: to undo democratic practice and violate human rights. 1

Week 3: Shadow President Elon Musk in Full Control

The Trump-Musk-Vance administration continued its assault on democracy the second week of February, with actions including placing USAID officials on leave, shutting down its website, and threatening to end funding for various programs. Elon Musk, officially serving as a special government employee, bragged about dismantling USAID while the CIA offered buyouts to its entire workforce. The DOJ also took steps to undermine the agency’s independence, including reinstating the federal death penalty and threatening disciplinary action against lawyers who refuse to advocate for the administration’s agenda. — Summarized from Zeteo’s new project to document the ongoing, week-by-week growth of authoritarianism

“If we do not recognize it for what it is, it could succeed.”

In his February 5, 2025, substack essay, Snyder outlined why it is important to understand that we are experiencing a coup. To paraphrase:

Musk/Trump now has effective control over payments to government entities. It is impossible to carry out the laws and regulatory functions of a democratic society without funds (and personnel) to do so. Without the ability to disburse funds, Congress becomes meaningless, citizenship becomes pointless, and voting becomes an empty exercise.

While the details may differ from other coups, they share key characteristics with fascist or military coups elsewhere. The strategy of shock and awe is characteristic of coups around the world. (See Naomi Klein’s excellent book, The Shock Doctrine.) 

Moving fast and “breaking things” disarms, confuses, and disorients the population, as the blows keep coming and people scramble to resist each one.

A coup must crush the opposition by making protests illegal, defunding organizations, suppressing news, and, in some cases, threatening retaliation, whether legal or by mob violence. Targets include students, trade unions, intellectuals, activists, journalists, the dehumanized “others:” women, indigenous, black, LBGTQ, and peoples from localities or countries where wealth is being extracted/stolen.

We knew it was coming.

There was no reason to be surprised about the scope of the coup. The billionaires and their minions who planned the coup spelled out what was in store in great detail in the 900-page Project 2025. A later addendum, Project Esther, focused on crushing popular resistance to Israel’s ongoing genocide. Trump openly declared he would be a dictator on Day 1 and repeatedly laid out his plans for punishing his “enemies.”

Still, few could imagine so much wanton destruction could happen so rapidly. We will leave the detailed catalog of horribles to other authors, but the walls of our old reality are indeed tumbling down and a new apparatus is being built via the exercise of raw power.

The authors of Project 2025 are now placed in strategic government positions and charged with destroying what’s left of the public interest functions of the US government. The intimate details of our lives are in the hands of unelected Elon Musk, of the Nazi salute, to be rummaged through as he wishes.

And don’t forget to keep your eye on the states; state laws are being passed that also implement Project 2025 ideology and strategies. l

Millions of people will die as a consequence of the coup

These millions will follow the tens of thousands who have already died to secure the interests and global military and financial control by Great Wealth.

Ours is neither a bloodless nor a nonviolent coup.

Bird flu pandemic? Medical care for the poor and elderly? Climate disasters? Nuclear threats? Rule of law? Paramilitary terror? Control of women? Genocide? Childhood well-being? Clean energy? Ethnic cleansing of Palestine?

None of this concerns the cabal of billionaires intent on investing their billions to increase their short-term profits by any means necessary and to maintain the U.S. global military hegemony to protect those profits.

We can look to Gaza to see the level of violence implicit in the plans and goals of the architects of Project 2025. We can also look to the Palestinians to see examples of selfless courage under the most brutal conditions. Hopes for peace were trampled with Trump’s announcement that the US could build a luxury resort on the blood and bones of Palestinian families and remove them from their historic homes.

Successful resistance is possible — but be careful not to recreate the past

History tells us coups can be stopped: the key is to resist, resist, resist. And organize. There is still time, but:

• A robust and multi-sector resistance must be mounted as quickly and decisively as possible to push back against the power grab. To the degree possible, we must put our differences with other political actors on hold for the moment, without sacrificing our visions of a better future or our commitments to human and civil rights for all.
• We must hold and enlarge the democratic space: attend rallies, write letters, engage in direct action or civil disobedience with trusted leaders, protect our neighbors, practice noncooperation, and prepare to take risks by openly opposing the coup. Some of us are equipped to use the courts, and we can support resistance by institutions or institutional actors, or any police and district attorneys who refuse to break the law, and we can practice community care.
• Effective resistance is a group activity. Find the issues, groups, and tactics that call to your compassion and your skills. The Peace Education Center committees are one place where you can begin to fight for democracy a demilitarized future, a habitable planet, and social justice.
• Above all, as Mother Jones said, “Sit down and read. Prepare yourself for the coming battles.” The path to this political moment is well documented. How we got here, who was behind it, what they want — if you can’t answer those questions, you can’t fight back effectively, you’ll quarrel with people and groups who should be strategic or tactical allies, and your work may strengthen the coup rather than weakening its grip on power.
• We need to do more than roll back to the previous political status quo — we need to be able to articulate a vision of the future that includes an authentic democracy, and not a barely concealed oligarchy. 2

SIDEBAR:

The Peace Education Center as a site of resistance

We hope you will consider the Peace Education Center as a place to exercise your resistance.

We believe all life has value. We promote compassion and awareness of the potential for interdependence and lasting peace. We promote nonviolent solutions to world, national, and local conflicts. We are taking our place beside the tens of thousands of people fighting for a real democracy at the international, state, and local levels. Our work is multi-faceted and centered on an internationalist outlook. What is good for the world’s people, is good for us all.

The Peace Education Center needs your voice, your time, and your leadership. We invite you to join one of our committees working to:

• serve as a resource center;
• organize outreach campaigns;
• mobilize community resources;
• establish educational programs and workshops; and
• foster collaborative relationships with other groups.

This moment is indeed dark and the near future will likely be even darker. Channeling our anger, grief, and terror, into purposeful action is the only way out.

History shows that if we can find the courage to resist and eliminate the conditions that allowed unelected billionaires to carry out a coup that is currently supported by a substantial percentage of the U.S. populace, there is a chance for a better life for us all on the other side.

Join us in working for peace, justice, and an authentic democracy — as well as for a liveable planet for our children and grandchildren.

1. https://heathercoxrichardson.substack.com/p/february-4-2025
2. A Youtube video of Bernie Sanders laying out what is happening (we are moving to fascism), with a short-term, and a long-term strategy to defeat the insurgents.
3. Zeteo is tracking all the daily outrages. Team Zeteo

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For more information about joining PEC committees and upcoming educational events? The Peace Education Center email: peaceEdCenter@gmail.com

Want to join a reading circle? Text Laura at 517-775-3924 or email lmsager@pm.com.