Does free speech, press, and assembly apply only to MAGA bigots, billionaires, and right-wing influencers? Or is it for everyone? That question has existed since America’s founding — and been repeatedly answered with rebellions, the Civil War, strikes and mass movements. Today is one such moment as Trump attacks fundamental freedoms. Turbo-charging his executive power-grab are the Supreme Court, Congress, reactionary state legislatures, and the billionaire class.
With democracy under siege, journalists, entertainers, teachers, and folks from every walk of life are ringing alarm bells: No one is safe from a White House weaponizing government to crush dissent.
On Oct. 18, millions of people protested in cities, rural towns, and suburbs everywhere. If this collective outrage quickens into a mass movement with demands and organization, it can force change. There is no time to lose.
A widening dragnet
In the drive for supremacy, Trump and Co. are attacking many constitutional rights. The First Amendment is central because it protects the right to speak, write, organize and protest. (See “Winning the First Amendment.”)
One “canary in the coal mine” is Mahmoud Khalil. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) targeted the Columbia Ph.D. student for the “crime” of defending Palestine. Kidnapped and flown to a detention center in the deep South, Khalil regained freedom due to public heat. Now he is fighting deportation, unbowed. His courage under fire has made his case a celebrated cause.
The right-wing law firm America First Legal (AFL) wants to add such thought crimes to the list of “suspect” activities. The group was founded by Homeland Security honcho Stephen Miller. In Washington v. Trump, AFL argues against birthright citizenship, stating that citizenship is “a reciprocal bond requiring loyalty from the individual and consent from the sovereign.” The threat is clear: all must bow to the “sovereign.”
Trump hopes divide-and-rule will weaken opposition. In Noem v. Vasquez Perdomo, the Supreme Court majority battered Fourth Amendment protections. The decision empowers ICE to search and seize people based on profiling by skin color, language, or employment.
The Supreme Court is fast-tracking these nightmares through its “shadow docket” of unsigned, supposedly “emergency” decisions. From January to October 2025, justices issued 22 such rulings, with 17 favoring Trump. In one example, the majority upheld the firing of Rebecca Slaughter, a member of the Federal Trade Commission who shed light on Trump’s dirty dealings. The Court will formally decide Slaughter v. Trump in December, a case with enormous implications for the independence of regulatory agencies.
In July, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) greenlit an $8 billion merger of Skydance and Paramount CBS. David Ellison, who now runs this media monopoly, is the son of Trumpster billionaire Larry Ellison.
Resistance lives!
Jimmy Kimmel was sacked by ABC when he displeased FCC head Brendan Carr. But Kimmel got the last laugh when comedian colleagues and fans banded together to demand his return to TV. It was the court of public opinion that saved Kimmel.
Independent media is blossoming, as fired and fed-up newscasters, cartoonists, and other champions of free speech create alternative outlets. Grassroots support is keeping them going. (A shout out here to Freedom Socialist subscribers!)
MAGA attacks on public education are facing a similar backlash. The “Department of Justice” (DOJ) is demanding several universities drop their programs for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) — or lose billions of dollars. At the University of California, Los Angeles, faculty sued and won a copy of DOJ’s demands that the school dump DEI or lose $584 million. They hope that publicizing this extortion will inspire students, teachers, and workers to fight back.
For a labor-led united front
At the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), 160 employees were fired or suspended after signing a petition against EPA cuts. But the normalization of retaliation has become an organizing opportunity. The Federal Unionists Network (FUN) has brought federal workers together. They are escalating efforts to stop the destruction of public agencies and services, from Social Security to healthcare.
In embattled Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson, a former teacher and union organizer, used No Kings Day to call for a general strike.
Clearly, the tearing down of capitalist laws and institutions comes with risks. Upheaval sows distrust and doubts over whether “bourgeois democracy” can deliver anything but misery and injustice. This day of reckoning is past due. With working-class leadership and organization, it can open opportunities to fight for a society whose economic and political foundation is equality and justice for all.
>> The article above was written by Linda Averill, and is reprinted from Freedom Socialist newspaper.
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