Today Donald Trump begins his second term in office, flanked by a Republican-controlled Senate and House and a cabinet of loyal and disciplined idealogues. At PRA, we will continue our close monitoring of the administration and strategic partnerships with the social justice movements working to defend our essential human and civil rights.

With anti-immigration at the forefront of this incoming administration’s agenda, we anticipate close collaboration between the anti-immigration Far Right, law enforcement, and the federal government, including the highly organized Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association (CSPOA).

The Insurgence: Sheriffs, a groundbreaking podcast series, reveals the far-right law enforcement movement that will be instrumental in coming mass deportation efforts.



In the lead up to the 2024 election, PRA released The Insurgence: Sheriffs, a timely and critical new podcast series from Political Research Associates and Cuentero Productions. This powerful series offers firsthand accounts from individuals across the U.S. who have faced the sometimes-deadly consequences of unchecked sheriff power and their growing alignment with the Far Right. The series features analysis on the role that far-right sheriffs play in the U.S. deportation machine.

“As someone who has spent over six years researching the dangerous and often-overlooked network of sheriffs, militias, and far-right movements, I created the audio series I wanted to see in the world,” said podcast host and Research Director Cloee Cooper. She added, “It grounds us in the real, lived experiences of why this issue matters—and why so much more must be done. The Far Right is often organizing in plain sight, but what makes this especially alarming is that they’re doing it alongside elected officials with access to military equipment, weapons, and powerful tools of social control. This series aims to highlight and reinforce resistance against law enforcement’s far-right practices—clarifying how they intentionally undermine racial and immigrant justice, and public safety.”

Subscribe today wherever you get your podcasts. Episode 1, "The Sundown Siren," explores how a far-right network of sheriffs empowered a far right mob to intimidate racial justice protestors in 2020, a trend of sheriffs emboldening political violence that PRA anticipates will need to be monitored closely in the coming period.

Episode 4, “What is FAIR?” explores how the former Trump administration and the leading anti-immigrant organization FAIR courted sheriffs to carry out their deportation machine in North Carolina in 2018, laying the groundwork for a trend that would take off throughout the country—equipping sheriffs in blue and purple states to work with ICE to carry out deportations, regardless of the state’s policy on immigration. We hope you’ll listen and share with your communities.

Listen to the full series today.

Read more on how an association of far-right sheriffs has pledged to support Trump’s deportation efforts: Leading ‘Constitutional Sheriffs’ Org Announces ‘Full Support’ for Trump’s Mass Deportations by Ethan Fauré

Ready Yourself for the Fight Ahead

Register today for a PRA-hosted training on Thursday, January 30th from 1-2:30pm ET/10-11:30am PT to learn about practical ways to build community power and resilience in the face of threats, intimidation, and acts of political violence.

PRA, together with the The Horizons Project, 22nd Century Initiative and core partners have developed the Harnessing Our Power to End Political Violence (HOPE-PV) project, built on backfire principles that turn violence into a disadvantage for perpetrators by imposing social, political, and economic costs. These principles include public exposure, humanizing victims, coalition building, imposing costs, and amplifying facts.

By mobilizing these principles, HOPE-PV makes political violence backfire, turning community outrage and collective action into powerful tools for social resilience and accountability. Get trained and get involved!

Inauguration Day Reading

Pete Hegseth’s War on Religious Freedom and the Constitution by Frederick Clarkson

Hegseth is not only a proponent of Christian Nationalism, as it is commonly understood as the fusion of government with conservative Christian values, but an advocate for a revolutionary theocratic vision for the overthrow of the Constitution of the United States.

Authoritarians Must Break Your Will to Resist — So What Can You Do About it? by Steven Gardiner

The Trump campaign has threatened to enact many policies that will erode democracy, from mass deportations to imprisoning investigative journalists. But the infrastructure it would take to act out these goals takes compliance. If the most crucial goal of the Trump regime is to manufacture mass complicity, how should we react? Steven Gardiner outlines 10 practical ways for people—from within and without the movement—to resist.

Trump’s Cabinet (and Other) Picks Paint Picture of a Christian Nationalist ‘Kakistocracy’ by Annika Brockschmidt and Thomas Lecaque

Annika Brockschmidt and Thomas Lecaque take a close look at the nominees incoming president Trump has announced for his cabinet—a selection that they argue is setting the stage for a kakistocracy: “a government by the least suitable, most unworthy people.”

While Nixon Sought to Secretly ‘Screw’ Political Enemies Trump’s Dictatorial Desires Are Less Modest by Steven Gardiner

While President Nixon had a secret list of of enemies, President Trump made threats to prosecute his political enemies in the open. Steven Gardiner compares the two presidents and what can be done to stop Trump's authoritarian take over.

Trump’s Fervent Christian Zionists Poised to Lead the Military — And US-Israel Relations by Ben Lorber

Mike Huckabee and Pete Hegseth are tapped to lead the US embassy to Israel and the military respectively. Ben Lorber details their track record of Christian Zionism, and how their appointments will only strengthen the US's backing of the Israeli state.

In Case You Missed It

Strategizing for the 2025 Trump Regime Change with Steven Gardiner

Inform Your Resistance, Season 3, Episode 7

In this episode, PRA Principal Research Advisor Steven Gardiner provides astute analysis on what has led us to this moment in history—when Donald Trump and the Republican Party have so decisively won the presidency and both houses of congress. Steven shares likely scenarios that may play out in Trump’s first year back in office, the implications of his chaotic cabinet picks for the implementation of both mundane and reactionary policy, and, most importantly, on the opportunities available to resisting the fascistic capture of the U.S. state. 

Regime Change: What to Expect and How to Mobilize for the Year Ahead

Panelists: Steven Gardiner, Naomi Washington Leapheart, Makani Themba, and Thenjiwe McHarris

Reflecting on what the 2024 election results signal about the contemporary U.S. Right and landscape of contestation, this discussion focused on how we, on the social movement Left, are readying ourselves for an authoritarian Trump regime. What acute opportunities and threats exist in the near and longer-term future and what analytical and forward-looking clarity do we need to prepare for them?

As Trump takes office, your support has never been more crucial to fight authoritarianism and fascism.