Dear MoveOn member,
Our democracy is slipping away—and faster than many political observers
and historians thought possible. Every day brings more heinous
developments:
* Last weekend, with zero due process and in direct violation of a court
order, Trump officials detained hundreds of people living in the
United States and forcibly flew them to a concentration camp in El
Salvador, where they will be held indefinitely.^1 We do not know who
was on the plane.^2 As historian Timothy Snyder wrote, "There is no
doubt that their rights were violated. But your rights have been
violated as well. If you do not know the details about operations that
forcibly remove human beings from the territory of the United States,
you do not have a responsive government. And you are therefore at
risk."^3
* Trump officials detained Fabian Smidt, a German-born U.S. green card
holder who was returning home from a trip to Luxembourg, at Logan
Airport in Boston on Friday.^4 According to his mother, the officials
violently interrogated him, stripped him naked, and showered him with
ice-cold water before sending him to an ICE facility.^5 Fabian is an
electrical engineer who lives in New Hampshire with his partner, a
cardiologist, and their 8-year-old daughter—both U.S. citizens.^6
* Elon Musk's DOGE team claimed an 82-year-old man in Seattle was dead,
took more than $5,200 in past Social Security payments from his bank
account, and ended both his Social Security and Medicare benefits.^7
Despite being very much alive and lodging complaints with the Social
Security Administration, he is still not receiving his benefits.^8
While what is happening to us and our communities and all around us is
horrific, research from Harvard University on historical movements shows
that "no government has withstood a challenge of 3.5% of their population
mobilized against it during a peak event."^9,10 It's called the "3.5%
rule."^11 It's a relatively tiny percentage, really. We can get there.
The Women's March in January 2017 is the largest single-day demonstration
in U.S. history.^12 Between 1% to 1.6% of the U.S. population participated
in the Women's March across hundreds of locations. Double or triple that
scale would approach the 3.5% threshold.^13
That's our mission: doubling or tripling the size of the Women's March and
engaging 3.5% of the U.S. population in a massive protest to stop
authoritarianism in America, which is here, at our doorstep, right now.
That's what we're building to, because that's what it's going to take.
Remember, tyranny cannot prevail over people who refuse to succumb to it.
As Robert Reich said earlier this month, "MoveOn can reach, train,
support, organize, and communicate at a scale that is unparalleled in the
progressive movement, and it does so with cutting-edge technology. We need
MoveOn in this moment, now more than ever."
That's the work ahead of us, at MoveOn, 24/7 for as long as it takes,
exposing the lies and corruption, fighting back with democratic values and
moral authority, being in solidarity with people and communities most
targeted, and organizing, organizing, organizing to bring more and more
people to the streets.
Will you help us build toward 3.5% of the U.S. population, a relatively
tiny percentage, engaging in active resistance, starting today by chipping
in $5 a month so that MoveOn has and can sustain the
financial resources to help lead the grassroots movement that will end
Trump's tyranny?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. If you've saved your
payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through
immediately.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a scholar on fascism and authoritarian leaders, wrote last
Monday: "Each time we show solidarity with others, or support those who
are protecting the rule of law, helping the targeted, or exposing the lies
and the corruption, we are standing up for democratic values of justice,
accountability, equality, and more. In doing so, we model the behaviors
the authoritarian state wants us to abandon. Joining with others, we
transform our individual righteous indignation into a potent moral force
for good."^14
MoveOn will be by your side every step of the way. Join us today and at
every opportunity you have until we end the Trump-Musk-MAGA regime.
With hope, optimism, and immense gratitude for all you do.
–Emily, Olga, Kelly, Amy, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "White House Denies Violating Judge's Order in Deporting Venezuelans,"
The New York Times, March 16, 2025
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2. "The evil at your door," Thinking about..., March 17, 2025
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3. Ibid.
4. "Green card holder from New Hampshire 'interrogated' at Logan Airport,
detained," WGBH, March 16, 2025
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5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. "Here's a 'dead' person on Social Security in Seattle, with plenty to
say," The Seattle Times, March 15, 2025
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8. Ibid.
9. "We Are Living Through Moral Collapse. How Democrats Can Strike Back,"
Lucid, March 16, 2025
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10. "Questions, Answers, and Some Cautionary Updates Regarding the 3.5%
Rule," Harvard Kennedy School, Spring 2020
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11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.
14. "We Are Living Through Moral Collapse. How Democrats Can Strike Back,"
Lucid, March 16, 2025
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Want to support MoveOn's work? Donald Trump and his MAGA allies expect us
to give up. But we will not give them what they want. We will never stop
working to defend our fundamental freedoms and protect our democracy.
MoveOn has been leading the movement against right-wing extremism for 26
years, and we promise you that we will still be here every step of the way
forward.
Will you start a monthly donation to sustain MoveOn's work to protect our
freedoms and democracy under Trump's administration?
[ [link removed] ]Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month.
[ [link removed] ]No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
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