John,

I’m feeling hopeful.

We are seeing people and institutions hold strong and fight back in meaningful ways.

For starters, Federal Judge James Boasberg has refused to buckle under the pressure of Donald Trump and the MAGA machine — instead, he continues to try to hold the Administration to account for its illegal and unconstitutional deportation flights to El Salvador. Trump has threatened the judge with impeachment, trolls seek to intimidate him by posting private information about his family online and some would-be domestic terrorists even try to incite violence.

But the guy is not backing down. Trump’s wildly undemocratic threats have even prompted Chief Justice John Roberts to rebuke the president publicly. Boasberg is showing the way to act when confronted by Trump’s thuggish behavior — strong, principled, using the constitution and the law as his guide. Here’s a question for the rest of us: are we prepared to do the same if Trump ignores this and other judges’ court orders?

Here’s why I’m optimistic we will.

Across the country, people are gathering to rally in support of democracy, the constitution and the rule of law. And it’s growing by the day.

Examples include these town hall meetings that constituents are pressuring their representatives to hold — and in their representative’s absence, holding them themselves — to ensure those in public office are accountable for their actions at this moment of crisis. I was lucky to join one in Mansfield, Texas last week, where their U.S. congressman has yet to meet with those he purports to represent.

And it’s not just town halls. In Denver, Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez just held a rally with more than 34,000 people — the largest turn out of any rally either of them has ever held. Meanwhile, Tim Walz continues to show up in deep red parts of America to engage directly with the unrepresented constituents of AWOL members of Congress. And now he’s coming to Texas. I’ll be holding a town hall with him this Thursday in Fort Bend County outside of Houston (link below).

Finally, there is a national day of action planned for April 5th, with hundreds of events taking shape across the country. People are stepping up to save this democracy, our constitution and the rule of law.

Three things we can do to build on this momentum.

1. Join us in Fort Bend for a Congressional town hall with Tim Walz. If members of Congress are too chicken to show up for their constituents, we’ll do it for them. Look forward to seeing you this Thursday (3-27-25). Details and sign up here: EVENT SIGN UP.
2. Volunteer on the ground or over the wires with Powered by People. We are training Volunteer Deputy Registrars to meet and register first-time voters in Texas. And we have some big voter registration canvasses coming up throughout the state. You can also help us at a distance, even if you’re not in Texas. Sign up to find out more: VOLUNTEER SIGN UP.
3. A coalition of labor unions, progressive orgs and pro-democracy groups are planning a massive day of rallies on April 5th called “Hands Off!” There are already more than 500 events planned, with more coming online soon. Sign up to find out more and join here: HANDS OFF SIGN UP.

See you out there! Remember, action is the key to victory and the antidote to despair.

—Beto