Indivisibles,

Through the wonders of Bluesky internet friends, on Friday I got connected to and had a chat with Timothy Snyder. You may know him as a regular commentator on world events, or as the expert in authoritarianism -- the author of On Tyranny and more recently On Freedom. If you haven’t heard of Tim’s "20 lessons" for resisting tyranny, are only vaguely aware, or would just like a refresher, I strongly recommend you check out the inimitable John Lithgow’s dramatic 10-minute reading that just posted yesterday. 

And I want to specifically call out Lesson #13 this week:

Lesson #13: Practice Corporeal Politics. "Power wants your body softening in your chair and your emotions dissipating on the screen. Get outside. Put your body in unfamiliar places with unfamiliar people. Make new friends and march with them."

April 5 is almost here whether or not Musk and Trump like it. This lesson is relevant any week of the Musk/Trump era, but it’s particularly relevant this week, which will end with the largest single day of protest in many years. I announced the April 5 Hands Off! day of protest a couple weeks ago to Rachel Maddow. This Saturday, there will be massive peaceful marches in Washington DC and other big cities, but this is not confined to city centers. We will have over 1,000(!) local events across every state in the country, and more sympathetic protests planned across the world. This is destined to be an historic level of corporeal politics. 

Musk and Trump don’t like this. Of course they don’t! No fascist wants to see masses of peaceful everyday people gathering together in opposition to an authoritarian takeover. Just this weekend, as Musk pumped millions more into Wisconsin to try to buy a Supreme Court seat, he also posted to the site formerly known as Twitter and currently overrun with bots, nazis, and nazi bots, that “Indivisible are [sic] criminals”…for peacefully protesting? 

The strategic logic of April 5. Hands Off! is going to be historically big, and we all need to do our part to make it big. We need to show that the opposition to this regime is massive, and that it’s growing. I see Indivisible members and leaders posting to social media, sending out newsletters, writing op-eds, posting fliers around town, and pulling out all the stops to recruit family, friends, acquaintances, and total strangers to the nearest planned protest (or hosting their own!). Good! We need everyone to do that. 

Why come out on April 5 at all? Why is this important? Simple: Because it will be easier to come out on April 5 than it will on May 5 or June 5 or July 5. Because if Trump and Musk continue going down the path they’re on, we all know a crackdown on peaceful protest is coming. And when that crackdown comes, protest needs to be in the air. It needs to be the most normal thing in the world for millions of everyday people to spend their Saturday marching for democracy. When the crackdown comes, it needs to be alien, inexcusable, indefensible, and untenable for the authoritarian government to run roughshod over the people. 

We protest on April 5 to tell them hands off today. And we protest on April 5 so it is safe to tell them hands off tomorrow.

So get outside. Make some friends. And make clear that Musk and Trump are up against forces they cannot intimidate into submission. We’re the majority, and we’re telling them to get their grubby little hands off of us, our friends, our families, our schools, our communities, our civil rights, and our democracy. See you out there on April 5.

- Ezra Levin
Co-Executive Director, Indivisible

Your weekly to-dos

1. Join an April 5 “Hands Off!” protest near you. We’ve got over 1,000 local protests against the Musk-Trump power grab scheduled in all 50 states this Saturday. Find an event near you, sign up, and show up to help demonstrate mass opposition to Trump’s authoritarian agenda. Remember – when we show up, that courage is contagious. Trump and Musk won’t immediately back down on April 6 as a result of our protests, but judges, journalists, law firms, universities, civil society institutions, elected officials and others under intense pressure from this administration will know they aren’t alone in this fight. 
2. Register for the “Hands Off!” mass call on Tuesday, April 1 at 8pm ET, 5pm PT to prepare for this weekend. Want to know what to expect this weekend, the goals of the mass mobilization, and how you can get more involved? Join our planning call with the leaders from Indivisible, MoveOn, the ACLU, Social Security Works, the American Federation of Teachers and more! We also invite you to join the safety and de-escalation training on Wednesday, April 2, at 8pm ET/5pm PT. 
3. Call Your representative: Help block Republicans from disenfranchising millions of voters with their “Silencing Americans Act." This week, we expect the House to vote on H.R. 22 -- one of the biggest threats to voting rights we’ve seen in a generation. You may know this bill as the “SAVE Act” but we are calling it by a more accurate title -- the “Silencing Americans Act.” The bill requires voters to show proof of citizenship documents that match their current legal name -- something tens of millions of Americans simply don’t have. It’d cause massive challenges for married women and trans and nonbinary people who’ve changed their names, and disproportionately impact people of color.  Visit our website for more information on this bill and Trump’s related Executive Order. 
4. Hold the Trump administration accountable for its jaw-dropping national security meltdown over Signal. Following the real-time leaking of war plans to a journalist over Signal, far too many members of Congress -- including Democrats -- are continuing on with business as usual. Hours after the story broke, a considerable number of Senate Democrats helped confirm another one of Trump’s nominees! Instead of enabling an administration that’s endangering us all, Dems need to fight back. Check out our explainer for more info on the scandal and ways you can push Congress to respond.
5. DC Indivisibles: Rally for patients' rights and Medicaid access at the US Supreme Court on Wednesday, April 2. This week, SCOTUS will be hearing oral arguments in a case about whether Republicans can ban Medicaid patients from getting their reproductive healthcare at Planned Parenthood, the latest in the GOP’s ongoing assault on reproductive freedom and essential safety net programs. Allies will be rallying outside the Court on Wednesday at 9am. 

TONIGHT: Join our Wisconsin Supreme Court phonebank

One of the most important elections of 2025 is wrapping up tomorrow. Elon Musk has spent over $20 million to elect a pro-Trump judge to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. If he’s successful, conservatives will have a majority on the crucial swing state court likely to hear cases on gerrymandering, voter suppression, abortion, and potential election subversion. And oh yeah, probably a Tesla lawsuit, too! 

If you don’t like the idea of the world’s richest man being able to buy himself a friendly court majority, it’s not too late to do something about it. Indivisibles in Wisconsin are continuing to knock doors through Election Day. And the rest of us can help get out the vote for liberal candidate Susan Crawford by calling voters during our FINAL phonebank of the election tonight at 7pm ET. Register here to join tonight’s Wisconsin phonebank.

Note: This phonebank is limited to 700 participants, so if you find yourself unable to register, it’s because we’ve hit our capacity (and we didn’t even need to bribe people with $1 million checks). 

Stand with our trans siblings on Transgender Day of Visibility

Today, we’re celebrating trans communities’ vibrancy and perseverance in the face of attacks on their very existence -- and fighting for a future when all our trans and nonbinary siblings can safely live authentically and freely. 

You may have noticed we didn’t include our normal fundraising pitch in the to-do section above. Instead, we’re asking folks to support your favorite trans rights organizations. There are many groups doing incredible work, but today we want to suggest a donation to the Trans Justice Funding Project -- an innovative trans-led initiative that offers direct grants to groups fighting for trans justice throughout the United States. 

If you’re able, please donate directly to TJFP to fund trans activists and trans-led organizing across the country.

Fight disinformation with the Truth Brigade

Want to help disrupt the spread of disinformation online? Join the Indivisible Truth Brigade’s next strategy call on Wednesday, April 9 at 6:30pm ET/3:30pm PT. 

Disinformation thrives in our “attention economy,” where algorithms promote sensationalism and lead users down rabbit holes reinforcing simple (often conspiratorial) explanations for complex societal problems. 

On this month’s Truth Brigade call, we’ll discuss how we can protect truth and combat misinformation in today’s media landscape. 

Follow us on Bluesky, Mastodon, and Threads to keep up on the latest information, and text “INDIVISIBLE” to 59798 to opt-in to our text messaging program, where we send rapid response actions a few times a month.