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FREE DC MODELS EFFECTIVE RESISTANCE TO TRUMP’S TAKEOVER  
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Daniel Hunter
August 13, 2025
Waging Nonviolence
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_ Washington, D.C. residents’ rapid response to Trump's National
Guard deployment is a masterclass in how to prepare for crises and
fight authoritarianism. _

Protesters gather in Washington, D.C., on Monday to oppose the Trump
administration’s federal takeover of law enforcement in the
nation’s capital., Kevin Dietsch / Getty Images

 

On Monday, President Donald Trump ordered 800 National Guard troops to
the nation’s capital — a move Princeton University professor
Khalil Gibran Muhammad described
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as “a slide towards fascism” and “textbook” authoritarianism.
Claiming emergency powers from the D.C. Home Rule Act, Trump also
announced a takeover of the Metropolitan Police. 

As is typical with authoritarians, the pretense for these orders was
an invented crime emergency
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But pretense is just that. We should all remember Washington, D.C.’s
most violent day in recent years — Jan. 6, 2021 — was sparked by
Trump himself. What’s more, D.C.’s safety won’t come from
militarization, but rather through decreasing unemployment, ending
ICE’s kidnapping of neighbors, and restoring funding to Medicaid,
SNAP and schools.

D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she believed the deployment was illegal
and challenged Trump’s crime rhetoric, citing the city’s
statistics showing violent crime at a 30-year low
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(The FBI has slightly different numbers
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but all show the trend downwards.)

Otherwise, she initially struck a conciliatory and yielding position,
saying, “We have a responsibility to support the executive order,
and one of the roles I have is to ensure that we work very
collaboratively with our federal partners.” Thankfully, a crew of
people from the grassroots movement Free DC
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Early on Monday, they held a press conference and rally
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pre-empting both Trump’s announcement and Mayor Bowser’s
compliance. By Tuesday night, they had already published national
calls to action for allies
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Free DC made clear, “No single event or protest will fix this. What
works is disciplined, connected organizing.” And they are already
showing the way forward. Here are some lessons from Free DC’s rapid
response:

1. PLAN AHEAD

It doesn’t help to be stuck in shock. That’s why, months ago, in a
church packed with over 500 people — neighbors, activists and
friends — Free DC led a role-play that helped prepare for this
moment: They imagined the National Guard trying to seize control of
the D.C. Council. (I was there as one of the trainers.)

That was Free DC in action — ready before this crisis struck.
Despite dissenters who thought their role-play was too extreme, they
got a crew ready and led dozens of trainings that prepared thousands
for action.

Trump has already named Baltimore, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and
Oakland as places where he next wants to send the military. At all
levels of society, those cities (and more) should start to prepare.
Run role-play scenarios for your own community. Get a crew together
and practice now what you would do (and feel) not only if federal
forces took over your city, but also if you encountered any of the
many unfolding situations now. Doing this planning alone feels
isolating — so we need to be connected with others to make our best
plans.

One resource right now is Freedom Trainers
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groups, mixed with role-plays that help make sense of these
authoritarian times.

2. LEAD WITH VALUES

In their now viral Instagram post
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the immediate aftermath of Trump’s takeover, Free DC wrote,
“Remember what works,” citing a short list of strategies: 

* Do not obey in advance.
* Prioritize joy.
* Take up space.
* Be in solidarity.
* Organize.

It’s not only a list of calls to action, it’s a statement of
principles and values. In times of crisis, great leaders use the
moment to _deepen_ values. It’s why amoral businesses capitulating
needn’t surprise us — but schools undermining the value of free
speech to appeal to a wannabe king should. It’s why veterans groups
like the Chamberlain Network have forcefully rejected Trump’s use of
the military
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based on their values of getting “military out of our
communities.”

Values lead to vision. So Free DC has made clear this is a pattern of
disrespect toward one of the nation’s largest cities, saying, “We
also want members of Congress to stop freezing D.C.’s local
budget… stop trying to overturn D.C. laws… and co-sponsor H.R.
51… so that D.C. residents don’t have to live through these cycles
of attack over and over again.”

Consider what is most high and cherished in your beliefs. Let your
actions be guided by shared values. And yes, infuse some joy into your
resistance
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3. TELL INSTITUTIONAL LEADERS WHAT TO DO

It was a little shocking to watch Mayor Bowser casually describe the
situation and urge D.C. residents to act normally. “Schools will
open as usual,” she asserted. It was another institutionalist
showing us that their playbook isn’t up to snuff with the times.

Instead of joining the crowd decrying our vacuous political
leadership, Free DC is pushing them to get better — and aims to
ultimately move them. Over the weekend, Free DC sent a letter to
politicians telling them what they need to do.

“Remaining silent will tell this administration we consent to their
actions,” they wrote. “We do not. … Please speak out against
what is happening as soon as you are able.”

They gave a variety of suggestions, but the key was “don’t act
normal.” This is the same lesson taught by our great social leaders
who made noncooperation an active practice. 

Mohandas Gandhi, for example, said, “If people withdraw their
cooperation in every detail, the government will come to a
standstill.”

Martin Luther King Jr. called it out as well, saying, “We can no
longer lend our cooperation to an evil system. … who passively
accepts evil is as much involved in it as who helps to perpetrate
it.”

When someone does something awful, acting normal normalizes it.
Noncooperation from different pillars of support is the antidote.

This notion of the “pillars of support” is something Free DC has
been teaching about. Rather than seeing a regime as having the power
to do whatever it wants, the pillars of support approach sees a
regime’s power as being held up by institutions, organizations and
groups — such as the military, police, media, business elites and
religious bodies. Withdrawing the support of these pillars through
nonviolent resistance, a regime can be weakened or even toppled. 

Understanding the pillars of support can help regular folks see that
we have real influence. A video from Choose Democracy further explains
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4. GIVE CLEAR INSTRUCTIONS FOR INVOLVEMENT

“Starting tonight — get loud.” That was the message Free DC
shared in a social media message on Monday.

The group offered clear actions that people could do right away: an 8
p.m. banging of pots, singing and chanting for five minutes (plus
encouragement to talk to your neighbors).

They’re offering cop watch trainings and campaign orientations
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And they’re spreading the Free DC message — encouraging signs,
posters, banners, tshirts, patches and flags all over.

By Monday evening, they had a request to people outside of D.C.:
Pressure Congress [[link removed]], which has
oversight and the ability to stop this. At the same time, Free DC vows
more is in the works.

If you’re feeling lost about what to do generally — and not just
about the takeover of D.C. — consider coming to the One Million
Rising training
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which is perhaps the largest single training in noncooperation ever,
with over 170,000 participants already participating in learning how
to _refuse to comply_ with injustice. You can watch the sessions
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online or join or host house meetings to grow the movement locally
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5. BUILD FOR THE LONG HAUL

Free DC’s trainings, mutual-aid work and cross-neighborhood networks
aren’t just for today — they’re preparing for the next crisis,
and the one after that.

If you want to learn the Free DC model, they are happy to proliferate
it to other cities. They’ve got a structure to build fast-moving
groups to support mutual aid, create emergency response plans and keep
meeting after the headlines fade. Democracy defense isn’t a sprint
— it’s a practice.

Free DC is showing us how to fight authoritarianism: plan ahead, lead
with values, push institutions, give clear steps and prepare for the
long fight.

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Daniel Hunter coaches and trains movements across the globe. As
founder of Choose Democracy he’s helped stop Trump’s coup
attempts. He has trained extensively with ethnic minorities in Burma,
pastors in Sierra Leone, and independence activists in northeast
India. He has written multiple books, including "What Will You Do If
Trump Wins [[link removed]],” "Climate Resistance
Handbook [[link removed]]" and
"Building a Movement to End the New Jim Crow
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* washington
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* D.C. Protests; Nonviolent Resistance;
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