Russia does it. So does China. And soon, Donald Trump’s America may be next. It’s a classic authoritarian tool: deploy troops from one part of the country to intimidate and suppress dissent in another.

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September 3, 2025

Russia does it. So does China. And soon, Donald Trump’s America may be next.

It’s a classic authoritarian tool: deploy troops from one part of the country to intimidate and suppress dissent in another. The theory is that local forces may hesitate to treat their own neighbors with disrespect and violence. Soldiers from other places may be more willing to obey illegal orders targeting civilians.

In Russia, President Vladimir Putin mastered this tactic in Chechnya. Local police proved unreliable, so Moscow flew in troops from Siberia and the Urals — outsiders with no ties to the region and no hesitation in unleashing violence. It worked, but it left a legacy of terror.

In China, the Communist Party has repeatedly imported security forces into regions where dissent flourishes. In Xinjiang, Beijing relied on Han Chinese troops to suppress Uyghurs. In Hong Kong, as pro-democracy protests grew, paramilitary police from mainland provinces quietly joined the crackdown. The lesson is unmistakable: outsiders are the enforcers of authoritarian control.

Well, it seems Trump has been taking diligent notes.

Yesterday afternoon, Gov. JB Pritzker warned that Trump is...

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