John,

Trump is escalating his fascist takeover of our government and our cities. It’s more important than ever to strengthen our communities and prepare to defend our neighbors.

To get started on standing up to fascism in your community, please feel free to check out and share our resources page.

The page includes national ICE rapid response hotlines, know your rights information, mutual aid networks, guides to build safety at protests and in neighborhoods, toolkits to push your local officials to cut ties with ICE, and listings for bail funds and organizations in 40 states.

In the past week, Trump:

• Sent hundreds of National Guard soldiers to Portland, Oregon, posting online that he authorized them to use “full force, if necessary” against who he called “domestic terrorists”—protesters who’d been exercising their First Amendment rights at peaceful protests outside a local ICE facility.

• Signed an executive order calling left-wing anti-fascist protesters domestic terrorists. In a memo expanding on this, he denounced anti-capitalist movements and “extremism on migration, race, and gender.” He also ordered federal agencies to investigate related non-profit organizations.

• Suppressed the truth: His Department of Justice removed its own study from its website, a study which found that “the number of far-right attacks continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism.”

• Threatened top military officials to fall in line with his vision for the military, and proposed using U.S. cities as “training grounds” for troops. Using racist, fascist language, he warned about an “invasion from within” and encouraged military leaders to “handle” “the enemy from within.” He’s used this phrase to describe people on the political left, immigrants, and others he considers his opponents.  

I’m with you in this frightening moment. Fascism tries to divide us, but we are not alone, and we won’t stand by as fascism grows.

In response to Trump’s threats to our cities and our right to dissent, we can all take action and prepare to stand up to fascism. We can get plugged into our communities and strengthen our networks to support one other.

These resources are a helpful starting point for connecting people to community resources like food banks. If you’re not already engaged in mutual aid to support your neighbors or to ask for support, now is a great time to try it. Poverty levels are on the rise, healthcare and food assistance have been drastically cut, and now Republicans have shut down the federal government.

I promise to keep fighting for you and for vulnerable Americans in Congress. I’ll continue standing up to Republicans and the fascist-in-chief, leading policies to address the rising cost of living and lift people out of poverty, and fighting for our rights—including the right to free speech and the right to healthcare.

But in order to defend what we have and make the changes we need, we need growing people power and more connected movements pushing from outside the federal government. Our country has a rich history of liberation movements that came together to dismantle fascist systems like slavery and Jim Crow, and we’re part of that long line of people working toward freedom for all.

As right-wing government leaders attack our people and fail to provide life-sustaining services, we must protect and lean on each other. Connecting with our communities can be a way to find meaning and joy, and a way to remind ourselves that we are not powerless.

With you in the fight against fascism and the fight for a better world,

Rashida