On Monday, President Donald Trump ordered 800 National Guard troops to the nation’s capital — a move Princeton University professor Khalil Gibran Muhammad described 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. 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. (The FBI has slightly different numbers, 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 was ready to fill the leadership void. Early on Monday, they held a press conference and rally — pre-empting both Trump’s announcement and Mayor Bowser’s compliance. By Tuesday night, they had already published national calls to action for allies.
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, which has been leading workshops for groups, mixed with role-plays that help make sense of these authoritarian times.
2. Lead with values
In their now viral Instagram post laying out what to do in 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 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.
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. … [One] who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as [one] 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 the tool.
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. And they’re spreading the Free DC message — encouraging signs, posters, banners, t-shirts, patches and flags all over.
By Monday evening, they had a request to people outside of D.C.: Pressure Congress, 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, 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 online or join or host house meetings to grow the movement locally.
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.