Martial Law Coming

There Is A Coup Coming.

If you ever had any doubts about where Trump and his enablers are headed, then just consider these three articles:

Trump Orders Hegseth and Bondi to ‘Determine How Military’ Can Be Used in Domestic Law Enforcement, by Charlie Nash, Mediaite, Apr 28th, 2025, 9:08 pm 

Trump Orders Hegseth, Bondi to Send Military Assets to State, Local Police 'to Prevent Crime' in Latest Executive Order, by M.B. Mack / Published Apr 29 2025, The Latin Times, 11:58 AM EDT

Donald Trump's New Order Sparks 'Martial Law' Concerns, by Sophie Clark, Newsweek, Published Apr 29, 2025 at 11:25 AM EDT

Simply put, Trump is more or less openly preparing to use the military to impose his will on the nation. He’s purged the Pentagon of officers who might oppose him. And now he’s working to create a legal fiction that he has the right to use the Armed Forces inside the United States and against American citizens. The final act? It’s obvious. Some sort of coup d'état. 

We can only hope that 1) he and the GOP don’t get a chance to put their plans into motion, and 2) that our men and women in uniform will be unwilling to support his treasonous activities.

But one other thing is very true. To wit, no one can say that Trump and his Fascists have concealed their plans in any fashion. They are not making any secret of their preparations.

The only ones who will be surprised on the morning that there are tanks in front of the Capitol Building will be those members of the Democratic Party’s elite who are doing so painfully little to oppose Trump and his minions, and who have instead wasted their time and resources silencing those Democrats (Bernie, AOC, others) who have had the energy and the foresight to protest. 

 

What To Do In A Dictatorship

Sometimes, ridicule works just fine.

Here’s an article that might be helpful to us all. “What to do if the Insurrection Act is invoked: With the Insurrection Act looming, now is the time to learn how it might unfold and the strategic ways to respond — including the power of ridicule,” by Daniel Hunter, in Waging Non-Violence. 

In the piece, Mr. Hunter looks at what we can do as individuals should Trump invoke the Insurrection Act, in effect declaring martial law. He offers a variety of useful suggestions ranging from refusing to become violent (Trump will almost certainly try to instigate armed strife. Our refusal to go along with that will infuriate him) to the calculated use of ridicule and humor. 

Maybe not everything Mr. Hunter says will be valuable to everyone, but his article is doubtlessly an important foundation for those of us who wish to consider nonviolent responses to this most dreadful of modern administrations.

How Much Danger Are We In?

Sometimes, when I’m writing these things, I worry about just how much trouble I could get into because of them. Trump and MAGA are not known for their mercy. They have consistently sought revenge on anyone who, they think, has not shown them sufficient deference.

I tell myself that I’m relatively safe. No one reads me, for one thing. So it’s not like I’m a serious thorn in their side. And even if I did have a massive audience, what does that matter? People are protesting and writing and speaking out all over the country, and the Trump/Musk administration still just does whatever it damn well wants to. 

But, still, maybe there is some small danger. Dictatorships have long memories and short tempers. They do remember their critics, even the smallest, even decades later, and act accordingly.

However, I’m hoping that there is safety in numbers. If we all of us…all us Democrats, Progressives, Centerists, and Never-Trump Republicans…continue to speak out and continue to protest, then we will number in the millions. Maybe far too many for even the most efficient secret police to track and imprison. 

And maybe…maybe…in the end…

In our teeming multitudes, each of us alone but joining so many others…

We, and not they, will inherit the earth.

How close did we come to a military dictatorship?

The question is, how close did we come to a military take-over last week? It is something that historians are going to debate for years to come.

What we know for certain is that Trump wanted very badly to use active service military personnel to sweep the streets of “rioters” (and peaceful protestors) when the demonstrations against alleged police brutality got heated in late May and early June.

But there’s the rub.  What else did he want? There is a possibility that he wanted a great many more things to happen...like, the military occupation of American cities and potentially the end of democracy in the country. It is a stretch, of course, but not out of the question. You could see it happening. Trump, Barr, and their enablers ...like Tom Cotton, whose infamous oped more or less openly called for shooting people in the streets...decided that hope of a GOP victory in 2020 was visibly diminishing with every passing hour.

So why not just do away elections entirely?

And everything was primed and ready to go when, alas, the military (using its retired commanders as spokespeople) quietly declined to be part of the project...and thus saved American democracy for a little while longer, anyway.

Is this real? Well, obviously, there’s no way to know. At the moment, this is nothing but fiction. But, given the people involved, you have to think...well...you know...it could have happened like that. And, as I say, I’m guessing historians will be debating it for years to come.

But one thing is certain. If we want to make certain this story stays completely fiction, we need to vote Trump out of office. And keep him out.

Go Blue in 2020. The nation you save will be your own.

About me: I’m a writer and former journalist who has published material on everything from computers to the Jazz Age. (Among my small claims to fame is that I interviewed Steve Jobs just after that talented if complicated man got kicked out of Apple, and just before the company’s Board came begging him to come back.)

Please check out my new book, Padre: To The Island, a meditation on mortality, grief, and joy, based on the lives and deaths of two of the most amazing and unconventional people I ever met, my mother and father.

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