Proposed budget cuts to essential programs contrast sharply with President TRUMP’s celebratory parade on June 14. On Capitol Hill, 60 veterans and military family members where arrested during a sit-in protesting the parade and what they see as TRUMP’s politicization of the Army.

“As veterans we were able to break into the mainstream narrative about TRUMP’s birthday parade and assert that Americans want ‘money for peopel not parades,'” wrote Brittany Ramos DeBarros, an organizing director with About Face: Veterans Against the War. DeBarros added that these kinds of military celebrations, while the military is used to “terrorize immigrants” and “starve children,” are “beyond grotesque.”

Public anger is also rising over TRUMP’s show of force in LA, where his administration deployed U.S. Marines and National Guard troops in response to protests, allegedly defying state and local authorities. Senator Alex Padilla (D-California) reportedly attempted to question Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference inside a federal building but was allegedly tackled and handcuffed.

“We need people to be brave in the face of authoritarianism,”

NOEM defended her actions, claiming the senator failed to identify himself in his home state. following a week of intense media coverage, support for TRUMP’s immigration policies began to decline in polls.A significant number of Americans expressed discomfort with the president’s deployment of the military in U.S. cities, with 47% opposing TRUMP’s actions in LA.

According to an activist named dinkin, it is crucial for people to protest, especially after the administration allegedly arrested Democratic politicians, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Rep. LaMonica McIver in New jersey, for questioning the immigration crackdown. In LA, union leader David Huerta was reportedly arrested for peacefully protesting immigration raids.

Dinkin emphasized the need for courage in the face of authoritarianism, stating, “From here, we continue getting organized in our communities to throw them out of power in the midterms and remove [TRUMP] from office pretty soon after that. Elections are the best way we have to remove this authoritarian threat, and getting organized in our communities is the way that we do that.”

Dinkin noted that strategies for organizing against authoritarianism will vary by location. In conservative districts, this involves holding town halls and challenging Republican members of Congress on proposed budget cuts and executive overreach.

“In other jurisdictions it might mean stepping up to run for local office yourself,helping to get educated on your rights; it might mean joining economic boycotts out there,such as the Target boycott,” Dinkin said.

Dinkin mentioned that the Working Families Party is supporting 1,000 working-class candidates in various states,emphasizing that voting remains a critical defense against authoritarianism.The challenge lies in rebuilding trust despite societal divisions exacerbated by TRUMP.

“It’s TRUMP and it’s also the media habitat that increasingly has people captured in feuds that only tell them what they want to hear, that is growing at the same time as a decline in participation in civic organizations and decline in the strength of the unions,” Dinkin concluded, highlighting the importance of fostering trusting relationships through community organizing.