Embedded Files
Resistance Trackers
Feeling alone and need a little inspiration? Read on:
Choose Democracy Resist-List
Stories of non-cooperation against Trump's coup.
Tracking the Coup and the Resistance
Tracking Pillars of Resistance
A detailed spreadsheet of acts of resistance from many angles.
History of International Nonviolent Resistance - Case Studies
Organizations Defending Democracy
Local to LA and area:
Los Angeles area events. (See their Subreddit discussion.)
This group chooses an action each Sunday. "Show up. Do something."
National:
Suggestions for easier and more involved ways to support democracy.
Many local chapters in Los Angeles area. In-person and online meetings. Large list of actions available.
"Where millions mobilize for a better society—one where everyone can thrive."
Local and national events.
Local and national events.
Training Materials
We recommend starting with these:
Explore videos, articles, training slides, and the interactive guide.
Read or listen.
This great article shares global success stories and detailed steps for how-to organize under authoritarian creep.
Here are some other options:
AOC: What's Happening and How You Can Take Action
A 90-minute Youtube video that puts our current situation in perspective.
Series of live online trainings intended for 6-8 weeks, to bring people together, grow & strengthen their local networks, and get ready to mobilize to demand democracy in this new challenging environment.
How to Build a Movement: Preparing for Rapid Growth
Training video for organizers.
How to Build a Movement with Momentum
Training video for organizers.
Talking to Business Leaders: DEI as Resistance
Information for Government Workers and Law Enforcement
International Center for Nonviolent Conflict
Resources for activists and organizers.
Participate – Protests, Marches, and Public Events
ACLU guide.
Safety and Security at Protests
Safety, Security, and Digital Preparedness for a Second Trump Administration
A thorough guide to safety during protests and beyond.
Organizations Filing Lawsuits Blocking Attacks on the Constitution
ACLU American Civil Liberties Union
Common Cause National organization with California-specific lawsuits.
"A nonprofit consumer advocacy organization that champions the public interest in the halls of power."
Democracy Docket with Marc Elias
In 2020, Marc led the historic legal effort to protect voting rights, winning over 60 lawsuits against the GOP’s efforts to suppress the vote.
Center for Constitutional Rights
Dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Organizations Supporting Vulnerable Communities
See our Take Action page for detailed actions and trainings to support immigrant communities.
A political home for Latinx and Chicanx people who seek racial, economic, gender and climate justice.
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles
Focus on racial justice issues. Exposes hate and extremism and counters disinformation.
Boycotts
Companies that Walked Back DEI Policies
Companies that Donated to Trump
Attended Inauguration: Apple, AirBnB, Meta/Facebook/Instagram, Google, Tesla, X, TikTok
News Sources We Trust
Youtube channel, podcasts, newsletter
Substack:
Youtube, podcasts, more. No Lie and The Legal Breakdown
Podcasts:
Sounds Like Hate by the Southern Poverty Law Center
Crooked Media Podcasts:
Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams
Strict Scrutiny (Supreme Court analysis)
Pod Save America (four former Obama aides)
Project 2025
Information on White Nationalism
Books to Read
Hate Monger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the White Nationalist Agenda
Jean Guerrero, 2020
Proud Boys and the White Ethnostate: How the Alt-Right is Warping the American Imagination
Alexandra Minna Stern, 2019
John Powell, 2025
Lee McIntyre, 2021
How Minds Change: The Surprising Science of Belief, Opinion, and Persuasion
David McRaney, 2022
How to Stand Up to a Dictator: The Fight for Our Future
Maria Ressa, 2023
The New York Times: How Will We Know When We Have Lost Our Democracy?
And how exactly can we tell whether America has crossed the line?
Authoritarianism is harder to recognize than it used to be. Most 21st-century autocrats are elected. Rather than violently suppress opposition like Castro or Pinochet, today’s autocrats convert public institutions into political weapons, using law enforcement, tax and regulatory agencies to punish opponents and bully the media and civil society onto the sidelines. We call this competitive authoritarianism — a system in which parties compete in elections but the systematic abuse of an incumbent’s power tilts the playing field against the opposition. It is how autocrats rule in contemporary Hungary, India, Serbia and Turkey and how Hugo Chávez ruled in Venezuela.
The descent into competitive authoritarianism doesn’t always set off alarms. Because governments attack their rivals through nominally legal means like defamation suits, tax audits and politically targeted investigations, citizens are often slow to realize they are succumbing to authoritarian rule. More than a decade into Mr. Chávez’s rule, most Venezuelans still believed they lived in a democracy.
How, then, can we tell whether America has crossed the line into authoritarianism? We propose a simple metric: the cost of opposing the government. In democracies, citizens are not punished for peacefully opposing those in power. They need not worry about publishing critical opinions, supporting opposition candidates or engaging in peaceful protest because they know they will not suffer retribution from the government. In fact, the idea of legitimate opposition — that all citizens have a right to criticize, organize opposition to and seek to remove the government through elections — is a foundational principle of democracy.
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