The Authoritarian Takeover Has Begun

It's happening right before our eyes.

FADE IN:

It’s 2:00 a.m. on November 3, 2026. The sounds of thunder, booms, and fireworks shatter the suburban Chicago quiet. The thunder and booms are of jets and the fireworks are mortar and machine gun fire erupting.

Inside a 5000 square foot luxury home, a family of four is startled out of bed.

FATHER
(bolts up and looks to his left as his wife does the same)

MOTHER
(looks over at her husband)
What’s happening?

Two children, around 10 and 12, burst into the room.

BOY (10)
I’m scared!

GIRL (12)
Daddy, what’s happening?

FATHER
Stay here with Mommy. I’m going to see what’s happening!
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OUTSIDE OF THE HOUSE
Lights are turning on in homes all over the block, and a few people are walking out of their front doors to see what’s happening. A streak of lights flashes across the night sky as the homes shake with the sonic booms that follow in their wake. Fighter jets are moving from the West to the East toward downtown Chicago.

___________________________________

ON THE TELEVISION
All channels display the Emergency Broadcast Alert symbol and sounds. Then, suddenly, the sound and image are replaced by a video message from the President of the United States.

___________________________________

TELEVISION AND RADIO MESSAGE AT 2:30 A.M.

PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
(Addressing the nation from the Oval Office)
My fellow Americans: Antifa has left me no choice but to declare martial law and to suspend the election slated for later today. The insurrection and lawlessness directed at our brave men and women in law enforcement have escalated to the point that it is no longer safe to hold elections. I have received disturbing and irrefutable evidence from the National Security Council and the Federal Bureau of Investigation that Antifa is planning nationwide rioting.

Our great democracy and tradition of free and fair elections are all imperiled by these radical leftists. To hold these mid-term elections under such dangerous conditions would only serve to reward the forces of evil.

For the sake of our constitutional democracy, I am suspending the elections until such time as we can restore law and order.

The enemy from within that has been marching in the streets, interfering with law enforcement as they heroically sweep up the dirty and violent illegals, is directly and solely responsible. The responsibility for the actions I am forced to take today falls squarely on the radical extremist left that seeks to destroy democracy and freedom.

We will not let them succeed. We will fight this enemy together. It is up to every patriotic American citizen to stand up for democracy and to give no shelter or safety to the radical extremist left. Report them whenever you find them.

In patriotic states with governors who uphold our freedom, I have requested that the National Guard be activated. However, in states led by traitors, I am forced to send in our regular U.S. military.

Our heroic troops are going to protect us until every radical extremist leftist is arrested, tried, and hanged. We will prevail.

Good Night and God Bless the United States of America.

This is how I imagine a fascist or authoritarian takeover of the United States might look if it were a Hollywood production. It could happen like this.

But this is not the only way it could happen. Other scenarios are less dramatic but just as devastating. For example, everything that’s happening right now.

Some argue that the Trump administration is pursuing an authoritarian takeover of the United States. This is the narrative the Trump administration is spinning: the United States is at war with drug cartels/narco-terrorists, and undocumented immigrants are their foot soldiers invading the United States.

The Trump administration is waging an undeclared war against cartels, currently off the coast of Venezuela. Domestically, increasingly militarized federal forces are rounding people up, claiming that they are violent criminals and or members of notorious South American gangs. When Americans push back and resist flagrant violations of civil and constitutional rights by ICE and other federal agents, their protest against these tactics is being characterized as insurrection from within.

By characterizing civil resistance to the excesses of ICE and other federal agents as insurrection, the Trump administration is creating the circumstances it needs to make a colorable claim for federalizing National Guard troops to intervene further (and even more aggressively).

It will create a vicious cycle, resulting in the domestic use of the U.S. military.

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Most Americans remain unwilling to take President Trump and his administration seriously when the latter openly discuss reining in the rule of law to achieve their objectives. Americans are misled into thinking that everything being done is in accordance with the law. Much of what is being done is not in accordance with the law; they are using the pretense of laws, prosecutors, law enforcement, and the legal process, selectively, to give their actions the appearance of legality. It is meant to stifle resistance. And it is working.

What choices do Americans have? Suppose these warrantless, racially motivated arrests and detentions continue, and the courts are weakened to the point that impactful orders are no longer an option, or the United States Supreme Court resists entering lawful orders as a means of sidestepping a crisis (the fear that the Trump administration will ignore orders). In that case, the need for mass, nonviolent civil disobedience as the last course of non-violent action becomes unavoidable.

Complacency and the “keep your head down” mentality lead to horrible outcomes. If democracy falters and fascism and authoritarianism take root, not everyone will be impacted the same at the outset. The people most affected now - immigrants, people of color, and other minorities- will continue to bear the brunt of the civil liberties crackdowns. Still, no one is immune to the horrible outcomes that come with the loss of freedom. Slowly but surely, other communities and groups will suffer too.

The outcome is not inevitable. Resistance can stop the fall of democracy. It’s not as complicated as it seems, but it is not easy either. In a nation of 350 million people, at least 17 to 18 million need to stand up and peacefully resist. And if that happens, then the burden and risks associated with standing up to oppression are lessened for each individual.

If we all stand up and peacefully resist, then justice will prevail. But “all” begins with “me” and “you.”