This Week in Democracy – Week 16: Arrests, Investigations, and the Trump 'Revenge Machine'
Zeteo's project to document the ongoing, week-by-week growth of authoritarianism in the Trump second term.
Welcome to the 16th installment of ‘This Week of Democracy’ – another week of President Donald Trump’s name-calling, threats, and actions that harm democratic values, undermine constitutional order, and hurt free society in the US and around the world.
From the arrest of a Democratic mayor to a friendly conversation with an insurrectionist to a plan to send undocumented migrants to Libya, here’s a list of actions the president and his allies took this week that underscore the growth of authoritarianism in Trump’s second term:
Saturday, May 3
A federal appeals court paused a lower court’s ruling to restore operations at Voice for America, one day after employees were told they would soon return to work and resume programming.
Enrique Tarrio, the former leader of the Proud Boys, said he met with Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Tarrio was pardoned by Trump after being sentenced to 22 years in prison for seditious conspiracy and other charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection. According to Tarrio, Trump apologized for “what Joe Biden did” to the rioters and said “he is working on making things right.”
Sunday, May 4
During a wide-ranging interview on ‘Meet the Press,’ Trump accused judges of trying to “take away the power of the presidency,” repeated baseless claims that the 2020 election was rigged and is “still being litigated,” said he doesn’t know if he has to uphold the Constitution, indicated that he will not run for an unconstitutional third term in 2028, and refused to rule out using military force to annex Greenland.
On Truth Social, Trump directed the Bureau of Prisons to reopen the infamous federal prison on Alcatraz to incarcerate the country’s “most dangerous criminals.” Trump indicated the prison would be rebuilt and “substantially enlarged.”
Also on Truth Social, Trump announced his administration would begin the process of implementing a 100% tariff on any films produced outside of the US, claiming the incentives other countries are offering amount to a “National Security threat.”
Trump lashed out at Fox host Howard Kurtz, saying it’s time for him to retire because he isn’t doing enough to defend the president. He also attacked Karl Rove, calling him “a total Loser who’s been wrong about almost everything!”
Trump told reporters that deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, who helped shape Trump’s family separation policies, the Muslim ban, and the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, is a frontrunner to be named as national security adviser.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump confirmed that he offered to send US troops to Mexico to “take care of the cartels,” which President Claudia Sheinbaum rejected.
Trump also said the Wall Street Journal “has truly gone to Hell” and called it a “rotten newspaper” that is “China-oriented” and “really bad for this country.”
The latest edition of ‘60 Minutes’ featured a damning segment on Trump targeting some of the country’s biggest law firms, in which correspondent Scott Pelley reported that lawyers are “warning that Trump’s assault on the legal profession threatens the rule of law itself.”
Monday, May 5
Lawyer Mark Zaid sued the Trump administration over the revocation of his security clearance, a move his complaint called “unconstitutional retaliation.” Zaid previously represented a senior Department of Homeland Security official who filed a whistleblower complaint in 2020 after he was told to stop providing intelligence reports on possible Russian interference in that year’s presidential election.
Eric Iverson, a US citizen and prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC), sued the Trump administration over the president’s executive order imposing sanctions on the ICC, which the lawsuit says has prevented Iverson from “investigating and prosecuting the mass atrocities in Darfur.”
On Truth Social, Trump directed the Justice Department to “secure the release” of Tina Peters, a former county clerk in Colorado who was convicted of several charges after using someone’s security badge to allow an associate of Trump ally and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell to access county election equipment following the 2020 presidential election. Trump called Peters a “hostage” and said her case was a “Communist persecution by the Radical Left Democrats to cover up their Election crimes and misdeeds in 2020.” (Trump doesn’t have the power to pardon individuals convicted of state crimes.)
A coalition of Democratic-led states and Washington, DC, sued the Trump administration over its decision to effectively dismantle the Department of Health and Human Services by firing 10,000 employees and closing entire department agencies.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth used Signal for at least a dozen separate chats about official Pentagon business, including one where he directed aides to notify foreign governments about an unfolding military operation.
A federal judge ordered the North Carolina State Board of Elections to certify Democrat Allison Riggs as the winner of the 2024 state Supreme Court election, rejecting GOP ballot challenges. Barring an appeal, Riggs’ certification will come six months after voters went to the polls.
In an interview with NBC News, former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, the author of a New York Times op-ed and book under the pseudonym “Anonymous,” said he’s prepared to “fight back” against the Trump administration in court after the president issued a memo last month calling for a review of Taylor’s conduct at DHS. Taylor said he spoke out at the time out of fear that Trump would turn the government into a “revenge machine,” and called his threats against political rivals “insidious” and “un-American.”
The Department of Homeland Security said it will offer a $1,000 stipend and travel assistance for undocumented immigrants who voluntarily “self-deport.”
When asked on CNBC if he was threatening to pull CBS’ broadcasting license, FCC commissioner Brendan Carr did not rule it out, saying, “It’s not a threat. That’s a penalty that is in the communications act.” Carr also warned that he would block any merger by companies that engage in DEI policies and practices.
Labor groups representing teachers and school workers from the Defense Department sued the Trump administration over the president’s executive order banning collective bargaining for many federal workers.
As the Trump administration began putting defaulted student loans into collections, the Education Department threatened to withhold providing student loans for specific colleges and universities if too many former students defaulted on their payments.
A group of 13 post-secondary institutions sued the Trump administration in an effort to block steep cuts to federal research funding provided by the National Science Foundation.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter to the president of Harvard University, notifying him that the government is cutting off all new federal research grants for the school because of its “consistent violations of its own legal duties,” and adding that Harvard has “made a mockery of his country’s higher education system.”
Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration sent Columbia University a proposal for a consent decree, which would give a judge federal oversight of the school and ensure it complies with the agreement. According to the Journal, Columbia leaders are negotiating with the government, and a consent decree can’t take effect unless the school agrees to enter it.
A newly declassified memo found that US intelligence agencies don’t believe that the Venezuelan government is directing the criminal gang Tren de Aragua, a rationale that Trump has used to justify invoking the Alien Enemies Act to deport Venezuelans to El Salvador.
Tuesday, May 6
During an Oval Office meeting, new Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told Trump that Canada “won’t be for sale, ever,” to which Trump responded, “Never say never.”
ABC News reported that the Justice Department has been quietly investigating the 2022 traffic stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, as the Trump administration continues to defy a Supreme Court ruling to facilitate his return to the US from El Salvador.
A federal judge blocked the Trump administration from deporting Venezuelan immigrants detained in the Southern District of New York under the Alien Enemies Act, writing that sending immigrants to El Salvador’s “evil” mega-prison would result in “abuse and inhumane treatment with no recourse to bring them back.”
The Rhode Island District Court temporarily blocked the Trump administration from implementing an executive order to dismantle three federal agencies that provide funding and grants to libraries, museums, and minority-owned businesses.
The Supreme Court temporarily reinstated Trump’s ban on trans people in the military, overturning a temporary block by a federal judge while legal challenges to the ban move forward.
Trump said that the US would “stop the bombings” in Yemen after the Houthis “capitulated” – a characterization the Houthis refuted. The Houthis allegedly told the US they would stop attacking ships in the Red Sea. Oman later said it mediated a ceasefire agreement between the US and the Houthis.
ICE officials raided multiple restaurants in Washington, DC, including one owned by the husband of CBS News anchor Norah O’Donnell.
A federal judge reaffirmed her order requiring the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a second Venezuelan man who was sent to El Salvador’s mega-prison, which, in this case, was in violation of a legal settlement.
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration is planning to send immigrants to Libya on a US military plane. Human rights groups have called the conditions of the migrant detention centers in the country “horrific” and “deplorable.”
A federal judge ruled that Badar Khan Suri, a Georgetown University researcher targeted by the Trump administration for deportation, must have his case challenging his detention heard in Virginia, rejecting the administration’s efforts to move the case to Louisiana or Texas, where he has been detained for over a month.
The Lever reported that Trump is set to use funds from the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement – meant for sick, elderly and at-risk refugees – to provide asylum for an influx of white South Africans.
On Twitter, senior adviser for the US Agency for Global Media Kari Lake announced that the agency would partner with One America News Network, a far-right, pro-Trump news and political commentary network that has spread conspiracy theories and debunked election claims.
Nine Senators, including Bernie Sanders, wrote a letter to Paramount’s controlling shareholder Shari Redstone urging the company not to settle the ‘60 Minutes’ lawsuit with Trump, writing that doing so “will only embolden him to shakedown, extort and silence CBS and other media outlets that have the courage to report about issues that Trump may not like.”
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump called New York Attorney General Letitia James a “horrible human being,” a “total crook,” and a “sick person.” James successfully prosecuted the Trump Organization in 2022 for fraud, resulting in over $450 million in fines and Trump being barred from operating any business in the state for three years.
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy introduced a bill known as the Modern Emoluments and Malfeasance Enforcement (MEME) Act, which would prevent presidents and other federal officials from profiting off of digital assets like meme coins while in public office. In a press release, Murphy said, “The Trump meme coin is the single most corrupt act ever committed by a president.”
On Truth Social, Trump named Siggy Flicker, a former ‘Real Housewives’ star, to the board of the Holocaust Memorial Council. Flicker, whose son was arrested for participating in the Jan. 6 insurrection, has complained on social media about not being able to make “beeper jokes” and said “Palestine is just another name for Israel.”
Wednesday, May 7
A federal judge said deporting migrants from Asia to Libya would “clearly violate” an April injunction requiring the government to provide written notice and a “meaningful” chance to contest their deportation for any immigrant expelled to a third country. Meanwhile, both rival governments in Libya said they have not agreed to accept the removed immigrants into their country.
Republican Jefferson Griffin conceded the North Carolina Supreme Court race to Democratic incumbent Allison Riggs, marking the end of the last contested result of the 2024 election.
Trump named Dr. Casey Means as his new pick for surgeon general after his first choice, Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, faced scrutiny over her medical credentials. Means, a close ally of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., has baselessly claimed that the vaccination schedule for children has caused health declines in youth and appeared on Tucker Carlson’s show in 2024. She also failed to complete her medical residency, and her medical license is currently inactive.
A federal judge revealed that the Trump administration invoked the state secrets privilege after she ordered the government to provide details about the deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador. The same privilege was invoked in March following a judge's order for a deportation flight carrying Venezuelan immigrants to turn back.
Meanwhile, Judge James Boasberg questioned a Justice Department lawyer over the failure of the Trump administration to return Abrego Garcia to the US. The hearing also resulted in the DOJ attorney acknowledging that administration officials have been misrepresenting the Supreme Court order to facilitate his return.
The DC Circuit Court lifted a stay that blocked a preliminary injunction requiring the Trump administration to restore funding for USAGM news networks, including Voice of America.
Democratic senators on the Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi expressing concern about her recent memo revoking a policy to protect reporters from having their phone, email, and other records seized by prosecutors in leak investigations. The Senators warned the move will “deter whistleblowers from coming forward,” as well as “depriv[e] the public of valuable information about its government.”
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration and DOGE are looking to cut dozens of National Park Service grants, including many that are meant to protect public lands from the effects of climate change.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from revoking federal homelessness grants because of new requirements around issues like DEI and immigration enforcement.
An immigrant advocacy organization sued the Trump administration over its efforts to remove the temporary legal status of immigrants from Afghanistan and Cameroon.
Politico reported that the Trump administration is planning to release the audio of Joe Biden’s interview with the special counsel who investigated the former president’s handling of classified documents. Biden previously asserted executive privilege to block the release of the recordings to House committees.
On the ‘Hugh Hewitt Show,’ Trump hinted at reviewing the tax-exempt status of every university where his administration claims antisemitism is “out of control.”
An administrative judge was put on paid leave by the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission after she spoke out against a Trump administration directive that would see the agency halt discrimination investigations for trans people. The judge’s supervisor said she is seeking to fire the judge for “conduct unbecoming of a federal employee.
The Washington Post reported that the State Department is pushing countries facing tariffs to approve Musk’s Starlink service, with an internal memo suggesting that Lesotho is hoping to avoid tariffs by signing an agreement with the company.
Reuters reported that the US and Israel have discussed Washington possibly leading a temporary post-war transitional government in Gaza until the region is “demilitarized and stabilized, and a viable Palestinian administration” emerges.
Bloomberg reported that the majority of the top holders of Trump’s memecoin, who are competing for a private dinner with the president, have used foreign exchanges that ban US users, which suggests many of the purchasers are likely foreign.
On Truth Social, Trump renewed his attacks against CBS News and ‘60 Minutes,’ arguing that they need to be “held responsible for their corruption and lies, which is exactly what we’re doing in Court!”
Thursday, May 8
The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to lift a federal judge’s order blocking the government from ending a Biden-era immigration parole program that allowed more than 500,000 Cubans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Venezuelans to temporarily live and work in the US.
The Republican-led House passed a bill introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to rename the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
Trump announced he would replace Ed Martin as his nominee for US attorney in Washington, DC. The interim US attorney and former defense attorney for Jan. 6 insurrectionists faced controversy over his ties to an alleged “Nazi sympathizer” and has targeted Democratic politicians, including Sen. Chuck Schumer, as well as medical journals.
Later, Trump announced he would name Jeanine Pirro as the interim top federal prosecutor for Washington, DC. Pirro, a former judge and prosecutor, is a staunch Trump ally and Fox personality who has called for the “cleansing” of the FBI and DOJ, spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and was suspended from the network after making xenophobic comments about Rep. Ilhan Omar.
The Trump administration fired the acting administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) one day after he testified in front of the House Appropriations Committee that the federal government shouldn’t eliminate the agency.
The White House fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden, a move House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called “a disgrace and the latest in [Trump’s] ongoing effort to ban books, whitewash American history, and turn back the clock.”
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump once again referred to Jewish Sen. Chuck Schumer as a “Palestinian.”
The NAACP and a Maryland-based nonprofit sued the Department of Education to block the termination of the equity assistance center program, which helps school districts promote equal education opportunities, as well as desegregation and anti-discrimination services.
Advocacy organizations filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of unaccompanied immigrant children against the Department of Health and Human Services in an effort to block a Trump administration policy that prohibits parents, siblings, and other family members from sponsoring unaccompanied children because of their immigration status or an inability to provide specific documentation. The lawsuit argues the policy has resulted in children being separated from their families and suffering prolonged periods in federal custody.
Trump threatened to rescind a Biden-era law, the Digital Equity Act, which sought to expand high-speed internet access in low-income communities, calling the law “racist” and “totally unconstitutional.”
The Education Department sent a letter to the University of Pennsylvania accusing the school of submitting “incomplete, inaccurate, and untimely disclosures” about its foreign funding, and ordered the school to submit documents including the names of contact information of staff responsible for the university’s Student and Exchange Visitor Program.
Speaking at an American Bar Association event, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor urged lawyers to “stand up” and “fight this fight,” warning that “we can’t lose the battles we are facing.”
A circuit court put a temporary stay on a federal judge’s ruling requiring the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a second man deported to El Salvador.
The Justice Department opened a criminal fraud investigation into Letitia James, following a request from the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, who accused James of falsifying bank documents and property records to “acquire government-backed assistance and loans and more favorable loan terms,” accusations James calls “baseless.”
Friday, May 9
A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Turkish student Rumeysa Ozturk after six weeks in ICE detention. “Her continued detention potentially chills the speech of the millions and millions of people in this country who are not citizens,” Judge William Sessions said during Friday’s hearing. “There has been no evidence that has been introduced by the government other than the op-ed. I mean, that literally is the case.”
A group of Democratic senators sent a letter to Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urging the Treasury and the Justice Department to investigate Trump’s ties to crypto-giant Binance following the news that a stablecoin created by Trump-associated World Liberty Financial crypto venture was chosen by an Abu Dhabi firm to invest $2 billion in Binance.
Federal officials arrested Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka outside a new immigration facility in the city. Interim US attorney for New Jersey Alina Habba, who was once Trump’s lawyer, said on Twitter that Baraka had “committed trespass and ignored multiple warnings” from DHS officials, adding, “NO ONE IS ABOVE THE LAW.”
Republican Sen. John Cornyn said the Justice Department launched an investigation into a proposed housing development outside of Dallas, Texas, that would have a mosque at its center. Cornyn asked the DOJ to investigate the development last month over allegations of “religious discrimination” against Jewish and Christian communities.
Stephen Miller told reporters that the Trump administration is “actively looking at” suspending habeas corpus, the right for people to challenge their detention in court.
AP reported that the Pentagon ordered the removal and review of all library books addressing diversity, anti-racism, or gender issues from military academies.
The Guardian reported that the White House plans to block Hegseth’s choice for his chief of staff and will select a candidate of their choosing.
The Trump administration canceled funding for the United Nations Population Fund, which goes toward women’s health and reproductive rights.
The New York Times reported that Trump is expected to rescind his nominee to lead the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, leaving a temporary director in place as the administration fights to dismantle the agency.
On Truth Social, Trump called MSNBC “the worst there is on Television misrepresentation,” insisted they should be “forced to TELL THE TRUTH",” and threatened the media network with “Taxes and Penalties.” He also attacked MSNBC host Stephanie Ruhle, calling her “exhausted” and “highly neurotic,” adding that “she doesn’t have what it takes.”
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A great summary with important information. But, it's exhausting to read.
I look forward to this information every week and post it on my FB page. It would have been too crazy to do it myself, which I was going to try to do before I knew you were. Thank you.