This Week in Democracy – Week 35: Free Speech! Free Speech! Free Sp... Oh Wait
Silencing protesters. Getting Jimmy Kimmel taken off air. Ordering Mahmoud Khalil's deportation. Another week of Zeteo's project to document the growth of authoritarianism in Trump's second term.
We've been documenting the growth of authoritarianism in the US for 35 weeks now, and the past seven days have been some of the most alarming yet.
Donald Trump openly suggested that broadcasters who criticized him should “maybe” lose their licenses. He also said out loud that he wasn’t sure the First Amendment applied to protesters. His attorney general said employers have an obligation to fire people who make disparaging comments about Charlie Kirk. His FFC chairman threatened ABC over comments made by comedian Jimmy Kimmel on his late-night program. Not even 12 hours later, Kimmel was taken off the air.
Putting the hypocrisy of a president who, on Day 1, signed an executive order titled "RESTORING FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND ENDING FEDERAL CENSORSHIP," aside, the open authoritarianism being displayed by Trump and his cronies isn’t just alarming, it’s terrifying.
From escalating their attacks on free speech to erasing America’s dark history of slavery from national park exhibits to sending more troops into American cities, here’s what Trump and his allies did this week to harm democracy, undermine the Constitution, and hurt free societies worldwide:
Saturday, September 13
The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration wrote a proposal to deploy 1,000 Louisiana National Guard troops for a law enforcement operation in the state’s “urban centers” like New Orleans and Baton Rouge in the event that Louisiana Republican Governor Jeff Landry asks for assistance. Landry later expressed support for a federal law enforcement takeover, saying, “We appreciate any federal resources [Trump] wants to send us, whether it’s prosecutors, more FBI agents, more ICE agents.”
Sunday, September 14
NBC News reported that the Trump administration asked Congress to approve an additional $58 million for security to protect the executive and judicial branches in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said, without giving details, that “a lot of the people you would traditionally say are on the left” are already “under major investigation.”
Monday, September 15
After New York Governor Kathy Hochul endorsed Zohran Mamdani in New York City’s mayoral election, Trump warned, “Washington will be watching this situation very closely. No reason to be sending good money after bad!”
Axios reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called Trump about his country’s plan to attack Hamas leaders in Qatar shortly before the strike took place, according to three Israeli officials. One official said, “Trump didn’t say no” and another added that “if Trump wanted to stop it, he could have. In practice, he didn’t.” Trump denied that he spoke with Netanyahu directly and told reporters he learned of the strike “the same way you did.”
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with Netanyahu in Jerusalem as Qatar hosted a summit with other Arab nation leaders to condemn Israel’s strike in the country’s capital. Also during Rubio’s visit to the region, Israel escalated its ground offensive in Gaza City.
CNN reported that the Pentagon inspector general completed its monthslong review of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s use of the messaging app Signal to disclose sensitive military attack plans with people, including his wife, brother, and the Atlantic’s editor-in-chief. The review’s findings have been submitted to Hegseth for review before the final report is submitted to Congress.
The New York Times reported new details of the White House’s agreement allowing the United Arab Emirates to acquire hundreds of thousands of advanced AI chips and a separate $2 billion investment from the UAE into the Trump family’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial. While there is no evidence that the deals were made in exchange for the other, they appear to show Trump personally benefiting from them and raise questions about public corruption.
Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey and a federal prosecutor who helped prosecute Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, sued the Trump administration, arguing her firing was “unlawful and unconstitutional.” The lawsuit claims she was fired “without cause, without advance notice, and without any opportunity to contest it,” and that “there is no legitimate explanation” for it.
On Truth Social, Trump threatened to declare another national emergency and federalize law enforcement in DC after Mayor Muriel Bowser said the district’s police force wouldn’t cooperate with ICE operations.
The top lawyer at FEMA resigned, making him the third chief counsel to leave the agency since Trump’s term began in January. While the reason for his resignation is unclear, he encouraged employees in a departing email to “place people above politics.”
Karen Attiah, a Washington Post columnist, was fired allegedly over posts on social media “about white men in response to the killing of Charlie Kirk.” In her termination letter, the Post called her actions “unacceptable” and “gross misconduct,” accusing her of “potentially endanger[ing] the physical safety” of her colleagues, allegations Attiah rejects. Attiah said the posts were about “speaking out against political violence, racial double standards, and America’s apathy toward guns.” On Twitter, the Washington Post guild called her firing “unjust” and added that the news organization “not only flagrantly disregarded standard disciplinary processes, it also undermined its own mandate to be a champion of free speech.”
Guest-hosting Charlie Kirk’s podcast from the White House, Vice President JD Vance baselessly claimed that “people on the left are much likelier to defend and celebrate political violence.” He also falsely said that “it is a statistical fact that most of the lunatics in American politics today are proud members of the far-left” – a claim that Zeteo later debunked with actual statistics from experts, the Department of Justice, and even Trump’s own appointees.
Also during the show, Vance interviewed White House senior adviser Stephen Miller, who said the Trump administration will be targeting the “organized campaign” that led to Kirk’s killing, despite there being no evidence that one exists. Miller said, “With God as my witness, we are going to use every resource we have at the Department of Justice, Homeland Security and throughout this government to identify, disrupt, eliminate and destroy this network and make America safe again for the American people.”
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he’s “not so sure” if protesters are protected by First Amendment rights.
He also said he’s been speaking with Attorney General Pam Bondi about bringing charges under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act against some protesters, including pro-Palestinian demonstrators who protested against Trump during his visit to a DC restaurant last week, and said “they should be put in jail.” RICO charges are filed against people accused of participating in an ongoing criminal enterprise and at least two “predicate” racketeering acts.
On Fox, Rubio claimed that “the rule of law is breaking down” in Brazil after former President Jair Bolsonaro was convicted of plotting a coup after the 2022 election. Rubio warned that the Trump administration will be responding to the move by “activist judges” to sentence Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) filed a resolution to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and remove the lawmaker from the two committees she sits on, falsely claiming that Omar “smeared Charlie Kirk and implied he was to blame for his own murder” during a Zeteo town hall. In response, Omar noted that the resolution “does not contain a single quote from me because she couldn’t find any,” and said the move is “an attempt to push a false story so she can fundraise and boost her run for Governor.” Mace later said on Twitter that Omar should also be stripped of her US citizenship.
On Truth Social, Trump announced that, on his orders, the US military conducted a strike on another alleged drug boat from Venezuela, killing three people whom he called “terrorists.” Just like the first strike, the operation wasn’t authorized by Congress and Trump said it took place in international waters. Trump warned that “IF YOU ARE TRANSPORTING DRUGS THAT CAN KILL AMERICANS, WE ARE HUNTING YOU!”
Trump filed a $15 billion defamation lawsuit against the New York Times and some of its reporters, claiming that their articles tried to undermine his candidacy for president and damaged his reputation, calling the news organization a “full-throated mouthpiece of the Democrat Party.” In a statement, the Times said the lawsuit “has no merit,” that it “lacks any legitimate legal claims and instead is an attempt to stifle and discourage independent reporting,” and that the outlet “will not be deterred by intimidation tactics.”
Trump signed a presidential memo to deploy National Guard troops to Memphis, Tennessee, to combat “tremendous levels of violent crime.” The troops will join a special task force made up of officials from agencies including the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, ICE, and the US Marshals Service.
A federal appeals court rejected an effort by Trump to fire Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook ahead of Tuesday’s meeting to set interest rates.
The Washington Post reported that the Trump administration ordered the removal of signs and exhibits related to slavery at multiple national parks, including a historic photograph that showed the scars on the back of a formerly enslaved man.
While speaking on a podcast hosted by Stephen Miller’s wife, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that “after what happened to Charlie [Kirk],” the Justice Department will “go after” those “targeting anyone with hate speech.”
On Fox, Bondi said employers “have an obligation to get rid of people” who are “saying horrible things” about Charlie Kirk. She also threatened to prosecute businesses that refuse to allow customers to print posters with Kirk’s picture for a vigil.
On Twitter, Rubio said “visa revocations are under way” for immigrants “who celebrate the death of our fellow citizens.” He added, “If you are here on a visa and cheering on the public assassination of a political figure, prepare to be deported. You are not welcome in this country.”
A federal judge said she was “alarmed and dismayed” by the Trump administration’s decision to deport five men to Ghana to await transfer to their home countries where they could face “torture and persecution,” even after they were issued protections from US immigration courts, but said her “hands are tied” now that they are in the custody of the Ghanaian government.
Tuesday, September 16
Trump told reporters that his administration had “knocked off” a total of three boats that he says were drug-smuggling vessels from Venezuela, despite information about strikes against only two of the boats having been released to the public. Trump didn’t specify when or where the third boat was struck or how many people were aboard.
Trump signed an executive order once again delaying the TikTok ban, this time until mid-December. The series of delays ignores a Congressional statute and a Supreme Court ruling that ordered TikTok to be shut down unless its Chinese parent company sells the app.
The Georgia Supreme Court declined to consider Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ appeal of a 2024 ruling that disqualified her from prosecuting the RICO case against Trump and 18 others for their scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia. The Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia will now decide whether to reassign the case to a new prosecutor, who could choose to drop it or bring a modified version.
On Truth Social, Trump said, “this Unconstitutional Georgia Hoax, together with the remaining Shams in New York, should now be dead for good,” and claimed that those who targeted him with criminal investigations “are now CRIMINALS who will hopefully pay serious consequences for their illegal actions.”
Appearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, FBI Director Kash Patel admitted that he hasn’t reviewed the entirety of the Epstein files. He refused to say whether Trump’s name appears in the files or if he ever told Attorney General Pam Bondi that Trump was named in the files. He also claimed that “there is no credible information” that Epstein trafficked his victims to other individuals.
Asked by a reporter from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation whether a sitting president should be engaged in so much business activity, Trump threatened him, saying, “Your leader is coming over to see me very soon, I’m going to tell him about you. You set a very bad tone.”
Trump also threatened ABC News chief Washington correspondent Jonathan Karl after he asked about Attorney General Pam Bondi’s comments about targeting hate speech. Trump replied that the Justice Department will “probably go after people like you because you treat me so unfairly,” and added, “You have a lot of hate in your heart.”
The Republican-controlled House passed a bill that would allow children as young as 14 to be tried as adults in DC for serious crimes, and another to restrict judges from having discretion to issue lighter sentences to youth. The bills are unlikely to pass in the Senate, where 60 votes are required.
The Justice Department said it sued Oregon and Maine for failing to turn over their voter registration lists and information about ineligible voters, a move it argues violates federal law. In a statement, Oregon’s secretary of state said, “If the President wants to use the DOJ to go after his political opponents and undermine our elections, I look forward to seeing them in court.”
On CNN, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche floated the idea of filing RICO charges against pro-Palestinian demonstrators who protested against Trump at a DC restaurant last week, saying, “RICO is available to all kinds of organizations committing crimes and committing wrongful acts.” He added, “Is it sheer happenstance that individuals show up at a restaurant where the president is trying to enjoy dinner…and accost him with vile words?”
404 Media reported that the Justice Department removed a study conducted by the National Institute of Justice from the DOJ website following Kirk’s killing, which found that white supremacist and far-right violence “continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism” in the US.
Students, professors, and staff at the University of California sued the Trump administration for freezing research funding and issuing a $1.2 billion fine against UCLA, arguing the president and his officials are using civil rights laws to undermine free speech and crack down on academic freedom. According to the lawsuit, the Trump administration’s demands in a proposed settlement offer to UCLA include getting rid of diversity scholarships, prohibiting overnight protests on university property, and cooperating with immigration enforcement.
Wednesday, September 17
A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to continue addressing the poor conditions at a Manhattan federal building where immigrants are being held, including overcrowding, no access to showers, and only “two small rations of food a day and limited water.” The judge said the court’s intervention was necessary to protect those in ICE’s custody from potentially “unconstitutional and inhumane treatment.” He also noted that the plaintiffs were “very likely to succeed on the merits of the claims” that the conditions violated their First and Fifth Amendment rights.
The Guardian reported that the Trump administration has significantly gutted government efforts to combat human trafficking, including cutting back key initiatives at several federal agencies and reassigning Department of Homeland Security agents to focus on deporting immigrants.
Bloomberg reported that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent once listed two different houses as his “principal residence” at the same time in mortgage documents. While mortgage experts say there is no sign of wrongdoing by Bessent, it’s also the same thing Trump has been trying to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook for, though in Cook’s case, Reuters reported last week that she listed the home and the center of the allegations as a “vacation home,” rather than a "principal residence.”
Multiple news outlets reported that top officials in the Trump administration are pressuring federal prosecutors in Virginia to file charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James for mortgage fraud. The pressure follows a five-month investigation and interviews with more than a dozen witnesses that have failed to result in sufficient evidence to support fraud charges.
Appearing before the Senate health committee, former CDC director Susan Monarez testified that she was fired for “holding the line on scientific integrity.” She said she was directed to only work with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy’s political appointees at the agency, “and not to speak or work with career scientists.” She also testified that RFK Jr. said “there was no scientific evidence associated with [COVID-19] vaccines,” called the CDC “the most corrupt federal agency in the world,” and said its employees “were killing children, and they don’t care.”
Appearing before the House Oversight Committee, FBI Director Kash Patel refused to say whether Trump’s name appears in the files or if he ever told Attorney General Pam Bondi that Trump was named in the files. He claimed that “there is no credible information” that Epstein trafficked his victims to other individuals. Patel also failed to recognize the name Dylann Roof, the white supremacist who in 2015 killed nine Black parishioners at a church in South Carolina.
ABC indefinitely pulled ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ from its late-night line-up hours after Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr warned the agency may take regulatory action against the broadcaster that could include “the possibility of fines or license revocation” over comments Kimmel made on a recent episode about Trump and MAGA’s response to Charlie Kirk’s death. On Truth Social, Trump called the show’s hiatus “Great News for America,” and encouraged NBC to fire Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers as well (Kimmel hasn’t been fired by ABC). In a statement, FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez called the move “a shameful show of cowardly corporate capitulation by ABC that has put the foundation of the First Amendment in danger.”
Before ABC suspended Kimmel’s show, Nexstar Media Group, the largest TV station owner in the country, announced it would preempt the program “for the foreseeable future.” Nexstar is currently seeking to buy Tegna, another local TV operator, in a deal that would require the Trump FCC to change rules limiting the percentage of households a single company’s stations can reach. Meanwhile, Sinclair, which has 31 ABC affiliates, said in a statement that the decision to suspend Kimmel’s show was “not enough,” and said it wouldn’t run his program until he issues a “direct apology” to Kirk’s family and makes a “meaningful” personal donation to the family and Turning Point USA.
A federal judge ordered Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City who went on to serve as Trump’s personal lawyer, to pay more than $1.3 million in legal fees related to investigations into his efforts to help Trump overturn the 2020 presidential election. With interest, Giuliani owes nearly $1.6 million.
The Education Department announced it would partner with conservative and right-wing organizations, including Turning Point USA, Moms for Liberty, and the Heritage Foundation (which drafted Project 2025), to provide educational programming in schools about patriotism, liberty, and “America’s enduring values” ahead of the country’s 250th anniversary next year.
On Truth Social, Trump said that he plans to designate “antifa” as a major terrorist organization, despite the fact that “antifa” isn’t even an organization and doesn’t have a leader, membership, or a centralized structure. He (nor any part of the government) also cannot legally designate any domestic group as a terrorist organization. Trump added that he will be “strongly recommending that those funding ANTIFA be thoroughly investigated in accordance with the highest legal standards and practices.” Trump made a similar pledge in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of the killing of George Floyd.
By a vote of 214-213, the House rejected Rep. Nancy Mace’s resolution to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar.
An immigration judge ordered Mahmoud Khalil, who is a legal permanent resident in the US, to be deported to Algeria or Syria, alleging he failed to disclose information on his green card application, according to documents filed in federal court by his legal team. His lawyers indicated they would appeal the decision and said that a federal judge’s previous order blocking the Trump administration from deporting Khalil while his habeas case proceeds remains in effect.
Thursday, September 18
During a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Trump repeated his lie that he won the 2020 presidential election.
Trump also floated the idea of sending troops back to Afghanistan four years after the US withdrew from the country, saying his administration is trying to get the Bagram Air Base back because “it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.”
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation was excluded from the press conference after being told by Downing Street that its accreditation was canceled for “logistical reasons,” along with other international outlets. The exclusion comes days after Trump threatened its Americas editor, John Lyons.
On CNBC, FCC chair Brendan Carr said that Sinclair has “every right” to demand that Jimmy Kimmel make a personal donation to Charlie Kirk’s family and Turning Point USA in order to run his program in the future. Later, on conservative commentator Scott Jennings’ podcast, Carr said he thinks it’s “worthwhile” for the FCC to look into “The View,” another program that is frequently critical of Trump and his administration.
The top Democrats on the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into ABC, Sinclair, and the FCC over the suspension of ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!,’ writing in a letter to Carr that “this corrupt political intimidation is unacceptable.” Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and his leadership team called for Carr to resign.
On Twitter, former President Barack Obama spoke out against the suspension of Kimmel’s show, writing, “After years of complaining about cancel culture, the current administration has taken it to a new and dangerous level by routinely threatening regulatory action against media companies unless they muzzle or fire reporters and commentators it doesn’t like.” He also slammed the Washington Post’s firing of columnist Karen Attiah, saying, “This is precisely the kind of government coercion that the First Amendment was designed to prevent — and media companies need to start standing up rather than capitulating to it.”
On Air Force One, Trump baselessly claimed that 97% of television networks are against him, saying, “they give me only bad publicity or press,” and added, “I would think maybe their license should be taken away” by the FCC.
A federal judge temporarily blocked the Trump administration from immediately deporting hundreds of unaccompanied Guatemalan children, finding that the government’s claims that they sought to “reunify” them with their parents “crumbled like a house of cards” upon review.”
NBC News reported that senior Pentagon officials are considering launching a new recruitment campaign to encourage young people to join the military as a way to honor Charlie Kirk and a national call to service, with possible slogans being discussed, including “Charlie has awakened a generation of warriors.” The campaign could also include using Turning Point USA chapters as recruitment centers.
Bloomberg Law reported that some federal employees at the Labor Department who opted into the “Fork in the Road” deferred resignation program created by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are returning to their jobs after collecting their full pay and benefits for months without working.
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s hand-picked Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices voted to roll back a recommendation for children to receive a combined vaccine for measles, mumps, rubella, and chicken pox until they are at least four, instead recommending that they get four separate vaccines. The recommendation will need to be signed off on by the acting CDC director. The panel also delayed a vote on whether to eliminate a recommendation for infants to receive a hepatitis B vaccine at birth in favor of one that would push back the vaccine until the child is one month old if the mother tests negative for the disease.
Trump suggested that Ilhan Omar, whom he called “SCUM,” should be impeached and later baselessly accused her of immigration fraud on Truth Social.
Trump filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to allow him to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook.
Multiple news outlets reported that Trump is expected to fire the US attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia after investigators were unable to turn up incriminating evidence of mortgage fraud by New York Attorney General Letitia James.
Federal officers arrested 11 Democratic elected officials inside a federal building in New York City, after a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction earlier this week over the poor conditions facing immigrants in the building’s ICE holding facility. The officials, who were arrested after refusing to leave without inspecting the holding cells, included Comptroller Brad Lander, who was arrested by federal agents in June at the same building.
Friday, September 19
In Illinois, Kat Abughazaleh, a former Zeteo contributor running to be the Democratic candidate in the state’s 9th Congressional District, was assaulted by federal agents during a demonstration in front of an ICE facility. Abughazaleh told the Washington Post that she was thrown to the ground twice by ICE agents.
ABC News reported that the Education Department’s acting Office of Inspector General is launching an investigation into DOGE’s access to the agency’s sensitive data systems following a June request from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) to look into DOGE’s “infiltration” of the agency’s Federal Student Aid office.
The Trump administration filed an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court to overturn a lower court judge’s order allowing trans and non-binary people to choose their sex identification marker on their passports.
Reuters reported that some senior US diplomats focused on Syria were abruptly removed from their posts by Tom Barrack, the special envoy for Syria and a longtime Trump adviser, who has led a pro-Damascus policy shift since he was appointed in May.
The Trump administration announced it was ending the Temporary Protected Status of thousands of immigrants from Syria.
A federal judge tossed Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the New York Times, calling the complaint “improper and impermissible,” and adding that “a complaint is not a public forum for vituperation and invective — not a protected platform to rage against an adversary.” The judge said that any revised complaint must be limited to 40 pages. A spokesperson for Trump’s legal team said the president “will continue to hold the Fake News accountable through this powerhouse lawsuit … in accordance with the judge’s direction on logistics.”
Trump signed a proclamation adding a $100,000 fee for H-1B work visa applications. Applicants for the program for highly skilled foreign workers currently pay $215 to enter the lottery and a $780 fee to submit their full applications for vetting.
The Education Department sent two letters to Harvard University saying it would now have to use its own funds to pay for student loans and grants before the government would repay the school with federal aid. It also gave the school 20 days to turn over detailed information about its undergraduate admissions or risk more fines.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, which includes members hand-picked by RFK Jr., voted to get rid of its recommendation for the COVID-19 vaccine, saying that getting the vaccine is “based on individual-based decision-making.” It’s unclear how the move will impact insurance coverage for COVID-19 vaccines.
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