Trump’s 5-Step Fascist Plan
After the gag order was issued, Trump attacked Judge Merchan’s daughter for running a political consulting firm that’s worked with Democrats, saying it should disqualify Merchan from his case. On Friday night, Bragg asked the judge to “clarify or confirm” that the order applies to family members and order Trump to “immediately desist from attacks on family members.”
Also last week, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton spoke out in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins about Trump possibly instigating violence:
“We do these jobs because we’re committed to the rule of law and we believe in the rule of law. And the rule of law can only function effectively when we have judges who are prepared to carry out their duties without the threat of potential physical harm.”
Meanwhile, Republican election officials have testified to the threats they faced when they refused Trump’s demands to falsify the 2020 election results.
Brad Raffensperger, the Georgia secretary of state who refused Trump’s demand to “find” the votes needed to flip the state into Trump’s hands, said “my email, my cell phone was doxxed.”
Rusty Bowers, the Arizona state speaker and a pro-Trump Republican who resisted pressure from Trump and Rudy Giuliani and refused to go along with an illegal scheme to replace Arizona’s legal slate of electors, remains a target of pro-Trump partisans. As he said, “They have had video panel trucks with videos of me proclaiming me to be a pedophile.”
Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia secretary of state who helped manage the 2020 presidential election and recount in Georgia that found no widespread fraud, has faced death threats. Sterling admonished Trump:
“Mr. President, you have not condemned these actions or this language. … This has to stop. Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone’s going to get hurt. Someone’s going to get shot. Someone’s going to get killed.”
Step 2: Consolidate power.
After taking office, a would-be fascist turns every arm of government into a tool of his will. One of Hitler’s first steps was to take over the civil service, purging it of non-Nazis.
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