Friends, this authoritarian surveillance state is getting out of control, threatening our safety, privacy, and freedom. Now is the time to act and demand common-sense solutions.

We were already sounding the alarm about corporations building an AI-powered surveillance infrastructure around us. Now, Flock is advocating for turning vehicles into license-plate scanners, showing how easily this authoritarian surveillance state can grow.

A new investigation has found that Flock pitched a plan that could turn hundreds of thousands of Uber, Lyft, and delivery vehicles into roaming license-plate surveillance machines.1

Think about that. A surveillance network that could follow us wherever we go.

And this danger isn’t theoretical.

Researchers have documented innocent motorists being pulled over, detained at gunpoint, and even jailed after automated license-plate reader errors.2

Then came another disturbing investigation revealing that officers have allegedly used these systems as personal surveillance tools, fueling frustration and a desire for accountability.

Investigators found at least 50 law-enforcement officers charged with or accused of unauthorized license-plate-reader use. In 26 cases, investigators or prosecutors said officers used the technology to spy on wives, girlfriends, ex-partners, their exes’ new partners, or women they wanted to meet. Flock’s system was involved in 46 of the cases reviewed.3

One Georgia police chief allegedly searched license plates belonging to his former girlfriend and her teenage daughter roughly 600 times. In Wisconsin, an officer allegedly used Flock to investigate whether his girlfriend had gone to an abortion clinic.

Another investigation found cases where police departments apparently did not know their own officers had potentially misused these systems until journalists, victims, activists, or other outsiders raised the alarm.4

More than 100 cases of alleged misuse have also been documented, involving accusations ranging from stalking former partners to monitoring protesters and abortion-related travel. 5 And that’s just what we know about.

Flock says misconduct represents only a tiny share of its users and points to auditing tools designed to detect abuse. But when technology can quietly reveal where someone shops, worships, protests, visits a doctor, or spends the night, guardrails after the abuse has occurred are not enough.

America needs affordable healthcare, housing, education, lower costs, and real climate action, not more ways to monitor us. Our tax dollars should build stronger communities, not bigger surveillance networks.

People are fed up with corruption and cruelty. Families are demanding leaders address rising costs, healthcare, housing, education, good-paying jobs, and a planet getting hotter by the minute.

We do not need our public resources helping build an infrastructure capable of tracking ordinary Americans everywhere they go.

📢 TAKE ACTION» Tell your attorney general to investigate local law enforcement’s abuse of Flock surveillance cameras

Add Your Name

📢 TAKE ACTION» Tell Congress to defund Flock’s expanding camera surveillance network.

Add Your Name

📢 TAKE ACTION» Tell decision-makers: No AI data centers on federal lands.

Add Your Name

Our public lands belong to the people. Our public dollars belong to the people. And our private lives belong to us.

Contact your local, state, and federal lawmakers now and demand that they actively oppose mass surveillance and protect our civil liberties. Tell them to reject policies, funding, and technologies that allow corporations or government agencies to track people without meaningful limits or accountability. Privacy, freedom of movement, and the right to live without constant monitoring are fundamental freedoms, and once they are weakened, they are difficult to reclaim. Speak up now and make it clear: our safety should never come at the cost of our freedom.

💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

• ⚖️ Take Action» Tell Congress to impeach and convict Trump for launching an illegal war with Iran

• 🚨 Take Action» Tell Congress to stop Trump and Hegseth from depleting our weapons and leaving troops exposed

• 🎭 Take Action» Keep Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center

• 🕊️ Take Action» Tell Congress to stop Pentagon funding for Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran

• 🪖 Take Action» Demand accountability for Pete Hegseth

Thanks for taking action!

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by people — by members who read, share, comment, take action, call Congress, invite friends, and refuse to look away.

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

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For too long, Washington has defined “national security” as weapons, war, militarized enforcement, surveillance, and ever-growing defense budgets.

But a nation is not secure when its people cannot afford to live.

A parent choosing between groceries and medicine is not secure. A senior watching rent, food, and utilities outrun a Social Security check is not secure. A veteran waiting for care is not secure. A worker putting in forty hours and still falling behind is not secure.

And a democracy drowning in corruption, self-dealing, intimidation, and concentrated presidential power is not secure either.

President Trump and Republicans’ proposed 2027 budget exposes these warped priorities. The Trump administration is seeking roughly $1.5 trillion in defense resources while proposing deep cuts to nondefense programs Americans depend on.

The accompanying chart makes the imbalance even clearer: war represents 65.77% of the spending shown, while Veterans Affairs, Health and Human Services, Education, and Housing and Urban Development together represent just 18.38%.

Meanwhile, Americans are being squeezed by higher costs, tariffs, healthcare insecurity, housing costs, and policies that threaten programs like Medicaid and food assistance.

This is happening while Trump and his family continue facing extraordinary questions about conflicts of interest and profiting from proximity to presidential power, from cryptocurrency ventures and foreign business relationships to government decisions affecting industries in which the Trump family has financial interests.

We have watched public institutions weakened, watchdogs attacked, loyalists elevated, pardons granted to political allies, independent agencies pressured, and government power increasingly treated as something belonging to one man rather than the American people.

That is not national security. That is concentrated power.

Real national security begins with whether people are safe, free, healthy, housed, fed, represented, and able to build a decent life.

Real National Security Means Security for the People

• ❤️ Caring for veterans and military families is national security.

• 🏥 Affordable healthcare is national security.

• 🩺 Public health and disease prevention are national security.

• 🏠 Safe, affordable housing is national security.

• 🍎 Food security is national security.

• 📚 Strong public education is national security.

• 🎓 Affordable higher education and job training are national security.

• 💼 Good jobs, unions, and fair wages are national security.

• 💸 Lowering costs and tackling inflation are national security.

• 🧠 Mental healthcare is national security.

• 🛒 Protecting families from unnecessary tariffs, price shocks, and corporate price-gouging is national security.

• 🧒 Affordable child care is national security.

• 👵 Protecting Social Security and Medicare is national security.

• 💊 Affordable prescription drugs are national security.

• 💧 Clean water is national security.

• 🌎 A safe and livable climate is national security.

• 🔥 Disaster preparedness and resilient communities are national security.

• ⚡ Reliable, affordable energy is national security.

• 🏭 Resilient domestic manufacturing and supply chains are national security.

• 🌾 Family farms and a resilient food system are national security.

• 🗳️ Free, fair, accessible elections are national security.

• 📰 A free and independent press is national security.

• ⚖️ Equal rights and the rule of law are national security.

• 🏛️ Independent courts and institutions that answer to the Constitution instead of one politician are national security.

• 🔎 Independent inspectors general, watchdogs, and government transparency are national security.

• 💰 Stopping presidential self-dealing, influence-peddling, dark money, and corruption is national security.

• 🚫 A government that cannot be bought by billionaires, corporations, foreign interests, or presidential family businesses is national security.

• 🔐 Privacy and protection from warrantless mass surveillance are national security.

• 🤝 Strong, stable communities are national security.

• 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Keeping families together and treating immigrants with dignity and due process are national security.

• 🚨 Stopping masked immigration agents from terrorizing communities, carrying out unlawful seizures and detentions, or using deadly force without accountability is national security.

• 🌍 Strong alliances and respect for international law are national security.

• 🕊️ Diplomacy, conflict prevention, and peace are national security.

• 🇺🇸 A democracy where no president is above the law is national security.

America absolutely needs the ability to defend itself. But defense cannot become an excuse for pouring unlimited money into weapons and militarization while treating the basic security of the American people as optional.

What exactly are we defending if people cannot afford healthcare, housing, food, education, child care, or retirement?

What are we defending if corruption goes unanswered?

What are we defending if elected leaders can enrich themselves, intimidate watchdogs, weaken democratic institutions, and demand personal loyalty from government officials?

At America’s 250th anniversary, we should choose a different definition of strength.

Invest in people. Lower costs. Protect Social Security and Medicare. Defend healthcare. Build affordable housing. Strengthen public education. Care for veterans. Protect clean air and water. Defend voting rights. Root out corruption. Hold power accountable.

We need to spend our national wealth making Americans stronger, healthier, safer, freer, and more economically secure.

Because the strongest America is not simply the America with the most weapons.

It is the America where democracy works.

Where government serves the public rather than the powerful.

Where every person is treated with dignity.

Where nobody is above the law.

And where ordinary people have the security and opportunity to thrive.

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

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💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

• 🎭 Take Action» Keep Trump’s name off the Kennedy Center

• 🕊️ Take Action» Tell Congress to stop Pentagon funding for Trump’s unauthorized war with Iran

• 🪖 Take Action» Demand accountability for Pete Hegseth

• ⚖️ Take Action» Tell Congress to impeach and convict Trump for launching an illegal war with Iran

• 🚨 Take Action» Tell Congress to stop Trump and Hegseth from depleting our weapons and leaving troops exposed

Thanks for taking action!

💥 The dream is unfinished. We rise to carry it forward. **MARCH ON WASHINGTON UPDATES**

As America marks 250 years, we are gathering to defend voting rights, civil rights, liberty, justice, and power to the people. Take action>>

• 📍 Attend in person

• 📺 Watch the livestream

• 🙋 Volunteer

• 🤝 Become a partner

• 📢 Invite your community

On Friday, August 28, 2026, join people from across the country for the March on Washington: Defend the Vote at the Lincoln Memorial.

🗳️ Sign up to attend in person or view the livestream or get more information:

March on Washington 2026

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

People power grows when people choose to be part of it.

This movement belongs to all of us, and every person who joins, stays connected, and helps carry the work forward makes us stronger.

Whether you subscribe for free, become a paid supporter, or gift a subscription to someone else, you help People Power United keep informing, organizing, speaking truth to power, and holding leaders accountable to the people they serve.

Stay with us. Help us grow. Keep building power to the people.

Subscribe now

We Warned You About Russ Vought. Now Impeach Him.

Friends, way back in January 2025 we tried to warn our People Power United readers who Russell Vought was when he was seeking confirmation.1

Before the Senate confirmed Trump’s Project 2025 architect to control the nation’s budget, we warned that Vought wanted to gut the federal government, purge public servants, seize power over money Congress appropriated, weaken independent agencies, and turn the machinery of government into a weapon for Trump’s agenda.

Republicans in the Senate confirmed him anyway.

Now we are seeing the warnings come true.

The Schedule F purge Vought championed? Revived under a new name.

The attack on independent federal agencies? Underway.

The scheme to let the president decide whether to spend money Congress already appropriated? Vought has pushed it from extremist theory toward governing practice.

And now comes one of the ugliest examples yet.

The Trump administration admitted in court filings that it canceled clean-energy grants “based solely on the political identity of the grant recipient’s state.” 2 3Representative Sydney Kamlager-Dove says Vought’s Office of Management and Budget selectively terminated or withheld congressionally appropriated Department of Energy grants based on political considerations.4

Translation: Vote against Trump, and your community can be punished with its own tax dollars.

That is not budgeting.

Our taxes should not become Trump’s personal slush fund when they reach Washington.

Congress controls federal appropriations under our constitutional system. A president does not get to reward loyal states and punish disfavored ones. His budget director (Russ Vought) does not get to substitute the president’s political agenda for laws Congress enacts.

This is precisely why impeachment is on the table.

On August 6, Representative Kamlager-Dove introduced two articles of impeachment against Vought: abuse of power through improper impoundment of congressionally appropriated funds and failure to faithfully execute the laws of the United States.5

And she did not mince words:

“We cannot sit idly by while an unelected shadow president continues to weaponize the federal government and steal taxpayers’ hard-earned money.”

Damn right.

Take Action» Impeach Russell Vought

Add Your Name

This is bigger than Russell Vought. It is bigger than one grant, one agency, or one state.

If an administration can punish Americans because their state voted the ‘wrong’ way, it threatens our shared community and collective rights.

Disaster relief?

Housing?

Schools?

Infrastructure?

Medical research?

This is how authoritarian power grows: turn public institutions into instruments of loyalty and punishment, dare Congress to stop you, and count on people becoming too exhausted to notice.

But we noticed.

We warned about Vought before he was confirmed. Now Congress has evidence of what his leadership looks like in practice.

Enough warnings.

Enough excuses.

Enough allowing Project 2025’s architects to treat the Constitution like an inconvenience.

Congress has a constitutional tool for officials accused of abusing the power entrusted to them. Use it to hold them accountable and protect our democracy.

🔥 Tell the House: Impeach Russell Vought

Tell your House representative to support accountability and the articles of impeachment against Russell Vought.

TAKE ACTION: TELL THE HOUSE TO IMPEACH VOUGHT →

Impeach Russ Vought

Our tax dollars are not Trump’s revenge fund.

Our government is not his political weapon.

And our Constitution does not come with a loyalty oath to Donald Trump.

Power belongs to the people. It’s damn well time Congress remembered that.

The Dream Is Unfinished. We Rise to Finish the Work.

The dream is unfinished. We rise to carry it forward. **MARCH ON WASHINGTON UPDATES**

As America marks 250 years, we are gathering to defend voting rights, civil rights, liberty, justice, and power to the people. Take action>>

🗽 Wear the Message. Help Us Mobilize.

We have created a new March on Washington shirt carrying the words:

MARCH ON WASHINGTON
THE DREAM IS UNFINISHED.
WE RISE TO FINISH THE WORK.

Support the March on Washington, defend the vote, and help us mobilize. Shop our new shirt and rise with us to finish the work.

This is more than a shirt. It is a way to carry the message into your community while helping us reach more people and mobilize for August 28. Wear this shirt to the March on Washington, to rallies, voter registration events, community gatherings, or anywhere you want to make your values visible. It is a reminder that democracy only works when people participate, rights only endure when people defend them, and progress happens when ordinary people refuse to stay silent.

People Power United does zero fundraising. We have no outside funders. We rely on people-powered support, including purchases of items like this, to help us organize, mobilize, spread the word, and bring more people into this work.

A portion of the proceeds from shirt sales will also benefit the National Action Network and the Drum Major Institute, the main organizations convening the March on Washington. As a partner of the march we want to be good stewards and support their efforts. Your support will help us do that.

👕 Get your March on Washington shirt:

March on Washington 2026 Shirt

Every purchase helps us amplify this march. Every person who wears the message helps carry it farther.

📣 Join the March on Washington

Convened by the National Action Network and the Drum Major Institute and co-chaired by Rev. Al Sharpton, Martin Luther King III, and Arndrea Waters King, the march marks the 63rd anniversary of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

But we are not gathering simply to remember history.

We are gathering to make it.

This Is Where You Come In 👇

No march, organization, candidate, or leader can protect democracy alone. That responsibility belongs to all of us.

✍️ Sign up for the March on Washington to attend in person or join virtually.
👕 Buy a shirt and help us mobilize and spread the word.
📢 Share the march with your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, congregation, union, and community groups.
🤝 Invite organizations you belong to to become partners.
🚌 Complete the bus interest form if transportation could help you attend.

Then ask someone else to do the same.

The people working to weaken our democracy are counting on us becoming exhausted, distracted, divided, or convinced that showing up does not matter.

This peaceful, nonpartisan, interfaith, and intergenerational gathering is rooted in nonviolence and the exercise of our constitutional rights. We will show up, speak out, organize, vote, assemble peacefully, and defend a democracy that belongs to all of us.

This is our country. These are our communities. This is our democracy.

The dream is unfinished.
We rise to finish the work.

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us, and I’m asking you directly: please stay connected, join us, and help keep this work moving forward.

People Power United does not rely on corporate donors, wealthy special interests, or a large paid communications staff. In fact, we have no staff at all. This work continues because people like you read our updates, share them with others, leave comments, contact Congress, take action, invite friends, and refuse to look away when our rights and democracy are under threat.

Every kind of support makes a difference. You can subscribe for free, become a paid subscriber, gift a subscription to someone else, share our work, or take action in your own community. Each of these choices helps us continue telling the truth, providing people-powered news and actions, and holding our leaders accountable to the people they serve.

Power belongs to the people. When we stay informed, connected, and organized, we make it much harder for those in power to ignore us.

Subscribe now

Stop ICE From Torturing People With Electric-Shock Gloves

Friends,

Apparently kidnapping people, terrorizing communities, tear-gassing protesters, killing people during enforcement operations, and locking human beings inside filthy detention facilities was not cruel enough. Now ICE wants electric-shock gloves.

Yes. Electric. Shock. Gloves.

ICE is reportedly preparing to spend up to $20 million on gloves capable of delivering painful electrical shocks directly through a person’s skin.1 They can look like ordinary patrol gloves until activated.

When government agents are equipped to inflict electrical pain on human beings to force obedience deliberately, it’s a moral call for all of us to stand against this cruelty and demand action: STOP.

Because look at the record.

The ACLU and numerous others have documented allegations involving masked immigration agents, unmarked vehicles, people being tackled and pinned down, chemical irritants like tear gas, and enforcement actions affecting citizens, children, journalists, protesters, and community observers.2

ADD YOUR NAME» We demand that Congress block all federal funding for ICE electric-shock gloves,

ADD YOUR NAME

And let’s not forget, people have been killed during immigration enforcement operations like Alexi Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. Our communities have also been hit with tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and other weapons, resulting in injuries that include blindness and traumatic brain injury.3 4

Behind detention walls, investigations have documented allegations of medical neglect, overcrowding, inadequate food, filthy toilets and showers, lack of basic hygiene, and people kept in temporary holding facilities beyond ICE’s own extended detention limits. 5 6

And now we are supposed to trust ICE with a weapon that can deliver an electric shock through the touch of a hand? This is a moral issue that demands our immediate attention and action.

Hell no.

This is how cruelty becomes institutionalized under an authoritarian fascist regime: one weapon, one blank check, one excuse at a time.

Congress controls the money. Not one damn taxpayer dollar should be used to put electric-shock weapons into ICE agents’ hands.

TAKE ACTION» Stop ICE From Torturing People With Electric-Shock Gloves

Human beings are not cattle to be shocked into submission. They are not disposable bodies for the government to terrorize.

Stop the shock gloves. Stop funding cruelty. Stop giving ICE new ways to hurt people.

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March on Washington 2026 Updates:

Join Us for the March on Washington: Defend the Vote

You’re invited to stand with people from across the country at the March on Washington: Defend the Vote on Friday, August 28, 2026, at 8 AM ET at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Hosted by Reverend Al Sharpton, the National Action Network, and the Drum Major Institute, and joined by Martin Luther King III and other civil rights leaders, this historic gathering will mark the 63rd anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

📍Attend in person, 📺watch the virtual livestream, 🙋 volunteer, or become a 🤝 partner. We are not gathering simply to remember history—we are gathering to make it.

Sign-up for more information.

March on Washington 2026

***Additional Bus information*** If you are interested in riding with a bus to the March on Washington, please complete the March on Washington Bus Interest Form so we can better understand where transportation is needed and help bring people power to Washington, D.C.

💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

• 🚨Take Action» Tell Your Senator: No Kings on Our Coins—Keep Trump’s Ego Off America’s Money.

• 📢 Take Action » Tell the Senate: Vote NO on the SAVE America Act

• 🔥 Take Action » Demand Congress investigate Trump’s Justice Department for criminalizing dissent

• 🗳️ Take Action » NO TROOPS AT THE POLLS

• ⚡Take Action» Tell Congress to scrap the cap and protect and expand Social Security

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by people — by members who read, share, comment, take action, call Congress, invite friends, and refuse to look away.

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

People Need Healthcare and Housing—Not More Surveillance

Friends,

Americans and people who call America home are fed up.

Fed up with corruption. Fed up with cruelty. Fed up with watching powerful corporations and politicians find endless resources for surveillance, billionaires, and massive technology projects. At the same time, families are told there isn’t enough money to make life affordable.

Enough.

People want leaders focused on rising grocery bills, crushing healthcare costs, unaffordable housing, underfunded schools, stagnant wages, and a planet getting hotter by the minute.

Yet instead of meeting those challenges with the urgency they deserve, public resources are increasingly being pulled toward enormous technology projects and expanding surveillance systems.

That is not the future we should be building.

Federal lands belong to the people. They should not become corporate giveaways for massive AI data centers that can demand extraordinary amounts of electricity, water, and infrastructure while private companies reap the benefits.

And our neighborhoods should not become one enormous automated surveillance network.

License-plate camera systems like Flock’s raise serious questions about privacy, government surveillance, data collection, and who gets access to information tracking where ordinary people travel.

Americans should not have to surrender their privacy because they drive to work, take their children to school, visit a doctor, attend a protest, worship, volunteer, organize, or move through their own communities.

Meanwhile, families are asking a much simpler question:

When will our government invest this much urgency in us?

Imagine what we could accomplish if our leaders brought the same determination to lowering healthcare costs, building affordable housing, strengthening public education, expanding clean energy, protecting our climate, raising wages, and making everyday life affordable again.

Public dollars should be used to build a fairer, healthier society for everyone.

Public lands should serve the public.

Technology should serve humanity—not turn humanity into a product to be tracked, analyzed, and monetized.

We get to decide what kind of country we build.

One where corporate power and surveillance continue expanding unchecked—or one where dignity, privacy, accountability, opportunity, and people power come first. We need to get loud:

📢 TAKE ACTION» Tell decision-makers: No AI data centers on federal lands.

📢 TAKE ACTION» Tell Congress to defund Flock’s expanding camera surveillance network.

The future belongs to the people. It is time our government started investing like it.

Thanks for taking action!

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by people — by members who read, share, comment, take action, call Congress, invite friends, and refuse to look away.

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

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🗽Tell Your Senators: Vote NO on Todd Blanche for Attorney General

America Needs an Attorney General—Not Trump’s Personal Fixer With a Federal Badge

Friends,

Heads up: Today’s piece is a little longer, but it is necessary to ensure you have all the relevant information about Todd Blanche’s nomination for Attorney General—and why it demands our immediate attention.

Todd Blanche was Donald Trump’s criminal-defense lawyer. He represented Trump in three of his four criminal cases. Now he is running the Justice Department that prosecuted his former client and is asking the Senate to make that power permanent.

Blanche may hold the title of Acting Attorney General, but his record reads like that of Donald Trump’s personal fixer with a federal badge.

The Attorney General is supposed to represent the United States—not the president personally. The office exists to uphold the Constitution, protect civil rights, pursue public corruption, investigate abuses of federal power, and administer justice without fear or favor.

Every senator now has to answer one defining question:

Does the Justice Department serve the American people—or does it serve Donald Trump?

Blanche Never Stopped Being Trump’s Lawyer

During his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing, Republican Senator John Kennedy asked Blanche whether he considered Trump a friend.

Blanche answered instinctively:

“I’m his lawyer.”

Then he caught himself and changed his answer to: “I was his lawyer.”

That was not merely a clumsy slip. It was a burst of accidental honesty from a man whose actions repeatedly suggest that he still sees Trump as his client.

The Justice Department’s own ethics officials recognized the danger. Less than two weeks after Blanche became Deputy Attorney General in March 2025, the department’s top career ethics lawyer, Joseph Tirrell, formally advised Blanche that recusal was necessary in matters involving Trump personally. The DOJ later claimed Blanche was complying and had recused himself from “many” matters—but refused to identify which ones. Tirrell was subsequently fired, and the department reduced its career ethics staff.

There is no public evidence that Blanche personally ordered Tirrell’s firing—but the message could not be clearer. The career ethics official who warned Blanche about his conflicts was pushed out, the Justice Department refuses to reveal which Trump-related matters Blanche has recused himself from, and senators are now investigating whether he ignored the department’s ethics guidance. An ethical firewall means nothing when the watchdog is removed, the rules are hidden, and the official facing the conflict is left to police himself.

An Attorney General cannot impartially supervise investigations involving a president he recently defended against criminal prosecution—especially when he refuses to show the public where the representation ended, and the public service began.

Tell the Senate: Vote NO on Todd Blanche for Attorney General

Todd Blanche Is Trump’s Epstein Fixer

Former Attorney General Pam Bondi testified under oath before the House Oversight Committee that Blanche led the Justice Department’s Epstein matter and document release from the beginning, participated in redaction decisions and oversaw the entire investigation.

That record belongs to Blanche.

The Justice Department said it identified more than six million potentially responsive pages but publicly released approximately 3.5 million. That means roughly 2.5 million Epstein document pages have not been released to the public. The Justice Department under Todd Blanche argues that many excluded materials were duplicates, privileged records, victim-identifying information or otherwise lawfully withheld. But lawmakers, survivors and transparency advocates continue to dispute the department’s claim that it fully complied with the law.

A CBS News analysis found that approximately 47,000 files—representing more than 65,000 pages—were removed from the department’s public database. The Justice Department also failed to complete the release by the law’s December 2025 deadline, and its own inspector general has now opened an official audit of DOJ’s compliance, redaction and release process.

In June, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan granted a preliminary injunction and ordered Blanche’s department to release less-redacted documents or justify the redactions. The court also directed DOJ to address underlying FBI interview notes, review foreign-language materials, and publish the redaction log required by the transparency law.

Todd Blanche also personally conducted an extraordinary prison interview with convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, during which she received limited immunity for truthful answers. One week later, the Bureau of Prisons transferred Maxwell to a minimum-security prison camp.

To be clear, the public record does not establish that Blanche personally ordered Maxwell’s transfer. But it smells fishy. Bondi testified that transfers are handled by the Bureau of Prisons and said she did not know of a connection between the interview and the move. But the timing, Blanche’s unusual personal involvement and the lack of convincing public explanations demand independent scrutiny—not blind trust.

Additionally, Todd Blanche initially refused to make a firm commitment to meet with Epstein survivors. It took Republican Senator Thom Tillis threatening to withhold his confirmation vote to get him into the room.

Afterward, survivor Annie Farmer said Todd Blanche had been “abrasive, condescending, and intentionally noncommittal.” She said he refused to commit to examining why her sister Maria Farmer’s 1996 report went uninvestigated, would not release records explaining previous charging decisions, and gave unsatisfactory answers about his Maxwell interview and her subsequent transfer. (Read Farmer’s account.)

Survivors were seeking the truth, accountability, and an Attorney General with the courage to follow the evidence wherever it leads—even when it implicates the powerful.

Instead, they got Trump’s former lawyer explaining why the Justice Department could not give them the justice they had sought for decades.

Take Action and Tell the Senate: Vote NO on Todd Blanche for Attorney General

Todd Blanche Helped Engineer a $1.8 Billion IRS Deal for Trump

Blanche’s most brazen abuse may be the extraordinary settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against his own Internal Revenue Service.

The agreement proposed a nearly $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” for people claiming to be victims of government “lawfare.” A five-person commission would have controlled compensation—and Blanche would have directly appointed four of its five members.

The same agreement purported to permanently block the IRS from auditing past tax claims involving Trump, his relatives and his businesses. That was no ordinary legal settlement.

The agreement sought by Trump and Todd Blanche would use $1.8 billion in taxpayer money to shield Trump’s family empire from tax audits, reward January 6 insurrectionists for their actions, and distribute the funds with limited oversight or accountability.

As bipartisan scrutiny mounted, Todd Blanche has repeatedly declared that the anti-weaponization fund was “dead”—but refused to sign the paperwork that would actually kill it. A federal judge rejected his empty assurances and indefinitely blocked the fund after Blanche failed to rescind it formally. Then, under questioning from Senator John Cornyn, Todd Blanche admitted that no written modification existed, leaving Trump’s lawyers free to attempt to enforce the original agreement. Blanche wanted credit for ending the scheme while quietly preserving the legal machinery that could bring it back.

Later, on July 13, Judge Kathleen Williams found that Trump and the government were never genuinely adverse parties, and concluded that lawyers on both sides had misused the courts to obtain benefits for Trump and his allies, and barred the parties from invoking the settlement in future proceedings. Her ruling could nullify the audit shield that Todd Blanche’s DOJ had previously preserved even after abandoning the fund. She also referred participating attorneys and senior DOJ officials who approved the arrangement to state disciplinary authorities.

Blanche had the power to shut this sham down. Instead, he defended it, refused to terminate it permanently, and preserved its benefits for Trump until a federal judge stepped in.

That is not impartial justice.

That is a government lawyer using public power to protect his former private client.

Only after Blanche’s nomination was in danger did he finally do what senators, federal judges, and the public had demanded for weeks.

On August 2, Blanche signed a formal order rescinding the May 18 directive that established the “anti-weaponization fund.” The order states that no commissioners were appointed, no money was transferred, no claims process was created, and no payments were made. Todd Blanche also clarified that the tax-release agreement applies only retroactively, only to the parties named in Trump’s IRS lawsuit, and not to future tax filings. (Read the DOJ order.)

That does not vindicate Blanche. It proves that sustained public and congressional pressure worked.

Even now, legal questions remain. Blanche’s new order rescinds the directive implementing the fund, but Axios reports that it does not amend the underlying settlement provision requiring the Attorney General to create it. That settlement can be modified only through a written agreement involving both the government and the Trump parties—and the August 2 order was signed only by Blanche.

Todd Blanche could have terminated the fund immediately. Instead, he defended the settlement, refused repeated requests to put its cancellation in binding written form, and acted only when Republican defections threatened his promotion.

Todd Blanche is not protecting America’s best interests. His conduct and loyalty are to server Donald Trump’s best interests.

Tell the Senate: Vote NO on Todd Blanche for Attorney General

Todd Blanche Is Trying to Erase January 6 From the Record

Trump’s mass pardons and commutations already freed more than 1,500 people charged in connection with the January 6 attack—including people convicted of assaulting police officers.

Todd Blanche’s Justice Department is now attempting to go even further.

The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to vacate seditious-conspiracy convictions involving leaders and members of the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers and to allow the government to dismiss the indictments permanently and overlook their organizing violent efforts to stop the peaceful transfer of power.

Trump’s clemency allowed them to walk free. Todd Blanche’s DOJ now wants to wipe away the judicial findings themselves.

That is not mercy. It is an attempt to erase the evidence, rewrite history, and turn accountability for an attack on democracy into another favor for Trump’s political movement.

Todd Blanche Shields Federal Agents and Targets the Officials Demanding Answers

Let’s be clear, the Attorney General does not control ICE-it sits under the Department of Homeland Security. But when federal agents violate civil rights or use unlawful force, the Justice Department is supposed to investigate, preserve the evidence, and pursue accountability. Todd Blanche leads that department, and his record shows exactly why he cannot be trusted with that power: he shields federal agents, dismisses demands for justice, and treats accountability as a threat to the administration instead of a duty owed to the American people.

Todd Blanche’s record shows why he cannot be trusted as attorney general.

After an ICE officer fatally shot Renée Good in Minnesota, Blanche declared that there was no basis for a federal criminal civil-rights investigation. The department of Justice did not open a probe into Good’s death.

After a federal agent killed ICU nurse Alex Pretti, Todd Blanche appeared on national television and insisted that “our agents are acting humanely.” He blamed Minnesota’s governor and Minneapolis’ mayor, describing Pretti’s death as avoidable had local officials cooperated with federal enforcement. The Justice department later opened a civil-rights investigation into Pretti’s shooting—but only after Blanche had publicly defended agents before the investigation was complete. (Read the documented timeline.)

Federal officials then withheld key evidence from Minnesota investigators for months. Only after Minnesota sued did the Trump administration turn over body-camera footage, vehicles and other evidence related to the Good and Pretti killings.

At the same time, Todd Blanche publicly accused Governor Tim Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey of “terrorism” and promised to stop them “by whatever means necessary.” Days later, the DOJ opened a federal investigation into Walz, Frey and other Minnesota officials who had criticized the immigration operation.

A George W. Bush-appointed federal judge eventually quashed all six grand-jury subpoenas, finding that the government was attempting to coerce Minnesota officials into assisting Trump’s immigration agenda and retaliate against them for refusing.

The same pattern appeared in Newark. Body-camera footage showed a federal official saying Mayor Ras Baraka’s arrest was proceeding “as per the Deputy Attorney General of the United States” before agents were instructed to turn off their cameras. The trespassing charge against Baraka was later dismissed.

Now the country is confronting two more deadly ICE shootings.

ICE officers fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine within one week. Officials later acknowledged that Salgado Araujo was not the intended target of the Houston operation and that Durán Guerrero was not the person agents had gone to the Maine location to arrest. Investigations remain ongoing.

That is exactly why America needs an Attorney General who answers to the Constitution—not the president. The Attorney General’s duty is to preserve evidence, protect witnesses, follow the facts wherever they lead, and ensure that no federal badge ever becomes a shield against justice.

Todd Blanche has instead repeatedly defended federal agents without an investigation, withheld accountability from grieving communities, and turned the DOJ’s power toward the elected officials demanding answers.

Tell the Senate: Vote NO on Todd Blanche for Attorney General

Reproductive Freedom Is Also in Todd Blanches Sights

Todd Blanche’s confirmation could also place the Justice Department behind a backdoor national restriction on medication abortion.

Anti-abortion organizations are pressuring Blanche to intervene in Louisiana v. FDA, restrict telehealth access to mifepristone and revive the 19th-century Comstock Act as a tool to stop abortion medication from being sent through the mail. Ms. reported that anti-abortion leaders held a closed-door meeting with a high-ranking DOJ official and were told that officials had been examining possible uses of the Comstock Act.

The Attorney General should not be a legal delivery system for radical ideological organizations trying to impose through executive power what Congress has never enacted.

A person’s reproductive healthcare should not depend on private pressure campaigns directed at Donald Trump’s former criminal-defense lawyer.

Here are the Objections to Todd Blanche

• He has profound conflicts of interest. Blanche moved directly from representing Trump in criminal proceedings to running the Justice Department, while DOJ refuses to disclose the full scope of his recusals.

• He was formally told to recuse from Trump’s personal matters. The career ethics official who delivered that guidance was later fired, while the department reduced its ethics staff.

• He personally identified himself as Trump’s lawyer in the present tense. Blanche said “I’m his lawyer” during his confirmation hearing before attempting to correct himself.

• He controlled the DOJ’s Epstein-file operation. Bondi testified that Blanche led the matter, managed the release, and participated in redaction decisions.

• His department has not delivered full confidence or transparency. Roughly 2.5 million potentially responsive pages of the Epstein files were not included in the public release, thousands of files were removed, a federal court ordered additional action, and DOJ’s inspector general is auditing compliance.

• He treated Epstein survivors as a confirmation problem. Blanche met with them only after a Republican senator made it a condition of support, and Annie Farmer afterward described him as “abrasive, condescending, and intentionally noncommittal”.

• He helped advance a taxpayer-funded deal benefiting Trump and his allies. The agreement included a nearly $1.8 billion fund overseen by commissioners dominated by Blanche’s appointees and broad tax protections for Trump’s family.

• A federal judge found the IRS lawsuit was misused. The court barred the settlement from future proceedings and referred participating government lawyers for possible professional discipline.

• His DOJ is attempting to erase January 6 convictions. Prosecutors asked an appeals court to vacate seditious-conspiracy convictions and permanently dismiss the indictments.

• He has treated federal immigration agents as untouchable. Blanche dismissed calls for a civil-rights investigation into Renée Good’s killing, praised agents as acting “humanely” after Alex Pretti’s death, and led a Justice Department that kept crucial evidence from Minnesota investigators for months.

• He has turned DOJ authority toward local officials who criticized the administration. A federal judge later quashed subpoenas aimed at Minnesota leaders and found that they were intended to coerce and retaliate.

• His nomination could endanger medication-abortion access. Anti-abortion organizations are pressuring Blanche to restrict mifepristone and revive the Comstock Act.

• Opposition extends across the legal profession. The New York City Bar Association, more than 1,200 former DOJ employees, and 101 former federal and state judges have raised objections concerning his independence, ethics, or fitness for office.

Tell the Senate: Vote NO on Todd Blanche for Attorney General

The Senate Must Reject Todd Blanche

America deserves an Attorney General who advocates for liberty and justice for all—not one man, one family, one political party, or one president’s revenge campaign.

We deserve an Attorney General who protects survivors instead of stonewalling them.

We deserve an Attorney General who investigates federal killings instead of shielding agents and intimidating critics.

We deserve an Attorney General who safeguards reproductive freedom instead of opening the door to an antique law being twisted into a nationwide abortion restriction.

We deserve an Attorney General who respects judges, follows ethics guidance, protects evidence, supports career prosecutors, and understands that public office is a public trust.

Todd Blanche has shown America whose interests come first. Donald Trump.

Todd Blanche even said it himself:

“I’m his lawyer.”

Every senator must now choose.

Does the Department of Justice belong to Donald Trump—or does it belong to the people?

Reject Todd Blanche. America needs an Attorney General, not Trump’s personal fixer with a federal badge.

Urgent Update: The Vote Is Coming—and Cornyn Caved

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted and approved Todd Blanche’s nomination on Tuesday, August 4, and it now heads to the full Senate floor.

Todd Blanche’s nomination had stalled because Republican Senators John Cornyn and Thom Tillis withheld their support. They demanded two things in writing: permanent termination of the nearly $1.8 billion fund and clarification that the tax agreement would not shield Trump and his family from future audits.

Blanche finally issued those narrow written assurances, and Cornyn’s office immediately announced that it had reached an agreement with the Justice Department. In other words, Cornyn’s stated objection disappeared once Blanche put the political deal on paper.

But Cornyn’s concession does not erase the rest of Blanche’s record.

One last-minute concession does not wipe this record clean.

It does not erase Blanche’s staggering conflicts from serving as Donald Trump’s criminal-defense lawyer before taking control of the Justice Department.

It does not excuse the secrecy, delays, disappearing files, or contempt shown toward Epstein survivors demanding the truth.

It does not undo his attempt to erase January 6 convictions and rewrite accountability for an attack on our democracy.

It does not absolve him for shielding federal agents while turning the power of the Justice Department against local leaders who dared to demand answers.

It does not silence the alarm bells for reproductive freedom, career prosecutors, judicial independence, civil rights, or equal justice under law.

And it does not close the legal loopholes buried inside Trump’s corrupt IRS settlement.

A piece of paper signed under political pressure cannot erase a record built on loyalty to Trump, protection for the powerful, and contempt for accountability.

Senator Cornyn may have gotten enough paper to justify changing course. The American people have not received enough truth, accountability, or independence to justify confirming Todd Blanche as the next attorney general.

Act Now: Tell the Senate to Vote No

There is no time to sit this one out. The committee vote is approaching, and a full Senate vote could follow quickly.

1. Call Your Senators

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to each of your senators. You can also find your senators and their direct contact information here.

Call script:

Hello, my name is [NAME], and I am a constituent from [CITY].

I am calling to urge Senator [NAME] to vote NO on Todd Blanche’s confirmation as Attorney General.

The Attorney General must represent the American people—not serve as Donald Trump’s personal lawyer or political fixer. Blanche’s conflicts of interest, handling of the Epstein files, involvement in Trump’s IRS settlement, efforts to erase January 6 convictions, and record of politicizing the Justice Department make him unfit to lead it.

Please publicly oppose Todd Blanche and vote no in committee and on the Senate floor. Thank you.

2. Send a Quick Letter to Your Senators

Send a letter to your senators urging them to oppose Todd Blanche.

Vote NO on Todd Blanche

Tell them that eliminating one corrupt fund does not eliminate Blanche’s broader record of conflicts, stonewalling, political retaliation, and loyalty to Trump over the Constitution.

The Attorney General holds immense power over prosecutions, civil-rights enforcement, federal investigations, voting rights, reproductive freedom, and the conduct of federal officers. That authority must never be handed permanently to a president’s personal fixer.

Every senator must answer one question with their vote: Does the Department of Justice serve Donald Trump—or does it serve the American people?

Tell the Senate: Vote NO on Todd Blanche. America deserves an Attorney General—not Trump’s personal lawyer with a federal badge.

Thanks for taking action!

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by people — by members who read, share, comment, take action, call Congress, invite friends, and refuse to look away.

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

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Friends, Donald Trump and his allies are turning a lie into a weapon—and demanding that the Senate help them aim it at millions of eligible voters.

The so-called SAVE America Act is not election security. It is a Trojan horse designed to bury the freedom to vote beneath paperwork, confusion, intimidation, and delay.

It Solves a Problem That Does Not Exist

Citizenship is already required to vote in federal elections, and noncitizen voting is exceedingly rare. Yet the SAVE America Act would force people to provide documentary proof of citizenship when registering and a narrowly approved photo ID when voting.

The Bipartisan Policy Center found that roughly 12% of registered voters lack the required documentation. Researchers estimate that 21.3 million voting-age citizens cannot readily access documentary proof of citizenship.

The burden would fall hardest on married women whose names do not match their birth certificates, tribal citizens whose IDs lack the demanded information, military families born overseas, rural voters far from election offices, transgender Americans, seniors, people with disabilities, natural-disaster survivors, and working people who cannot take time off or afford replacement records.

We already know where this road leads. Kansas imposed a documentary-proof requirement that prevented roughly 31,000 eligible citizens from registering—far more citizens than noncitizens. 1

That is not election integrity. It is voter prevention.

Tell the Senate: Vote NO on the SAVE America Act

Add Your Name

The Attack Is Back

Earlier this year, Trump explicitly tied Department of Homeland Security funding to passage of the SAVE America Act.

Critical workers, airport safety, disaster response, and national security became bargaining chips for voter suppression.

Now, Trump is threatening our elections and intensifying the fearmongering. This political theater is also a smokescreen, distracting from crises that demand accountability: unanswered questions about the Epstein files, rampant corruption throughout the Trump administration, rising costs for working families, and an expensive war with Iran that Congress never authorized—one marked by shifting objectives, no clear end, and billions of taxpayer dollars already spent.

The incompetence of Trump and congressional Republicans is staggering. They control the White House, the House, and the Senate—yet Americans are still being forced to pay for their chaos, corruption, and failure to govern. Gas, food, health care, and housing costs are surging, while Trump and Republicans keep making life more expensive for everyone except the wealthy.

Trump’s response? Double down—and try to take away voting by mail and eligible voters ballots.

Take Action Now

The Senate must hear from us before Trump and his allies find another way to force this voter-suppression scheme through Congress.

Take Action » Tell the Senate: Vote NO on the SAVE America Act

No on the Save Act

Our freedom to vote is not negotiable. Our democracy belongs to all of us. And together, we will protect it.

💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today

• 🛑 Take Action» Don’t Let Rubio Turn Dissent Into Terrorism

• 🧾 Take Action>> Demand Congress shut down Trump’s corrupt deal with the IRS

• ⚖️ Take Action>> End racial discrimination and protect liberty and justice for all

• 🗳️ Take Action>> Keep troops, ICE agents, and armed federal officers away from polling places

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

March on Washington

You’re invited to join the March on Washington! On Friday, August 28, 2026 at 9 AM Eastern, people from across the country will gather at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., for the March on Washington: Defend the Vote. Hosted by Reverend Al Sharpton, the National Action Network, and the Drum Major Institute, the march will joined by Martin Luther King III and other civil rights leaders to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a ​Dream” speech. But this is more than a commemoration. It is a call to action.

• Take Action» Sign-up for the March on Washington (If you are a member of a group, please sign up, and we will send you information about becoming an official partner and joining the March on Washington.)

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Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

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People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people.

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United is independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions dedicated to defending our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy. This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by everyday people like you — who defend our rights and freedoms, refuse to look away, who take action, and do the work to hold our leaders accountable to the will of the people.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us.

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

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Trump’s Government Is Funding Violence Instead of Human Needs

Friends,

Donald Trump and his Republican allies in Congress are building an out-of-control government that unleashes violence in our neighborhoods, fuels war abroad, and forces Americans to foot the bill.

On July 13, an ICE agent shot and killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, near the apartment he shared with his partner and 3-year-old daughter.1

Johan was not the person ICE was looking for.

No body-camera footage of the shooting has been released. DHS quickly claimed the officer feared for public safety and that Johan’s vehicle was used as a weapon—but the government has not publicly produced evidence proving that killing him was necessary.

Six days earlier, ICE agents shot and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo while he drove his brother and coworkers to a construction job in Houston.

Lorenzo was also not the person ICE was seeking.

He had lived in the United States for approximately 35 years, raised three children, and had no known criminal record. The passengers who witnessed his death dispute DHS’s account, yet ICE detained them and placed them at risk of deportation.2 A federal judge had to block the deportation of one key witness.3

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This is Trump’s mass-deportation machine:

Kidnapping our neighbors. Killing fathers. Keeping human beings in cages.

It is masked agents terrorizing communities, workers disappearing on their way to job sites, and children watching the government destroy their families.

It is also more than 20,000 unaccompanied immigrant children facing immigration court without lawyers after the administration cut legal-aid funding.4

That is not due process. It is cruelty engineered to accelerate deportations.

America, we deserve better. Here is what we need for our communities:

• Immediate Transparency—No More Disappearing the Witnesses

  • DHS must release the key witnesses to Lorenzo’s killing immediately and stop every effort to deport them. The agency accused of taking a man’s life cannot be allowed to lock up, intimidate, or remove the people who saw what happened. Witnesses belong in the investigation—not in detention or on a deportation flight.

• Independent Investigations—Not ICE Investigating Itself

  • The killings of Lorenzo and Johan demand full, public, and independent investigations. Every agency must turn over evidence, preserve records and cooperate without delay. Witnesses must be protected, the facts must be exposed, and every officer responsible for misconduct must face real consequences. A badge cannot become a shield from accountability.

• ICE Out—Our Communities Are Not Hunting Grounds

  • State and local governments must stop handing ICE our money, personnel, surveillance and intelligence. Cities and states must end cooperation agreements and refuse to help fuel federal raids, detention and deportation. DHS must pull ICE agents off our streets. Our neighborhoods deserve safety—not masked agents, terror and unchecked violence.

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Trump and his Republican allies are pouring billions into enforcement and detention while refusing to build the fair, efficient immigration system our communities actually need.

But where is the matching investment in justice?

Where are the judges? Where are the attorneys? Where are the translators, asylum officers, legal orientation programs, case managers, court staff, and work authorization processors needed to make the system actually function?

Here is the danger hiding in plain sight: when government refuses to process people fairly, detention becomes the pressure point. It becomes the punishment. It becomes the threat. It becomes the money machine.

Right now, the U.S. immigration court system is buckling.

This is why we cannot accept the false choice between safe borders and human dignity.

We can and must have both.

A real immigration reform agenda would secure the U.S. border while reducing the number of immigration detention beds. It would reform the legal immigration system to meet U.S. needs better. It would invest in enhanced security and technology at ports of entry to help stop the smuggling of illegal weapons and narcotics, including fentanyl. It would address the root causes of migration from South and Central America through diplomacy and humanitarian aid. It would permanently protect DACA and Dreamers.

It would increase funding to process immigration applications and work authorization applications more efficiently. It would expand case management programs that help undocumented immigrants and their families understand and meet their immigration court obligations. It would hire 1,600 new asylum officers and processing personnel to improve the efficiency of the asylum system. It would hire 375 new immigration judges to help move cases through the courts. It would eliminate the six-month waiting period before asylum seekers can apply for work authorization so people can support themselves, contribute, and live with dignity while their cases are pending.

That is not radical.

That is responsible.

Congress must also force a vote on H.R. 1589, the American Dream and Promise Act, which would provide permanent protections and pathways to citizenship for eligible Dreamers, DACA recipients, TPS holders and DED beneficiaries.5

Immigrant families deserve safety and citizenship—not permanent fear of detention, deportation or death.

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The War Machine Is Consuming Lives and Public Money

While families struggle to afford food, rent, healthcare and childcare, the House passed a $1.15 trillion military policy bill by a vote of 216–212.6

The bill pours more money into the Pentagon, advances provisions tied to the SAVE America Act, and deepens U.S.–Israeli military technology and weapons cooperation.7

Meanwhile, at least 18 American service members have been killed, hundreds have been wounded, and thousands of Iranians have reportedly been killed in an unauthorized war with no credible exit plan.8

This is not national security. It is national neglect.

Congress is considering another $73 billion for war and intelligence operations. According to the National Priorities Project9, that same money could provide:

• Free universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds.

• Restored SNAP benefits for four million people.

• Housing assistance for everyone living in a homeless shelter.

• Double the EPA’s funding to protect clean air and water.

We could do all four—or keep feeding the war machine.

Friendly reminder: The Pentagon has also failed eight consecutive department-wide audits.10 Yet Congress keeps rewarding financial failure with larger budgets and fewer consequences.

That is not responsible government. It is a blank check for weapons contractors.

Congress is choosing deportation raids over due process, military contractors over working families, cages over care and bombs over benefits.

We choose people.

Justice for Lorenzo.

Justice for Johan.

Citizenship and safety for immigrant families.

Healthcare, housing, food, education and clean water—not endless warfare.

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Take Action

🗽Tell your Member of Congress: Support the Slash the Pentagon Act

🗽 Tell Congress to reject massive Pentagon spending increases and protect human needs.

Call your Senators (202) 224-3121 and tell them:

• No increases for an out-of-control war budget.

• No merging the military bill with the SAVE America Act and no on the SAVE Act

• No blank check for deeper U.S.–Israeli military and intelligence integration.

Join Justice for Lorenzo. Justice for Johan. Justice for All: ICE Out Day of Action on July 25. Find an ICE Out event near you.

Our money should sustain life—not bankroll state violence. Our government must answer to the people—not deportation agents, weapons corporations, or the war machine.

Thanks for taking action!

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

Subscribe now

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United is independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions dedicated to defending our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy. This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by everyday people like you — who defend our rights and freedoms, refuse to look away, who take action, and do the work to hold our leaders accountable to the will of the people.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us.

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

Sign the Letter

Friends,

Imagine learning that a corporation spending millions to influence an American election is significantly owned by foreign investors.

That is not democracy. It is influence laundering.

Federal law bars foreign nationals from directly spending in U.S. elections. Yet a gaping loophole allows American-registered corporations with foreign ownership to spend corporate money shaping who wins, which laws pass, and whose voices are heard.

After Citizens United, dark money exploded. In the 2024 federal election cycle, groups and shell companies that concealed their donors spent more than $1.9 billion—a record, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.1 Between 2018 and 2022, at least $163 million of foreign-influenced cash flooded political races in six states alone. 2

Voters should never have to wonder whether political ads flooding their screens were financed to serve their communities—or foreign investors hiding behind an American corporate address.

People Power United is calling on Congress to pass the Get Foreign Money Out of U.S. Elections Act. The bill would prohibit political spending when one foreign investor owns at least 1% of a company’s voting shares or multiple foreign investors collectively own at least 5%.3 4

Take action » Tell Congress: GET FOREIGN MONEY OUT OF U.S. ELECTIONS

ADD YOUR NAME

A Data for Progress poll found that 82% of voters support new limits on political spending by companies with foreign ownership.5 This issue is winnable and we must advocate for it to pass.

American democracy is not for sale.

Will you tell Congress to close this loophole and put American voters—not foreign investors—back in charge?

Get Foreign Money Out of Elections

Thanks for taking action!

💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today

• ✋ Take Action>> Speak out now: Tell Your Secretary of State: No ICE at the Polls

• 💥 Take Action>> Reject massive Pentagon spending increases and invest in human needs

• 🏛️ Take Action>> Tell Speaker Johnson: Hands off Social Security

• 💸 Take Action>> Block Trump’s $87 billion Iran war funding request

• 🚫 Take Action>> Defend Philadelphia’s right to ban masked ICE officers

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Get 50% off for 1 year

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United is independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions dedicated to defending our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy. This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by everyday people like you — who defend our rights and freedoms, refuse to look away, who take action, and do the work to hold our leaders accountable to the will of the people.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us.

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Get 50% off for 1 year

SIGN THE LETTER

Friends,

Imagine arriving to cast your ballot and finding troops, ICE agents, or armed federal officers standing outside your polling place.

That is not election security. It is intimidation.

Trump has repeatedly threatened to use federal power to interfere in our elections, and members of his administration have refused to rule out deploying armed forces or federal agents to polling locations.

No president should be allowed to turn our polling places into military checkpoints, seize ballots or voting machines, or place armed agents between the people and the ballot box.

Trump may believe he is above the law, but our elections still belong to the people.

Together with others in the movement for freedom over fascism, People Power United is calling on Congress to strengthen protections against military interference and ensure that our elections remain free, fair, peaceful, and administered by civilian election officials.

Take action » Send a letter to Congress: NO TROOPS AT THE POLLS

ADD YOUR NAME

All of us—no matter our race or class, no matter where we were born or who we love—deserve to cast our ballots without fear, coercion, or intimidation. Democracy cannot survive when those in power use armed force to frighten voters, interfere with election workers, or undermine the peaceful transfer of power.

The military serves our country. It must never be used as a political weapon against the people.

Will you send a letter demanding that Congress keep troops and armed federal agents away from our polling places and election materials?

Will you join us to send a letter to Congress and tell them NO TROOPS AT THE POLLS?

No Troops at the Polls

Thanks for taking action!

Good Trouble Lives On

This weekend, you are invited to join a national mobilization for free, fair, and accessible elections through Good Trouble Lives On: Teach! Reach! Preach!

John Lewis taught us that good trouble is not disruption for disruption’s sake. Good trouble is the courage to challenge injustice. It is refusing to look away when people are harmed. It is registering voters when powerful interests want fewer people to participate. It is gathering in community when fear is meant to divide and isolate us. It is speaking the truth when those in power would prefer our silence.

This weekend, we have an opportunity to carry his legacy forward.

We honor John Lewis by educating our neighbors, registering voters, organizing our communities, gathering in faith and solidarity, and protecting the democracy he risked everything to strengthen.

Reach — Saturday, July 18: Join community events, voter-registration drives, votercades, and faith gatherings.

Preach — Sunday, July 19: Participate in faith services and nonpartisan civic education.

Find a Good Trouble Event

Speak up. Say something. Do something.

Democracy belongs to the people. When we move forward together with courage, justice advances—and good trouble lives on.

💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today

• Take Action» Send a letter Impeach Trump for Unprecedented Corruption

• Take Action» Send a letter: Slash the Pentagon Budget in Half

• Take Action» Sign the petition: Block Trump’s $87 Billion Iran War Funding Request

• Take Action» Send a letter Ban new AI data Centers!

• Take Action » Get and share trusted ballot and voting information, election reminders, and tools to register, vote by mail, and protect your voice.

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Get 50% off for 1 year

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United is independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions dedicated to defending our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy. This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by everyday people like you — who defend our rights and freedoms, refuse to look away, who take action, and do the work to hold our leaders accountable to the will of the people.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us.

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Get 50% off for 1 year

📢 America Needs Care, Not More War Spending

Friends, this week we need all hands on deck — and that includes you.

This week, Trump and his enablers in Congress are heading back to Washington, D.C., with one mission: hand even more public money to the war machine while families are being told to survive on less.

This is one of the most corrupt and reckless presidencies of our lifetime, enabled by Republican members of Congress who keep choosing Pentagon waste, defense contractors, lobbyists, and war profiteers over the people they are supposed to serve.

Let’s be clear: a government that can fund bombs can fund health care. A country that can enrich defense contractors can feed children. A Congress that can find billions for war can find the courage to protect communities, house families, lower costs, strengthen public schools, and keep people thriving.

Do not let them tell us there is no money.

There is money. There is plenty of money. The question is who gets it.

This week, Congress must hear from us. No more blank checks for wars no one wanted. No more slashing housing, health care, food assistance, education, climate action, and basic needs while pouring public money into militarization. No more draining our communities to enrich defense contractors and lobbyists.

Join us for Liberty, Justice, Power to the People Take Action Tuesday as we break down Trump’s reckless war spending, Congress’s role in enabling it, and the actions people can take right now to stop blank checks for war.

• Take Action» Sign-up for Liberty, Justice, Power to the People Take Action Tuesday happening on Tuesday, July 14th from Noon EST to 1 PM EST.

Sign-up for Take Action Tuesday

No blank checks for war. No more excuses. No more Pentagon waste while families are told to survive on less.

We the people deserve a budget that serves the public good.

Take action today

• Take Action» Sign the petition: Block Trump’s $87 Billion Iran War Funding Request

• Take Action» Send a letter to Congress: Slash the Pentagon Budget in Half

• Take Action» Call your Members of Congress at (202) 224-3121 and say:

  • “My name is ____________ and I am calling from ____________. I urge Senator / Representative ____________ to vote against Trump’s $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget. Oppose any increase in Pentagon funding. Support cuts to wasteful Pentagon spending. This money should be invested in health care, food, housing, education, climate action, and the basic needs of our communities.”

• Sign-up for Liberty, Justice, Power to the People Take Action Tuesday happening on Tuesday, July 14th from Noon EST to 1 PM EST.
  

  Sign-up for Take Action Tuesday

Friends, our silence is surrender. Action is how we the people take back the wheel.

While families are struggling with groceries, rent, health care, and everyday survival, Trump is demanding more money for militarization, war, and Pentagon waste. Congress has a choice: rubber-stamp another massive war budget or stand with the people who are tired of being told there is no money for care, food, housing, schools, climate action, and dignity.

As America marks 250 years, this moment demands that this country live up to the values it claims to hold: liberty, justice, democracy, accountability, and government of, by, and for the people. Across generations, ordinary people have stood up to kings, tyrants, robber barons, segregationists, authoritarians, and corrupt leaders who put power and profit over human lives. Now is our time to speak out and show up.

• Take Action» Don’t Let Rubio Turn Dissent Into Terrorism

• Take Action» Send a letter Impeach Trump for Unprecedented Corruption

• Take Action» Tell Congress to scrap the cap and protect and expand Social Security

• 📢 Take Action: Get and share ballot and voting information, election reminders, and tools to register, vote by mail, and protect your voice.

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United is independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions dedicated to defending our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy. This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by everyday people like you — who defend our rights and freedoms, refuse to look away, who take action, and do the work to hold our leaders accountable to the will of the people.

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

Trump’s War Budget Is Looting America

Friends,

At People Power United, we believe America’s promise means nothing unless it reaches everyone. A government budget is not just paperwork. It is a confession of priorities. It tells us who gets protected, who gets sacrificed, and who gets paid.

As America marks its 250th year, this moment demands honesty about the values this nation claims to stand for: liberty, justice, dignity, equality, democracy, and the public good. For generations, people have stood up to defend those values and refused to let power decide whose lives mattered.

Now it is our time.

Right now, Trump and his Republican allies are telling working families to accept less. Less health care. Less food assistance. Less housing support. Less climate action. Less help for children, seniors, veterans, students, and people just trying to survive.

But somehow, there is always more money for war.

No Blank Checks for Wars No One Wanted

Congress is now considering the National Defense Authorization Act, a massive war-budget bill that would help push total military spending toward a staggering $1.5 trillion for 2027.12 This war budget was introduced just one year after Congress rolled back funding for Medicaid and food assistance — leaving millions without health coverage and more than 4 million people without SNAP benefits. 3 4 5

War over workers. That is the choice they are making.

They cut care.

They cut food.

They cut help for families.

Now they’ve turned around and demanded another blank check for a war, a check separate from the nearly $88 billion Trump is demanding from Congress to further fund a war in Iran that the American people did not ask for, did not need, and should not be forced to pay for.6

We declare: no more blank checks for war while families are being abandoned at home.

A government that can fund bombs should fund health care. A country that can enrich defense contractors should feed children. A Congress that can find billions for war should find the courage to protect seniors, house families, lower prescription drug costs, strengthen public schools, and keep people alive.

Do not let them tell us there is no money.

There is money. There is plenty of money in the richest country on earth. The question is who gets it.

Right now, too many politicians are choosing military contractors over Medicaid, war spending over food assistance, and billionaire giveaways over working families. That is not security. That is abandonment.

Real security is a child going to bed fed. Real security is a parent seeing a doctor before a crisis becomes an emergency. Real security is clean water, safe housing, good schools, stable jobs, and a democracy where public money serves the public good.

America does not need another blank check for a war no one wanted. America needs leaders with the moral courage to invest in life, dignity, freedom, and the people who make this country possible.

Take action today

• Take Action» Sign the petition: Block Trump’s $87 Billion Iran War Funding Request

• Take Action» Send a letter to Congress: Slash the Pentagon Budget in Half

• Take Action» Call your Members of Congress at (202) 224-3121 and say:

  • “My name is ____________ and I am calling from ____________. I urge Senator / Representative ____________ to vote against Trump’s $1.5 trillion Pentagon budget. Oppose any increase in Pentagon funding. Support cuts to wasteful Pentagon spending. This money should be invested in health care, food, housing, education, climate action, and the basic needs of our communities.”

Friends, our silence is surrender. Action is how we the people take back the wheel.

No blank checks for wars no one wanted. No giveaways for billionaires while families are told to survive on less. No more politicians draining our communities and calling it strength.

Real security means food on the table, care when we are sick, roofs over our heads, clean air, safe communities, constitutional accountability, and a government that answers to the people.

That is the America we are called to build.

• Take Action» Send a letter Impeach Trump for Unprecedented Corruption

• Take Action» Tell Congress to scrap the cap and protect and expand Social Security

• 📢 Take Action: Get and share ballot and voting information, election reminders, and tools to register, vote by mail, and protect your voice.

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United is independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions dedicated to defending our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy. This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by people — by members who read, share, comment, take action, call Congress, invite friends, and refuse to look away.

Your support — whether as a free subscriber, paid subscriber, or someone who gifts a subscription to others — helps us keep showing up, telling the truth, and holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

Friends,

At People Power United, we believe democracy only works when every eligible voter can make their voice heard and hold their leaders accountable to the will of the people. Voting is not a privilege for the powerful, a favor from politicians, or a right that should depend on whether Trump approves of how you cast your ballot.

That is why this latest attack on voting by mail is so dangerous. In essence, Trump wants the United States Postal Service (USPS) to act as an election gatekeeper — deciding who it will and will not deliver ballots to.1 That is not its job. The Postal Service delivers the mail. It should not decide who gets access to the ballot box.

Voting by Mail Is Under Attack Again

Trump’s executive order directed USPS to reshape vote-by-mail rules and refuse to deliver ballots to voters who are not on certain government-approved lists. The proposed rule would require states to submit lists for approval by the Trump administration and would allow the United States Postal Service to reject ballots it claims do not comply.

Let’s be clear: this is not election security. This is voter suppression wrapped in bureaucracy.

The Postal Service Must Deliver Ballots, Not Voter Suppression

There is some good news: Judge Indira Talwani blocked key parts of Trump’s mail-voting executive order and found that USPS lacked authority to issue binding mail-voting regulations.2 But this fight is not over. As this makes its way through appeals and the courts, we, the people, must keep speaking out.

The Postal Service should not deliver Trump’s preferred mail. It should deliver all mail — medicine, paychecks, birthday cards, bills, letters from loved ones, and ballots. It does not belong to a president, a party, or a political agenda. It belongs to the people.

Voting is fundamental to democracy. That this Administration would direct USPS to adopt measures to impede voters from casting their ballots is shameful. And that USPS would allow itself to be used for political purposes to advance the President’s irrational objection to mail-in voting is unlawful and contrary to the commitments it made to settle our litigation. Allison Zieve, director of Public Citizen Litigation Group

This proposal also violates the spirit and commitments of a 2021 settlement by the USPS with the NAACP that requires the timely delivery of election mail.3

Let’s be clear: this is not about election security. This is about making voting harder, creating confusion, and giving the federal government dangerous power over state-run elections.

The Mail Belongs to the People

Millions of Americans rely on voting by mail: seniors, disabled voters, caregivers, rural voters, students, military families, and workers with long shifts. If USPS can block ballots based on politically driven lists, eligible voters could be silenced through no fault of their own.

The same Postal Service is being called on to act as some election gatekeeper. That is not, and should never be, their job. We cannot wait for the final court ruling to defend democracy. We must demand that USPS deliver all election mail to all eligible voters — not Trump’s preferred mail, not politically approved mail, not ballots filtered through a partisan loyalty test.

📬📢 Take Action» Send a letter to the USPS: Deliver the mail – ALL the mail. Hands off our votes!

Hands Off Our Ballots

Every ballot must be delivered. Every voter must be heard.

• Take Action» Sign the petition: Block Trump’s $87 Billion Iran War Funding Request

• Take Action» Send a letter: Slash the Pentagon Budget in Half

• Take Action» Send a letter Ban new AI data Centers!

• Take Action» Send a letter Impeach Trump for Unprecedented Corruption

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

Thanks for taking action!

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by people — by members who read, share, comment, take action, call Congress, invite friends, and refuse to look away.

Your support as a free or paid subscriber helps us keep showing up, keep telling the truth, and keep holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

Friends,

Today, the Supreme Court showed us exactly what is at stake.

In two major immigration rulings, the Court did not simply answer technical legal questions. It opened two more doors for the Trump administration to choose detention over due process, fear over fairness, and political theater over a working immigration system.

First, the Court ruled that the Department of Homeland Security may revive a policy that allowed the government to turn noncitizens away at the border without hearing claims that they may qualify for asylum. Then, in another 6–3 ruling, the Court allowed President Trump to end deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of Haitian and Syrian migrants who were permitted to live and work here because their home countries were unsafe.

I want to be very clear about what this means.

This is not just about paperwork. This is not just about ports of entry. This is not just about one policy, one court case, or one group of migrants.

This is about whether the United States will honor the basic principle that people fleeing danger deserve a chance to be heard before the government turns them away, locks them up, or sends them back into harm’s way.

Seeking asylum is a human right. It is also part of our legal and moral tradition. A serious country can secure its borders, stop trafficking, prevent violence, and process immigration cases with order and fairness. But a serious country does not use chaos as an excuse for cruelty. A serious country does not tell people to follow the law and then slam the door before the legal process can begin.

The lie is that cruelty equals safety.

It does not.

Trump and his Republican allies are pouring billions into enforcement and detention while refusing to build the fair, efficient immigration system our communities actually need. Trump signed a $70 billion bill to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the remainder of his administration, and $38 billion of that package goes to ICE, $26 billion to Customs and Border Protection, and $5 billion more to DHS.1

But where is the matching investment in justice?

Where are the judges? Where are the attorneys? Where are the translators, asylum officers, legal orientation programs, case managers, court staff, and work authorization processors needed to make the system actually function?

Here is the danger hiding in plain sight: when government refuses to process people fairly, detention becomes the pressure point. It becomes the punishment. It becomes the threat. It becomes the money machine.

Right now, the U.S. immigration court system is buckling. At the end of May 2026, TRAC reported more than 3.2 million active cases pending in immigration court, including more than 2.3 million people waiting for asylum hearings or decisions.2

That is not processing. That is a backlog big enough to swallow families whole.

People do not disappear from their lives just because the government refuses to run a fair system. They still have children in school. Jobs to report to. Rent to pay. Doctors to see. Communities that count on them. Families who love them.

And then the government points to the very backlog it failed to fix and says: more detention.

No.

Warehousing people is not processing. It is punishment without conviction.

We have already seen what happens when detention is rushed, privatized, and treated like a political stage instead of a legal system. A Government Accountability Office review of Camp East Montana found that ICE and the Army rushed the opening of the largest ICE detention facility to date, negatively affecting planning and acquisition. GAO also found that the government paid for meals and services for 5,000 people even when the facility held far fewer people, wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.3

That is not law and order.

That is cruelty with a contract attached.

And yes, this is also a profit pipeline. Private prison corporations and contractors benefit when detention expands. Politicians benefit when fear is useful. But families pay the price. Taxpayers pay the bill. Communities absorb the harm. And people seeking safety are turned into line items.

This is how the circle widens.

It starts with asylum seekers. Then TPS holders. Then Dreamers. Then undocumented workers. Then mixed-status families. Then students. Then protesters. Then voters. Then anyone who refuses to look away.

That is how power grabs work. They do not come for everyone at once. They isolate one group, test how much cruelty the public will tolerate, and then move to the next.

This is why we cannot accept the false choice between safe borders and human dignity.

We can and must have both.

A real immigration reform agenda would secure the U.S. border while reducing the number of immigration detention beds. It would reform the legal immigration system to better meet U.S. needs. It would invest in enhanced security and technology at ports of entry to help stop the smuggling of illegal weapons and narcotics, including fentanyl. It would address the root causes of migration from South and Central America through diplomacy and humanitarian aid. It would permanently protect DACA and Dreamers.

It would increase funding to process immigration applications and work authorization applications more efficiently. It would expand case management programs that help undocumented immigrants and their families understand and meet their immigration court obligations. It would hire 1,600 new asylum officers and processing personnel to improve the efficiency of the asylum system. It would hire 375 new immigration judges to help move cases through the courts. It would eliminate the six-month waiting period before asylum seekers can apply for work authorization so people can support themselves, contribute, and live with dignity while their cases are pending.

That is not radical.

That is responsible.

And here is the part this administration does not want us to notice: the public is not demanding cruelty. A substantial majority of voters — 69% — support the U.S. having a system for asylum seekers to legally migrate here to seek protection.4

People understand what politicians pretend not to understand: safety and compassion are not opposites. Due process and border security are not enemies. Human dignity is not a loophole.

The path forward is not more cages. It is more courts. More case management. More legal pathways. More accountability. More humanity. More truth.

We can have secure borders without cruelty. We can protect communities without scapegoating immigrants. We can stop trafficking and fentanyl without punishing people fleeing persecution. We can build an immigration system rooted in safety, dignity, and due process.

But we have to demand it.

So today, we are asking our members of Congress to act.

Fix this broken immigration system. Protect the dignity and rights of asylum seekers. Protect Dreamers. Protect families. Fund fairness, not fear. Fund courts, not cruelty. Fund people, not cages.

A country built on liberty and justice for all should not replace courts with cages.

Not in our name.

Power belongs to the people — and when we stand united, we can still force this country to live up to its promise.

• Take Action» Send a letter to Congress: We need immigration reform now

• Take Action» Sign the petition: Defend Philadelphia’s Right to Ban Masked ICE Officers

Take Action» Join an upcoming event:

• Take Action by joining the 🗽All of US Nationwide Mobilization on June 27th, 2026. Join or Host an event near you (Events are being added so keep checking back or consider hosting one near you.)

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. And I am asking you personally: join us, stay connected, and help power this movement forward.

People Power United does no fundraising. We have no corporate donors, no wealthy special interests, and no fancy paid communications team. We are powered by people — by members who read, share, comment, take action, call Congress, invite friends, and refuse to look away.

Your support helps us keep showing up, keep telling the truth, and keep holding leaders accountable to the will of the people. Power belongs to the people — and together, we can make sure they hear us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

Pass the Equality Act and Guarantee Freedom for All

Friends,

At People Power United, we believe America’s promise means nothing unless it reaches everyone. Equality cannot be reserved for the privileged, and equity cannot be treated as optional. Our freedoms must not depend on wealth, power, status, or whether those in office decide we are worth protecting. In a nation that claims liberty and justice for all, every person deserves the right to live with dignity, safety, honesty, and joy — fully and freely as themselves.

That promise includes our LGBTQIA+ siblings — our neighbors, friends, family members, coworkers, students, elders, and community members. It includes every child who deserves to grow up knowing they are loved, valued, and safe. It includes every adult who deserves to live free from hate, discrimination, and political cruelty. And it includes every person, across gender identity, sexual orientation, race, age, income, or zip code, who deserves the freedom to live with dignity, respect, and equality.

Pride Month is a time to honor love, authenticity, courage, and hard-won progress. But we must also tell the truth: this is a painful moment for many in the LGBTQIA+ community. Extremists are targeting transgender kids, banning books, censoring classrooms, and threatening families, health care, and the freedom to live openly and safely.

This moment is painful — but it is not hopeless.

Friendly reminder: the Equality Act passed the House in 2021 under Speaker Pelosi’s leadership, but it hit the wall of Senate Republicans, Sinema, and Manchin. If signed into law, the Equality Act would prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity — which is exactly why we must keep pushing.

Rights do not protect themselves. People protect rights.

This month, People Power United is asking our members to honor and stand with our LGBTQIA+ community by taking action:

• Take action: Send a message to your member of Congress» Pass the Equality Act

• Take action: Sign the Petition» Tell Colleges: Don’t Back Down on Pride Month

• Take Action» Submit a public comment to protect Two-Spirit and trans people as well as Tribal sovereignty

• Call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and urge them to pass the Equality Act.

Let us stand united. Let us stay informed. Let us stay awake to injustice. And let us keep building a future rooted in equality, equity, freedom, and power to the people.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

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💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today

• Take Action» Sign the Petition: Stop Trump Loyalist Todd Blanche from Leading DOJ

• Take Action» Sign the Petition: Protect Retirement Savings from Elon Musk’s SpaceX IPO

• Take Action» Join an upcoming event:

  • Take Action by joining the 🗽All of US Nationwide Mobilization on June 27th, 2026. Join or Host an event near you (Events are being added so keep checking back or consider hosting one near you.)

• Take Action » Get and share trusted ballot and voting information, election reminders, and tools to register, vote by mail, and protect your voice.

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

Thanks for taking action!!

About People Power United

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United is independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions dedicated to defending our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy. This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

🗽 America at 250: Liberty, Justice, and Building Power to the People

This moment belongs to all of us. Join us, stay connected, and help power the movement forward.

Subscribe now

Liberty, Justice, and the People’s Power

Friends,

Patriotism and the promise of “liberty and justice for all” were never meant to be polished into campaign slogans, wrapped around one politician, or used to brand America while people are left behind. It is supposed to be a promise. A living promise. A daily responsibility. A moral test.

That is why this wonderful story about Harvard graduate Noah Eckstein’s viral speech matters so much.1 See below for the video.2 In a time when Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans keep trying to divide people by race, faith, identity, immigration status, party, and fear, Noah offered a simple but powerful truth: “The counter to division isn’t necessarily agreement. It’s understanding.”

That sentence should stop us in our tracks.

Understanding does not mean surrendering our values. It does not mean excusing cruelty, corruption, racism, authoritarianism, or attacks on our freedoms. It means remembering that democracy only works when people are seen as human beings, not enemies to destroy. It means listening closely enough to understand what is at stake, speaking clearly enough to name what is wrong, and organizing boldly enough to protect one another.

Trump’s version of America is about loyalty to Trump. Our vision must be about loyalty to the people.

Liberty and justice for all means no president is above the law. It means no billionaire, judge, lobbyist, or political insider gets to rewrite the rules for their own power. It means government belongs to the people, not to Trump loyalists, corporate interests, surveillance machines, or politicians drawing rigged maps behind closed doors.

And because understanding must lead to action, here are four ways to defend liberty, justice, and people power right now:

• Stop Trump Loyalist Todd Blanche from Leading DOJ: The Department of Justice must serve the public and the rule of law, not function as a shield for Trump’s personal power.

• Block Trump’s AI-powered warrantless surveillance of Americans: Liberty means protecting our privacy, our rights, and our communities from unchecked government surveillance.

  Impeach Trump: Accountability is not revenge; it is how democracy protects the people from abuse, corruption, and presidential power grabs.

• Tell Congress: Ban Partisan Gerrymandering Now: Voters should choose their leaders, not the other way around, because fair maps are essential to real representation.

America becomes worthy of its promise when we build a democracy where every person can live with dignity, safety, freedom, and a real voice.

As Noah reminded us in his speech, listening like we might be wrong does not mean we abandon our values or stop holding our leaders accountable. It means we lead with humility, seek understanding over division, and refuse to let corrupt politicians turn our neighbors into enemies.

That is the work before us. Not loyalty to Trump. Not empty slogans. Not performative patriotism.

People. Power. Progress. Liberty and justice for all.

'Listen Like You Might Be Wrong': Harvard Student Goes Viral For Stunning Speech On Trump Amid Feud

Thanks for taking action!!

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

About People Power United

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United is independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions dedicated to defending our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy. This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)
Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

Join the Power to the People Resistance

Independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions to champion our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy.

Subscribe for free to get daily accountability news and action, or go paid/or gift a friend to help grow the movement.

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Friends, take a moment to look at the United States flag below. Not as a decoration. Not as a prop for politicians. But as a promise — a promise of liberty, justice, dignity, and freedom for all of us.

America is a work in progress and a promise of a better tomorrow for all of us.

At our best, we have shown the world what courage, imagination, and collective purpose can do. We showed up on the beaches of Normandy to defeat Nazis. We sent people to the moon. We helped develop vaccines and helped overcome a worldwide pandemic. Again and again, when the moment demanded courage, the people rose.

We cherish our families, our friends, our faith, and our communities. We pour love, care, grit, and hard work into the places we call home. That flag is not the property of one party, one politician, or one movement. It belongs to all of us. It is a shared promise to keep moving forward, face hard truths, right the wrongs of our past, and build a nation rooted in unity, courage, compassion, and justice.

We are better than our worst days. And we can move past the lies, hatred, and bigotry being spread by Felon President Trump, Republicans in Congress, and MAGA supporters. We will not cower to bullies, cruelty, or fear. We will do the work to fiercely advocate for our rights, freedoms, democracy, and the rule of law. We will push for freedom over fascism and power to the people.

A nation driven by vengeance and hate risks losing its soul. When leaders use policy to punish, divide, and dehumanize, national security weakens, communities fracture, and freedom becomes fragile. History shows us the dark path ahead when fascism takes root. Current examples like Russia and North Korea remind us what happens when power is concentrated, dissent is crushed, and loyalty to one leader replaces loyalty to the people.

These are tough times, but I still believe in us.

The strength of a nation is not found in one president, one party, or one billionaire donor. It is found in people coming together with their unique perspectives, talents, stories, and courage to build something greater than themselves.

🗽 You are the hero of this American story.

If this past year felt like a lifetime worth of setbacks, you are not alone. The goal is to make us afraid, exhausted, and ready to give up. But we cannot let that happen. Now is the time to show up, speak out, protect the people we love, hold leaders accountable, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

In this community, we will always stand against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and all forms of bigotry.

America belongs to all of us. And together, we will keep the promise alive.

What can we do?

• People Power United doesn’t fundraise, but your support can make all the difference. Hearts ❤️, comments🗣️, shares 📢, and follows 📌 on Substack and our social media are always appreciated. Can you help us with our outreach efforts?

• Join Our Social Media Team ›

People Power United is grassroots and people-powered. That means we do not have billionaire backers, funders, donors, or a fancy schmancy communications team working behind the scenes.

What we do have is something far more powerful: people who care, people who show up, and people who believe freedom, justice, democracy, and power to the people are worth defending.

We use low-cost and free tools to share actions, events, resources, news, and ways to help — and we make sure our content stays open and accessible to everyone. No paywalls. No gatekeeping. No one left behind because they cannot afford to subscribe.

But this movement only grows when people stay connected and take action. Subscribe as a free or paid subscriber.

Like, share, and comment to help amplify power to the people.

Show up in our community by speaking out, showing up, and helping us build the people-powered pressure needed to hold our leaders accountable to the will of the people.

Together, we can build a stronger, louder, more connected movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people.

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

• Take Action: Tell Congress: Ban Partisan Gerrymandering Now

• Take Action: Stop the Federal Government from Banning Books.

• Take action now: Tell Congress to stop Trump’s billion-dollar ballroom.

• Take action: Send a message to your member of Congress: Pass the Equality Act.

Thanks for taking action!

Everyone deserves to vote and thrive,

Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)

Every movement that was ever won started with people who refused to quit. We are those people.

The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.

Subscribe now

Friends,

A country should never look at its own currency and see the vanity of a sitting president stamped into the people’s daily life. This week, the Treasury Department announced that Donald Trump’s image will appear on new U.S. paper currency - a $250 bill if Congress grants approval, making him the first sitting president whose image appears on American legal tender. This is in addition to the other change of putting Trumps signature in place of the treasurers, ending a tradition that dates to 1861, with the first new $100 bills expected in June.

That is not a harmless design choice. Money is one of the most public symbols a democracy has. It passes through the hands of workers, parents, retirees, immigrants, and neighbors trying to survive in an economy that already asks too much of ordinary people. Our currency should reflect the shared trust of the nation, not the ego of one man.

• The Treasury should serve the people with neutrality, not serve a president with loyalty.

• Our currency should reflect democratic trust, not presidential vanity.

• The Treasury belongs to the public, not to one president’s ego.

• Public institutions should honor the nation, not flatter the president.

• The Treasury should protect democracy, not promote a president’s brand.

Trump administration officials have also proposed minting a $1 coin featuring President Donald Trump’s image on it to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States next year, a plan that could violate the law.

Trump’s allies want Americans to accept this as patriotic pageantry tied to the 250th anniversary. Treasury officials have framed the change as a way to honor both the country and Trump. But that is exactly the problem. A democracy is not supposed to turn public institutions into personal trophies. The people’s money is not a branding exercise. It is not campaign merch. It is not a monument to a living president’s appetite for attention. If anyone deserves to be honored, it is the people of America, who built this country with their work, sacrifice, struggle, and dreams, not one man’s ego.

America has long understood the danger here. Federal law says “[o]nly the portrait of a deceased individual may appear on United States currency and securities,” a rule tied to the country’s effort to distance itself from monarchy. Our money is not supposed to become a shrine to a living ruler.

That is why this moment matters. Members of a bipartisan advisory committee objected to putting a sitting president on currency because it would “break with democratic norms” and “reek of subservience to royalty.” That is the warning in front of us. No free people should be trained to confuse patriotism with personal devotion.

And let’s say the quiet part out loud: when a president starts placing his mark on the people’s symbols, he is not just asking for recognition. Trump and his allies are testing how much public submission the country will tolerate. Today it is a signature or image. Yesterday it was proposals for presidential coinage. Tomorrow it becomes another demand that the country honor the leader instead of the Constitution, the public, and the rule of law. That is not strength. That is democratic erosion dressed up as tribute.

But this is where people power still matters. We do not have to accept the slow rewriting of public life around one man’s image, name, and ego. We can speak up. We can organize. We can remind Congress and Treasury that they answer to the people, not the other way around. Our currency belongs to the people. Our democracy belongs to the people. And the will of the people still matters.

Take Action: Tell Treasury: Keep Trump Off Our Money

Keep Trump Off Our Money

Take Action: Tell Congress now: keep politics and personal branding off our money.

Send My Letter to Congress

Together, we can champion our rights, freedoms, and democracy, hold our leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests) Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we will always speak out against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry!

This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our rights, freedoms, rule of law, and democracy. Millions of Americans are already refusing to back down — in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

Every movement that was ever won started with people who refused to quit. We are those people.

The future is not lost. It is being built — by us, right now.

Subscribe now

Subscribe now

Banned in War, Unleashed on the People

Friends,

Tear gas is not “crowd control.” It is chemical force. It is dangerous enough that several countries and the Chemical Weapons Convention prohibits the use of riot-control agents, including tear gas, as a method of warfare, yet the same chemicals are being used by ICE and domestic law enforcement.1 That double standard should outrage every person who believes in freedom: too dangerous for war, but somehow acceptable against protesters, journalists, neighborhoods, and detained immigrants.

Tear gas does not “restore order.” It burns eyes, chokes lungs, irritates skin, and can cause coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, nausea, and vomiting. The CDC warns that prolonged exposure or large doses can cause severe harm, including blindness, glaucoma, respiratory failure, and even death, with greater danger in closed indoor spaces where people cannot escape.2

And now, new reporting shows this crisis reaches inside America’s immigration detention system. The Washington Post reported that internal ICE records revealed at least 780 incidents in which staff used physical force or chemical agents to control immigrant detainees during the first year of Trump’s second term, including guards firing chemical pepper balls into a communal room in Alaska and using pepper spray on detainees in Georgia who said they had not been seen by medical staff.3

This is not safety. This is state violence. In Portland, a federal judge restricted federal officers’ use of tear gas at protests outside an ICE facility after evidence showed peaceful protesters and journalists being sprayed, gassed, and hit with munitions. The court described DHS officers spraying peaceful protesters in the face and firing tear gas and pepper-ball munitions into crowds of peaceful and nonviolent protesters.4

A free people cannot be gassed into silence. Protest is not a crime. Demanding food, water, medical care, dignity, and justice is not violence. We need a nationwide ban on the use of tear gas and chemical crowd-control agents against civilians, protesters, journalists, and people in detention. A democracy cannot survive if dissent is treated like an enemy force. And a government that uses chemical agents against the people is not protecting order—it is exposing its fear of people power.

We must demand a nationwide ban on the use of tear gas against our civilians. Protecting public safety means ensuring the right to gather, speak out, and petition for change without fear of chemical attack. A free people cannot be gassed into silence. Proper security lies in justice, not in repression.

💥 Take Action NOW

1. Take Action to Tell Congress: Don’t silence dissent with tear gas

2. Take Action to Stop Trump from Deploying Troops in U.S. Cities

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Together, we can protect and empower those we love, champion our rights, freedoms, and democracy, hold our leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

Laurie Woodward Garcia (paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests), People Power United

People Power United is a group of community members that champions freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people.

People Power United is community-powered, heart-driven, and people-led. We are powered by people. Not billionaires. Not PACs. Not special interests. Just us. You make that possible.

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Friends,

Pete Hegseth must be removed from power before he causes even more devastation at home and abroad. This is not a close call. This is not a partisan game. This is a moral, constitutional, and democratic emergency.

When Hegseth declared “No quarter, no mercy for our enemies” while giving an update on Donald Trump’s illegal war on Iran, he was not speaking the language of lawful restraint or responsible leadership. He was speaking the language of brutality. He was signaling a worldview in which cruelty is strength, vengeance is policy, and the rules of war are disposable. If those words are followed as orders, they amount to war crimes. No defense secretary who talks like that should remain in office for one more day.

And that is only the beginning.

Hegseth has reportedly sought to purge the U.S. military of Black and female officers, turning one of the nation’s most powerful institutions into a playground for ideological cleansing and grievance politics. That is not leadership. That is an assault on equality, professionalism, and the basic principle that service and merit matter more than bigotry. Our military belongs to the people of this country, not to a culture war agenda built on resentment and exclusion.

He has also overseen operations tied to horrifying civilian deaths, including 168 students at an Iranian girls’ school. Let that sink in. Children. Girls in a school. Young lives that should have been protected, not incinerated in the name of reckless militarism. When leaders treat civilian casualties like background noise, democracy rots and human dignity is shredded. When they speak with open contempt for mercy, they tell the world exactly who they are.

And while innocent people die, U.S. servicemembers are put in danger too. Hegseth’s actions and rhetoric do not make anyone safer. They make catastrophe more likely. They inflame conflict, raise the risk of retaliation, and place troops in the path of consequences created by arrogance at the top. That is not patriotism. That is reckless endangerment dressed up as toughness.

Now Rep. Yassamin Ansari has introduced articles of impeachment against Hegseth, and Congress must meet this moment with courage. Pass the articles. Hold the hearings. Expose the truth. Remove him.

Because impeachment is not just about punishing one man. It is about defending the idea that public power has limits. It is about making clear that no Pentagon chief can wage unlawful war, glorify cruelty, target officers for who they are, endanger troops, and escape accountability. It is about telling every future authoritarian that the Constitution is not optional and that the people are still watching.

If Congress refuses to act, it sends a terrifying message: that war without restraint, discrimination without shame, and abuse without consequence are all acceptable so long as the right strongman is in charge.

We cannot accept that. We cannot normalize it. We cannot wait for more bodies, more grief, and more damage to our democracy.

This is the moment to raise our voices. This is the moment to demand accountability. This is the moment to advocate for Congress to choose between cowardice and the Constitution.

Pete Hegseth has shown this country who he is. Believe him. And then remove him.

• Take Action: Tell Congress: Impeach Pete Hegseth Now

Impeach Pete

• Take Action: Tell Congress: Pass Articles of Impeachment to Remove Pete Hegseth!

Impeach Pete Hegseth

Why the Grassroots Resistance Can’t Wait

People Power United members believe change is possible because we have seen ordinary people rise, organize, and be a force for progress. Real change does not come from waiting politely, staying quiet, or hoping those in power suddenly grow a conscience. It comes when people speak out, show up, and demand action—because our communities and families cannot wait, and every moment we delay gives injustice more room to tighten its grip on our communities.

💥Your Power in Action: What You Can Do Today

• Take Action: Investigate Shady Defense Contracts Enriching Trump’s Family

• Take action now: Tell Congress: No Slush Fund for ICE

• Take action: Tell Congress: No Blank Checks for ICE

• Take Action: Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s War on Clean Energy

• Take Action: Tell Congress: Expose Trump’s Secret Donors

• 📢 Take Action: Get and share ballot and voting information, election reminders, and tools to register, vote by mail, and protect your voice.

• Join an upcoming event:

  • Take Action by joining the 🗽All of US Nationwide Mobilization on June 27th, 2026. Join People Power United at the Boston Event or Join or Host an event near you (Events are being added so keep checking back or consider hosting one near you.)

The movement for freedom over fascism, progress, and power to the people starts here.

Together, we can defend our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy, hold leaders accountable to the people’s will, and inspire voters to make a meaningful difference.

People Power United is independent, people-powered news and grassroot movement actions dedicated to defending our rights, freedoms, the rule of law, and democracy. This is our moment to rise, resist, and reclaim our democracy. Millions of Americans and people who call America home are already rising up in the streets, at the ballot box, and in their communities.

People Power United champions freedom over fascism, progress over fear, and power to the people. We believe change is possible, and we do the work to make it happen. Join us to build people power.

Laurie Woodward Garcia
(paid with hugs and kisses, not bought by special interests)

Leader, People Power United

People Power United | In this community, we speak out, show up, and build power against racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, misogyny, sexism, ageism, ableism, sizeism, elitism, transphobia, misogynoir, and bigotry.

Explore our coverage across the movement:

Resist Project 2025 | ICEbreaker News | Protect Democracy | Supreme Court Accountability | Reproductive Freedom for All | Protect Our Planet | Freedom Over Fascism | Power to the People News

Join the Resistance

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Subscribe for free to get daily accountability news and action, or go paid to help grow the movement.

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