📢 No War on Our Communities
🗽A well informed citizenry is the best defense against tyranny. Throughout history, Americans have faced corruption, injustice, and authoritarian overreach. And every time, we fought back.
Dear Friends,
I ask your understanding today. I rarely send more than one post in a day, but earlier it was important to share our Statement Denouncing the Supreme Court’s Betrayal of Liberty and Justice for All1, and tonight’s message is equally urgent and time-sensitive. Thank you for your patience and support. -Laurie
The National Defense Authorization Act—or NDAA—sounds like routine Washington business. Congress renews this massive bill to set the military budget and policies yearly. But behind the technical jargon, the NDAA has become a vehicle for abuse—used to expand government surveillance, authorize indefinite detention, and, under Trump, opens and expands the door to turn our own military against us.
This is not a defense.
This is an attack on the American people.
34-time convicted felon, President, but not a leader, Donald Trump has made that crystal clear.
Click here to send a message to your Member of Congress: Fight Back Against Trump’s Domestic Military Deployments by Rejecting the NDAA!
With the stroke of his pen, he rebranded the Pentagon as the "Department of War" and elevated his loyalist Pete Hegseth to serve as "Secretary of War." Although a formal name change would require an act of Congress, this move is still a startling and dangerous development. We agree with POGO, there is no need for this power grab:
“There is currently no crisis in Washington that requires putting armed soldiers and tanks on the same streets where people are walking their kids to school, riding the metro to work, and playing in neighborhood parks. We stand with those who are safely exercising their First Amendment rights to demand an end to the administration’s abuse of emergency powers — powers that exist to address genuine crises with a specific timeline in mind.
“Using our service members for wasteful political stunts and turning our cities into police states is unjustifiable. This isn’t leadership. This isn’t patriotism. This is militarized strongman theatre, and it sets a dangerous precedent for what could come next — an escalation into true authoritarianism. Congress and the courts should listen to the chorus of Americans in Washington and across the country opposing this power grab, so no president can use the military just to get their way.” - Dylan Hedtler-Gaudette, acting vice president of policy & government affairs at the Project On Government Oversight (POGO)2
Instead of preparing for global dangers, Trump is waging war on American cities.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker called out the dangers of Trump's leadership: "The President of the United States is threatening to go to war with an American city. This is not a joke. This is not normal."3
This is not normal—it's authoritarian.
It's illegal under the Posse Comitatus Act 4, which bars using federal troops for domestic law enforcement.
The true protectors of our communities aren’t tanks or troops—they’re the firefighters who run into burning buildings, the paramedics who save lives when every second counts, the nurses and doctors who heal us, the teachers who safeguard our future, the social workers who lift up families, the public health workers who shield us from disease, and the utility and transit workers who keep daily life running. They’re the organizers who defend our rights and the sanitation and environmental workers who keep our air, water, and streets safe.
Yet every one of these protectors is being starved of the resources we desperately need, while Trump seeks to pours billions into his so-called “Department of War” to turn our military against us.
This isn't defense. It's deliberate intimidation and an attack on the people who call America home.
Think about the grotesque waste: billions poured into military budgets that should be used to strengthen our communities. Instead of protecting us from rising inflation for housing and healthcare, threats from foreign adversaries, cyberattacks, and climate disasters, Trump is threatening to point the military at our own citizens. The NDAA has the potential to fuel more of this nightmare, handing him more tools to militarize civilian life while starving the people of what we genuinely need: healthcare, housing, education, and infrastructure.
That’s why Congress must reject any version of the NDAA that empowers attacks on American cities and states. Lawmakers cannot give Trump a green light to wage war on the American people. They must either stand with their constituents and defend the Constitution—or bankroll Trump’s Department of War. There is no middle ground.
Trump's threats to Illinois are a warning shot to all of us. If we don't act now, your community could be next. This is not politics as usual—it's a test of whether we will allow our democracy to be dismantled under the camouflage of "defense."
Congress must hear us clearly: Reject funding attacks on American cities and states. Reject Trump's Department of War. Stand with the people.
The time to act is now. Call your representative. Write your senator. Tell them your tax dollars must never be used to send the military into our neighborhoods. Share the truth with your community: the NDAA is no longer about national defense—it’s about Trump’s domestic war. We must demand that Congress reject any version of the NDAA that enables attacks on American cities and states, and we must block Trump from deploying the military against our communities without consent.
Today’s Calls to Action
Click here to send a message to your Member of Congress: Fight Back Against Trump’s Domestic Military Deployments by Rejecting the NDAA!
Call your Member of Congress at (202) 224-3121 and use this phone script:
Hello, my name is [Your Name], and I'm a constituent from [Your City]. I'm demanding that you reject the National Defense Authorization Act that funds any acts of aggression against US cities or states. Donald Trump has openly threatened to use the so-called "Department of War" against cities in the U.S. That is an abuse of power, a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act, and a betrayal of our democracy. Our military should defend us from foreign enemies, not be weaponized against our own communities. I urge you to stand with the people, not authoritarian power, and vote NO on the NDAA unless it strips Trump of these dangerous tools.
Thank you for taking action!
Join us to build People Power! 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), People Power United
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