A friend and colleague reminded me yesterday that joy is an act of resistance right now. That people need something beyond the doom and gloom of our current authoritarian march. And she’s not wrong. But as we go about our daily lives in Richmond, we can’t lose sight of the fact that our cousins in Washington DC, are now living under federal occupation. That should have a chilling effect on every single one of us in Richmond and should be one of the main topics of conversation—not only in the city, but throughout Virginia.
As we wrote about on Monday in Authoritarianism, 90 Miles Away and Trump Orders National Guard to DC, Over Local Objections, what’s happening in DC is not esoteric to Virginia, its core to how we live our lives in the Commonwealth and, quite frankly, a clear reflection of how state power can now be weaponized against us. As Reuters reported yesterday, “U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would ask the Republican-controlled Congress to extend federal control of Washington’s city police force beyond 30 days, escalating his campaign to exert presidential power over the nation’s capital.” He also acknowledged that this could serve as a “model for other US cities.”
Framing that further, we are another US city, only a few miles down the road from DC. And we have a Republican governor that has fully capitulated to MAGA’s agenda.
At the risk of sounding alarmist, a picture paints a thousand words, a video ten thousand words, and social has been flooded with pictures and videos of what the occupation of DC is shaping up to look like. In the end, its up to each of us—politically and philosophically—to determine what role we believe a politicized state-security apparatus should play in our lives (still waiting to hear from the “don’t tread on me” crowd). Especially when crisis framing is being manufactured for an authoritarian blueprint that seems more obvious by the day. We have to ask ourselves whether federal agents setting up checkpoints in our city streets, patrolling quiet neighborhoods in full battle-rattle, and disrupting the lives of ordinary citizens is an acceptable trade-off.
Have a look and make your own decision. These are just a few of the hundreds of videos now circulating.
From Threads user: nirvana_tylerrr
From Threads user: phil.lewis
From Threads user: mringuette
From X user: Oliya Scootercaster
From Threads user: shawnsteffy
From Threads user: amay.a100
From Threads user: kd_did_2
This ins’t about public safety. It’s about intimidation and fear. What happened in Los Angeles was deeply egregious, there is no denying that. But Los Angeles is not DC, it’s not the nation’s capital. This occupation sets a precedent that goes far beyond any one individual city. Controlling the nation’s capital is about weaponizing federal force at the heart of American democracy. Once normalized here, there is no city, no state, no community that is safe from the same playbook.
Also, release the Epstein files.
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