On Saturday, August 16, 2025, Refuse Fascism led a rally and march of more than 1500 people during the first week of Trump’s fascist takeover of DC.
I am thrilled to be with you today to march to the White House to say NO to Trump’s Fascist Takeover of DC. I am here because the only real solution is for us to rise to the historic challenge to drive this regime from power. TRUMP MUST GO NOW! So today, I am going to lay out why we say this and what it’s going to take to make that real.
The Trump fascist regime has seized control of D.C, federalizing the police, deploying the National Guard and unleashing the FBI to patrol the streets and threatened more military force to intimidate and dominate—while ICE carries out Gestapo terror against immigrants. Trump has made clear he wants federal control to be long term. Can I hear a Hell No!
He’s swapping “caravans of migrants” for “caravans of mass youth” with an open call to “knock the hell out of them.” Pushing Nazi-style plans to clear the city of “slums” and those he deems undesirable. Targeting Democratic officials—yes starting in L.A., now here, next Chicago, New York. Can I get a Hell NO!
Fascism has momentum and direction-it’s moving fast, and always in one direction: more repression, more violence, more terror. What’s happening here in D.C. right now is the next leap—if they can lock this down and people get used to it, it becomes the model for the whole country with ever increasing brutality. Federalized police, military patrols, immigration raids, housing projects swept, homeless encampments bulldozed, checkpoints in our neighborhoods, an occupying army of masked men with guns roaming the streets—dripping in white supremacy.
We have seen many people of DC rise up powerfully in meaningful opposition: redirecting people away from fascist checkpoints, pouring out of nightclubs and gathering at the checkpoints yelling “fascist get out”, neighborhood patrols and cop watches alerting the community, protesting in the streets, making noise at 8pm each night, people out jogging giving the national guard the finger as they pass them, veterans urging the guardmembers to refuse to obey unconstitutional orders, lawyers fighting it in the courts, people defending youth making sure they know their rights and assisting the unhoused. Make some noise for those standing up! Much, much more collective defiance and mass noncompliance is needed to stop the gears of this fascist regime and make it impossible for them to carry out their program of terror.
Yet, we know Trump will not stop as long as he is allowed to remain in power, backed by a whole bloodthirsty fascist regime that will not stop until everyone they hate is either disappeared or forced into submission. Can we allow this? NO! This cannot be allowed. We must drive this fascist regime out of DC and out of power. Trump must go now!
To this end, I am honored to share an audacious, urgent call to act initiated by RefuseFascism.org and open to all, a bold plan that everyone needs to come together to realize.