Silencing Facts

A Dangerous Step Toward Authoritarian Control

Aug 31, 2025

Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of our 50501 CO newsletter!

In this newsletter we discuss the redistricting war taking place in Texas, California, and other states. In addition, you’ll find information on upcoming activities from the 50501 calendar, actions you can take outside of protesting, and also find out about additional ways to connect with us.

See you on the streets! ✊✊✊

Actions and Activities

(The below list contains details on all actions this week which have been submitted to our 50501 CO calendar; click the link above for more details and the full calendar)

All Cities

8/31: 4:30pm - 5:30pm - COLORADO: Rapid Response for Our Freedoms (Virtual)
9/3: 6:00pm - 7:00pm - Team ENOUGH Welcome Session (For Young People Under 26) (Virtual)

Bailey

9/1: 4:00pm - 6:00pm - Workers over Billionaires Protest in Bailey (US HWY 285 and Rosalie Rd, South side of the highway)

Brighton

9/1: 9:00am - 4:30pm - Workers Over Billionaires (Pedestrian bridge over Highway 85 between Bromley and Bridge St in Brighton (enter from frontage road on west side near Kuner Road and Southern))

Canon City

9/1: 9:00am - 11:00am - #WorkersOverBillionaires Labor Day (Veteran's Park, South 3rd Street & U.S 50, Canon City, CO 81212)

Colorado Springs

9/1: 1:00pm - 3:00pm - Workers over Billionaires (Colorado Springs City Hall)
9/1: 11:00am - 3:00pm - Big Bill's Dance Party (AKA Labor Day Bash) (2408 W Colorado Ave, Colorado Springs, CO 80904)

Denver

9/6: 1:00pm - 2:00pm - Fox Takedown (100 E Speer Boulevard, Denver, CO 80203)
8/31: 6:00pm - Melt the Ice Camps (Coors Field)
9/1: 12:00pm - 4:00pm - Workers Over Billionaires (Colorado State Capitol)
9/7: 6:00pm - A Queen's Cabaret Fundraiser for Parasol Patrol (1601 Arapahoe St, Denver, CO 80202)

Fairplay

9/1: 12:00pm - 1:30pm - Workers Over Billionaires Labor Day Protest Fairplay (418 Main St (HWY 9) between 4th and 5th Streets)

Fort Collins

9/1: 10:30am - 12:30pm - We're Over IT (College Ave. and Mulberry St)
9/1: 11:00am - 1:00pm - Worker's over Billionaires Fort Morgan Protest (Corner of Main St and Platte Ave/Hwy34)

Fort Morgan

9/1: 11:00am - 1:00pm - Workers over Billionaires Fort Morgan Protest (Corner of Main St and Platte Ave/Hwy34)

Fraser

9/1: 4:00pm - 6:00pm - Labor Day Protest (Intersection of US 40 in front of Safeway, in Fraser Co)

Frisco

9/1: 2:30pm - Solidarity September (Triangle Park)

Greeley

9/1: 10:00am - 2:00pm - Workers Strike Back (Lincoln Park, 800 10th Ave)
9/6: 10:00am - 12:00pm - Court House Steps Protest & March (Weld County Courthouse, 901 9TH AVE GREELEY)

Highlands Ranch

9/1: 10:00am - 4:00pm - Lone Tree/Highlands Ranch Sidewalk Protest (S Quebec St and Park Meadows Dr, just south of C470)

Loveland

9/1: 10:00am - 1:00pm - Labor Day Protest (Dwayne Webster Veterans Park, 400 W Eisenhower)

Northglenn

9/5: 11:00am - 1:00pm - Protest at Gabe Evans' Northglenn Office (Northglenn District Office, 10701 Melody Dr, Northglenn, CO 80234)

Pagosa Springs

9/1: 11:00am - Workers over Billionaires (Walmart)

Pueblo

9/6: 10:30am - 11:30am - Losing Our Democracy (Walgreens 4th & Abriendo)

Salida

9/1: 12:00pm - 1:00pm - Workers Over Billionaires! (Hey 50 & Holman Ave)

Steamboat Springs

9/4: 5:30pm - 6:30pm - Worth Fighting For - Routt County In-Person Meeting (RSVP for the exact location for this in-person meeting. City listed may not be the true location)

Silencing Facts: A Dangerous Step Toward Authoritarian Control

Recently, the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics was fired. The reason? A jobs report that didn’t please the administration. What might seem like a routine personnel change is actually something far more alarming. It’s a textbook example of a key stage in the march toward authoritarianism—what I call Stage 3: Stack the System.

This stage isn’t about overt coups or tanks in the streets. It’s about quietly hollowing out the independent institutions that keep power in check. It’s about replacing career officials and impartial experts with loyalists who will serve political interests, not the public good. The goal is simple: make sure no one stands in the way of those who want to rewrite the rules in their favor.

This isn’t new, nor unique to today’s moment. Authoritarian regimes throughout history have understood the power of controlling information and institutions. The Nazis, for example, systematically took over government offices, replaced officials with loyal party members, and suppressed any independent voice that didn’t fit their narrative. They knew that truth was one of the first casualties when tyranny takes root.

In their chilling efficiency, they didn’t storm all at once; they worked methodically, installing loyalists at every level. This strategy allowed them to reshape entire systems from the inside out, all while maintaining the appearance of order and legality.

What we are seeing now—the firing of an independent official for delivering a politically inconvenient report—is a small but significant step down that same path. It signals that facts are no longer safe when they contradict political convenience, that data may be manipulated or suppressed, and that institutions we rely on to hold leaders accountable are under threat.

This matters because democracy depends not just on elections but on the integrity of institutions. It depends on a shared understanding of facts and trust that agencies provide honest information. When that trust breaks down, the foundation of democratic debate crumbles.

Stacking the system isn’t just about replacing individuals; it’s about reshaping entire systems to serve loyalty over law, ideology over evidence. It doesn’t require rewriting constitutions or overt declarations of dictatorship. Instead, it works quietly—through personnel changes, bureaucratic maneuvers, and strategic firings.

This quiet erosion is the hardest kind to fight because it doesn’t announce itself with fanfare. It seeps into everyday life, into the news we consume, the policies we debate, and the way we understand our country’s condition.

This is about the health of our democracy itself. When independent institutions lose their independence, everyone loses. It’s a loss of transparency, a loss of accountability, and ultimately, a loss of power for the people.

Seven months into this second term, moments like the firing of the BLS chief mark the slow reshaping of our political landscape. The walls of democracy still stand, but the rooms within are quietly emptying. The institutions that once safeguarded our freedoms are being stacked with loyalists, making them less a check on power and more a tool for it.

This shift is subtle, but its consequences are profound. What’s most unsettling is how normalized this becomes—how easily the extraordinary becomes routine. We watch institutions we once trusted become politicized, and we wonder if this is simply “how things are now.” That normalization is the most dangerous part of all.

This moment invites us to quietly reckon with the reality that democracy is not just about rules and structures, but about the trust and honesty that hold it together. When truth becomes secondary to power, the foundations begin to crumble, often without anyone noticing until it’s too late.

Editor’s note: This was received prior to the firing of CDC Director Susan Monarez (and the associated solidarity walkout).

Non-Protest Actions Bingo

The below bingo card contains a list of actions you can take (other than protesting) to help further the cause. If you get a bingo, tag us on social media to let us know!