Where We Are Now
A Quick Check on the Stages of Autocracy
Hello, and welcome to the latest edition of our 50501 CO newsletter!
In this newsletter we discuss the deployment of the US military to Washington, DC. 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 and next week which have been submitted to our 50501 CO calendar; click the link above for more details and the full calendar)
All Cities
9/24: 6:00pm - 7:00pm - Team ENOUGH Welcome Session (For Young People Under 26) (Virtual)
10/1: 6:00pm - 7:00pm - Team ENOUGH Welcome Session (For Young People Under 26) (Virtual)
Denver
9/27: 1:00pm - 2:00pm - Fox Takedown (100 E Speer Boulevard, Denver, CO 80203)
10/4: 1:00pm - 2:00pm - Fox Takedown (100 E Speer Boulevard, Denver, CO 80203)
Fort Morgan
9/27: 5:00pm - 8:00pm - MCDP Fall Dinner & CD4 candidates meet & greet (Larkspur Room, The Block Commissary Kitchen & Events, 19592 E 8th Ave)
Littleton
9/23: 4:30pm - 6:00pm - WE THE PEOPLE (South Broadway and Littleton Blvd, Littleton, CO 80121)
9/27: 11:00am - 1:00pm - Protest Against Tyranny (5700 South Broadway)
9/30: 4:30pm - 6:00pm - WE THE PEOPLE (South Broadway and Littleton Blvd, Littleton, CO 80121)
9/27: 11:00am - 1:00pm - Protest Against Tyranny (5700 South Broadway)
Northglenn
9/26: 11:00am - 1:00pm - Protest at Gabe Evans' Northglenn Office (Northglenn District Office, 10701 Melody Dr, Northglenn, CO 80234)
10/3: 11:00am - 1:00pm - Protest at Gabe Evans' Northglenn Office (Northglenn District Office, 10701 Melody Dr, Northglenn, CO 80234)
Parker
9/21: 10:00am - 12:00pm - Release ALL the Epstein Files Rally (Email for details)
Pueblo
9/22: 3:00pm - 4:00pm - Vaccines & Science saves Lives (Parkview Hospital in front of the Grand Ave Parking garage)
9/27: 10:30am - 11:30am - Losing Our Democracy (Walgreens 4th St & Abriendo)
Steamboat Springs
10/2: 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.)
Thornton
9/26: 4:00pm - 6:00pm - 4th Friday Intersection protest (112th avenue and Colorado Boulevard)
Where We Are Now: A Quick Check on the Stages of Autocracy
Not long ago I wrote about the stages of autocracy and where America was on the path. To summarize: first, discredit the system. Second, flood the zone with chaos. Third, stack key posts or rules with loyalists and advantages. Fourth, use the law to break the law—aiming legal power at critics while shielding allies. Finally, say the quiet part out loud. In July, I argued we were deep in the pattern but not yet a full dictatorship. I thought it worth taking some time to check in on where we are now and what’s happened since that article.
Stage 1: Discredit the System
Example: Federal control and troops in Washington, D.C.
The public-safety “takeover” in the nation’s capital was sold as a rescue from local failure. Officials cast doubt on D.C.’s own crime data and leadership, priming people to distrust local institutions so that extraordinary federal intervention feels normal. That’s the opening move of autocracy: make the referees seem corrupt so raw power can step in.
Stage 2: Flood the Zone
Example: Overlapping shocks that bury accountability
In the span of days, headlines ping-ponged among the D.C. deployment, the Texas mid-decade map, and federal moves against high-profile critics. Add in rolling congressional theatrics and agency “updates,” and the firehose never shuts off. The effect is intentional: when attention is splintered, facts can’t settle and consequences don’t stick. The spectacle becomes the strategy.
Stage 3: Stack the System
Example: Texas’s mid-decade congressional map
Texas advanced a mid-cycle redraw designed to manufacture new safe seats and pad the ruling party’s margin in the U.S. House. That breaks the once-per-census norm and invites copycats. You don’t need to cancel elections to rig outcomes; you can redraw the board so one side starts every game up a queen. At the federal level, the same logic appears in personnel and procedural moves that squeeze independent actors while rewarding loyalists.
Stage 4: Use the Law to Break the Law
Example: FBI raid on John Bolton
Agents searched the home and office of a prominent Trump critic and former national security adviser. Whatever the stated predicate, the public lesson is simple: outspoken opponents can expect a knock at the door. Pair that with federal inquiries and subpoenas aimed at other adversaries, and the pattern comes into focus. Each action may be “legal” on paper; together they function as a warning shot. The law stops being a shield and becomes a weapon deployed selectively.
Stage 5: Say the Quiet Part Out Loud
Example: Celebrating friendly media power and punishing critics
A major media merger put a presidential ally in charge of a legacy news network, and top officials publicly cheered the outcome while critics on marquee platforms found themselves on the chopping block. The message is broadcast, not hidden: compliant coverage is rewarded, hostile voices are dispensable. When the government’s political goals and a network’s programming choices move in visible lockstep, the mask has slipped. That’s the stage where an authoritarian project stops pretending it’s playing by old rules.
So… Are We There?
If “there” means an openly authoritarian style that no longer hides its aims, we’re standing at the threshold. If “there” means competitive democracy fully switched off, not yet—but the window is narrowing. What’s changed since July is speed and shamelessness. Actions that once took months now arrive in days; a scandal that would have defined a year barely lasts an afternoon. Norms don’t collapse with a single blow; they erode under a constant barrage.
What To Do (Right Now)
Keep it practical and local. Defend the independent nodes—civil servants, election workers, inspectors general, judges, local journalists. Fight rule-rigging where it starts: statehouses, commissions, and boards. Don’t get hypnotized by the daily spectacle; track the pattern and name it plainly. Help friends and neighbors stay oriented about what’s normal and what’s not.
The stages aren’t theoretical anymore. They’re a checklist we keep watching get ticked. The work is to interrupt the pattern while there’s still time—before “not normal” becomes the new normal.
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!
1. ABC (whose parent company is Disney) made the decision to take Jimmy Kimmel Live off of the air after Brendan Carr, Trump’s FCC chair, threatened to cancel affiliate licenses in retaliation for statements Kimmel made about Trump in the wake of the killing of Charlie Kirk. You can listen to the segment in question here. Regardless of what you think about Jimmy Kimmel and his show, this was clearly a politically-motivated decision by ABC/Disney and the very definition of complying in advance. Let us be clear: Carr did not have to actually take any action to force ABC to pull the show. He made a threat, and they complied. If we allow ABC and Disney to capitulate without any penalties, we open the door to other networks and companies folding just as they did.
2. As you have likely heard, the United States budget for fiscal year 2026 must be passed before the end of September to avoid a government shutdown. Both Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries have indicated that they are willing to compromise on passing the budget so long as Affordable Care Act subsidies are added back in. This cannot be the only item they fight for. Democrats have the ability to filibuster the budget in the Senate, and should use it to rein in ICE budgets/behavior, the rampant corruption of the Trump administration, and the use of the Department of Justice as a political hit tool. Call our CO senators and demand that they pressure Schumer and their peers to take a stand for what really matters to you!
3. The ICE facility in Aurora is one of the largest facilities in the US measured in terms of daily population of detainees. This increases ICE activity in Aurora (and Colorado as a whole). In 2019, a group of attorneys alleged that the Geo ICE facility in Aurora was operating without a license. We should demand that the Aurora city council investigate closing the detention facility on this basis, in addition to exploring any other means available to ensure the city isn’t aiding and abetting the mistreatment of immigrants, green card holders, and citizens.
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