The Authoritarian Threat in Many Places
Dr. Royel Johnson is a professor in the Education Department at the University of Southern California (USC) and the Director in the USC Race and Equity Center. Dr. Johnson has written about what he calls “The Authoritarian Threat.” The first sentence in his essay states the following: “There is no more-serious threat to the long, bending, yet unfinished arc toward justice in this country than the rapid emergence of far-right authoritarianism in the United States.” He goes onto describe this authoritarian turn as “shaped by racial scapegoating, mythic nationalism, and cultural suppression, hallmarks of past fascist movements.” Johnson’s major area of concern is in the arena of higher education. In particular he notes “escalating attacks on DEI efforts and multicultural education and efforts to control what higher education teaches, who belongs, and what stories are told— while stripping it of its democratic function.”
While autocratic attacks on institutions of higher education are of grave concern, it is only one of many areas that are under attack. In January of 2026 Amnesty International published “Ringing Alarm Bells: Rising Authoritarian Practices and Erosion of Human Rights in the United States.” In this report they identified twelve areas being targeted, restricted, reshaped, or eliminated by Trump administration.
- Limiting freedom of the press and access to information
- Limiting freedom of speech and of assembly
- Controlling civil society and universities
- Targeting political opponents and critics
- Overruling judges, lawyers, and the legal system
- Undermining due process
- Attacking refugee and migrant rights
- Militarization on the domestic front
- Illegal surveillance and using AI to increase repression
- Targeting populations of color (BIPOC groups)and removing anti-discrimination protections
- Checks on accountability and efforts to fight corruption
- Undermining the support for human rights globally
In essence the Trump regime is attacking all areas of human rights and freedom that challenge its ability to dictate and control all aspects of civic life in the United States.
The Trump Administrations’ Four Strategies
Johnson highlights four strategies which the authoritarian U.S. government us in their attempts to undermine and discredit the work of institutes of higher education. While Johnson’s analysis is focused on the threat to higher education, these strategies can be seen attacking and undermining all twelve areas of community life listed above.
The first strategy is the Control of Knowledge and Anti-Intellectualism. In his first term the president coined the term “alternative facts.” There are no alternative facts, they are lies. Such terms are seek to deceive and deny what is true and factually grounded. When public figures, like comedian Jimmy Kimmel and Barack Obama call out the president’s lies, he seeks to silence them with lawsuits and false accusations.
The second strategy is Legal Manipulation and Bureaucratic Overreach. The Trump administration has sought to undermine or outright ignore laws concerning due process, basic human rights, and limits to presidential authority and power. Unfortunately, the Congress, particularly the Republican contingent of that body, have been unwilling to call out the limits of the president’s authority and instead have allowed him to proceed on actions that are unconstitutional, illegal, and ethically bankrupt. Furthermore, the Supreme Court has clearly tilted to the Right thereby overruling bills passed in the past (such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965). Thus, the president has not been held accountable for his decisions, words, and actions. Instead he has been protected by the Congress SCOTUS and has charged his Justice department to legally attack any person he considers to be an enemy and a threat to his power.
The third strategy is to delegitimize institutions serving the country. At the outset of his second term the president gave Elon Musk free reign to strip many government agencies of their employees and budgets making them unable to fulfill their mission. For example, the Education Department and US AID were rendered unable to carry their vital missions . The president has dismissed and insulted allies in the European Union and elsewhere. And as Johnson describes, he has attacked many universities and stripped them of funds to conduct necessary research in a number of areas of our national life.
The fourth and final strategy is to suppress dissent and deny basic human rights, such as the right to assemble, to voice concerns, and to film acts of violence against innocent people. People who are American citizens are being picked up by ICE simply by how they look (i.e., being dark skinned). While Trump is free to demean people with whom he disagrees, he goes after people who oppose his policies and even threaten their livelihood. When ICE agents were sent to cities like Los Angeles and Minneapolis they were accompanied by National Guardsmen and even Marines. Innocent people have been killed for simply voicing their opposition to the purposes and tactics other ICE and other soldiers. Citizens exercising their basic first amendment rights are considered enemies of the state and threats to the administration’s power.
The Response That is Needed
Despite these actions by the federal government, there have been many people and groups that have organized to resist. Individuals in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, and elsewhere have gotten themselves organized to stand up and speak out against the government’s illegal and immoral practices. Groups like No Kings Rallies and Indivisible have encouraged people to speak up about the way the Trump administration continues to lie and not fulfill their mission to serve the needs the people of all socioeconomic situations. Organizations like New Sanctuary Movement have recruited volunteers to support undocumented persons and legal immigrants in their struggles. And everyday citizens have held vigils outside ICE offices, Courthouses, state legislatures, and Congress itself, calling for changes in the laws governing immigration, and efforts to challenge the Trump administration. And while Christian Nationalists have largely bought into the Trump’s policies and actions, many clergy and people in their congregations have called out the immorality and sinfulness of the Trump administration’ actions.
Paul Obrien, Executive Director of Amnesty International, has pointed out that the rise of authoritarianism is not only occurring in the United States but in countries around the world. However, he is quick to point out that “authoritarian practices only take root when they are allowed to become normalized. We cannot let that happen in the United States. Together we all have the opportunity and responsibility to rise to this challenging time in our history and to protect human rights.
Sources
Amnesty International, Ringing the Alarm Bells: Authoritarian Practices and Erosion of Human Rights in the United States. Retrieved at https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/ringing-the-alarm-bells-rising-authoritarian-practices-and-erosion-of-human-rights-in-the-united-states/. 2026.
Julia Conley, Report Details Trump’s Rapid Escalation Toward Authoritarianism in First Year of Second Term . Common Dreams, January 20, 2026. Retrieved at https://www.commondreams.org/news/trumps-authoritarianism
Royel Johnson, Democracy and the Authoritarian Threat. In Standing Strong in Undemocratic Times (ed. James Banks. New York: Teachers College Press, 2026, pp.27-35.