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'Unhinged Despotism': Critics Slam Trump's Willingness to Invoke Insurrection Act
"A Trump-led deployment of federalized guard and active-duty troops to quell a fabricated insurrection inside American cities should only be understood as war on the American people," said one observer.
Oct 06, 2025
President Donald Trump on Monday said he was open to invoking the Insurrection Act to put down future civil unrest in US cities, drawing sharp condemnation from legal experts and other critics, some of whom accused the president of trying to foment disorder that would justify his authoritarian actions.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office about his deployment of federal forces to Portland, Oregon a day after a federal judge blocked his move to send hundreds of National Guard troops to the peaceful city, Trump said that he did not believe it was necessary to invoke the Insurrection Act yet, but “if I had to enact it, I’d do it, if people were being killed and courts were holding us up, or governors or mayors were holding us up.”
Courts, governors, and mayors have all resisted Trump's efforts to invade Democrat-controlled cities under the pretext of combating crime and unauthorized immigration.
“You look at what’s happening with Portland over the years, it’s a burning hellhole,” Trump baselessly claimed. “And then you have a judge that lost her way that tries to pretend that there’s no problem.”
Trump was referring to US District Judge Karin Immergut—whom he appointed during his first term—after she found that his reasoning regarding his administration's response to protests at a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland were “untethered to facts."
The Insurrection Act of 1807 is a federal law that allows the president to deploy the US military domestically or federalize state National Guard troops to put down any unrest the White House deems to be an uprising.
Trump said Monday that he believes there is a "criminal insurrection" in Portland.
Trump is now threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act to bully courts into letting his illegal military occupations proceed unchecked by rule of law.Inventing a fake crisis wholesale to bulldoze what's left of constitutional restraints: Unhinged despotism.Okay, then. Make him invoke it.
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— Greg Sargent (@gregsargent.bsky.social) October 6, 2025 at 2:57 PM
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller also contended Monday that there is a "legal insurrection" being committed by judges who rule against the Trump administration. Miller said these judges are attacking "the laws and Constitution of the United States"
Some social media users pointed out that Trump was impeached for a second time for his role in inciting the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday sent a memo to Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek announcing the administration's federalization of 200 National Guard troops “to protect US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other US government personnel.”
The memo cited Trump's deployment earlier this year of 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles—a move that a federal judge ruled was illegal and portends the creation of “a national police force with the president as its chief.”
Kotek responded to the memo by noting that "there is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security. No fires, no bombs, no fatalities due to civil unrest. The only threat we face is to our democracy—and it is being led by President Donald Trump.”
"The only threat we face is to our democracy—and it is being led by President Donald Trump.”
According to The Washington Post, approximately 100 California National Guard troops were sent to Portland after midnight Sunday and around 100 more arrived later in the day. Local leaders and residents said there is no reason for the invasion.
As the Post reported:
Residents of Portland responded to Trump’s description of their city with a mix of indignation and bemusement. “WarRavagedPortland” quickly became a popular social media hashtag on photos and video showing bustling farmers markets, peaceful parks, and sparkling vistas of the Willamette River.
Trump's remarks followed his speech to hundreds of US generals and admirals last week, in which he declared that the country is “under invasion from within” and that the military leaders should use American cities as “training grounds” to target domestic “enemies."
The president's remarks drew warnings of encroaching fascism as his administration expands its invasion and occupation of US communities, from Washington, DC to Chicago to Portland. On Saturday, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) asserted that "Trump’s troops are deliberately attacking peaceful protesters to incite violence."
A core principle of this nation is that the military should not be asked to turn its weapons against fellow Americans. We cannot allow this unprecedented militarization of American cities to become normalized. Read: wapo.st/4mQhNHq
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— Brennan Center (@brennancenter.org) October 6, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Writing for Just Security, former US Navy Undersecretary Janine Davidson argued Monday that Trump's recent designation of left-wing protesters as "insurrectionists" had "crossed a clear red line in civil-military relations."
"It is the Insurrection Act he seems keen to invoke, which would give him dictatorial-like powers like we’ve never seen used before in this country—not even in the Civil War," Davidson said of Trump. "The Civil War was a war between states with militaries fighting on battlefields. A Trump-led deployment of federalized guard and active-duty troops to quell a fabricated insurrection inside American cities should only be understood as war on the American people."
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House Dems Demand Trump, Rubio Free Sumud Flotilla Americans Held by Israel
"The US has an obligation to protect its citizens abroad and must act immediately."
Oct 06, 2025
Congressman Ro Khanna and two dozen other California Democrats wrote to President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday, urging them to demand that Israel release the Americans it detained while intercepting the Global Sumud Flotilla before the boats could reach the Gaza Strip.
More than 450 people from over 40 countries joined the peaceful mission to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid to starving Palestinians. Among them were at least 21 US citizens who "remain in Israeli detention," according to the letter from lawmakers, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The lawmakers highlighted the Californians who are detained: Progressive International co-general coordinator David Adler, Tommy Marcus, Geraldine Ramirez, and Logan Hollarsmith.
They also emphasized that "the US has an obligation to protect its citizens abroad and must act immediately."
"We call on you to work for the immediate and safe release, including arranging the logistics of a plane to ensure the speedy recovery, of US citizens who were on the flotilla and are still being held in Israeli prisons," the lawmakers wrote to Rubio and Trump—who last week told Israel to "immediately stop" bombing Gaza.
Despite the directive from Trump—whose government gives Israel billions of dollars a year in military aid, even as it faces mounting allegations of genocide—Israel continues to bomb Gaza. The US lawmakers' letter stresses that in the Palestinian territory, "the humanitarian situation is growing more dire by the day," with the entire population food insecure and most housing destroyed.
"We call for humanitarian aid to be sent to the people of Gaza," states the letter—sent on the eve of the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel, which has responded by slaughtering at least tens of thousands of Palestinians.
As of Monday, Israel had deported 341 of the 479 detained flotilla activists—including Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, who told reporters Monday that "I could talk for a very, very long time about our mistreatment and abuses in our imprisonment," but urged people around the world to focus on the genocide in Gaza.
"I will never, ever comprehend how humans can be so evil that you would deliberately starve millions of people living trapped under an illegal siege as a continuation of decades and decades of suffocating oppression, apartheid, occupation," she said.
Congressman Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) on Monday expressed concern about "reports of mistreatment of the American citizens detained by Israel for participating in the Gaza aid flotilla," and urged their immediate release and safe return to the United States.
Jeremy Corbyn, a member of the UK Parliament who used to lead the Labour Party, and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel have also publicly called for the release of Adler and the other flotilla members who remain detained by Israel.
Like the California Democrats, the US advocacy group Defending Rights & Dissent also wrote to Rubio on Monday, and specifically pointed to Adler, military veteran and podcaster Greg Stoker, and Drop Site News journalist Alex Colston.
"The State Department has a responsibility to defend the rights of our citizens abroad, especially when they are being subjected to violations of fundamental rights by a foreign government," wrote Defending Rights & Dissent. "Disturbingly, we have received reports that US consular assistance has been minimal or nonexistent. This is in stark contrast to other nations that have forcefully advocated for the human rights of their citizens and secured their expedited release."
After speaking with Hollarsmith's mother, Sidney Hollar, KQED reported Monday:
Hollar said she heard from the US Embassy in Jerusalem early Monday that Hollarsmith and the other US citizens still in detention were expected to be deported in the next 24 hours. She said that she was told they would be flown out of the country, but not given information about where they would land.
From there, the US would "loan them money for a hotel and for a flight home," she said. She called the prospect "outrageous."
"We can't fund a little chartered flight to get our US citizens, including US vets, home?" Hollar said.
"The Americans are being punished by the American government for delivering humanitarian aid," she said.
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) took to social media on Monday to put pressure on the State Department.
"Last week, I wrote to Marco Rubio urging protection of Americans on the Sumud Flotilla. Since then, Israel has detained dozens of activists, including Americans, for trying to feed starving Gazans. This is unacceptable," she said. "Marco Rubio, you must negotiate their safe return home."
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As Big Tech Oligarchs Wage War on Workers, Sanders Warns AI Could Kill Nearly 100 Million US Jobs
"We must stand up to the greed of Big Tech and make sure the future of artificial intelligence is a future that works for all of us—not just the people on top."
Oct 06, 2025
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Monday argued in an opinion piece for Fox News that artificial intelligence "must benefit everyone, not just a handful of billionaires," and released a related report warning that AI puts up to 97 million US jobs at risk.
"Some of the very wealthiest people in the world, including Elon Musk, Larry Ellison, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos—are now investing hundreds of billions into these revolutionary technologies," Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote at Fox. "Why is that? Is it because they want to improve the standard of living of the 60% of our people who live paycheck-to-paycheck—Americans who are struggling to pay for groceries, healthcare, housing, and education? Maybe. But I doubt it."
"I think it's because investing in AI and robotics will increase their wealth and power exponentially. The artificial intelligence and robotics being developed by these multibillionaires today will allow corporate America to wipe out tens of millions of decent-paying jobs, cut labor costs, and boost profits," he said, warning of major shifts within the next decade.
The senator continued:
Most of us want to see the United States develop a strong, clean, and efficient transportation system—including the production of millions of new cars, buses, and trucks. But, if Musk and others get their way, those vehicles won't be operated by truck drivers, bus drivers, or taxi drivers. They will be driverless vehicles. Millions of jobs in transportation will be eliminated.
This is not science fiction. It's already happening. FedEx is using driverless trucks to haul heavy loads along the I-45 Corridor between Dallas and Houston through a company called Aurora. Walmart is using autonomous trucks for short-haul deliveries in Arkansas through a company called Gatik. Kodiak Robotics has partnered with IKEA to conduct driverless deliveries in Texas. Waymo is operating self-driving cabs in Los Angeles, Phoenix, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Austin.
As the ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Sanders noted, "I released a report today finding that AI, automation, and robotics could replace nearly 100 million jobs in America over the next decade, including 40% of registered nurses, 47% of truck drivers, 64% of accountants, 65% of teaching assistants, and 89% of fast food workers, among many other occupations. And as bad as that may seem, I am afraid it may be an underestimate."
The report—The Big Tech Oligarchs' War Against Workers—takes aim at not only tech billionaires but also their ally in the White House, Republican President Donald Trump.
As Sanders' office summarized in a statement, the report also found:
- Corporations are already using AI to cut jobs. Amazon, Walmart, UnitedHealth Group, JPMorgan Chase, and other companies are openly telling investors that AI will allow them to slash payrolls—even as they post tens of billions in profits and reward CEOs with pay packages of $25 million, $35 million, or more.
- AI companies admit their goal is to lower labor costs. Firms like Salesforce and Artisan advertise digital labor platforms to "stop hiring humans." Self-driving truck companies boast that their technology eliminates the "problem" of higher driver wages.
- Trump is making matters worse. The Trump administration has appointed AI executives to top policy roles, gutted labor protections, and even fired tens of thousands of federal workers to pave the way for AI replacement. Trump's policies encourage corporations to automate jobs while kneecapping unions and worker rights.
Last month, Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) unveiled a legislative framework for artificial intelligence, including a bill to create a "regulatory sandbox," which he said is part of the "AI Action Plan" Trump announced in July.
"Technology can and should improve the lives of working people," Sanders said Monday. "But it will not happen if decisions are made in boardrooms by billionaires who only care about short-term profits. Congress must ensure that AI and automation benefit workers, not just corporate CEOs and Wall Street."
Specifically, Sanders is advocating for a 32-hour workweek with no loss in pay, requiring corporations to share profits with workers and give them seats on boards, expanding employee ownership, creating a US Employee Ownership Bank, enacting a "robot tax" on companies that replace workers with machines, passing the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, ending union busting, guaranteeing paid family and medical leave, restoring defined benefit pensions, and banning stock buybacks.
"Working people built this country," Sanders stressed. "They deserve to benefit from new technology, not be thrown out on the street while billionaires get even richer. We must stand up to the greed of Big Tech and make sure the future of artificial intelligence is a future that works for all of us—not just the people on top."
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