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Act Now to Stop This Illegal War Against Iran
Our Constitution cannot defend or protect itself. Not when Trump and his administration keep violating their oath to defend and protect it. It’s up to us to do that.
Mar 05, 2026
President Donald Trump’s illegal, unconstitutional war on Iran is not only a moral and humanitarian disaster, but also the latest assault on our way of life. Trump and his enablers count on us to endure their ever escalating egregious abuses of power that imperil our democracy, potentially fatally. We must prove them wrong. We can and must overcome these clear and present threats to our lives, liberty, and way of life.
Our Constitution cannot defend or protect itself. Not when Trump and his administration keep violating their oath to defend and protect it. It’s up to us to do that. We the People must not fail to meet this crisis. We must not let these abuses of power go unchecked. The Congress and the American people must hold Trump and all those complicit in the Trump administration accountable for their escalating attacks on the rule of law.
These intertwined crises require us to act! We must pressure all members of Congress, Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike, to uphold their oath of office to defend and protect our Constitution. Contact your representative and both of your senators now. Call the US Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and ask the operator to connect you directly to the office of your senators and representative.
Ask to speak to the chief of staff or another staffer. Leave a message if they’re not available. Be firm but calm. Identify yourself as their constituent, and tell them:
Trump and his administration have repeatedly broken the law and arrogantly refuse to abide by the limits on the power clearly laid out in the Constitution. The Constitution offers one and only one remedy: impeachment, followed by removal from office. I demand that [official’s name] take immediate action to impeach and remove Trump and all complicit Administration officials.
We must do much more than that, however. Contacting Congress is necessary but not sufficient. While the House may vote to impeach Trump for a third time, the Constitution requires two-thirds of the Senate to vote to convict and remove Trump and complicit officials. This is highly unlikely, at least for now. We have to change the arithmetic through concerted, decisive action.
Several Republicans must put our republic above partisanship. For that to happen, we must relentlessly demand action. Every American who cares about our constitutional democratic republic must pressure their senators and representative by phone, email, social media, and in‑person visits.
We must demand that Congress impeach Trump again, but this time also vote to remove Trump and all complicit administration officials from power. We must do this, even though we have little confidence that enough Senate Republicans will act honorably. We must make them do so, or else replace them with people who will. That means getting active in the primary elections, already underway.
Support independent media like Common Dreams. Volunteer with Progressive Democrats of America to help lead on the effort to replace feckless politicians with strong leaders.
To increase pressure on the current Congress, organizations and individuals across the country must initiate and maintain ongoing nonviolent protests and civil disobedience.
Act now! Contact everyone who will listen. Work with decision-makers and members of any organization you know and persuade them to join the struggle.
Start or join boycotts targeting Trump-friendly corporations. Delay purchase of any non‑essential goods and services. Organize walk outs, sick outs, and other intentional non-participation. Urge everyone you know to do the same.
We need mass participation by individuals amplified by unions, as well as civic, religious, labor, social, and other organizations. We the People must stand up now in concerted, courageous, continuous opposition to oppression and tyranny. Nothing less will ensure the survival of our constitutional republic.
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‘Dark, Bizarre Stuff’: White House Posts Deepfake Image of Arrested ICE Protester Crying
"All of us are on full notice that this White House feels no compunction about concocting obvious lies, concedes nothing when its lies are exposed, and should be presumptively disbelieved in all matters."
Jan 22, 2026
Continuing its bizarre and often legally questionable use of social media to publicize law enforcement operations, the official White House account published an artificially generated deepfake image of a protester arrested on Thursday by the FBI.
Earlier that day, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem had posted about Nekima Levy Armstrong, one of three people who were arrested for disrupting a service last week at the Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer and field office leader, David Easterwood, reportedly serves as a pastor.
Noem described Levy Armstrong, who leads a local civil rights organization known as the Racial Justice Network, as someone "who played a key role in orchestrating the Church Riots in St. Paul, Minnesota."
There is notably no evidence that the protesters engaged in or threatened violence, as implied by her use of the word "riot." Video shows protesters disrupting the service by chanting slogans like "ICE out" and demanding justice for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer in Minneapolis earlier this month.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the protesters had been charged under the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, which makes illegal any conspiracy to "injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate," people from exercising "any right or privilege secured to him by the Constitution or laws of the United States."
In her post, Noem shared a photo of Levy Armstrong being led away by an agent, whose face is pixelated to hide his identity. In the photo, Levy Armstrong appears stone-faced and unfazed by the arrest.
Hours later, the official White House account shared the exact same image—accompanied by text describing her as a “far-left agitator”—but with one notable difference. Levy Armstrong's face was digitally altered to make it appear as if she was sobbing profusely while being led out by the agent. Nowhere did the account make clear that the image had been doctored.
"Did the White House digitally alter this image of Nekima Levy to make her cry???" asked Peter Rothpletz, a reporter for Zeteo, who described it as "bizarre, dark stuff."
Sure enough, CNN senior reporter Daniel Dale later said the White House had "confirmed its official X account posted a fake image of a woman arrested in Minnesota after interrupting a service at a church where an ICE official appears to be a pastor," and that "the White House image altered the actual photo to wrongly make it seem like the defendant was sobbing."
Asked for comment, Dale said the White House directed him to a social media post by Kaelan Dorr, the White House deputy communications director, who wrote: "Enforcement of the law will continue. The memes will continue."
Posting artificially generated images of their targets sobbing has become a house style of sorts for the White House account.
In March 2025, the account posted an image, altered to appear in the style of a Studio Ghibli film, of Virginia Basora-Gonzalez, an alleged undocumented immigrant and convicted fentanyl trafficker, crying while handcuffed during her ICE arrest in Philadelphia.
In July, the White House posted an AI-altered photograph of Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) after he criticized an ICE raid in which agents arrested hundreds of farmworkers in Ventura County, California. They edited Gomez's congressional photo to make it appear as if he was crying, referring to him as "Cryin' Jimmy."
But the fake image of Levy Armstrong hardly appeared as a "meme." It was subtle enough that, without having seen the original, it was not immediately apparent that it had been altered, raising concerns about the White House's willingness to publish blatantly deceptive information pertaining to a criminal investigation.
Anna Bower, a senior editor at Lawfare, suggested that for the government to post a fake, degrading image of a criminal suspect could be considered a "prejudicial extrajudicial statement," which can undermine the case against Levy Armstrong.
The Trump administration has been caught in an untold number of lies, particularly about those arrested, brutalized, and killed by its law enforcement agencies. This includes Renee Good herself, whom members of the Trump administration tarred as a "domestic terrorist" within hours after her killing, without conducting an investigation and despite video evidence to the contrary.
Bulwark journalist Will Saletan said that with this deepfake post, "all of us are on full notice that this White House feels no compunction about concocting obvious lies, concedes nothing when its lies are exposed, and should be presumptively disbelieved in all matters. Nothing they say should be accepted without independent confirmation."
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The Nation Responds to a 'Truly Terrifying' Week
2026 began with the emergence of a new American colonial empire abroad and the deadly escalation of Trump’s cruel, racist anti-immigrant program at home.
Jan 10, 2026
“Truly terrifying.” That was how National Nurses United executive director Puneet Maharaj described this week in a group text exchange in the aftermath of the brazen murder of Renee Nicole Good by Immigration and Custom Enforcement agent Jonathan Ross in Minneapolis on January 7. A day later there was another shooting, some 1,700 miles away in Portland, Oregon, of Luis David Nico Moncada and Yorlenys Betzabeth Zambrano-Contreras by border patrol agents. And just a week after Keith Porter was shot and killed while celebrating on New Year’s Eve by an off-duty ICE agent in Northridge, California, a Los Angeles suburb.
All three acts of violence capped a year in which the draconian anti-immigrant drive launched by President Donald Trump and campaign architect Stephen Miller has terrorized immigrant communities and sparked protests across the nation. A year in which at least 32 people have also died in ICE custody, the agency’s most deadly year in decades, according to the Detention Watch Network. Some were long-time residents, some recent abductees in ICE raids. “They died of seizure and heart failure, stroke, respiratory failure, tuberculosis or suicide,” or reported neglect, notes the Guardian.
The shootings reflect the broad portrait of US residents–Good, a white, 37-year old mother of three; Porter, a Black 43-year-old father of two; Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras, Venezuelan. And, in familiar tones, the Trump administration has been quick to demonize all four.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem rushed to defend shooter Ross insisting it was an “act of domestic terrorism” by Good. Vice President JD Vance called Ross a “deranged leftist.” Moncada and Zambrano-Contreras were immediately labeled as affiliated with the Tren De Aragua gang, though Portland officials voiced distrust in ICE characterizations. A DHS spokesperson claimed Porter was an “active shooter” and the off-duty agent was “protecting his community,” contentions that infuriated Porter’s friends.
It was a solemn beginning to the new year, an exclamation point on the past 12 months.
The administration wants to control the Good investigation even as Minnesota officials say the federal government is impeding a state investigation. Vance claims agent Ross has “absolute immunity,” a point refuted by Harvard legal scholar Lawrence Tribe on MSNow with Lawrence O’Donnell. “State laws of assault continue to apply, even to a federal officer,” he noted. Outraged Minnesotans are calling for state prosecution as was done, with a conviction, for the police officer who killed George Floyd a short distance from where Good was murdered. Gov. Tim Walz says he wants the state to do a “full investigation.”
Porter’s friends are pushing for justice for Porter. Los Angeles County is “reviewing Porter’s killing,” though, the Los Angeles Times adds, “it sometimes takes years for the agency to determine if a deadly use of force constitutes a crime.” While Los Angeles is a “sanctuary city,” the LA Police Department is notorious for supporting and defending ICE and other federal immigration agents and constraining community protesters instead.
Venezuela, of course, was the other high-profile calamity of the week. Trump’s January 3 military invasion of Venezuela, kidnapping President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Up to 100 people, including civilians were killed, Venezuelan officials report. The US also bombed a medical warehouse, science labs, and an apartment complex, along with other sites in Caracas.
The long-planned assault followed months of extrajudicial bombings of boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific that have executed at least 115 people since September—like the invasion, in violation of international and US law, and without congressional authorization.
It was a solemn beginning to the new year, an exclamation point on the past 12 months. The Trump administration has carried out the most sustained assault on constitutional norms, dispatching of troops to threaten Americans in numerous cities, weaponization of the Justice Department and programs to punish political enemies and entire Democratic-run states, shredding of decades of healthcare standards that have saved millions of lives, and so much more.
It’s hard to even get more appalled. But the convergence of the emergence of a new American colonial empire abroad with the deadly escalation of Trump’s cruel, racist anti-immigrant program, is what made the week “truly terrifying.”
Many people on social media searched for analogs in recent US history. For this aging lefty who lived through and participated in frequent protests against the Vietnam war, President Ronald Reagan’s sponsoring of military coups and mercenary armies in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the disastrous invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, I dredged up one comparison.
On April 28, 1970, President Richard Nixon invaded Cambodia with combat troops, an enormous widening of the Southeast Asia war he had pledged to end. A week later on May 4, following days of protests, the Ohio National Guard fired 67 rounds in 13 seconds at student protesters at Kent State University in Ohio, killing four students and wounding nine more. I huddled around the radio listening to the accounts on Pacifica’s KPFA-FM with three roommates, thinking the world had dramatically changed in our lives. Then I rushed off to join a raucous protest at Sonoma State University where I was enrolled.
Trump’s stranglehold on Republican members of Congress is weakening.
Many parallels to that time with this moment exist. There had been years of rallies and marches protesting Nixon and President Lyndon Johnson’s war before him. Nixon was elected promising a secret plan to conclude the long Vietnam War while covertly sabotaging a long-delayed Johnson plan to initiate new peace talks. Trump campaigned as a “peace” advocate, pledging to end “forever wars,” and begging for a Nobel Peace Prize before launching the most unchecked expansion of US colonialism in more than a century.
The arrogant Nixon was, arguably, the most lawless president in US history to that point, before being finally forced to resign. Trump has proven to be far worse, engaging in monarchical dictates and policies, running roughshod over Congress, defying the courts, staging an insurrection at the US Capitol attempting to overturn the 2020 election, and now scheming how to subvert the 2026 and 2028 elections.
On the two arenas of the past week, Trump and his cabal are promising more. Trump has openly threatened to expand military operations to Cuba, Colombia, Mexico, and Greenland. “I don’t need international law,” Trump told the New York Times. He will only be constrained, he said, by his “own morality.”
Vance has intensified his increasingly desperate rhetoric to defend the murder of Good; the administration recognizes they have lost public support, as millions have viewed the damning video evidence. Going on the attack, as Trump always requires when challenged, Vance boasts the administration has doubled its Gestapo-style police force to over 22,000, and plans to send ICE agents “door to door,” in coming months, mimicking the odious practices of past dictatorships. Trump has also threatened, again, to invoke the Insurrection Act to send the military to American cities to combat protesters.
Both Nixon and Trump met massive opposition. Anti-Vietnam War marches mushroomed, with over half a million people joining a November 1969 march on Washington. I remember driving overnight from Los Angeles to San Francisco to march with 250,000 others across the city that same day. The repeated mobilizations, augmenting battlefield defeats in Vietnam, ultimately coerced the US to end its war.
Trump has faced similar growing resistance. Up to 8 million Americans joined “No Kings” rallies and marches in June and October last year. And in the two days since the Minneapolis murder, thousands have turned out in spontaneous protests in many cities and smaller communities including Asheville, North Carolina, Boston, Buffalo, Atlanta, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Colorado Springs. Colorado, Columbus, Ohio, Dallas, Dayton, Ohio, Denver, Durham, North Carolina, Los Angeles, Merrimack, New Hampshire, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Providence, Rhode Island, Seattle, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Washington, DC, and repeatedly in Minneapolis.
Trump’s stranglehold on Republican members of Congress is weakening. Trump lost two significant votes in Congress on January 7. Overriding House GOP leaders, 17 Republicans joined Democrats in the House to pass legislation to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years as millions of Americans are facing calamitous increases in healthcare coverage due to GOP obstruction in the fall.
In the Senate, five Republicans joined in a “rare bipartisan rebuke of the White House” to set up a War Powers Resolution vote to require congressional approval for Trump’s militarism in Venezuela and elsewhere. Incensed by the defiance, Trump called for the defeat of the five Republicans. Both actions face a difficult outcome, but the votes are significant. It shows Republicans are worried about the approaching midterm elections in November, following sweeping losses last year.
A wounded Trump, inclined to step up his callous attacks and lawlessness, is “truly terrifying” as National Nurse United’s Maharaj noted. Responding, NNU lobbied for the ACA subsidy vote, condemned the Venezuela invasion and Good’s murder, and had members at the San Francisco protests. Nurses are among the rapidly expanding mass movement needed to protect democracy, human rights, and all who live here.
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