Part 1: On April 20th, 2025, the United States may Cross the Point of No Return.

[littlemissmartypants]

"Aletheisthenes"
Mar 21, 2025
On April 20, 2025, the United States may initiate its final steps into authoritarian rule.

That’s the day Donald Trump’s advisory committee is expected to release its findings on whether he should invoke the Insurrection Act — a move that would allow him to deploy the military domestically and allow Trump to impose martial law. (San Francisco Chronicle). Given Hegseth and Noem are the main “advisors”, the conclusion is foregone.

And as his two months in office has already shown, he won’t stop at just a legal opinion.

Expect an executive order even that same day or the next, officially declaring the Insurrection Act, restricting freedoms in the name of restoring control of the border and perhaps in blue-state cities, and setting the larger plan in motion.

Of course, this won’t be framed as an attack on democracy. It will be packaged as a necessary response to crisis — as authoritarian takeovers always are.
Snip...
https://medium.com/@aletheisthenes/on-april-20th-2025-the-united-states-will-cross-the-point-of-no-return-0aecac04cfc3

If the Shit Actually Hits the Fan
5 days ago
Snip...
But let’s suppose it’s April 21st, 2025… and Trump has just invoked the Insurrection Act.

What then?

Recap: The Scenario I Laid out is Not Original: It is the Classic Method for Overthrowing Governments
Here’s how it goes:

On or slightly after April 20th, 2025, Trump will most likely sign an executive order invoking the Insurrection Act.

The excuse will be to secure the border and deport violent gang member illegal aliens, and possibly bring order to out-of-control cities, but it will actually be the first step to eventually fully declare martial law across the United States, and suspend civil liberties, and the US Constitution.

To most it will come without warning. The press might not even report on it until the last minute. When it happens, expect confusion, misinformation, and panic. Many will be caught off guard.

(But a few of us won’t be, at least not entirely — because we saw this coming.)

The ultimate purpose is to eventually fully overthrow the United States government, put Trump, his billionaire co-conspirators, and people who share the values of his very fuzzy reactionary political coalition fully and permanently in control. I personally find the billionaire techno-fascists (Musk,Thiel, Andresseen, Yarvin, Land, Vance — see my post about these folks in my earlier Grok Papers series) of even more concern than the run-of-the-mill conservative reactionaries. The latter group, truth be told, do have some very legitimate grievances about how our country has treated them. But while we agree on the diagnosis, I couldn’t disagree with them more about the cure e.g. Trump and letting billionaire anarcho-
Snip...more...
https://medium.com/@aletheisthenes/if-the-shit-actually-hits-the-fan-b491462c6057

RESIST!!

❤️pants

[Srkdqltr]

1. I hope you are as dead wrong as the 2000 predictors were 25 years ago.

[littlemissmartypants]

4. These aren't my predictions. But I agree with the sentiment. ❤️

[Srkdqltr]

7. Well whoever than, good information

[Susan Calvin]

15. The 2000 predictors were not dead wrong.

People worked their asses off to make the predictors dead wrong. Without those people the predictors would have been right. Say, maybe there's a lesson in that for today.

[Skittles]

39. year 2000 was a real issue

excellent planning and changes that took years to accomplish averted any ill-effects

[The Wizard]

2. It's not a coincidence

that April 20 is Hitler's birthday.

[DENVERPOPS]

18. It is also, conveniently,

after every one has submitted their taxes, and anything they owe.........and before the people will be getting refunds from over payments, which may be delayed or not come if Trump and RepubliCONS can dream up some reason.........It would be interesting to know how many wealthy/UBER wealthy have applied for an extension on doing their taxes by April 15th.....

[Callie1979]

3. And if that happens then Musk's "bullet points" will likely need to be used.

5 of 'em should be just enough.

[LymphocyteLover]

12. I'm not familiar with his bullet points

[Callie1979]

36. Remember the justification of your Fed job?

Musk required everyone to submit 5 "bullet points"
I just think that can be looked more than one way

[erronis]

5. Expect the internet to be shut down or severely curtailed.

Just like in russia, china, and other authoritarian regimes.

The major ISPs will kowtow to the orders - perhaps they are already on-board and waiting the signal. Independent ISPs are dependent on the major backbones to make the internet world-wide (or even nation-wide.)

There may be selective filtering of addresses that are allowed to be used. Easy to do. Expect DU to be on the filter list.

There may also be tracking of your traffic - where you visit, your search requests, etc.

Altho the current regime/Dogers don't have the talent, content may also be modified to promote or discredit.

I've thought this would be coming for months. I hope I'm wrong.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. I thought about some of these things, too. ...

I ordered a new phone for many of the reasons you stated and I bought a burner. I have enough books here to last a lifetime. And music to drum to as well.

I'll just hunker down. Me and Nollie. I'm too old for this but I'm a survivor. I will be lonely if I don't have my DU family though.

I hope you're wrong too, erronis.

What do you think about what may happen with broadcasting like radio and TV? Any thoughts?

❤️

[erronis]

11. I'm not sure I'll survive (well) without my internet communities...

I do have books to read altho I had to get rid of around 2,000 last year (forced move.)

But I do use the internet as a social lifeline. I'm currently in a rural area so getting to a larger hub of people will be challenging, especially as gasoline prices rise and public transit disappear.

My thoughts on the current radio and cable? PBS and NPR will stop existing. Programs talking about non-RW ideologies will disappear. Those that use these types of media will get a pablum of pseudo-patriotic junk, just like the USSR and China, etc. I'm not a good commentator on these since I don't have a T.V. and rarely listen to broadcasts.

Sorry - I guess I'm feeling rather fatalistic today.

Time to go for a walk and enjoy nature!!!

[littlemissmartypants]

14. ❤️

[DENVERPOPS]

19. Just because you are paranoid

doesn't mean that people aren't out to get you.............

[yellow dahlia]

32. I use that one often, lately. n/t

[DENVERPOPS]

41. More and More

of us are using that every day......and for good reason. Especially with the new "addition" of Musk/Putin's closeness......

[yellow dahlia]

31. Yikes. And let's hope you're wrong.

I know what that is like - sounding an alarm, and hoping to be wrong.

[Passages]

6. Some very good people are worried too.

REPORT
THE CITY BAR CALLS UPON CONGRESS TO CLARIFY THE INSURRECTION AND POSSE COMITATUS ACTS

The New York City Bar Association[1] (the “City Bar”) is gravely concerned about two laws that carry the potential for unprecedented misuse of the United States military: the Insurrection Act of 1807[2] and the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878.[3] Absent a clear need either to assist state and local authorities in quelling major, violent, civil unrest, or to assure the protection of constitutional rights, using the military in immigration enforcement would be inappropriate, contrary to its customary use, and place servicemembers in roles in which they lack the necessary training and experience. To prevent the Executive Branch from abusing the power granted by these vague and outdated statutes, we call upon Congress to reform these laws at its earliest possible opportunity, and we urge the incoming Trump administration to refrain from such unprecedented misapplication of these statutes.

As early as June 2020, when state governors faced turbulent demonstrations related to the Black Lives Matter movement and other issues, then-President Donald Trump threatened to deploy the military to “solve the problem,” suggesting that U.S. troops would be used to confront, control, and possibly detain U.S. citizens. And in the aftermath of the November 2020 election, in response to concerns over potential post-election civil unrest should President Trump refuse to step down, Jeffrey Clark (at the time, the acting head of the Justice Department’s Civil Division and President Trump’s expected pick for Attorney General) stated “That’s why there’s an Insurrection Act.”[4] More recently, President-elect Trump has indicated that he would invoke the Insurrection Act to use National Guardsmen and federal troops to remove non-citizens who lack legal status from the United States. And in October, 2024, President Trump threatened to use the U.S. military to counter unspecified dangers posed by supposed domestic opponents, labeling them the “enemy from within.”[5]

As the Commander in Chief, the President wields a tremendous amount of power. But like all power in a democracy, it is not unlimited. The New York City Bar Association urges the Executive Branch, including the President and senior military leaders, to respect those limits, thereby preventing the abuse of power and the military’s misuse, pending clarifications by Congress.
https://www.nycbar.org/reports/a-call-for-congress-to-clarify-the-insurrection-and-posse-comitatus-acts/

[DENVERPOPS]

21. Do you recall when

the Cheney/Rumsfeld CABAL tried to overturn the Posse Comitatus act?????? And Failed??????

[littlemissmartypants]

24. President Psychopath...

Doesn't care about no stinkin' act anyway. Like laws, they're for other people.

[DENVERPOPS]

25. Trump and his RepubliCONs

during his first administration publicly stated that the Constitution was an antiquated scrap of paper.....

[littlemissmartypants]

23. Haven't troops already...

Been deployed to the border?

...using the military to carry out mass roundups and deportations runs contrary to this country’s longstanding tradition of keeping the military out of domestic affairs. The Insurrection Act was never intended for those purposes. Troop deployments in our cities or at the border are an attack on the freedoms Americans enjoy and moves us closer towards being a police state where those freedoms are threatened.[14]

The quote's from your source.

[Passages]

34. Yes. This group is working to have more clarity from lawmakers so they can stop him in court.

Imo, our lawmakers need to state where they stand on this...especially red states.


Trump Sends Troops to the Southern Border

CSIS | Center for Strategic and International Studies
https://www.csis.org › analysis › trump-sends-troops-so...
Jan 27, 2025 — President Donald Trump sent US troops to the southern border in one of his first actions as commander-in-chief.

[Midnight Writer]

8. On Hitler's Birthday, no less.

[littlemissmartypants]

10. Exactly.

[LymphocyteLover]

13. even if he does, I don't see how they can effectively institute martial law in this huge and diverse country

Also who will take the order seriously if there's no clear emergency?

[Susan Calvin]

16. Well, he's done a lot of things people said he couldn't do already.

And the only thing that's really happened so far is NGOs and the courts barking at him. It's hard to fight somebody who does what he pleases and pays no attention to laws. Especially when he's the Commander in Chief. Frankly, my only hope right now is people at all levels in the military paying attention to their oaths

[jalan48]

17. Citizens around the county are getting more angry each day with what they are seeing. This is literally his trump card.

Get too far out of line and wham! It’s straight from the autocrat’s playbook.

[et tu]

20. let's hope for a full

resistance from we the people-
which will be grim but 'do not go
silently'
trying to be positive but....

[Callie1979]

37. Well, a lot of us ARE armed. And some are well trained.

And I would like to think many of them are also in positions of power & dont want to see the end of the USA

[Escape]

22. Could he be impeached and removed on April 22nd?

If a handful of Republicans realized the extent of the tragedy they created, could they join all Democrats and remove him immediately?

Or, after Martial Law, does Congress have no power?

[littlemissmartypants]

33. Here's some additional information on that...

Congress' Power To Deny Martial Law: Explained
Last updated Mar 21, 2025

https://lawshun.com/article/can-congress-deny-martial-law
Martial law: Here's what can and can't happen in the US

CNN National Security Analyst Juliette Kayyem explains what you need to know about martial law in the US and if President Trump has the power.
https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2020/06/05/martial-law-trump-us-military-kayyem-orig-mg.cnn

Martial Law in 2025: A Real Threat or Political Fearmongering?
Story by Emily Standley Allard • 4w
https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/is-the-united-states-headed-for-martial-law/ar-AA1vytYc

[Escape]

35. Thank you, Pants...

I appreciate your research. I think I feel a little better after seeing your info.

[Bayard]

26. Urging trump not to do something means he'll do exactly that

I'm pretty sure this is going to happen at some point. You just have to hope there are more good people with a conscience in the military than there are MAGAts who would get off on it.

[ancianita]

27. Seriously, how does this unsourced "probabilistic forecast" help us? Even the footnotes have no sources.

For one thing, Medium's already wrong about conflating The Insurrection Act and martial law.

There have already been 30 invocations of the Insurrection Act.

Here's more info from the Brennan Center for Justice:

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/insurrection-act-explained

Is invoking the Insurrection Act the same as declaring martial law?

The Insurrection Act does not authorize martial law. The term “martial law” has no established definition, but it is generally understood as a power that allows the military to take over the role of civilian government in an emergency. By contrast, the Insurrection Act generally permits the military to assist civilian authorities (whether state or federal), not take their place. Under current law, the president has no authority to declare martial law.

https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/martial-law-explaineds :

Congress has placed clear and wide-ranging restrictions on the president’s ability to use the military domestically. A presidential declaration of martial law would violate these rules. The Constitution does not grant the president “conclusive and preclusive” power over the issue of domestic military deployment. On the contrary, it gives most of the relevant authority to Congress. Therefore, under Youngstown, the president would not have the constitutional authority to override the restrictions Congress has put in place, and a unilateral declaration of martial law would not survive a legal challenge.

Does the Constitution apply under martial law?

Yes. The federal government is bound at all times by the Constitution. Even under martial law, the government cannot suspend or violate constitutional rights. Additionally, martial law declarations are subject to judicial review. For example, if the federal government places a state or territory under martial law, individuals detained by the military can ask a federal court to order their release by petitioning for the writ of habeas corpus. Subsequently, if a court considers the petition, it can decide whether the declaration of martial law was constitutional in the first place.

Can states declare martial law?

The Supreme Court has held that individual states have the power to declare martial law — and such a declaration is valid simply if it is authorized by the constitution or laws of the state. States have declared martial law far more frequently than the federal government. However, even under martial law, state officials are bound both by the U.S. Constitution and by valid federal laws. Additionally, individuals can challenge a state declaration of martial law by seeking injunctive relief in federal court — and if they are detained, they can petition for the writ of habeas corpus.

Recently from reddit
Preparations that states can make (It's likely that the DGA has already made coordinated arrangements):
State governors need to form a compact to prevent military enforcement within their borders.
State legislators, governors, and AGs still loyal to the Constitution should work right now to
a) build the legal framework and communication networks necessary to create a viable compact of States to blunt impacts of the Insurrection Act,
b) prepare to prosecute multiple legal fights,
c) inform and advise citizens (of legal, transportation, supply depot help) in advance and repeatedly.

Furthermore, if Medium thinks the felon can scale up what Hitler did, they lack perspective

[littlemissmartypants]

29. I understand...

You concerns here. All of the points are valid for the beginning of the series But...

I'm wondering if you read all the way through all four parts?

[ancianita]

38. I think I read it through right down to the footnotes, because I was looking for source links.

And one has to admit that just trying any of this to scale is not likely to work. 50 states are not like hitler's Germany.

Thanks for your post.

[yellow dahlia]

28. Thanks for sharing, pants.

[littlemissmartypants]

30. My pleasure.

Thanks for your kind words, yellow dahlia.

❤️

[Martin Eden]

40. Dictators will do ANYTHING to sieze power and hold onto it

It would be a mistake to underestimate the extreme measures this POtuS will take, or the subservience of Republicans in Congress.

If there is any chance Democrats would gain control of the House and/or Senate in the 2026 midterms, The Felon will do everything he possibly can to prevent that -- including martial law.