“Looks like everyone in my former political party has signed on to the Donald Trump/Stephen Miller game plan, which means calling Democrats ‘terrorists,’” wrote a disgusted ex-Republican in response.
Protestors march during an anti-Trump "No Kings Day" demonstration in a city that has been the focus of protests against President Donald Trump's immigration raids on June 14, 2025 in downtown Los Angeles, California.
(Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images)
Brad Reed
Oct 10, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
Multiple Republican lawmakers on Friday lobbed smears against the upcoming “No Kings” rallies scheduled to take place on October 18 across the US.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) described the “No Kings” events as “a hate-America rally,” which he said would include “the Antifa crowd, the pro-Hamas crowd, and the Marxists.”
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“They’re all going to gather on the [Washington] Mall,” Johnson continued. “We’ve got some House Democrats selling t-shirts for this event. It is an outrageous gathering for outrageous purposes.”
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) echoed Johnson and linked the “No Kings” marches to the continued federal government shutdown, claiming Democrats were refusing to vote to fund the government “to score political points with the terrorist wing of their party, which is set to hold... a hate-America rally in DC next week.”
Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), during an interview on Newsmax, described the October 18 protests as “a Soros paid-for protest” filled with “professional protesters” and “agitators,” and threatened those who attend with a deployment of armed forces like the ones President Donald Trump has imposed on cities including Chicago and Memphis.
“We’ll have to get the National Guard out,” he said. “Hopefully it will be peaceful. I doubt it.”
Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman from Illinois who broke with the party over its refusal to hold Trump accountable, expressed disgust with linking the “No Kings” marches to terrorists.
“Looks like everyone in my former political party has signed on to the Donald Trump/Stephen Miller game plan, which means calling Democrats ‘terrorists,’” he wrote in a post on X. “Terrorists? Despicable. Shameful.”
The October 18 “No Kings” rallies are a sequel to nationwide demonstrations that took place this past June and drew an estimated 5 million people across over 2,100 cities and towns.
Contrary to the Republican lawmakers’ claims, these protests were overwhelmingly peaceful demonstrations against what organizers described as “the gross abuse of power that we’ve seen consistently from the Trump administration.”
Ezra Levin, cofounder of progressive organization Indivisible, one of the groups behind the “No Kings” marches, vowed on Thursday that the upcoming events will be “the largest peaceful protest in modern American history.”
Levin also remained defiant in the face of baseless claims that his organization funds violent rioting.
“Trump and Miller can lie, smear, and threaten all they want,” he said. “They will lose.”
‘We Will Not Back Down,’ Says Indivisible as Trump Aims FBI, IRS at Liberal Groups
“Let’s call this what it is: A baseless attempt to chill free speech and scare people away from exercising their constitutional right to protest an authoritarian regime.”
Demonstrators take part in a protest against the Trump administration during the “No Kings” national rally in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025, on the same day as President Trump’s military parade in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied nationwide Saturday against Donald Trump ahead of a huge military parade on the US president’s 79th birthday.
(Photo by Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images)
Jon Queally
Oct 10, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
The pro-democracy group Indivisible is among those speaking out against the Trump administration’s reported targeting of progressive and liberal organizations with various government agencies, including the FBI and IRS, as part of what critics call an “authoritarian playbook” by President Donald Trump that seeks to criminalize dissent, chill free speech, and frame nonviolent protest and opposition as “domestic terrorism.”
In-depth reporting by Reuters named Trump’s far-right, xenophobic White House advisor Stephen Miller as “playing a central role” in the internal effort to wield the power of federal agencies at a variety of organizations that the administration claims—contrary to all available evidence—are funding or orchestrating violent protests and political attacks.
As Trump Escalates Attacks on Dissent, Oct. 18 ‘No Kings’ Protests Set to Be Even Bigger Than June
Granted anonymity to speak more freely about the internal mechanics of the operation, Reuters’ reporting is based on discussions with “three White House officials, four Department of Homeland Security officials and one Justice Department official to produce the first comprehensive account of how decisions are being made, forces deployed, and operations coordinated in the crackdown.”
“Trump wants to scare people away from exercising their constitutional rights. We won’t let him succeed. Don’t let this smear distract you. The best response to attacks on our rights is to exercise our rights. That means showing up in huge numbers on October 18.”
According to Reuters, “Miller is deeply involved in reviewing government agencies’ investigations into the financial networks behind what the administration labels ‘domestic terror networks,’ which include nonprofits and even educational institutions, a White House official said.”
In response to [a Reuter's request], the White House highlighted seven political protests in 2023 and 2025 that included acts of violence directed against law enforcement officials, and two incidents of vandalism at Tesla dealerships this year as well as half a dozen social media posts celebrating the damage.
It named nine liberal groups, donors or fundraising organizations that it said helped finance or plan protests where the violent incidents occurred.
While the second White House official stressed that the organizations were not necessarily potential targets, the material provides insight into the administration's thinking.The list includes Soros' Open Society Foundations; ActBlue, the funding arm of the Democratic Party; Indivisible, a grassroots coalition opposed to Trump policies and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles-based group.
"The goal is to destabilize Soros’ network," a third White House official said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Soros’s network of charitable organizations rejected any claim by Trump or the White House officials that its operations have anything to do with violent conduct or promoting violence.
“Neither George Soros nor the Open Society Foundations fund protests, condone violence, or foment it in any way,” the spokesperson said. “Claims to the contrary are false.”
Other groups named by the White House officials were two Jewish-led advocacy groups, IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace, both of which have organized protests and nonviolent sit-ins to oppose the genocide in Gaza being carried out by the US-backed Israeli government.
Citing the Reuters reporting, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin said in a social media thread Thursday night that the fact a looming crackdown on groups opposed to Trump and his far-right agenda is coming less than two weeks before “before the largest peaceful protest in modern American history is absolutely intentional.” On October 18, massive protests are planned nationwide as a follow-up to the “No Kings” day of action that took place in June, bringing an estimated one million people into the streets against the Republican Party’s authoritarian lurch under Trump.
According to Reuters, “Miller is taking a ‘hands-on’ role in investigating the funding of nonprofits and educational institutions and is sharing recommendations from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with Trump and other top advisers,” as well as sharing information with the joint terrorism task force.
“We don’t have all the details, but it appears Trump’s regime is gearing up to smear us with ludicrous accusations that we’re somehow tied to violence at protests—a claim that’s as false as it is predictable,” said Levin. “Let’s call this what it is: A baseless attempt to chill free speech and scare people away from exercising their constitutional right to protest an authoritarian regime. We have been committed to nonviolence from the very beginning. It’s a core principle, not just a talking point.”
“We will not back down,” Levin said in the post. “Trump and Miller can lie, smear, and threaten all they want. They will lose.”
“By floating false allegations of violence,” he concluded, “Trump wants to scare people away from exercising their constitutional rights. We won’t let him succeed. Don’t let this smear distract you. The best response to attacks on our rights is to exercise our rights. That means showing up in huge numbers on October 18.”
“Let’s call this what it is: A baseless attempt to chill free speech and scare people away from exercising their constitutional right to protest an authoritarian regime.”
Demonstrators take part in a protest against the Trump administration during the “No Kings” national rally in downtown Los Angeles, California, on June 14, 2025, on the same day as President Trump’s military parade in Washington, DC. Hundreds of thousands of protesters rallied nationwide Saturday against Donald Trump ahead of a huge military parade on the US president’s 79th birthday.
(Photo by Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images)
Jon Queally
Oct 10, 2025
COMMON DREAMS
The pro-democracy group Indivisible is among those speaking out against the Trump administration’s reported targeting of progressive and liberal organizations with various government agencies, including the FBI and IRS, as part of what critics call an “authoritarian playbook” by President Donald Trump that seeks to criminalize dissent, chill free speech, and frame nonviolent protest and opposition as “domestic terrorism.”
In-depth reporting by Reuters named Trump’s far-right, xenophobic White House advisor Stephen Miller as “playing a central role” in the internal effort to wield the power of federal agencies at a variety of organizations that the administration claims—contrary to all available evidence—are funding or orchestrating violent protests and political attacks.
As Trump Escalates Attacks on Dissent, Oct. 18 ‘No Kings’ Protests Set to Be Even Bigger Than June
Granted anonymity to speak more freely about the internal mechanics of the operation, Reuters’ reporting is based on discussions with “three White House officials, four Department of Homeland Security officials and one Justice Department official to produce the first comprehensive account of how decisions are being made, forces deployed, and operations coordinated in the crackdown.”
“Trump wants to scare people away from exercising their constitutional rights. We won’t let him succeed. Don’t let this smear distract you. The best response to attacks on our rights is to exercise our rights. That means showing up in huge numbers on October 18.”
According to Reuters, “Miller is deeply involved in reviewing government agencies’ investigations into the financial networks behind what the administration labels ‘domestic terror networks,’ which include nonprofits and even educational institutions, a White House official said.”
In response to [a Reuter's request], the White House highlighted seven political protests in 2023 and 2025 that included acts of violence directed against law enforcement officials, and two incidents of vandalism at Tesla dealerships this year as well as half a dozen social media posts celebrating the damage.
It named nine liberal groups, donors or fundraising organizations that it said helped finance or plan protests where the violent incidents occurred.
While the second White House official stressed that the organizations were not necessarily potential targets, the material provides insight into the administration's thinking.The list includes Soros' Open Society Foundations; ActBlue, the funding arm of the Democratic Party; Indivisible, a grassroots coalition opposed to Trump policies and the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, a Los Angeles-based group.
"The goal is to destabilize Soros’ network," a third White House official said.
In a statement, a spokesperson for Soros’s network of charitable organizations rejected any claim by Trump or the White House officials that its operations have anything to do with violent conduct or promoting violence.
“Neither George Soros nor the Open Society Foundations fund protests, condone violence, or foment it in any way,” the spokesperson said. “Claims to the contrary are false.”
Other groups named by the White House officials were two Jewish-led advocacy groups, IfNotNow and Jewish Voice for Peace, both of which have organized protests and nonviolent sit-ins to oppose the genocide in Gaza being carried out by the US-backed Israeli government.
Citing the Reuters reporting, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin said in a social media thread Thursday night that the fact a looming crackdown on groups opposed to Trump and his far-right agenda is coming less than two weeks before “before the largest peaceful protest in modern American history is absolutely intentional.” On October 18, massive protests are planned nationwide as a follow-up to the “No Kings” day of action that took place in June, bringing an estimated one million people into the streets against the Republican Party’s authoritarian lurch under Trump.
According to Reuters, “Miller is taking a ‘hands-on’ role in investigating the funding of nonprofits and educational institutions and is sharing recommendations from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with Trump and other top advisers,” as well as sharing information with the joint terrorism task force.
“We don’t have all the details, but it appears Trump’s regime is gearing up to smear us with ludicrous accusations that we’re somehow tied to violence at protests—a claim that’s as false as it is predictable,” said Levin. “Let’s call this what it is: A baseless attempt to chill free speech and scare people away from exercising their constitutional right to protest an authoritarian regime. We have been committed to nonviolence from the very beginning. It’s a core principle, not just a talking point.”
“We will not back down,” Levin said in the post. “Trump and Miller can lie, smear, and threaten all they want. They will lose.”
“By floating false allegations of violence,” he concluded, “Trump wants to scare people away from exercising their constitutional rights. We won’t let him succeed. Don’t let this smear distract you. The best response to attacks on our rights is to exercise our rights. That means showing up in huge numbers on October 18.”
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