The Face of Fascism

Imagine a Country

Imagine a country where, after a contentious return to power, the newly reinstated leader walks down the grand marble steps of the palace and declares, “The people have spoken. I am their voice. Forever.” The crowd roars, not all in joy — many are quiet, watching, remembering what came before.

In this country — let’s call it Dominia — the new regime wastes no time. Within days, the leader signs a sweeping decree: all government watchdogs, inspectors, and ethics officers are dismissed. Over a dozen are removed in one evening. “Too slow,” the leader mutters. “They questioned me.”

Dominia once had checks and balances — separate houses of power that challenged and constrained each other. But now? The courts are shackled. A new law forbids judges from issuing broad rulings against government decrees. Any jurist who resists is threatened with impeachment, their families harassed online by anonymous mobs. The press calls it “Judicial Nullification.” The people call it fear.

A week later, a ban is placed on the country’s oldest news syndicate. No more questions from them in the palace briefing room. "Enemies of the people," the leader says. “They lie.” State news channels flourish. Critics disappear. Some simply stop reporting.

In Dominia, loyalty becomes law. Bureaucrats, professors, and even schoolteachers must now pledge allegiance to the "Patriotic Charter." Those who won’t are dismissed — quietly, efficiently. Thousands lose their jobs overnight. A new hiring system, Schedule F, favors those who chant loudest at rallies.

Immigrants suffer next. A sweeping executive order labels border crossings an “invasion.” New military-style detention centers sprout in the swamps, surrounded by barbed wire and crocodiles. People call one such center “Alligator Alcatraz.” The regime calls it “a deterrent.” Images leak of cells without toilets, children crying. Some say it's not that different from the old stories of internment and labor camps. But most people scroll past.

Citizens born elsewhere are quietly stripped of nationality. The Ministry of Justice deploys algorithms to flag dissenting voices — particularly activists, students, and foreign nationals who once posted criticism online. Thousands are deported without a hearing. No one knows where they go.

Back at the universities, “unpatriotic science” loses its funding. Environmental research, social justice programs, even public health studies vanish overnight. A foreign institution receives a letter from Dominia’s government: "Your cooperation with our agencies is terminated. You’re not aligned with our values."

The regime turns to the courts again. This time, not to limit them — but to redefine the law. A secret order declares that only the Leader and his loyal attorney general may interpret national law. Legislators protest, but their microphones are cut. The press is told to stay quiet. The people, exhausted, do.

Meanwhile, statues go up in the capital — grand, golden effigies of the leader. His face beams over schools, train stations, even bread wrappers. Children are taught new songs. History books are rewritten. The former regime is cast as traitors and conspirators.

And the people? Some whisper in kitchens. Others leave. Many simply adapt. They wear the right colors. They avoid certain phrases. They keep their heads down.

Because in Dominia, the line between democracy and dictatorship vanished not in a night — but in a thousand small, sharp cuts.

And by the time they looked up, the flag had changed.

References

🏛️ Centralization & Purges of Government Institutions

• Mass firing of inspectors general (Jan 24, 2025): Trump removed at least 17 independent government watchdogs in a sudden “Friday night purge,” weakening oversight and accountability reddit.comen.wikipedia.org.

• Revival of Project 2025’s Schedule F: Orders to reclassify and politicize thousands of civil servants, facilitating mass purges and loyalty-based staffing vox.com+4warmonitor.net+4newspaceeconomy.ca+4.

• Removal of independent agency heads & defunding liberal branches: Including USAID, DOE’s DEI (diversity, equity & inclusion) programs, SEC oversight — consolidating executive controlnewspaceeconomy.ca+1warmonitor.net+1.

⚖️ Undermining Judicial Independence

• Curtailing nationwide injunctions: Supreme Court’s Trump v. Casa ruling prohibits broad judicial stays on executive actions, easing authoritarian policy rollouts reddit.com+11theguardian.com+11newyorker.com+11.

• Threats and impeachment threats against judges: Trump and GOP have signaled intent to punish judges who block his orders, likened to authoritarian long-arms sagelewis.com+2theguardian.com+2reddit.com+2.

🗞️ Press Suppression & Propaganda

• Banning AP from Oval Office & Air Force One (Feb 14): A symbolic censorship move targeting unfavourable media outlets en.wikipedia.org.

• FCC investigations into critical networks: Regulatory pressure against broadcast media labeled as "misinformation" or “enemies of the people” newspaceeconomy.ca+8aw.markreports.com+8protestresource.com+8.

🚨 Weaponization of Executive Orders & Emergency Powers

• Executive orders dismantling checks & balances:

  • Defunding foreign aid and climate initiatives via emergency claimstheguardian.com+1newyorker.com+1thedailybeast.com+5warmonitor.net+5commondreams.org+5.

  • Declaring only the president and attorney general can interpret federal law, bypassing Congress and the courts news.com.au.

  • Misusing the Impoundment Control Act to freeze congressional appropriations latimes.com.

🚧 Immigration Crackdowns & Political Targeting

• Executive Order 14159 ("Protecting the American People Against Invasion," Jan 20): Formalizes expedited removals, sanctuary city funding cuts, harsher penalties — echoing authoritarian immigration measureswarmonitor.net+3en.wikipedia.org+3davisvanguard.org+3.

• Denaturalization push (Operation Janus): DOJ aggressively applying denaturalization to naturalized citizens, potentially targeting dissenters apnews.com.

• Mass visa revocations of pro-Palestinian activists: Around 1,700–2,000 student visas canceled using AI “social media scrapes,” resembling political purges csmonitor.com+9en.wikipedia.org+9davisvanguard.org+9.

• “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center: Harsh migrant containment facility in Everglades, promoted as deterrence—reflective of Nazi-style dehumanization reddit.com+3theguardian.com+3thedailybeast.com+3.

• Designation of gangs like Tren de Aragua as terrorist organizations (EO 14157): Use of the Alien Enemies Act to expedite deportations, bypassing due process en.wikipedia.org+4en.wikipedia.org+4time.com+4.

🏳️ Cultural & Social Authoritarianism

• Gender and LGBTQ+ rollbacks: EO limiting legal gender to male/female; bans on trans athletes; elimination of gender-affirming care warmonitor.net+1davisvanguard.org+1.

• Academic censorship and "truth policing": Federal funding pulled from DEI programs; federal agencies controlling campus speech and research funding reddit.com+4warmonitor.net+4newspaceeconomy.ca+4.

🌍 International & Environmental Authoritarianism

• Freeze & retraction of foreign research funding: $47 billion NIH cuts; cancellation of international grants; stop-notices to UK universities — aligning with eugenic suppression of free inquiry thetimes.co.uk.

• Environmental deregulation under "emergency" powers: Immediate climate rollbacks, reminiscent of authoritarian single-entry rule-style resource exploitation .

🔍 Tech & Surveillance Overreach

• FCC and DOJ involvement with tech companies: Regulatory meddling in AI and social media; use of Palantir-type surveillance to flag political activists .

🎖️ Parallels with Authoritarian Playbooks

Experts and historians repeatedly warn these actions are emblematic of classic authoritarian regimes (e.g., Putin, Orbán) and share chilling similarities with fascist and Nazi-era tactics:

• Dehumanization and scapegoating of minorities, especially immigrants and activists reddit.com.

• Purge of civil society and institutions via loyalty tests, firings, and ideological control .

• Cult of personality, with dissenters branded as traitors reddit.com.

• Centralization of power in the executive, eroding legislative and judicial checks aw.markreports.com.

• Political purges targeting peaceful protesters and academics — implicating forced disappearances and deportationsreddit.com+4davisvanguard.org+4en.wikipedia.org+4.

By Joe Castagliola, Democracy Is Us Council Member