Trump Counterterrorism Strategy Expands Administration's War on Progressives

[cbabe]

https://truthout.org/articles/trump-counterterrorism-strategy-expands-administrations-war-on-progressives/

Trump Counterterrorism Strategy Expands Administration’s War on Progressives

The administration is increasingly attempting to scare activists into silence, but progressives are preparing instead.

By Marianne Dhenin , TRUTHOUT
Published May 14, 2026

…

“With the case of the Prairieland defendants who were recently convicted, that was a really clear example of what can happen when protest and dissent are characterized as terrorism,” Waheed told Truthout. “With a conviction like the federal government got in the Prairieland case, it is extremely frightening for people — and that’s the point.”

While the stakes are high, progressives can prepare for the threats posed by the Trump administration’s so-called counterterrorism plans. Many already are by reevaluating their workflows to address potential security risks, learning about their rights, and connecting with organizations that have experience navigating government investigations. One of those organizations is May First Movement Technology, a nonprofit membership organization that provides technical infrastructure and web hosting to movement builders worldwide on collectively owned and secure hardware. Since its founding more than two decades ago, May First has faced its share of demands from the federal government to turn over hardware or information about its member organizations.

“We’ve had several different cases come through us, and some of the lessons we’ve learned are that the government is often disorganized and doesn’t follow up. And also, they don’t always push back when you push back against them,” Jamie McClelland, co-founder of May First, told Truthout.

McClelland also had advice for groups that may feel pressured to rush into new technologies for their organizing work to improve security or reduce reliance on companies like Meta or Google, which have aligned themselves with the Trump administration. While those are important steps, McClelland told Truthout, “The first priority is to keep organizing. This fear and feeling like you have to change everything is not helpful for organizing and often paralyzes people and makes it difficult to do the day-to-day organizing work that they’ve been doing for years. That’s not what we want.”

… more … Organizations including the ACLU and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law have issued guidance …

[CousinIT]

1. If you're against fascism, you're a terrorist! n/t