#FBI search in #Georgia shows Trump’s willingness to use…federal #law enforcement to intervene in #election matters in the lead-up to the critical 2026 #midterms, which will determine the extent of his authority for the remainder of his 2nd term.

…Democrats & election security experts say its primary purpose is to #intimidate #Trump opponents while empowering supporters seeking an excuse to take control of the #elections office…& to undermine confidence in the process.

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/us/politics/georgia-trump-election.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Donald Trump is borrowing a strategy from authoritarian regimes to #intimidate potential critics and #discourage them from speaking out, according to a senator under investigation by his administration.

#Elissa #Slotkin, a Democrat from Michigan, faces questioning after she organised and appeared in a #video with other Democrats imploring military service members to #refuse “#illegal #orders”.

Fellow senator #Mark #Kelly and three Democrats from the House of Representatives are also being investigated.

To Slotkin, a former analyst with the Central Intelligence Agency ( #CIA ), it is a deliberate effort to chill free speech that rhymes with her experience of #dictatorships around the world.

“They’re now using a well-worn playbook that employs #physical intimidation and #legal intimidation to get,
A, you to shut up, and
B, for other people thinking of criticising the president on such issues to be dissuaded from doing so,”
she told the Guardian in a phone interview.

“It’s absolutely a strategy well used in other countries and other authoritarian governments.

As a CIA officer I’ve served in places like this,
I’ve studied places like this my entire life,
and Trump is sadly using that #playbook in the United States right now.”

Now 49, Slotkin completed three tours in Iraq with the US military before moving into national security roles at the Pentagon and White House under presidents George W Bush and Barack Obama.

In 2018 she turned to electoral politics, winning a long-held Republican seat in #Michigan and helping Democrats reclaim control of the House.

She secured re-election in 2020 and 2022, campaigning on issues such as access to affordable healthcare and efforts to bring manufacturing back to her home state.

Her ascent continued in 2024 when she won an open Senate seat despite Trump carrying Michigan in the presidential election.

Last year she delivered the Democrats’ rebuttal to Trump’s joint congressional address.

Then in November she was among six congressional Democrats,
all with military or intelligence backgrounds,
who in a 90-second video cited the "Uniform Code of Military Justice"
and said no one has to carry out orders that violate the law or constitution.

#Trump branded the video message “treasonous” and amplified a social media post suggesting that the six Democrats be #hanged.

Defence secretary Pete #Hegseth is attempting to #retroactively #demote Kelly,
a former navy pilot and astronaut,
from his retired rank of captain.

👏The Arizona senator is suing Hegseth to block those proceedings,
calling them an unconstitutional act of retribution.

Meanwhile US attorney #Jeanine #Pirro, the justice department’s chief prosecutor in Washington, has requested an interview with Slotkin.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/18/trump-authoritarian-playbook-critics-democrat?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

#SenatorMarkKelly: “Over 25 years in the #USNavy, 39 combat missions, and 4 missions to space, I risked my life for this country and to defend our #Constitution - including the #FirstAmendment rights of every American to speak out.

I never expected that the #President of the #UnitedStates and the #SecretaryOfDefense would attack me for doing exactly that.

My rank and retirement are things that I earned through my #service and #sacrifice for this country. got shot at. I missed holidays and birthdays. commanded a space shuttle mission while my wife Gabby recovered from a gunshot wound to the head-all while proudly wearing the American flag on my shoulder.

Generations of servicemembers have made these same patriotic sacrifices for this country, earning the respect, appreciation, and rank they deserve.

#PeteHegseth wants to send the message to every single retired servicemember that if they say something he or #Trump doesn't like, they will come after them the same way. It's #outrageous and it is #wrong.

There is nothing more un-American than that.

If Pete Hegseth, the most #unqualified Secretary of Defense in our country's history, thinks he can #intimidate me with a censure or #threats to demote me or prosecute me, he still doesn't get it.

I will fight this with everything I've got — not for myself, but to send a message back that Pete Hegseth and Donald Trump don't get to decide what #Americans in this country get to say about their government. #uspol #auspol #TrumpRegime #MilitaryVeterans #MilitaryVeteran

#Trump is sending his #Brownshirts to interfere in #California's election and to #intimidate #voters: “This administration has made no secret of its goal to undermine free and fair #elections. Deploying these federal forces appears to be an intimidation tactic meant for one thing: suppress the #Vote
___
The White House’s campaign against elections takes a radical turn with midterms on horizon - https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/white-houses-campaign-elections-takes-radical-turn-midterms-horizon-rcna240041

#uspol #ElectionInterference #TrumpPutsch

@groink Most likely loaded with "less lethal" rounds like pepper balls.

These #thugs aren't here for de-escalation. They're here to #terrorize #harass #threaten #intimidate #civilians. They are #police academy #rejects and #wannabe #specops #operators who want to tell #war stories to their buddies on the #weekend over #beer.

What losers.