Podcast Summary: “American Democracy Under Occupation”

Autocracy in America – The Atlantic (February 6, 2026)

Episode Overview

This extra episode of "Autocracy in America," hosted by Ann Applebaum, explores how communities in Minnesota are responding to a dramatic escalation in federal enforcement tactics under the Trump White House. Through a blend of on-the-ground testimony and expert analysis (notably journalist Robert Worth), the episode probes how American opposition is adapting, drawing parallels with protest movements in autocratic contexts worldwide. The overall focus is on the lived experience of "democracy under occupation"—the chilling normalization of militarized federal presence, the erosion of civic safety, and grassroots strategies of resilient resistance.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The New Reality: State-Sanctioned Fear in Everyday Life

• Teachers and Students in Fear:
  • Amanda Bauer recounts the distressing moment ICE agents, in riot gear, entered her school neighborhood ([01:28]). Children witnessed raids on their homes, resulting in trauma and a sharp drop in attendance.
    • Quote: “I had a—we had a student who was looking out the window and saw them break into his apartment and just sob, ‘That’s my house. That’s my home.’…The count today is we have 40 students who aren’t coming anymore because of not feeling safe.” (Amanda Bauer, 01:28)
• Normal People as ‘Protectors’:
  • Chad, a St. Paul father, describes neighbors rallying to protect each other, frustrated with the perception of their actions as mere street protests ([03:34]).
    • Quote: “We’re not protesters. We’re protectors. I don’t want to be out in my street … because there’s an adopted brown kid down there. They hid her in the basement yesterday.” (Chad, 03:34)

2. Minnesota’s Unique Civic Culture and Grassroots Response

• Civil Society as Resistance:

  • Emilia Gonzalez Avalos highlights Minnesota’s tradition of active civic life, vowing to expand participation as a form of nonviolent opposition ([03:03]).
    • Quote: “Guess what we’re gonna use when they try to come after Minnesotans? We’re gonna use civil life, and we’re gonna make more of it.” (Emilia Gonzalez Avalos, 03:03)

• Diverse Community Solidarity:

  • Ibrahim, a Somali-American graduate, notes that communities—across racial and religious lines—are coming together to support each other, despite personal risk ([04:36]).
    • Quote: “I feel like, you know, our community has united a bit more. People coming to our mosques on Fridays—you know, white people. And I know that people do show up and support the community.” (Ibrahim, 04:36)

3. Tactics: Escalating Authoritarianism, Innovative Resistance

• Militarized Policing & Surveillance:

  • Robert Worth describes heavily armed agents entering homes without warrants, the use of facial recognition and mass surveillance, and the psychological impact of such displays ([06:38], [07:32]).
    • Quote: “People dressed like they were in Fallujah… lawlessness. So people are entering homes and other buildings without a warrant, dragging people off the street based on nothing except for their skin color.” (Ann Applebaum, 09:06)

• Protest Organization Inspired by Global Movements:

  • Protesters employ encrypted apps (Signal), pseudonyms, cell-based leaderless organization, and disciplined nonviolence—paralleling tactics from Iran’s Green Movement and Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protests ([09:53], [11:04]).
    • Quote: “A leaderless structure organized by cells so that it would be harder to identify people. That was certainly going on also.” (Robert Worth, 11:04)

• The Power and Danger of Video Documentation:

  • The proliferation of smartphone footage is now essential, enabling multiple angles to refute state narratives—seen in the aftermaths of killings such as Alex Preddy and Renee Goode ([13:08]).
    • Quote: “Dozens and dozens of people surround, pretty much all holding up their cell phones. … after the killing of Alex Preddy, it became clear… that’s essential.” (Robert Worth, 13:08)
  • Growing expectation that the state will lie necessitates collective documentation ([13:58]).
    • Quote: “So people are already mentally preparing for the administration to lie.” (Ann Applebaum, 13:58)

4. The Chilling Effect on Democracy

• Elections Under Threat:
  • Community organizers detail extraordinary (and unprecedented) security at caucuses: de-escalation teams, ICE Watch in parking lots, and sharp declines in minority participation due to fear ([20:05], [20:59], [21:33]).
    • Quote: “There is added security, but… there was nothing we could do to make it safe as long as they had to leave their homes to get here. How can you have democracy under occupation?” (Jennifer Arnold, 20:59)
  • The hosts reflect on historic parallels: in autocracies, voting without security, privacy, or trust in the process does not equate to real democracy ([23:39]).
    • Quote: “Just the act of voting doesn’t make democracy. The vote itself alone isn’t enough. … What worries me is that this use of armed people on the streets is one of several ways in which we could lose that.” (Ann Applebaum, 23:39)

5. Protest Impact and Federal Response

• Tangible Pushback:

  • After widespread outrage and video documentation of violence, including a Republican gubernatorial candidate withdrawing support for federal tactics, the Trump administration retreated—removing leadership and withdrawing some federal agents ([15:32], [16:24]).
    • Quote: “I think you can say there is some kind of victory there… But what we’re seeing is multiple different angles that make it much easier to refute a false narrative.” (Robert Worth, 16:24)

• Broader Implications:

  • The movement’s disciplined, diverse, and nonviolent character has the power to sway public opinion beyond activist circles, echoing historic models from civil rights to Maidan ([17:05]).
    • Quote: “The goal…was to move ordinary people who aren’t involved in politics. … Actions that are bringing a wider part of the population…” (Ann Applebaum, 17:05)

• Strategic Puzzles and Backfire:

  • Militarized enforcement is alienating mainstream Americans and is likely to associate immigration policy with repression ([18:34]).
    • Quote: “If their goal is…to arrest as many illegal migrants as possible…immigration enforcement writ large is now going to be associated with Gestapo like tactics…” (Robert Worth, 18:34)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• “I never thought it would be like our own government that we had to try to protect ourselves from or to protect our children from.” (Amanda Bauer, 00:01)
• “We’re not protesters. We’re protectors.” (Chad, 03:34)
• “We’re gonna put these ICE guys down, too. Not with force, but, like, legally with protests and with the will of the people.” (Sara Myron, 05:20)
• “A leaderless structure organized by cells so that it would be harder to identify people.” (Robert Worth, 11:04)
• “How can you have democracy under occupation?” (Jennifer Arnold, 21:33)
• “Just the act of voting doesn’t make democracy. … You need a level playing field.” (Ann Applebaum, 23:39)

Important Segment Timestamps

• 00:01 Amanda Bauer: Teachers' perspective on government violence
• 01:28 Amanda Bauer: Trauma among immigrant children after school ICE raid
• 03:03 Emilia Gonzalez Avalos: Civic engagement as resistance
• 03:34 Chad: Everyday community defense
• 04:36 Ibrahim: Minority solidarity
• 09:06 Ann Applebaum: Militarization of ICE
• 11:04 Worth & Applebaum: Leaderless, cell-based protest organization
• 13:08 Worth: Importance of video evidence
• 15:32–16:24 Discussion of protests’ short-term victory (leadership/federal agent withdrawal)
• 20:05–21:33 Minnesota caucuses: Security fears and suppression of civic participation
• 23:39 Ann Applebaum: Erosion of democracy beyond the act of voting

Closing Thoughts

This episode lays bare the lived consequences of creeping autocracy in America, highlighting both the fearful new normal imposed by federal force and the inventive grassroots resistance keeping civic life alive. Drawing compelling lines between Minnesota and world protest history, the hosts present a portrait of a community—fractured yet resilient—and of an American democracy under unprecedented pressure.

For listeners: This is an incisive, at times chilling, account that frames the current crisis not only as a political but as a fundamentally social and moral reckoning for the nation.