It Could Happen Here Weekly 175 – March 29, 2025

Podcast: It Could Happen Here
Network: Cool Zone Media & iHeartPodcasts
Date: March 29, 2025
Hosts: Robert Evans, Garrison Davis, Mia Wong, Satya, James Stout, Emma
Episode Theme:
This episode is a weekly compilation chronicling the ongoing collapse of U.S. systems and democracy, focusing on the Trump administration’s authoritarian moves, constitutional crises, the criminalization of migration and protest, homelessness policy, and the emerging intersection of digital culture and right-wing power. The team provides in-depth reporting and analysis on how these trends are manifesting and what they mean for building resilience and resistance.

Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. The Trump Administration’s Mass "Renditions" of Non-U.S. Nationals

[03:20–32:34] Garrison, Satya, Mia

• "Rendition" Not Deportation:
  Unlike traditional deportations, the Trump administration is now leveraging the 226-year-old Alien Enemies Act to forcibly remove hundreds of non-citizen immigrants (primarily Venezuelan) to El Salvador, rather than sending them to their home countries.

  • Quote [03:33]:
    “The reason I'm calling it... ‘rendition’ and not deportation is because these people aren't being sent back to the countries they're from. They're being sent to El Salvador.” — Garrison Davis

• Legal Mechanisms and Lack of Due Process:
  The Alien Enemies Act, most infamously used to intern Japanese Americans during WWII, is now justifying these removals, avoiding court hearings or any standard rights for the accused.

  • Quote [06:42]:
    “With or without due process, like we should not be black-bagging people and sending them to the like El Salvador labor prison.” — Satya

• Who Are the Targets?
  Majority are accused of gang membership (Tren de Aragua and MS-13), but evidence is often as thin as having certain tattoos or gestures.

• Conditions in El Salvador’s "Secot" Prison:
  The U.S. is paying El Salvador to hold the detainees in notoriously brutal conditions, with overcrowded cells, lack of bedding, open toilets, constant light, forced labor, and media propagation by President Bukele.

  • Quote [10:14]:
    “It just sounds like a torture camp.” — Satya

• Media Propaganda:
  Bukele and DHS use social media to promote these renditions, with videos showing detainees' dehumanization—intended as a chilling warning.

• Judicial Response and Executive Defiance:
  Federal Judge Boasberg issued an injunction against the flights, but the Trump administration ignored the order, citing dubious legal rationales. This direct defiance is fueling a mounting constitutional crisis.

  • Notable Quotes [22:03, 22:16]:
    “You don't just keep doing whatever you feel like doing because you don't think the judge was right. That's... not how this works.” — Garrison

  “[This is] an actual constitutional crisis.” — Satya

2. Constitutional Crisis: Open Defiance of the Courts

[22:03–32:34] Garrison, Satya, Mia

• Trump Administration's Reaction:
  Trump lambasts judges as “radical left lunatics,” and officials like Tom Homan explicitly reject court oversight.

  • Quote [24:06]:
    “I'm proud to be a part of this administration. We're not stopping. I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what the left thinks. We're coming.” — Tom Homan

• Roberts and the Judiciary:
  Chief Justice Roberts issues rare rebuke against impeachment threats over court decisions. The courts appear nervous about escalating the clash.

  • Observation:
    Judges seem unwilling to push the crisis to its “explicit territory,” fearing exposure of their own powerlessness.

• Summary Judgment:
  The government is setting precedent by ignoring judicial orders in the context of human rights abuses, signaling an erosion of checks and balances foundational to U.S. governance.

3. Sweeps of Homeless Encampments and the Homeless Industrial Complex

[35:46–78:35] Mia Wong, Emma, Satya, James Stout

• What Are "Sweeps"?:
  Physical, often abrupt police-driven operations where city workers destroy encampments, typically with minimal notice, confiscating or destroying property belonging to the unhoused.

  • Quote [40:51]:
    “They show up and then they fucking destroy all your property... like, we're doing our own miniature ethnic cleansings.” — Mia Wong

• Service Offers as Myth:
  Cities claim to offer housing/shelter during sweeps, but shelter is rarely available, and most people are merely displaced rather than genuinely housed.

  • Stat [57:25]:
    From May to September, out of ~80 sweeps, only 60 people were enrolled in non-specified “services”—a tiny fraction of those swept.

• Homeless Industrial Complex:
  Massive government and nonprofit spending fails to alleviate homelessness; instead, it feeds landlords, developers, and charities while the root issue worsens. True social aid is decoupled from the system, and real housing remains out of reach.

  • Quote [46:46]:
    “What that money is really being spent on is to fuel exactly... the homeless industrial complex.”

• Policy & Rights Erosion:
  Oakland encampment management policy, once constrained by federal rulings, has now been undermined, with cities using emergency loopholes and fire hazards as pretexts to sweep without notice or shelter offer.

  • Quote [66:35]:
    “If they can't enforce a law, it effectively ceases to exist... that's the sort of balance of forces here.” — Mia Wong

• What Can Be Done?
  Panel encourages direct solidarity: building relationships with unhoused neighbors, community defense at sweeps, and resisting new anti-homeless laws. Fremont’s new ordinance criminalizing aid is cited as an escalation to watch.

  • Quote [71:01]:
    “The most effective way of physically intervening with this kind of violence is to commit to relationship building.” — James Stout

4. Should You Flee the Country?—The "Politics of Escape"

[81:56–115:41] Robert, Garrison, Satya, James

• Waves of Listener Anxiety:
  Hosts address the thorny, increasingly common question: Should you leave the U.S. as repression worsens, especially for marginalized groups?

• Realities of Emigration and Asylum:
  Most can't simply “flee.” Asylum is difficult, costly, and often deeply degrading—with entry barriers rising globally. Dual citizenship is recommended for those able, but even internal moves (e.g., to safer states) are fraught.

  • Quote [86:13]: “If large numbers of people start leaving the US... it will only get worse. Seeking asylum is an extremely different process.” —Garrison

• The Onion of Threat:
  Risk is multi-layered: undocumented immigrants, refugees, green card holders, naturalized citizens, then politically targeted groups (trans, queer, leftists, etc.). Each faces unique risks and limited options.

  • Quote [94:11]: “There's different levels of scrutiny... One, you have people who are completely undocumented... you have green card holders, and even naturalized citizens...” —Satya

• Critique of the Politics of Escape:
  Hosts urge listeners not to abandon those unable to leave. Emphasize solidarity, option-building, and staying to support at-risk communities. True safety can never be guaranteed elsewhere, and American fascism’s reach is global.

  • Quote [108:17]: “...if this country gets as bad as it needs to be for people to run away... the world gets markedly less safe.”

5. Gamers and the Right-Wing Tech Mythos

[119:09–160:01] Mia Wong, Satya, Garrison

• Why Do Elites Out Themselves as 'Gamers'?:
  Tech and crypto billionaires (Elon Musk, Sam Bankman-Fried, Sam Altman) cultivate the “gamer” persona to access cultural capital and political cachet among a key, right-leaning online demographic.

• Gamer Political Identity & Gamergate Origins:
  The idea of the “Gamer” as a political identity was cemented during Gamergate, which mobilized a reactionary coalition and mainstreamed digital harassment, cementing the gamer as a white, aggrieved masculinity.

• Attempted Co-Option & Exposure:
  Elon Musk’s repeated attempts to pass as a gaming “legend” (Path of Exile 2, Quake, Diablo IV, etc.) are exposed as fraudulent by actual gamers—building rare cross-political opposition.

  • Quote [148:32]:
    “He like claims to have one of the... best characters in hardcore... but it is immediately obvious that like he has no idea what he’s doing.”

  • Quote [153:29]:
    “He’s trying to signal to all of his groups simultaneously and all of them are like, this guy is a fucking loser who sucks ass and we hate him.”

• Serious Takeaway:
  As digital subcultures are mobilized by the right, the methods for fracturing authoritarian coalitions become more apparent; cultural legitimacy, or embarrassment, can fracture power bases without wholesale defections.

6. Breaking News: Group Chat Breach and National Security Failure

[163:21–195:27] Robert, Garrison, Satya, Mia

• Houthi PC Small Group Signal Chat Leak:
  A major week’s story is the exposure of a high-level government Signal chat—intended for secure planning of airstrikes on the Houthis—that inadvertently included Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg. The blunder revealed extensive details of military plans, fueled leaks, and may have national security ramifications.

  • Quote [174:02]:
    “He has the reaction I think any minimally competent journalist would have. Someone’s fucking with me.” — Robert Evans

• Wider Safety Implications:
  A stark example of opsec incompetence in the new regime, likely to trigger a severe crackdown on leaks and embarrassing top officials. Underscores how digital security (or lack thereof) defines modern state crisis.

• Venmo Opsec Disaster:
  Further reporting reveals the same advisor’s Venmo account is full of high-profile journalists—another extraordinary lapse.

7. The Criminalization of Protest and Dissent

[195:37–210:51] Satya, Garrison, Robert

• ICE Pursuing Anti-War Student Protesters (Columbia, Tufts):
  DHS and ICE are now targeting non-citizen and even permanent resident students for deportation over arrests at Gaza protests. In one case, a student vanished into hiding after a stark escalation in surveillance and intimidation.

• Grey Block Tactics:
  Undercover ICE agents abduct students from the street, donning “grey man” attire and masks—eerily reminiscent of “black bag” disappearances.

• Legal Pushback:
  Judges have issued temporary orders preventing removals, but ICE has a record of ignoring such orders, and has begun invoking state secrets to block inquiry into renditions.

  • Quote [200:44]:
    “Officials at the highest echelons of government are attempting to use immigration enforcement as a bludgeon to suppress speech that they dislike.” — Satya (reading lawsuit)

8. Brief News & Reflections

Tariffs & Miscellany:

• Trump’s new tariffs will dramatically raise the price of imports, with Guinness likely to triple in price.
• The personal failings of officials (Venmo, opsec, etc.) serve as dark comedic relief, highlighting systemic rot.

9. Closure and International Context

• The episode closes with a heartfelt reading of slain Palestinian journalist Hasan Shabbat’s last statement—a reminder of the stakes and cost of documentation and resistance.

  • Quote [209:38]:
    “I ask you now, do not stop speaking about Gaza. Do not let the world look away. Keep fighting, keep telling our stories until Palestine is free.”

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• On Renditions:
  “These people were rounded up and booted out the country in very short order.” — Garrison Davis [05:47]

• On Defiance of Courts:
  “Open defiance of the courts, right? ...I don't really know.” — Garrison Davis [24:21]

• On Homelessness:
  “If homeless people would be better off if you just gave them the money directly, you know, then that kind of way, it's really hard to justify these programs when that can't be said of them.” — Emma [47:07]

• On Escape Politics:
  “Resistance is life. And we should remember that for whole groups of people… if they had all just left, they would no longer exist as they do now.” — Garrison Davis [99:05]

• On Gamers & Culture War:
  “Gaming is contested ground. As much as we think of gamers as right wingers, there are a lot of what you would call traditionally sort of left–leaning demographics that play video games…” — Mia Wong [137:56]

• On Group Chat Security:
  “Whenever we see a breach of this magnitude, it's really a warning and like a threat to all of us.” — Satya [163:53]

Takeaways & Action Points

• Expanding Authoritarianism: The Trump administration is demonstrating ever-increasing legal and extralegal aggression against immigrants, protestors, and political enemies, including open disregard for court orders and the use of obscure laws.
• Judiciary on the Back Foot: Federal courts are hesitating to enforce rulings—raising questions about their real power to constrain the executive.
• Community Defense is Essential: As Americans lose institutional protections, direct support and community solidarity—especially for the most vulnerable—are more crucial than ever.
• Digital Security Matters: Seemingly trivial lapses (group chats, Venmo) can have real-world, even global, consequences.
• Right-Wing Culture Is Vulnerable: Even entrenched online coalitions like “gamers” can fracture when the power-elite overplays their hand.
• Don’t Abandon Each Other: The politics of escape, both between countries and states, threatens to leave the most marginalized ever more alone. Building options and solidarity is more urgent than running.

This episode is a bracing, often bleak survey across multiple fronts of collapse, but in every beat remains the insistence: solidarity is our best—and sometimes only—defense.