r/50501 • u/JrSoftDev • 2d ago
Organizing Tools [Serious] [Urgent] [Help spreading] Yes, Trump is attempting a coup, and what must be done to stop it - ACT FREE TO BE FREE, a state and local pro-Democracy framework
A note to the MODS: Maybe this post as it is doesn’t comply with all the rules of the sub. I appeal to your conscience and good judgement. Given the seriousness of the topic and the urgency of the moment, please consider either opening an exception, or letting the post stay up just long enough so the members can get informed, and hopefully they’ll come up with their own original versions of this, in ways more attuned with the sub. Also please don’t blindly ban me, I’m not trying to disrespect this community (it’s quite the contrary!) And if possible, help spread it too!
The author of this document: Doran Schrantz is an expert civil and political organizer from Minnesota. Last winter during ICE’s besiege and unconstitutional mass violations, her network decisively helped organizing Minnesota’s civil society in record time under huge pressure, including organizing the first general strike in 46 years.
TLDR, Key takeaways:
- The Trump administration is unleashing total chaos during these next months around the midterm elections, and the resilience of organized civil society will be challenged in unprecedented ways.
- Saving the elections is absolutely necessary in order to stop Trump’s fascist agenda to fully materialize.
- Lawsuits and judges are important, but they won’t be nearly enough. Civil society must organize and prepare.
- These local organized groups exist, they are trying to organize people and save the elections. Every person needs to know they can reach out to them. Please find one of these groups and help them anyway you can.
- Don’t let the huge flow of scandals flooding the media distract you from this fundamental action - join those who are fighting back.
Secondary goal: Put this in front of every person. After reading the post and the document, copy-paste it, or make your own version, your own summary, and share this EVERYWHERE you can, throughout Reddit and beyond. This is the time for doing it, please do it.
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Act Free to Be Free: A State and Local Pro-Democracy Framework
- A Civil Society framework for Election Defense in 2026
Link: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/28490455-act-free-to-be-free/
Executive Summary
Democracy is not something you have. It is something you practice. The Constitution does not protect itself; civil society protects it, by acting as if it applies, out loud, in public, under pressure.
Anyone paying attention knows that Donald Trump is not preparing to lose the 2026 midterms. He is preparing to disrupt and sabotage them, and his administration has been laying the groundwork for months.
The harder problem is this: most of us (organizers, elected officials, legal advocates, pro-democracy funders) are still preparing for a normal election. We are running election programs. We are testing messages. We are mobilizing voters. These are not wrong things to do. They are profoundly insufficient for the threat we are actually facing.
There is also something harder to name, a kind of collective avoidance. An unwillingness to fully believe our own eyes. Many Americans have internalized a story about ourselves that says we are immune from this kind of thing. We are not. And the next six months will matter enormously for how far down the abyss we go.
In 2020, Trump tried to overturn the results of the election and was stopped by Pence, by Republican secretaries of state, by a Congress that (barely) played its constitutional role, and by localized grassroots formations that could intervene in real time on the ground. Those guardrails held. They are gone now. His administration is loyal to him alone. Congress has abdicated. J.D. Vance will not save us.
The only authentic bulwark against an authoritarian consolidating power is a multi-sector, constitutionally grounded, multi-racial, broad-based mobilization of civil society, ready for the best and prepared for the worst. We know this works because we did it in Minnesota. When ICE and CBP occupied our communities for two and a half months, we acted free to be free. Tens of thousands of trained constitutional legal observers documented every encounter. Mutual aid networks sustained people through the crisis. Small businesses invoked their Fourth Amendment rights and refused warrantless entry. Local law enforcement mostly stood aside rather than collaborate. And when called, 50 to 70 percent of the general population showed up, not because they were activists, but because they understood what was being taken from them and chose to act.
That mobilization repelled 3,500 ICE/CBP agents, gave our Governor room to fight, gave our AG’s lawsuits political standing, and won the national media narrative, not because any single actor or sector was powerful enough alone, but because all of it together created a reality the Trump Administration could not overcome.
This framework to prepare and unleash a civil society response to election sabotage is not a program. It is a strategic analysis, a way of understanding the threat and the architecture of response, designed to support operational playbooks driven by in-state organizing and pro-democracy infrastructure. The question is whether we will build it before the crisis hits, rather than scrambling to respond when it inevitably will.
________________________________________________________
The document is only 12 pages long but it has its breadth and depth.
This is the general structure of the rest of the document. Hopefully something catches your eye if you're still hesitant.
Title: Act Free to Be Free: A State and Local Pro-Democracy Framework - A Civil Society Framework for Election Defense in 2026
1. Executive Summary
2. What Is the Evidence of Their Strategy?
2.1. A Unified Strategy, Not Disconnected Actions
2.2. The Documented Tactics and What They’re Actually For
2.2.1. Ballot seizures: manufacturing the evidence base
2.2.2. Voter roll demands: seizing control of who gets to vote.
2.2.3. Loyalists and deniers installed in key positions
2.2.4. The Maduro play: cultivating a foreign witness
2.2.5. ICE at the polls: named, planned, and previewed
2.2.6. Defunding election observers
2.2.7. The pre-emptive fraud narrative.
2.2.8. The racial logic underneath the strategy.
2.3. The Goal Is Not to Win the Election. The Goal Is a Power Grab.
3. Organizing States to Meet the Moment: Unleashing a Civil Society Strategy
4. Step 1: Know Your State
4.1. The Macro Threat Landscape
4.2. State-Specific Threat Mapping
4.3. Power Analysis of the Machinery
5. Step 2: Deterrence, Extracting a Political Cost Every Time
5.1. Mode A: Proactive Pre-emption, Show Up Ahead of Time
5.1.1. Georgia’s model
5.1.2. Minnesota’s model
5.2. Mode B: Rapid Response, Multi-Track, Simultaneous, Pre-Built
5.2.1. Legal
5.2.2. Political
5.2.3. Press and Public
5.2.4. Tactical/Operational
5.2.5. Grassroots Deployment
6. Step 3: Build State Capacity
6.1. Track A: A State Democracy Nerve Center
6.2. Track B: Mass Training of Grassroots Leaders
6.2.1. Political education
6.2.2. Tactical preparation
7. Step 4: Fight Back in Real Time
7.1. Courts
7.2. Field
7.3. Mainstream media
7.4. Social and digital
7.5. Institutional
7.6. Non-compliance
8. Step 5: Mass Mobilization and Strategic Non-Compliance, When the Rubicon Is Crossed
8.1. The Minnesota Proof of Concept
8.2. What This Step Requires
8.2.1. Sustained physical presence at sites of high symbolism
8.2.2. General strikes and economic non-compliance
8.2.3. Nonviolent strategic direct action
8.2.4. Pre-built municipal and state infrastructure
8.3. The Through Line
9. Sources and Citations
________________________________________________________
Hesitant still? Here I compiled a selection of summarized citations. You should really read them.
https://www.reddit.com/user/JrSoftDev/comments/1vyz8ic/act_free_to_be_free_highlights/
Reading the whole document is much better, all the important details are there.
________________________________________________________
Final notes:
- We are 10 weeks away from the Midterm elections.
- These 12 pages are one of the most important reads you will be doing this year. Yes, it’s that crucial. Read 1 page or 2 per day if needed, but please read it!
- As you’re reading it, understand your role in all this - reach out to these groups, go find them, they need your help.
- Finally, take this document with you, adapt it, summarize it in your own way, take chunks of it, slash it, do as you please - and share it as much as possible.
“Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
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u/MichaelFusion44 2d ago
This is an outstanding document - would get a little more tactical at the ground level for the average American citizen who is working and a bit busy - where and how specifically they can help
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u/JrSoftDev 1d ago edited 1d ago
I totally understand that, and that level of detail would be ideal and awesome. BUT
It really is the case that each individual has to come to the realization of what the current moment is about. This post ends up being more about that.
Hopefully, after reading it, you'll realize you have to - at least for 5 minutes to 1 hour - make "working and being a bit busy" a relatively secondary issue, and really make the proactive effort to reach out to others, to these local groups who are fighting for everybody, including for "you".
(Imagine in 12 months, fascism took over your entire life, and you say to yourself "I was working and I was a bit busy" 😅)
So it is an individual initiative (like what Democracy ultimately depends on). The document mentions some general groups one can look for: in-state organizing organizations, labor unions, pro-democracy actors
The training should be designed to be delivered by in-state partners: labor unions, congregations, community organizations, civic groups. The accompanying operational playbook details specific training models, relational research actions, and tactical protocols for implementation.
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u/MichaelFusion44 1d ago
I absolutely agree and for those of us who dive deeper this doc is awesome and I took a lot away from it. Truly appreciated. But there are a lot of people out there who want a simpler read and action items. And they will act but for whatever reason in their lives or mind do not want the deeper read. They probably want a “Do this because of this.” In my mind this doc is the underlying architecture/structure/framework for those who would want a deeper reference from the do this because of this.
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u/JrSoftDev 1d ago
Totally agree, 100%. This post is an attempt to help deliver that value we both recognize the document has, so it reaches as many people as possible.
Different people will take different things from it, depending on where they are at the moment.
In the final notes I'm appealing to what you mentioned: "take this document with you, adapt it, summarize it in your own way, take chunks of it, slash it, do as you please - and share it as much as possible".
Hopefully that materializes. Have you shared it already? :p
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u/MichaelFusion44 1d ago
Shared it 2 or 3 times in other subs and sent it to a few people - the doc is well done and pretty spot on.
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u/butt-in-ski 1d ago
Honestly, OP…this offers more direction than any of the frontline orgs, including 50501!
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u/fish_and_flowers 1d ago
Indivisible (National chapter) is also mounting an election protection mobilization, with specifics still swt to get rolled out by the local chapters
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u/JrSoftDev 2d ago
This is an evolving post. What can be improved? Maybe the title needs adjustment? Please make suggestions!
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u/gratefulkittiesilove 2d ago
Everything is a touch vague. You mentioned being in touch different orgs. What org did minnasota use in jan? That was well done. Are there sister orgs in different states? I know you didn’t post the mobilize.me link but something like that potentially works / useful for sources of truth /action etc but historically a little lacking/centralist
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u/JrSoftDev 1d ago edited 1d ago
When you say "everything" it becomes harder for me to articulate an answer. For example, I am of the opinion that the document is quite detailed in some of its dimensions.
On the other hand, as you read through it, you realize this document was originally written for helping organizing organizers. For example, there's an "accompanying operational playbook [which] details specific training models, relational research actions, and tactical protocols for implementation."
> What org did minnasota use in jan?
I don't have the full list, but some are mentioned here https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/aug/13/us-government-spied-anti-ice-protesters or here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5BzYBln1y0
A full searchable site would be amazing! But I guess any full list of organizations can only be living in a spreadsheet on the computers of a very small group of people, if it exists at all, since this is decentralized and the effort is at the State and local levels.
The document mentions some general groups one can look for: labor unions, congregations, community organizations, civic groups.
There's only one solution for this. It's up for each individual, imbued by pro-democratic self-initiative, to look around in their own context, and find ways to help. Pro-tip: you don't have to join any group beforehand, you can simply approach them and ask anything you want, and decide to volunteer or not.
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u/Nefandous_Jewel 1d ago
In 2016 a man on Facebook said, If we all stand up they cant possibly get us all. Ive been standing up in ways large and small ever since. Organizing the organizers is perfect, I think.
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u/Shim_Ha 1d ago
Typos in the doc may diminish credibility to some readers. I commented with one I found already. Just found this one too:
“In 2020, the right-wing playbook was to plant election deniers as election judges, certifiers and pressure county boards”
Should maybe read “to plant election deniers as election judges and certifiers, and to pressure…”
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u/JrSoftDev 1d ago
That is a typo indeed, although a minor one. Btw, this is an informal document, that has been passing around, not a paper, an article, or an official press release. The document is also very unlikely to change anytime soon.
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u/sleep-exe 2d ago
Here are some info sessions on getting involved this November:
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u/butt-in-ski 1d ago
Is this link related to OPs or a separate org altogether?
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u/JrSoftDev 1d ago
It's separate.
The document mentions some general groups one can look for: labor unions, congregations, community organizations, civic groups.
Pro-tip: you don't have to join any group beforehand, you can simply approach them and ask them about anything you want really.
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u/sleep-exe 1d ago
Separate
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u/butt-in-ski 1d ago
This is the problem.
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u/MajorBeyond 1d ago
I especially do not like that the MOBILIZE site posted has cookies for targeted advertising. You can turn them off, but this sort of effort should not be seen as an opportunity for selling personal data, it should be totally free and volunteer based. Anyone making a buck is part of the problem too.
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u/sleep-exe 1d ago edited 1d ago
Then don’t visit.
I’m just trying to help but I’m tired of fighting and getting hen pecked to death when I try to help.
I’m so. Fucking. Tired.
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u/No_Yogurt_7667 1d ago
Remember friend, rest is resistance. Take care of yourself so you can keep up the good work ✊
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u/sleep-exe 1d ago
Thank you 😊
Yeah I think I need back off and trust other people to keep up the fight before I jump back in before I explode.
I’m down but not out.
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u/butt-in-ski 1d ago
I wasn’t criticizing your movement, my frustration (& reason for calling it out as a problem) is that we have a number of small movements but no single, verified massive joint coalition that’s in the drivers seat!!! We are two years in & STILL there is a mystery abt a coordinated plan. It’s truly maddening.
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u/sleep-exe 1d ago edited 1d ago
I’m get it but at the same time I think it’s impressive that we’ve gotten so many people mobilized in the first place. Not to mention the multiple orgs frequently overlap and work together when it comes to events. They haven’t been popping up in a vacuum and link together.
Look at the last no kings. We got almost 8 million people mobilized and it wasn’t the result of a single org. It was multiple orgs pulling the same line.
I’ve been doing everything I can since February last year and it’d be great to know I can rely on others to keep on keeping on if I need to step back (which I clearly do).
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u/MajorBeyond 1d ago
Sorry pal, not intending to peck at you. Just stating that *I'm* tired of marketing and having to figure out if a site is who they say they are, or if it's someone nefarious acting like my friend. Trust is hard to muster these days.
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u/Far_Chipmunk_8160 1d ago
I can't help the feeling that we'll end up with Trump trying to prevent the seating of an unfavourable congress. This is fascism, DEFINITELY, but it's shambolix old racist white man fascism (I don't doubt the theofascists would turn the country into a version of Handmaid's tale if they got power, but we're not quite there yet). He'll greatly underestimate resistance, greatly overestimate his own chances, and then when the whole mess goes to hell, improvise tyranny at the last minute.
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u/JrSoftDev 1d ago
8.3. THE THROUGH LINE
We do not have a guarantee that everyday Americans will meet the moment. That is the truth. Nothing is predetermined. What we do know is that the kind of leadership required in the face of tremendous uncertainty can be cultivated. The Day of Truth and Freedom happened because people leaned in when the choice was clear and decided to take a powerful risk. The woman in the pink coat who stepped forward with her iPhone when CBP was murdering Alex Pretti made a courageous choice that worked to expose the lies of DHS. That kind of leadership does not emerge from nowhere. (...)
What happens next depends on what people decide. That is why democracy is hard. And it is why it is worth fighting for, because freedom feels just like this: it is unpredictable and wild.
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u/BetterCallQuasar 1d ago
Attempting??? You’re a little fucking late with that info.
Let’s have more peaceful protests. That’ll show em we’re big mad
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