Human Rights First Condemns Executive Order as Authoritarian Overreach

Washington, D.C. — Human Rights First strongly condemns the latest executive order from the Trump administration which calls for increased militarization of law enforcement and aggressive federal intervention in state and local policing. Below is a statement from our Associate Director for Democracy Protection, Hanah Stiverson. 

“Framed as a law-and-order directive, this order represents a dangerous attempt to blur the critical lines between civilian law enforcement and military power. Deploying military assets and stripping away local control is not a strategy for public safety, it’s a signifier for rising authoritarianism. The order also calls on the Attorney General to provide legal resources for participating officers, stripping the courts of their ability to check abuse. It will allow the federal government to pursue military-style domestic enforcement without the public scrutiny or constitutional guardrails such measures require. 

By overriding local oversight and civil rights protections the order seeks to impose military-style control over American communities, a gross overreach that flirts with Martial Law and draws us closer to an authoritarian state.”

Human Rights First is continuing to monitor legislation that enables authoritarian overreach from the Trump administration using our new legislation tracker Democracy Watch. 

To speak with Stiverson please contact [email protected].