Same video in much higher quality on archive.org (was down as this was posted, just came back up but use the embed above if they are having trouble
This has been a very dark year. The United States has gone beyond full Fascist to Nazi. Concentration camps are open and people are disappearing. Israel continues their efforts to slaughter the entire population of Gaza. As the year opened, there were widespread expectations of immediate martial law followed by all-out civil war. Inauguration protests took place in all 50 states plus DC rather than DC alone so as to avoid handing Trump an opportunity to take out most of his street-level opponents in a single blow.
For all that, Trump blinked: he did not move immediately against us will all available force,and ICE had to cancel an assault on Chicago after word leaked and the city was able to set up on them. An ICE attack on Aurora, CO also ended in defeat. Trump was losing battles right from the jump! As a result, the initiative passed to us. Protests began growing, and by mid-Spring the “50501” protests had grown to massive proportions. The initial focus was Elon Musk and DOGE. At the same time underground fighters began incinerating Tesla dealers in a separate campaign.
The Mayday protests were another big day for 50501. Shortly therafter an elderly British WWII veteran posted a video of himself and probably his son driving a restored Sherman tank over a Tesla. The combination of protest and direct action was more than Elon Musk-or Tesla’s stock and resale price-could handle. Elon Musk threw in the towel and left the government after having thought himself “co-President” with Trump.
Meanwhile,a campaign began in Florida against Avelo Airlines, which desperate for money has been flying deportation flights for ICE.
In June came WorldPride in DC, which was explicitly politican and a lot less international due to the dangerous political situation in the US. The Dyke March I(which traditionally features fire-eating) chanted “the fire will not comsume us-we take it and make it our own!” A very strong domestic trans contingent was there, effectively covering for the international trand community whose members had been warned to avoid travel to the US due to the risks. On the same weekend, an invasion of LA by ICE blew up into sustained battle and Trump sent in both the National Guard and elements of the Marines. Fighting continued anyway and most of the ICE attacks were again defeated. Fighting spread to other cities where either ICE tried to kidnap people or peaceful LA solidarity protests were assaulted by cops. The DC protest days after WorldPride stayed peaceful as cops did not attack and ICE stayed the hell away.
The following Friday, a veteran-led protest gathered at the Supreme Court as a diversion before crossing the street, breaching a fenceline at the US Capitol, and staging a sit-in on the Capitol steps. Demands were “military off our streets” and “benefits not bullshit” after attacks on the VA by Trump and DOGE.
The came Trump’s joke of a military parade. Sparse turnout for Trump’s event was coupled with another round of massive 50501 protests which pointedly avoided DC itself. Local DC activists took things up a notch. Calling Trump’s bluff about meeting any protest with “massive force,” they took to the streets anyway for a protest right in front of one of the security checkpoints for Trump’s event.
Also in June came another round of escalation in the Middle East. Israel bombed Tehran, so Iran bombed downtown Tel Aviv in a very unusual mode of attack for them. Trump then bombed Iranian nuclear sites buried 300 feet deep-with bombs having a claimed 200 foot penetration capability in dirt. As always this sparked protests in the US including one in Tampa.
On June 28, the anniversary of Stonewall, St Petersburg FL Pride was spectacular as always. A very strong trans march was followed by the People’s Pride contingent. Footage shot from inside this contingent is included in the video.
For all the fightback, a lot of damage had been done both domestically and globally by this time. In July, a major concentration camp opened in Florida, the infamous Alligator Auschwitz. The opening of this hellhole was met by a strong protest in the middle of the Everglades, organized by local Indigenous youth. Chants and speakers warned “People will die here!” but obviously neither Trump nor DeSantis cared. Conditions there rapidly deteriorated, a torture box where people were basically fed to mosquitoes was discovered, and at one point the courts tried without success to shut it down. As of the end of the year over 1,200 detainees are reported “lost” after the failed shutdown attempt. Later in the summer a 2nd concentration camp opened in north Florida at Camp Baker, a former state prison.
Just days into July, someone opened fire on a CPB office in Texas, and on July 4 came the Prarieland incident. Nobody knows what really happened there except those who were at the noise demo at an ICE detention center. The government claims the protest was somehow meant to lure out the guards into the field of fire of shooters. and that a cop supposedly was shot in the neck yet survived with only minor injuries. The fate of Charlie Kirk (shown later in this video) says this is probably crap.
Shortly thereafter on July 10, an ICE raid on a CA pot farm blew up into a battle, with ICE vehicles stoned with heavy rocks and news footage showing someone with an apparent handgun firing at ICE. Nobody was reported hit though…
On July 12, Charlie Kirk’s “Turning Point USA” held a major fascist convention in Tampa, FL. The 2022 running of this had attracted an even further right element in Nazi uniforms and swastika flags, sent by Nick Fuentes it seems. This time around as in 2022, protesters marched into the MAGA storm against the Tampa Convention Center. A gigantic toilet paper roll with a modified TPUSA logo had the words “punch Nazis” written on it. More on Charlie later…
The next week was another round of 50501 protests
On August 2nd, FL governor DeSantis held a so-called “Freedom Festival” (yeah right…) near but not in Orlando, FL. This drew both protesters and counterprotesters, and chants of “Trump is a pedophile” rang out. Captured on video is the videographer nearly being run down by a 5 car convoy of MAGA meatheads. Disruptors got inside the event and shouted down Florida’s attorney general. As they were forcibly removed he said they should be sent to Alligator Auschwitz (using the official “Alligator Alcatraz” name of course).
On Aug 11 Trump declared de facto martial law in Washington DC, only to be met with protest and overwhelming street-level resistance. Protesters drove off/dispersed ICE/police checkpoints, and Trump officials could not show their faces anywhere without being heckled. Any time ICE tried to launch a raid, local bystanders blew whistles, summoning crowds to battle and routinely driving off ICE. It’s one thing to attempt to occupy a city, quite another to actually hold it. On Sep 6 an estimated 70,000 people marched in DC against the occupation.
Then came a major escalation: Charlie Kirk tried to hold a TPUSA speaking event at a college in Utah, only to be shot dead by a sniper firing a single bullet to the neck. Immediately came blustering threats from Trump and a declaration of war against antifa even though the shooter was a lone wolf attacker. Fighting broke out at Charlie Kirk memorial events.
Through all this and in a total powderkeg of a political environment, Trump launched invasions of more cities, notably Chicago and Portland. Both were met with heavy fighting whereever ICE could be found, protesters trading fireworks for tear gas again as in LA in June. The Broadview ICE base in Chicago became a sustained battlefield.
October 18 brought another big round of 50501 protests even in small Southern cities such as Lakeland, Florida. Thousands of protesters lined the streets and marched there. Also on the 18th Orlando Pride went off with few problems and with sighs of relief. With Fascists increasingly carrying guns openly and a far-right even in Kissimee that day, there had been real fears of armed attack.
On Halloween, National Guard troops attempted to harass DC youth possibly out after the Trump curfew (imposed by Vichy Mayour Bowser), but this didn’t go well for them.
On November 10 an attempt by TPUSA to hold an event at UCA-Berkeley blew up in their face as furious protesters stormed the venue.
Also in November Trump began further escalating in Venezuala, protests against this threatened war went down nationally including one in St Petersburg, FL. The theme at the St Pete protest ws “no blood for oil!”
On November 20 came the huge “Remove the regime” protest in DC. The lead contingent was in Handmaid’s tale garb and as the march passed the White House on Constitution Ave the street sounded like a football stadium after a fumble followed by a bad call from the referee. Lots of references were made in protest signs to Trump’s insulting “hush, hush piggy” remark to a woman journalist.
On Dec 5, ICE lost another major battle, this time having a heavy assault on Tucson Arizona limited to just 5 hostages taken by ICE. Heavy fighting with cops having to back up even after firing tear gas shut down the rest of the attack.
On Dec 7 an antiwar protest marched on the Federal courthouse as Trump declared a blockade of Venezuala, which is an act of war. At least this attack won’t be a sneak attack…
On Dec 11, protesters facing a Trump/ICE invasion of Minneapolis found the hotel where ICE was staying. They showed up en masse and surrounded the hotel blocking every entrance and making as much noise as possible. The cops took hours to show up, possibly on purpose as the city government is opposing ICE.
The year ended on a final crazy note with Trump’s Dec 18 “Hunger Games” speech. Trump had declared war on us all, get ready for a very tough fight in 2026 and don’t be surprised if Trump attempts to “postpone” the 2026 election.