Engaged Defenders for Democracy - ED4D

06/18/2026

Today, I hoped to have folks watch a video with Rachel Maddow and Marc Elias (relevant part is first 10 minutes), an amazing lawyer who has been fighting this regime from the start (and winning!!). The video has been taken down though. The message is still relevant though. They talk about all of the things this regime might do to not lose the mid-terms. Two very likely things might happen. First, they might have federal troops in the streets when they have learned they have lost. Second, the FBI might seize ballot boxes so they can tamper with the results. Both of these scenarios will fully compromise our having fair elections.

Our response must be immediate and must look like Hungary and Albania and Minneapolis. We must all take to the street every day. We must stop working, and all we must do is show this regime that We the People Have Power, and we are not backing down as this dictator tries to steal the election.

The Good Trouble Lives On committee met last night to talk about our plan for the weekend that focuses on voting rights in honor of Senator John Lewis. In our event, we will talk more about this mass mobilization that needs to happen country-wide. More details to come in a future post.
https://engageddefendersfordemocracy.substack.com/p/we-must-prepare-for-the-worst-on?

Good morning Engaged Defenders for Democracy!

06/18/2026

Good morning Engaged Defenders for Democracy!

An important message before we review yesterday’s demonstrations!

Our Demonstration Leaders have been talking about having inclusive signs as many Independent voters might also not like Trump but don’t like signs that disparage him. People have stopped by to ask us who we represent. We say we are non-partisan and they give us the thumbs up. These folks are likely Unaffiliated (the largest group of registered voters in NC) and don’t necessarily support the Democratic party but support what we are doing. These folks will likely vote for Democrats even though they aren’t registered Democrat because the signs we hold are values that Democratic candidates support. Also, many ED4D demonstrators are registered Unaffiliated or have voted for Republicans in the past. When we are mindful of signs that show our values people will want to join us and/or vote for folks who share those values. We will also raise awareness of how folks have voted on bills that go against our values, like the big bad bill. We also need to highlight the corruption of this regime and the lack of accountability and checks and balances on that corruption.

Please consider these excellent messages (thanks Jenny, Becca & Gary): “Differences don’t weaken us, division does.” “When greed rules, people suffer.” “Don’t let cruelty win. Bullies shrink when citizens expand.” “The worst thing you can do is nothing. America won’t heal by hating harder.” “Fair taxes vs. billionaires.”

In essence, we feel like what we want to support are our values and candidates who support our values, not a specific party.

Linda and Becky had 10 their breezy Woke Wednesday: Durham. https://mobilize.us/s/5K1ilg

Shelly and Kim had 9 at their Visibility Bridge Brigade over I-40 and ATT. https://mobilize.us/s/HAPeqF

Robbie hosted Ray’s Woke Wednesday: Chapel Hill and had 3 but they exuded the enthusiasm of thousands! Likely hot temperatures and vacations had something to do with the diminished numbers, but they got a lot of positive feedback mixed in with a handful of naysayers. https://www.mobilize.us/engagedefendersfordemocracy/event/930289/

Jim and Lloyd had 6 at their Woke Wednesday: Chatham. Great recognition. https://mobilize.us/s/60ziLO

Barbara led the Voter Registration event and trained 3 bright women.

06/17/2026

Today I want to highlight the elections that likely will flip the House and potentially the Senate. We saw many of Trump’s candidates win their Republican primaries yesterday in Georgia, Alabama, and Oklahoma. This is good news for the Democratic candidates as most of the country disapproves of Trump right now. So when the general electorate votes, these extreme loyalist candidates will have a hard time courting the Unaffiliated voters who care more about the economy than baseless claims of voter and election fraud.

Rather than re-iterate all of the races, I am reposting Robert Reich’s post that lists all of them. If you live in any of these states/districts, please consider canvassing for these candidates because it is imperative that we get rid of the people who are complicit and supporting this dictator.

https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-midterms-in-a-nutshell

The wind is at our sails folks as Trump continues to push terrible candidates. We the People Have Power! We must remind folks of this and get them to the polls. In a future post, I will describe a canvassing campaign that the Triangle Resistance United (a coalition of the grassroots organizations in the Triangle) is launching. I hope when you read that post, you sign up to help us as we work toward very important midterms to unseat people who are supporting this dictator and his loyalists.

https://engageddefendersfordemocracy.substack.com/p/critical-midterm-elections-please?

What we must do over the next four and a half months

06/17/2026

Good morning Engaged Defenders for Democracy!

Many from Democracy Out Loud! packed the gallery as the General Assembly is considering more voter suppression tactics. See folks holding up their red cards. Jonda with the Durham Resistance Singers led folks in song! Yes!! And as is the norm, the General Assembly decided not to talk about the rules today. They like to do things in the dark and not when folks are there screaming, “Shame” at them. But this is good. If we can keep making them postpone, they might not be able to pass this garbage and affect the midterms. Keep up the great work all!

We had 13 plus one dog at our Visibility Bridge Brigade over I47 and Anderson. Thanks, John for hosting. https://mobilize.us/s/cFtu4h

Jenny and Jack had 7 at their Take a Stand Tuesdays: South Cary. It was amazing to go to Jenny and Jack’s demonstration. There is so much traffic and great energy from the cars. Jenny and Jack have some fantastic signs as does Sam. And, of course, Mike, who is everywhere, was there. https://mobilize.us/s/jEMjHf

Pam and Melissa had 5 democracy defenders at their Take a Stand Tuesdays: Raleigh. Lots of honks and waves. A few nasty things were hollered out of a car but overwhelmingly positive response. I loved finally getting to meet Melissa and Pam, and they picked an amazing location in Raleigh! I cannot believe the traffic at 10:30 on a Tuesday!! They have great energy, and I’m so happy that they’re doing this in Raleigh because we don’t have as many demonstrations in Raleigh. And, of course, Mike, who is everywhere, was there. And I got to meet Joan who has the same exact hat as Beth who often comes. https://mobilize.us/s/KSE53G

Maureen had 15 at her No Tyranny Tuesdays at Brier Creek.

Gabriel and Joel had 22 rocking at their Protect Democracy at East Club and Roxboro with one new person! Loving that we’re getting honks from all directions of the intersection! https://mobilize.us/s/7wyylI

And thanks Gabriel and Joel for hosting a voter registration event on Tuesday June 23rd from 4:30-6. https://mobilize.us/s/mQCkVk

Wendy’s group also has an event coming up. The Franklin & Elliott Monday demonstration group is having their second potluck gathering on Saturday, June 27 from 11 am - 2 pm (or however long you want to stay) at the Community Church of Chapel Hill. All are welcome, whether you attend regularly or are demonstration-curious! We will gather to get to know each other better, share a meal, and deepen our pro-democracy work. Sign up here and let us know you can join us!

06/16/2026

Good morning Engaged Defenders for Democracy!

Mike had 3 at his Visibility Bridge Brigade over 540 and Carpenter Fire Station with perfect weather and lots of enthusiastic responses! https://mobilize.us/s/1VKMi9

Zoe had 5 proud Sanfordians at their Start your week with Pride in Sanford. The morning was wonderful and the breeze was the MVP and only got one middle finger. And Zoe got some love in Sanford! https://mobilize.us/s/3nFSSx

Wendy had 10 in the am, and 24 in the pm at her double duty Mobilization Mondays: Chapel Hill including Rob G, famed local folk singer, who led them in harmonized resistance singing. https://mobilize.us/s/GA5663 / https://mobilize.us/s/Czpoos

Robbie had 13 at his Mobilization Mondays: Durham (Dacian Nation)! Robbie is holding his own while Joanne is in Michigan for the summer. And Robbie will be hosting Ray’s Woke Wednesday. Thanks, Robbie! https://www.mobilize.us/engagedefendersfordemocracy/event/881585/

Margaret had 6 and her Prison Vigil at Central Prison. Hot out in the sun! Love her quote from Amnesty International’s: “Better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.”

Cynthia had 13 on her Raleigh Bridge Brigade near NCMA.

Julie in Duluth continues to have their Visibility Bridge Brigade three times a week! They rock!!

06/16/2026

Today, I want to share another NY Times article (unlocked) about very crucial conversations that happened in the White House about how to handle immigration.

This is another bombshell article that talks about the inner workings of how Stephen Miller was trying to push the president to suspend habeas corpus, namely the right in the Constitution that grants anybody arrested on US soil the right to defend themselves in court. Gratefully, there was a voice of reason. Will Scharf is a lawyer who serves as the White House staff secretary and also helped the president get immunity in that Supreme Court ruling as well as getting the Mar-a-Lago files case dropped. I’m grateful for that voice of reason because Miller was pushing both suspending habeas corpus and he and JD Vance were pushing Trump to enact the Insurrection Act after they murdered Alex Pretti. The voice of reason was talking about how the public would view it and how the courts would not allow it. This is a long article, but it’s worth the read. We were closer to a lot more danger than I think we realized.
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/us/politics/trump-scharf-habeas-corpus-insurrection-act.html

Love Joyce Vance’s take on the article: The question inside Trump’s White House wasn’t whether suspending habeas corpus was a good idea. It was how much the administration could get away with before the courts stopped them. That’s a warning worth paying attention to.

So, it was not that Trump did not agree with Stephen Miller’s plans, it was that he did not think he would get away with it. Honestly, almost everything that Stephen Miller has proposed has backfired. Take that Stephen!

We the People Have Power! We have many in this country include many many federal judge heroes, even those appointed by Trump, who are defending the rule of law and the Constitution. And trust me, once the Democrats win the House and potentially the Senate, these fascists are bound to lose, and they will held accountable for these crimes. Let’s goooooo!!!

And I so appreciate the NY Times that keeps reporting the truth. Please support the NY Times if you can.
https://engageddefendersfordemocracy.substack.com/p/we-have-so-many-heroes-defending?

Secret memos show that the White House debated last year, to a greater degree than previously known, whether to limit habeas corpus rights for undocumented immigrants.

06/15/2026

Good morning Engaged Defenders for Democracy!

I love the activism on the beach in California!

Cynthia had 22 on her Raleigh Bridge Brigade near the NCMA! Their sign worked! Go Canes!

Shawna had 3 at her Southern Sundays for Peace: Rocky Mount. Thanks, again Mike for making it out to build up the numbers! https://mobilize.us/s/38d0Cl

Cheryl and Robbin had 5 at her Southern Sundays for Peace: Garner. The horns were blazing just like the temps! 2 people stopped by with cold drinks! https://www.mobilize.us/engagedefendersfordemocracy/event/921667/

Liz and Lyndsay had 8 hardy souls at their Southern Sundays for Peace: Oxford. Positive engagement except for a few drivers. https://www.mobilize.us/engagedefendersfordemocracy/event/949454/

Tara and Claudia had 6 at their Southern Sundays for Peace: Creedmoor. Creedmoor was rocking! Tons and tons of honks and excited people even rolling down their windows and saying exciting supportive things! There were 6 of us, including Claudia who we managed to cut off on the left because the sun was so damn blinding! Love how Kent dons his hat when people honk for a long time. The police stopped by and checked our permit, and everything was in order thank goodness. Great job Tara! https://www.mobilize.us/engagedefendersfordemocracy/event/954023/

The Durham Resistance Singers and ED4D hosted one of the Rise Up! Sing Out! Watch parties. About 40 people came and joined in song before the livestream. Thanks, Joanna, Sara, and Jonda for your help in organizing! Was lovely! The speakers were inspirational, talking about the First Amendment. First, Jane Fonda who has been an activist for a long time spoke about our all rising up. They also had journalists, librarians, and authors speak about the importance of not having censorship. If you did not call your Attorney General yesterday to block the Paramount-Warner Bros merger, please call today.

Cary Indivisible had a pre-watch party rally and had 60 come out! Wow!! Thanks, Sam for being a trusty reporter!

Anne and Keith hosted a rally before the watch party in Pittsboro and had 55 attend! That is 2 days in a row around the circle folks!!

Thanks, Mike for sending me a correction. They did not remove the early voting site from NC State. They moved it. Not sure what the rationale was. Still their monkeying with early voting on college campuses is not normally a good thing.

06/15/2026

Today is a longish post as I include minutes that El sent after attending a meeting by the ACLU on how law enforcement needs to or does not need to cooperate with ICE. I literally have posted the amazing notes El took that also includes action steps.

Opposing 287(g) Agreements Between ICE and NC Law Enforcement
ACLU-NC, June 9, 2026 7-8pm

Background Information:
- 287(g) agreements deputize local police as immigration enforcement
- Collaboration includes sharing information about people encountered, honoring detainers, notifying ICE of people in custody, and logistical support and involvement between local police and ICE
- They aim to enlist 20,000 state/local police in 287(g), an 80% increase in their capacity
- Using local police as a force multiplier is a key tool to carry out the federal deportation agenda, so local advocacy is key to opposition
- DHS Director Markwayne Mullin plans to accelerate use of this program
- DHS’s explicit white supremacist goal is to deport 1/3 of the US population
- ICE will reimburse participating police departments up to 25% of the annual salary, overtime, and benefits of trained 287(g) officers; they also offer “monetary performance awards” of up to $1000 per eligible task force officer
- Part of the strategy is to make local police budgets dependent on ICE funding in order to coerce their continuing cooperation
- Number of 287(g) agreements grew from 144 to 1,479 from January 2025 to January 2026
- More than 1,000 law enforcement agencies in 40 states have joined 287(g) agreements
- Local jurisdictions can opt out / pull out unless they’re in a mandated state (TX & FL)
- Agreements can happen suddenly without the community knowing
- ICE website lists active & pending agreements; pending often becomes active very rapidly
- 287(g) agreements cause rise in racial profiling, distrust in law enforcement, fear of calling 911, and fear of engaging in public life; they harm everyone, not immigrants alone

Task Force Model:
- Local police perform street level enforcement such as traffic stops, checkpoints, harassment at public gatherings, etc.
- Interrogate any person believed to be an immigrant
- Arrest people without a warrant in certain situations
- Take and maintain custody of individuals arrested by another law enforcement agency
- Detain and transport people
- Grew from 0 to about 800 agreements of this kind from January 2025 to January 2026

Warrant Service Officer Model:
- Serve and execute administrative warrants of arrest for immigration violations
- Take and maintain custody of people arrested by another law enforcement agency
- Grew from ≈100 to ≈500 agreements of this kind from January 2025 to January 2026

Jail Enforcement Model:
- Local police investigate immigration status and notify ICE of individuals being held
- Grew from ≈50 to ≈180 agreements of this kind from January 2025 to January 2026

North Carolina:
- Currently twenty-eight 287(g) agreements in NC
- NC has no law requiring 287(g) agreements; however, HB10 and HB318 require other kinds of cooperation between sheriffs and ICE
- SB153, pending a veto override vote, would require state police like highway patrol to enter 287(g) agreements
- Local lawmakers cannot prohibit 287(g) agreements in NC but can require transparency & accountability, which also slows them down and disincentivizes them (see below)
- NC has mandated reporting of traffic stops with demographic data; it showed a pattern of racial profiling in counties with 287(g) agreements

Goals of Adding Oversight:
- Increase public transparency of 287(g) participation
- Delay applications with pre-approval requirements/processes
- Impose “performance measurement” and other accountability requirements
- Create liabilities for not meeting local requirements
- Create a paper trail supporting public concern and local litigation

Model Policies:
- All counties – County Commissioners CANNOT require pre-approval before the Sheriff enters into a 287(g) agreement but CAN require activity & cost reporting and direct the County Attorney to produce a report assessing the liability risks of participation
- Municipalities with NO 287(g) agreement – City/Town Council CAN require pre-approval before local police enter 287(g) agreements; can also require a public comment period, liability assessment from the City/Town Attorney, and mandate activity & cost reporting
- Municipalities WITH a 287(g) agreement – Can add oversight by requiring activity & cost reporting and directing the City/Town Attorney to assess liability risks of participation

Advocacy:
- Successful resistance means locally tailored strategy
- Educate local police and elected officials about how they give up their power and redirect resources away from more pressing community safety activity with these agreements (model letters in toolkit, link below)
- Raise community awareness and demonstrate public opposition
- Mass letters, call & text campaigns, sharing stories of affected people/communities
- Suggested message structure – 1. Value, 2. Problem, 3. Solution, 4. Action
- Core Values – community safety & protection, trust between communities & government/law enforcement, government accountability & transparency, civil rights, racial justice, and human dignity
- ACLU can facilitate networking between anti-287(g) elected officials & police
- ACLU & voting rights partners are working on threat of having ICE at polls (link below)

Intergovernmental Service Agreement:
- Different agreement from 287(g)
- Local jail houses ICE detainees and is compensated for it, whereas 287(g) transfers people from local police custody into ICE custody
- Can take up space needed to house more significant threats to the community
- Not public record like 287(g) are
- Local police may have (n)either or both
- Ask your friendly member of Congress to track it

Links:

ACLU 287(g) Research Report
https://www.aclu.org/publications/deputized-for-disaster

ACLU 287(g) Toolkit
https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/publications/287g-toolkit/

ACLU-NC 287(g) Tracker and Background Info
https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/287g/

ACLU-NC Anti-287(g) Volunteer/Partner Interest Form
https://act.acluofnc.org/a/287g-agreement-all

ACLU-NC Know Your Rights / Voter Intimidation Info
https://www.acluofnorthcarolina.org/know-your-rights/voter-intimidation/

Questions - Email
[email protected]

We all need to be knowing what our local City Councils and local police departments will and will not do to support ICE.

https://engageddefendersfordemocracy.substack.com/p/we-all-need-to-know-about-287g-and?

Every eligible citizen has the right to cast a ballot freely, fairly, and accessibly — without fear of deception or intimidation.

06/14/2026

See the first comment for details. https://www.mobilize.us/ncdems/event/972754/