💌 Good News from the Resistance, June 29 -July 5, 2025
Welcome to How to Resist, a blueprint for resistance based on nonviolence, mutual aid, and community building for ordinary people who want to save democracy.
(Listen to the author’s letter by pressing the play button above.)
Dear Resisters,
The passing of the “One Big Beautiful Bill” was a deep betrayal of the American people; one that will reward the wealthy, punish the vulnerable, and bring us closer to a militarized police state. It’s a moment designed to make us feel small, outnumbered, powerless, and defeated.
But as Alice Walker reminds us, “The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”
I always say that true power ultimately lies with the people, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a fight. We’re entering a new phase now, one that will see an increase in militarization, unjust laws, and cruelty. We’re going to have to fight, not just for our rights and our democracy, but also for our humanity.
My colleague here on Substack, Paul Shattuck from Progressive Strategy Now, is someone whom I turn to for guidance on just how to stay human in these moments. Paul’s work centers on what he calls the authoritarian harm complex and he offers concrete methods you can use to mitigate the digital onslaught and stay human even during this unfolding crisis. His list, 80 Tiny Moves to Resist Digital Despair and News Overwhelm in the Trump Era, is something that I refer to when I start to feel myself spiral, and, if that sounds helpful, I would recommend it to you all as well.
The days, weeks, months, and years ahead are going to test us, and we’ll need to take care of ourselves and each other if we are to survive this.
Despite how things ended this week, thousands still turned out across the country to oppose the bill up until the final moments, then took to the streets during the Free America protests held in over 250 locations over the 4th of July weekend. The resistance, like humanity itself, is nothing if not resilient.
So take heart, this isn’t over, not by a long shot.
M-.
Support How to Resist
As a librarian writing in the service of democracy, I’m determined to keep How to Resist free to read and publicly available for everyone.
Producing How to Resist, however, is not free, and with fewer than 1% of readers supporting How to Resist with a paid subscription, we are still a long way from being fully funded.
If this work matters to you and you’re able to support it, please consider a paid subscription and help keep How to Resist going for as long as it’s needed.
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Free America
Over 200 ‘Free America’ Protests Held Nationwide Over July 4th Weekend
On July 4, hundreds of “Free America” protests organized by the group behind the Women’s March took place across the U.S., opposing President Trump’s administration and its recent policies, including the newly passed “Big Beautiful Bill.” Framed as community-driven events—ranging from block parties to banner drops—the demonstrations aimed to highlight concerns over eroding civil liberties, wealth inequality, and mass federal layoffs. With 264 events planned in both red and blue states, organizers called on elected officials to uphold democratic values and resist authoritarian governance.1
Eugene, Oregon
New York City, New York
Houston, Texas
Los Angeles, California
Sycamore, Georgia
Columbus, Ohio
Battleboro, Vermont
Dallas, Texas
Seattle, Washington
Worcester, Massachusetts
Brewster, NY
Fresno, California
Washington, D.C.
A Thousand Fires Everywhere
Protesters Challenge Florida’s ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Center in Everglades
Hundreds of environmentalists, Native American leaders, and local residents gathered along U.S. Highway 41 in the Florida Everglades to protest the construction of a new immigrant detention center, dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The facility, fast-tracked under an executive order by Governor Ron DeSantis, is being built on sacred Native lands and within a fragile ecosystem. Protesters cited threats to endangered species, Indigenous heritage sites, and human rights, while groups like the Center for Biological Diversity and Friends of the Everglades filed a lawsuit to halt construction. Despite state claims of minimal environmental impact, activists are demanding a full review and public input before further development proceeds.2
Protesters Target Avelo Airlines Over Deportation Flights for ICE
Demonstrators in Fort Lauderdale joined a growing national movement urging Avelo Airlines to cancel its $150 million contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to operate deportation flights. Organized by Hope and Action Indivisible, the protest condemned the flights as inhumane and lacking due process, accusing the airline of enabling government cruelty. Activists plan to continue public education efforts and hold another protest on July 12, intensifying pressure on Avelo to withdraw from the agreement and stop participating in deportation operations.3 [Video]
North Carolinians Protest Trump’s Budget Bill Over Threats to Medicaid and SNAP
A group of 35 residents from Western North Carolina, including teachers, students, and a pastor, traveled to Washington, D.C., to protest former President Trump’s proposed budget bill, which they say threatens Medicaid and SNAP benefits. Demonstrators placed symbolic coffins outside the U.S. Capitol to represent lives at risk if the bill becomes law, citing research estimating over 51,000 potential deaths due to lost healthcare access. The protest reflects grassroots resistance from rural communities deeply concerned about the bill’s impact on public health and social safety nets.4
Maine Nurses Protest Trump’s Budget Bill Over Medicaid Cuts
Nurses across Maine rallied outside Senator Susan Collins’ Portland office to protest Medicaid cuts proposed in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” warning the changes would strip health coverage from tens of thousands in the state. Organized by National Nurses United, the protest highlighted Congressional Budget Office estimates that 12 million Americans could lose insurance, including 60,000 in Maine. Nurses and lawmakers emphasized that losing access to care would lead to preventable deaths, with protesters vowing to continue fighting for vulnerable patients and drawing public attention to the bill’s consequences.5
Jackson Activists Protest Trump-Era Deportation Policies and Due Process Violations
In Jackson, Tennessee, nearly two dozen activists gathered outside the federal courthouse to protest the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies, particularly the lack of due process for detainees. Organized by Indivisible Jackson and supported by Public Citizen’s Democracy Campaign, the demonstration highlighted concerns over constitutional rights violations and the human impact of aggressive deportation practices. Protesters carried signs featuring detained immigrants and called attention to the erosion of Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment protections, demanding accountability and reform.6
Austin Protesters Stage ‘Die-In’ Against Trump’s Medicaid Cuts
On July 4, protesters in Austin, Texas, staged a “die-in” outside Senator John Cornyn’s office to oppose President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which includes deep Medicaid cuts. Organized by Hands Off Central Texas, the demonstration featured participants lying on the ground to symbolize lives they say are at risk due to the legislation. Speakers, including disabled veterans and community leaders, emphasized the human cost of slashing healthcare funding and called on elected officials to reject policies that endanger vulnerable populations.7
Jeffries Breaks House Speech Record in Protest of Trump’s Spending Bill
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries delivered an eight-hour, 33-minute speech—the longest in House history—to protest President Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which includes deep cuts to Medicaid and food assistance while expanding tax breaks and immigration enforcement funding. Using his leadership privilege under the “magic minute” rule, Jeffries read letters from constituents and condemned the bill as a betrayal of working-class Americans. His speech, echoing recent Democratic resistance efforts, aimed to delay the vote and spotlight the bill’s projected harm, including loss of health coverage for 12 million people.8
Harvard Students Mobilize to Resist Trump Administration’s Pressure on University
In response to mounting political pressure from the Trump administration, Harvard Students for Freedom (SFF) launched an open letter urging the university to reject any federal demands that compromise academic freedom, international student protections, or institutional independence. The letter, signed by over 200 students and supported by alumni and faculty, calls on Harvard to resist policies that could lead to censorship, faculty dismissals, or deportations. The campaign follows recent university leadership resignations and signals growing student and alumni resistance to federal overreach into higher education.9
Fighting Back in the Courts
Wisconsin Supreme Court Overturns 1849 Abortion Ban in Major Legal Victory
In a 4–3 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the state’s 1849 near-total abortion ban, affirming a lower court’s ruling that more recent legislation allowing abortions up to around 20 weeks supersedes the older law. The ruling follows years of legal and political resistance led by Democratic officials, abortion rights advocates, and Planned Parenthood, who resumed services in 2023 after a judge clarified the 1849 law did not apply to consensual medical abortions. This decision marks a significant win for reproductive rights in a key battleground state and reflects the impact of recent elections that shifted the court’s ideological balance.10
Mayors and Doctors Sue Trump Administration Over Obamacare Restrictions
Democratic mayors from Baltimore, Chicago, and Columbus, along with advocacy groups Doctors for America and Main Street Alliance, have filed a lawsuit challenging new Trump administration rules that restrict access to Affordable Care Act coverage. The changes, which shorten the enrollment period, tighten income verification, and impose new fees, are expected to cause up to 2 million people to lose coverage. Plaintiffs argue the rules undermine the ACA’s goal of expanding healthcare access and were implemented without proper public input. The legal action reflects ongoing resistance to efforts that weaken healthcare protections.11
Fifteen States Sue Trump Administration Over Emergency Energy Order
Fifteen states, led by Democratic attorneys general, have filed a lawsuit challenging former President Trump’s executive order declaring a national energy emergency, arguing it unlawfully bypasses environmental and cultural safeguards to fast-track fossil fuel projects. The suit contends that the order misuses emergency powers—meant for genuine crises—to sidestep critical reviews, threatening wetlands, endangered species, and tribal lands. The legal action seeks to block federal agencies from using emergency permitting for non-emergency projects, including Michigan’s contested Line 5 tunnel. This coordinated legal push reflects growing resistance to policies that prioritize fossil fuel expansion over environmental protection.12
Sixteen States Sue Trump Administration Over Cuts to School Mental Health Programs
A coalition of 16 states has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Education for abruptly canceling nearly $1 billion in grants for school-based mental health services, programs originally created in response to school shootings. The states argue the cuts—made without detailed justification—violate federal law and jeopardize critical support for students in low-income and rural schools. The grants had shown measurable success, including reduced suicide risk and improved student behavior. The lawsuit seeks to reinstate the funding, framing the cuts as both harmful and unlawful, and part of a broader rollback of student support under the Trump administration.13 14
States Sue Trump Administration Over Medicaid Data Sharing with DHS
Twenty states, led by California, have sued the Trump administration for unlawfully sharing sensitive Medicaid data with the Department of Homeland Security to aid immigration enforcement. The lawsuit argues that the data transfer—covering millions of recipients—violates privacy protections and deters immigrants from seeking medical care. Filed in federal court, the suit seeks to block further data sharing, destroy previously shared records, and prevent their use by DHS or the White House’s Department of Government Efficiency. This legal action is part of broader resistance to the administration’s expansive data surveillance and immigration agenda.15
Environmental Groups Sue to Stop ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ Detention Facility in Everglades
Environmental organizations Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity have filed a federal lawsuit to halt construction of a 5,000-bed immigrant detention center in Florida’s Big Cypress National Preserve. The suit argues that the Trump administration and Florida officials bypassed required environmental reviews and public input, violating the National Environmental Policy Act. The site, home to endangered species like the Florida panther and Everglade snail kite, is ecologically sensitive and historically protected. Activists are demanding a full environmental assessment before any further development proceeds.16
Planned Parenthood to Sue Trump Administration Over Defunding Provision in Megabill
Planned Parenthood has announced plans to sue the Trump administration over a provision in the newly passed reconciliation bill that bars Medicaid funding to providers offering abortion services, even for unrelated care. The organization’s CEO, Alexis McGill Johnson, called the move an unlawful and targeted attack that could force nearly 200 clinics to close, affecting over a million patients’ access to essential health services. The lawsuit aims to block the provision, which anti-abortion groups have hailed as a major victory, and defend continued access to reproductive healthcare.17
Want more from How to Resist?
Check out these series:
Take Action: Mutual aid and community-building ideas you can try today
Tools of Resistance: Tactics of nonviolent resistance, past and present
Better Political Conversations: Strategies for engaging across divides without compromising your values or your relationships
Good News from the Resistance: Sunday morning news roundup of good news
Support How to Resist
As a librarian writing in the service of democracy, I’m determined to keep How to Resist free to read and publicly available for everyone.
Producing How to Resist, however, is not free, and with fewer than 1% of readers supporting How to Resist with a paid subscription, we are still a long way from being fully funded.
If this work matters to you and you’re able to support it, please consider a paid subscription and help keep How to Resist going for as long as it’s needed.
Prefer a one-time contribution? You can donate at ko-fi.com/howtoresist
I did not feeling like celebrating the independence we have lost this weekend. I will now remember the 4th of July as the day the tRump signed the bill that doomed the USA. But this article and these photos have lifted me back up. I love see all the creative ways Americans are resisting the administration from hell. Thank you.
Oh wow. Thank you for the shout out! I love your writing so much. We are in this together.
You might relate with this new post. It feels like we’ve turned a corner. And I have to do some grieving as I also reach deeper for the strength the next chapter will require.
If you spent the holiday feeling angry, scared, or heartbroken instead of patriotic, you're responding to something real.
It's like the bullies have taken over the school. Donald Trump is the principal, Kristi Noem runs detention, Kash Patel is the hall monitor, and the Heritage Foundation decides the curriculum.
They're targeting people from groups who proved democracy could work because that threatens their power. And because - let's be honest - they take visible sadistic pleasure in the pain of others. These are cruel people who light up when discussing how to "traumatize" their enemies.
https://paultshattuck.substack.com/p/screwing-people-who-play-by-the-rules