Back in April, under the title “Trump’s Wolkenkuckucksheim,” I wrote about the Trump regime’s removal of information not consistent with its ideology from federal agency websites—a modern day version of book burning. I also noted that these acts were in line with the principles laid out by Hitler’s Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. 

It now appears that we are moving into the next phase of the construction of a fascist state: the use of force. Attacks on cities such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and Portland by the National Guard, Marines, and Army units, along with ICE were ordered by Trump. 

Notably, ICE appears to be serving as Trump’s Sturmabteilung, German for ‘Storm Division' or 'Storm Troopers.’ They were the original paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party. Colloquially, they were called Brownshirts. According to reports of their attacks on protestors and bystanders, ICE either is completely without military discipline (no rules of engagement) or has been allowed to act without any rules of engagement.

Thugs are thugs, whether in brown shirts...

ICE: Trump's Brownshirts

Horst Wessel leading his squadron of SA Brownshirts 1932 in Germanuy. (German Federal Archives)

... or tan shirts.

ICE: Trump's Brownshirts

Homeland Security ICE agents in action 2025 in the USA. (US Government photo)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next step will be a “Reichstag fire,” which was an arson attack on the Reichstag building that housed the German parliament in Berlin, on Monday, February 27, 1933. It was set by the Nazis but blamed on communists, socialists, trade unionists, and Jews. Hitler used it to declare a state of emergency, and give himself full power. 

One wonders what form Trump’s “Reichstag fire” will take, but when it occurs, Trump will move to suspend civil rights, freedom of the press, and eliminate and imprison enemies, both real and perceived. 

As all of this unfurls, keep in mind Pastor Martin Neimöller’s poem, "First They Came..."