In the Press

Stay informed about threats to our democracy and how we’re working to return it to safer footing. Use the drop-down menu to organize by work theme.

New York Times Logo

Republicans Don’t Want to Talk About Jan. 6. Trump Can’t Help Himself. (opens a new window)

  • September 14, 2024
  • The New York Times

“If he can convince people of the lie that our legitimate government institutions were all wielded in corrupt ways to persecute him, he can convince people that he’s justified in turning those same institutions back on those he claims are responsible for that,” said Ian Bassin, the executive director of Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan organization that advocates legal protections against authoritarianism.

Trump’s Slow-Burn Authoritarianism (opens a new window)

  • September 12, 2024
  • The New Republic

Many analysts have said that this would comprehensively wreck the professionalism of the federal bureaucracy. But there’s another, less-remarked-upon danger here as well: a corruption of government information that could leave the public awash in propaganda and make it easier for Trump’s corporate cronies to hijack the rulemaking and governing process for personal gain.

USA Today Logo

Donald Trump threatens to imprison Biden, Harris, Pelosi, and others. Experts are worried (opens a new window)

  • September 12, 2024
  • USA Today

Amanda Carpenter, a former staffer to Republican Sens. Jim DeMint and Ted Cruz, who now works for Protect Democracy, a nonpartisan nonprofit, told USA TODAY it will be easier for Trump to get underlings to go through with a prosecution − even without strong evidence − because checks on the president’s power will be weaker.

Union of Concerned Scientists logo.

One Issue Voters Can Agree On: We Need More Choices in our Elections (opens a new window)

  • September 10, 2024
  • Union of Concerned Scientists

The rules in single-member simple plurality elections encourage voters to abandon their true preferences, while the rules in multi-member proportional elections encourage voters to cast a ballot for the candidate or party they truly prefer. Under multi-member proportional rules, we end up with a very high likelihood of getting more political parties.

USA Today Logo

Lawsuit against ‘Trump Train’ drivers who swarmed Biden bus in 2020 goes to trial in Texas (opens a new window)

  • September 9, 2024
  • USA Today

Attorneys from the Texas Civil Rights Project and the Protect Democracy Project are representing the plaintiffs.

The trial is scheduled to end Sept. 17.

In a separate lawsuit, the plaintiffs in 2023 settled with San Marcos police in a case accusing officers of violating the Ku Klux Klan Act by ignoring 911 calls from the bus passengers.

The Klan Act: Legal Liability for Political Violence (opens a new window)

  • September 9, 2024
  • Lawfare

The harassment of the Biden-Harris campaign bus was a deliberate act of physical intimidation, organized and carried out with a political motive. If American elections are to be held peacefully and democratically, the perpetrators of such actions need to be held accountable. And indeed, several of the Biden campaign’s personnel who were present that day filed a federal lawsuit seeking damages against Trump Train drivers. (The attorneys litigating the case for the plaintiffs include lawyers for the nonprofit organization Protect Democracy, on whose board of advisors I serve.)