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“For the last decade, there’s been a debate among people who don’t like Donald Trump about whether he’s a fascist,” writes Michelle Goldberg in a January 2026 New York Times article. This rhetoric, which began during his first term, reached a fever pitch during the 2024 campaign when Hillary Clinton compared his Madison Square Garden rally to the infamous Nazi gathering held there in the 1930s. In 2024, Vice President Kamala Harris and half of the American public, according to ABC News/Ipsos polling, embraced the label for Trump, while many others dismissed it as hyperbolic. A year into Trump’s second term, Goldberg suggests that those who sounded the alarms are being vindicated.

The debate over fascism has become more pervasive following the killing of Renee Good by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent Jonathan Ross in Minnesota. The video of Good’s death was seen by 80% of Americans, and polls from Data for Progress, Quinnipiac, CNN, and YouGov/Economist reveal that the majority of Americans do not think the killing was justified.

Nonetheless, the Trump Administration has ramped up the assault in Minnesota. The internet is flooded with viral videos of ICE agents violently detaining a U.S. citizen child at a Target and warning peaceful bystanders that they will end up like Good. Other footage shows agents punching citizens for legally recording them, assaulting a woman whose disability prevented her from exiting her car, and using flash bangs and pepper-spraying peaceful protesters. As they were driving, a Minneapolis couple and their six children were reportedly caught in a chaotic clash between federal agents and protesters. According to the parents, officers deployed flash-bang munitions and tear gas that filled their vehicle, causing their 6-month-old baby to stop breathing and lose consciousness before emergency responders arrived.

These violent acts are not just limited to Minnesota. Since 2025, ICE has been responsible for nine fatal shootings and about 40 deaths in custody, including one ruled a homicide. The agency has also detained nearly 200 U.S. citizens, including Native Americans.

It is no wonder that the concept of abolishing ICE is more popular than ever. Social media is increasingly filled with videos of everyday citizens who emphasize that they are not overtly political and rarely, if ever, protest, yet feel compelled to speak out because they believe the President’s version of events is demonstrably false.

Even traditionally sympathetic voices like Tim Dillon and Joe Rogan have raised concerns, specifically comparing the administration’s use of federal agents to the “Gestapo”: the secret police of Nazi Germany known for their brutal suppression of dissent and lack of judicial oversight. Rogan further leaned into this comparison by arguing that forcing residents to prove their citizenship status on the street is tantamount to the infamous Nazi practice of demanding “your papers,” to identify and disappear undesirables. Relatedly, in the understatement of the year, former ICE Director Sarah Saldana recently warned on CNN that the situation has reached a breaking point, noting that it is “way past time for de-escalation.”

As his first year comes to a close, much of what has occurred in Minnesota and elsewhere has led critics to label Trump a fascist. They point to the fact that he lied to the public about Good’s death. After the incident, Trump immediately made the false claim that Good “viciously ran over” an agent, forcing the officer to be hospitalized. In reality, Good’s car did not run over anyone, and Ross walked away from the scene unassisted. New York Times reporting casts doubt on the idea that Ross even visited a hospital after Good’s death.

Critics argue that Trump warrants the fascist label due to his efforts to direct the U.S. military against American citizens. Trump and his Administration have threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which, unlike in Trump’s National Guard deployments would allow armed forces to carry out law enforcement functions, such as making arrests and conducting searches. According to military intelligence sources, the Minnesota crackdown serves as more than an immigration initiative; it is allegedly part of a broader campaign targeting “anti-American’ elements,” such as Antifa and the radical left. Reports indicate that 1,500 Alaska-based troops are prepared to deploy to Minnesota at Trump’s command. This escalation coincides with a federal court ruling this week that significantly restricted the tactics ICE may employ against peaceful protesters. Meanwhile, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz mobilized the state’s National Guard this weekend to maintain order. The deployment occurs against the backdrop of a criminal probe by the Justice Department into both Walz and Mayor Jacob Frey for allegedly impeding federal immigration operations.

Critics contend that the Trump administration has effectively weaponized ICE, transforming it into a tool of executive power rather than a public service agency. They cite a convergence of aggressive incentives and diminished oversight as evidence of this shift. In mid-2025, the administration introduced substantial financial inducements, including $50,000 signing bonuses and $60,000 in debt forgiveness, to attract recruits whose primary motivations may be economic rather than civic. This, coupled with policies allowing agents to remain masked, withhold identification, and conduct stops based on subjective criteria like “accents,” has largely insulated the agency from accountability. Moreover, the imposition of strict arrest quotas to meet a target of 11 million deportations has escalated routine daily activities into high-stakes confrontations for many residents.

Despite claims that professional standards prevent abuse, an undercover report from Slate describes ICE training as “sloppy” and lacking substantive background checks. Trainees reportedly expressed more interest in physical assault and making arrests than in mastering the legal requirements of the job.

As the line between law enforcement and political weaponry continues to blur, the American public is left to determine........

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