The Trump Administration is at war against the First Amendment and Free Speech rights. They are not only smearing their critics. They are attempting to criminalize dissent. At stake are the most critical democratic rights for people in the United States: to speak freely and engage in protest. There are tens of millions who find Trump’s policies an affront to human dignity, and he would like to silence them all.
As part of this war against free speech, the U.S. State Department has released a statement that openly attacks The People’s Forum and other organizations. This statement, shared by the Trump White House, is designed to suppress the voices of those who dare to criticize U.S. government policy. The false allegations, peddled through right-wing media and influencers, are not just an attack on our organization but on the fundamental right to free speech itself.
The People’s Forum strongly rejects these baseless accusations. The accusations leveled against us, claiming we are “vectors of foreign influence,” are recycled tactics from a not-so-distant chapter of McCarthyism in American history. By labeling our organizations as “agents” of “foreign manipulation,” the U.S. government seeks to demonize and suppress the legitimate grievances of people who are disgusted by the violent ICE raids and deportation of immigrant communities, the deployment of military forces and federal agents to cities and towns in the United States, the persecution of students protesting the genocide in Gaza and the endless military interventions and use of blockades and sanctions to create famines abroad.
The baseless claims against the People’s Forum that we “run cover for narco-terrorists” and other equally ludicrous allegations are a blatant and transparent effort to intimidate our supporters and delegitimize grassroots movements. Criticizing and opposing the U.S. government’s policies is not the threat to democracy. The real threat is the government that kills innocent protesters in broad daylight, surveils and represses activists, arrests journalists, demonizes and deports immigrants, and seeks to dismantle all forms of dissent.
The People’s Forum has an unshakeable commitment to continue organizing for a just world through education, culture, and international solidarity. We will continue to defend immigrants at home and build dialogue with other movements in the world, challenge policies of war and aggression, and defend the right to organize and express their dissent.
We call on all people of conscience to see this for what it is: a desperate attempt to manufacture consent for a new round of repression. We will not be silenced.
Support The People’s Forum now.
Categories: Statements + Announcements
