Your City Will Be Occupied Next

Sending troops into American cities is not “law and order.” It’s intimidation, spectacle, and a dangerous rehearsal for authoritarian rule that risks dismantling democracy itself.

Guest article by Michael Cohen. Follow him on Substack today!

Editorial credit: Sua Sponte Photography / Shutterstock.com

If we’ve learned anything in recent weeks, it’s that President Trump has no intention of limiting his use of military power to Washington, D.C. The president is now openly talking about sending the National Guard into Chicago and, after that, possibly New York City. These aren’t just trial balloons. They’re warning signs of how far he’s willing to go in expanding executive authority under the guise of “public safety.” And if you think this ends neatly after one deployment, I’ve got a bankrupt Atlantic City casino to sell you.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker was quick to cut through the spin, calling the proposed deployment a “manufactured crisis.” He’s right. There is no emergency that justifies military involvement in Chicago. Crime is not spiraling out of control. Local law enforcement has not asked for assistance. Yet the president is pressing forward, because the goal isn’t safety; it’s spectacle. By painting Democratic-led cities as lawless “hellholes,” he positions himself as the singular force capable of restoring order. It’s political theater, except the props here are armed troops and the backdrop is one of America’s great cities.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson echoed this concern, warning that federal troops on city streets could undo fragile progress in community relations and potentially inflame tensions. That’s not alarmism; it’s fact. The presence of armed troops in civilian spaces has never de-escalated a situation; it almost always heightens the risk of confrontation. And in Chicago, a city already grappling with longstanding mistrust between residents and law enforcement, the risk is profound. If Johnson sounds worried, it’s because he has every reason to be.

In Washington, D.C., we’re already seeing how this plays out. Roughly 2,000 National Guard troops have been deployed across the capital, initially unarmed. Now, at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, they’ve been issued weapons. This shift represents more than a tactical adjustment; it’s a deliberate escalation. Once rifles are in the hands of soldiers standing in crowded public spaces, the margin for error disappears. One misunderstanding, one panicked reaction, and you’re not just dealing with optics anymore; you’re dealing with potential tragedy. And if that sounds like a recipe for disaster, it’s because it is.

Equally concerning is Trump’s own admission that he may declare a national emergency once the 30-day deadline on the D.C. deployment expires. Why? Because a declared emergency would give him the authority to keep troops in place indefinitely. That is a dangerous precedent. It allows a president to sidestep Congress, override local leadership, and normalize the use of military force in domestic governance. That’s not just bending the rules; it’s rewriting them altogether.

Now imagine my hometown—New York City, with its nearly nine million residents—as the next “mission.” Times Square patrolled by armed Guardsmen. Subway stations lined with soldiers. The most diverse city in the nation reduced to a stage for demonstrating federal power. And once New York falls into this pattern, where does it stop? Philadelphia? Atlanta? Boston? If political disagreement is rebranded as a public safety crisis, then any city that doesn’t align with the White House becomes a potential target.

Polls already show that residents of D.C. overwhelmingly oppose the current deployment. Almost 80% say they do not want federal officers or National Guard troops controlling their streets. Local leaders point to long-term declines in crime rates, evidence that contradicts the administration’s claims of chaos. And yet, these objections are brushed aside. That dismissal should trouble all of us, because it underscores how little local input matters once the machinery of federal power is in motion. If you think local democracy is safe in that environment, I’ve got a bridge in Brooklyn I can sell you—and real cheap.

The larger issue here isn’t whether Trump can legally justify these moves—although that itself is deeply contested. The issue is the slow erosion of democratic norms. The military is designed to protect us from foreign threats, not to police American neighborhoods. Civilian governance is supposed to be local and accountable, not dictated from Washington with soldiers on patrol. When those lines blur, democracy weakens.

Let’s not underestimate the long-term impact here either. If this becomes normalized, future presidents of either party will inherit the precedent. The next time a mayor resists federal policy, or a state challenges Washington in court, the response could be troops in the streets. Once that door is opened, it is nearly impossible to close. And if you think future presidents won’t be tempted to use that power, you haven’t been paying attention. Trump has changed the game.

So, let me be perfectly clear: what’s unfolding is not about law enforcement. It’s about power. The presence of troops in American cities is meant to send a message: federal authority supersedes local control, dissent will not be tolerated, and the president alone defines what constitutes an “emergency.” That’s not law and order; it’s governance by intimidation.

This moment demands vigilance. Citizens, mayors, governors, and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle must resist the temptation to view these deployments as temporary or symbolic. They are neither. They are trial runs for a model of leadership that sidelines democracy in favor of military presence. And if we allow it to take root, the America we recognize—messy, imperfect, but free—becomes something completely unrecognizable.

The danger isn’t what happens on day one of these deployments. It’s what happens on day 100, day 200, or day 1,000, when troops are no longer extraordinary but expected. By then, we won’t be debating whether the president has overstepped. We’ll be living in a country where military occupation of cities is routine. And when that happens, it won’t just be democracy under siege; it will be democracy already lost.

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