Just a reminder that my work here is made possible by the support of paid subscribers. In the last week I’ve covered the militarization of immigration enforcement; UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to the White House; the Trump-Zelenenskyy debacle; DOGE’s failure to find a single instance of fraud in the federal government; and DOGE’s work dismantling the Social Security Administration. If you appreciate me keeping up with the news—and breaking it—please consider a paid subscription to American Doom for as little as $5 a month, or contributing to our Doom Coffee Fund. Onward - jg

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Last week, a video went viral that I think is a sad and troubling reflection not just of where we are, but where we’re headed. In it, Teresa Borrenpohl, an outspoken liberal in her community of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, is ripped from her seat at a Republican town hall by three private security guards. Nearby, Sheriff Bob Norris filmed the ordeal, threatening to pepper spray Borrenpohl.

Now, I’ve discovered that Norris is deep into far-right belief systems. His online footprint shows a man who is up to his eyeballs in right-wing culture war battles and messaging, which you can read below at Public Notice.

Private security acting with the approval of law enforcement is a troubling situation in any context, but it becomes more so in a political climate in which many members of law enforcement are openly supportive of the authoritarian tactics of Donald Trump and Republicans.

It’s bad enough that Trump is talking about militarizing immigration enforcement and using the military to crack down on protests. Adding fuel to that fire is the support for and emboldening of private citizens to act as police themselves—vigilantes is a word that comes to mind. That seems like a recipe for widespread civil unrest and the actual denigration of law and order that Trump and Republicans claim to care so much about.

In today’s episode of the American Doom Podcast, I speak to Laura Tenneson and Tamara Sines-Kermelis, two friends of Borrenpohl’s who witnessed the ordeal.

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