{"id":3028,"date":"2024-10-29T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-29T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/campaign-updates\/3028\/trump-slapps-and-the-erosion-of-democratic-freedoms\/"},"modified":"2024-12-18T20:50:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T20:50:53","slug":"trump-slapps-and-the-erosion-of-democratic-freedoms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/trump-slapps-and-the-erosion-of-democratic-freedoms\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump, SLAPPs, and the erosion of democratic freedoms"},"content":{"rendered":"

SLAPP Lawsuits are a major way people in power silence dissent to conduct business without environmental or social accountability. <\/span><\/p>\n

Powerful corporations have developed many tactics for silencing protests and public debate around unlawful or controversial activities. <\/span>SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation) lawsuits and other forms of legal harassment are common strategies for <\/b>closing civic spaces and silencing opponents<\/b><\/a> through isolation, intimidation, and financial and psychological burdens. They are a major way people in power silence dissent to conduct business without environmental or social accountability.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump has used SLAPP tactics against opponents as a private (really rich) citizen. <\/span>Seven cases<\/span><\/a> of the <\/span>thousands of lawsuits<\/span><\/a> he has been party to have been efforts to silence authors, media, and individuals. In his SLAPP case against author Tim O\u2019Brien, Trump said <\/span>\u201cI spent a couple of bucks on legal fees, and they spent a whole lot more. I did it to make his life miserable, which I\u2019m happy about\u201d<\/b>. Allies of Trump, like Big Oil and other corporate billionaires, would likely benefit from a lack of interference by a Trump administration if they levy SLAPP cases against critics.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Trump campaign and Project 2025 authors agree that their idea of fixing the federal government is <\/span>\u201cto bend or break the bureaucracy to the presidential will\u201d<\/span><\/a>. Major policy changes from the Trump campaign and Project 2025 would give the president authoritarian control over the federal government, including <\/span>power<\/span><\/a> to use legal tactics and federal agents to silence opponents. <\/span>Trump has long planned to see this through<\/span><\/a>. An expansion of executive power could be abused and undermine fundamental freedoms of speech and assembly, and threaten those who speak out against issues of public concern.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Taken together, SLAPP cases from the private sector and weaponization of executive power in the public sector create a one-two punch against activism and the right to dissent and protest.<\/b><\/p>\n