Democratic Erosion
The Democratic Erosion capture lane traces 465 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.
Activity over time
Events per year
| Date | Event | Lanes | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-04-20 | Schedule F Implementation Deadline: Systematic Federal Workforce Reclassification Office of Personnel Management · Federal Agencies · Trump Administration · Federal Workforce | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-20 | VP Vance Meets Pope Francis on Easter Sunday in Final Papal Encounter JD Vance · Pope Francis · Vatican · Trump Administration | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-17 | Trump Appointee Sought IRS Audit Review for MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Mike Lindell · David Eisner | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-15 | US Removes Sanctions from Antal Rogán, Top Orbán Aide Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Antal Rogán · Viktor Orbán · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-12 | US and Iran Begin Indirect Nuclear Negotiations in Oman Steve Witkoff · Abbas Araghchi · Oman | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-11 | DOJ fires immigration attorney for refusing to lie to federal courts about deportations Erez Reuveni · Emil Bove · Department of Justice · Pam Bondi | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-11 | Meta adds former Trump advisor Dina Powell McCormick to its board Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Dina Powell McCormick · Mark Zuckerberg | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-10 | Supreme Court Unanimously Rules Government Must 'Facilitate' Abrego Garcia's Return Supreme Court · Chief Justice John Roberts · Kilmar Abrego Garcia · Trump Administration · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-09 | US DOGE Service Agreement with Department of Labor Reveals $1.3 Million Fee Elon Musk · Donald Trump · U.S. Department of Labor · US Digital Service (USDS) | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-09 | USCIS to screen immigrants' social media for antisemitic activity U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services · U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Trump Administration · Civil liberties groups | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-07 | Dhillon Guts DOJ Voting Section: Reassigns Managers, Suspends Cases, Rewrites Mission to 'Voter Fraud' Harmeet Dhillon · DOJ Civil Rights Division · DOJ Voting Section · Pam Bondi · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-05 | Nationwide Legal Defense Network Expands Operational Capacity National Legal Defense Consortium · State-Level Legal Aid Organizations · Civil Rights Attorneys · AFL-CIO · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2025-04-02 | Liberation Day Tariffs Cost Average Household $1,000 in 2025, Imported Goods Prices Rise 4% as Americans Bear 94% of Tariff Cost Donald Trump · Office of the U.S. Trade Representative · Tax Foundation · Yale Budget Lab · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-28 | Vice President Vance Visits Greenland, Accuses Denmark of Neglecting Territory JD Vance · Usha Vance · Mike Waltz · Chris Wright · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-22 | Supreme Court Continues to Sidestep Definitive Ruling on Presidential Emoluments U.S. Supreme Court · Trump Administration · Ethics Watchdogs | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-21 | DHS eliminates civil rights and oversight offices through mass layoffs U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Tricia McLaughlin (DHS) · Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties · Immigration Detention Ombudsman · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-18 | DOGE Audit Controversy: Inflated Savings Claims and Potential Conflicts of Interest Elon Musk · U.S. Treasury Department · Democratic Senators | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-15 | Kilmar Abrego Garcia Wrongfully Deported to El Salvador Despite Court-Ordered Protection Kilmar Abrego Garcia · ICE · Trump Administration · El Salvador · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-14 | AG Pam Bondi Announces Federal Investigation into Tesla Vandalism Pam Bondi · Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Elon Musk | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-11 | Musk Pledges $100M to Trump Political Operation Elon Musk · Donald Trump · Trump Administration | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-10 | Legal Resistance Network Litigation Summit National Association of Attorneys General · State Attorney General Networks · Civil Liberties Organizations · Constitutional Litigation Experts | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-10 | National Legal Defense Fund Established to Defend Nonprofits and Democracy Democracy Forward · Lawyers for Good Government · MacArthur Foundation · Kenneth Rainin Foundation · +10 | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-10 | Pro Bono Legal Support Network Expansion Pro Bono Defense Network · Legal Aid Organizations · Constitutional Rights Funding Coalition · Pro Bono Net · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-10 | Strategic Litigation Coordination Summit: Multi-State Legal Resistance State Attorney General Networks · American Civil Liberties Union · Civil Liberties Defense Center · New Civil Liberties Alliance · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-03-07 | Trump Sends Letter to Khamenei Demanding Nuclear Negotiations with 60-Day Deadline Donald Trump · Ali Khamenei · United Arab Emirates | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-27 | Attorney General Bondi Releases First Phase of Declassified Epstein Files, Initiating Multi-Phase Document Releases Through November 2025 Pamela Bondi · Jeffrey Epstein · Department of Justice · Donald Trump · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-27 | EIU Democracy Index 2024 Reports Historic Low in Global Democracy Score Economist Intelligence Unit · Global Democracy Researchers · International Political Analysts | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-15 | Attorney General Bondi Establishes 'Weaponization Working Group' to Target Prosecutors Pam Bondi · Weaponization Working Group · Department of Justice · Trump Administration | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-15 | Coordinated Litigation Strategy Workshop Constitutional Defense Network · ACLU Litigation Team · National Lawyers Guild · Democracy 2025 Network · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-15 | Multi-Organizational Civil Rights Litigation Coordination Summit Lawyers for Civil Rights · Brennan Center · EarthJustice · American Civil Liberties Union · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-15 | Pro Bono Legal Support Coordination Mechanism Launched Democracy 2025 · American Civil Liberties Union · Institute for Justice · New Civil Liberties Alliance · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-15 | Trump Administration Systematically Removes DOJ Prosecutors James McHenry · Michael Ben'Ary · Jack Smith · Donald Trump · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-13 | Seven SDNY Prosecutors Resign in 36 Hours Rather Than Drop Adams Corruption Charges: 'Thursday Afternoon Massacre' Danielle Sassoon · Emil Bove · John Keller · Kevin Driscoll · +5 | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-13 | Trump Fires Top Ethics and Whistleblower Protection Officials Donald Trump · David Huitema · Hampton Dellinger · Colleen Shogan · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-12 | DOJ Moves to Undermine Independence of Regulatory Agencies Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Sarah Harris · Richard Durbin · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-10 | Stephen Miller Emerges as "Prime Minister" with Unprecedented Power Across All Policy Stephen Miller · Donald Trump · Susie Wiles | confirmed | |
| 2025-02-01 | Schedule F Implementation Targets 50,000 Federal Workers Donald Trump · Russell Vought · Russell Pekala · Heritage Foundation | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-31 | Federal Prosecutors Withdraw from Andy Ogles Criminal Investigation Andy Ogles · U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Tennessee · Department of Justice · John P. Taddei · +5 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-30 | Coalition of 22 State Attorneys General Secures Court Order Blocking Trump Federal Funding Freeze Letitia James · Judge John McConnell · 22 State Attorneys General · District of Columbia | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-27 | OMB Issues Memo M-25-13 Freezing All Federal Financial Assistance, Triggering Constitutional Crisis Over Congressional Spending Power Office of Management and Budget · Donald Trump · Judge John McConnell · Letitia James · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-22 | DOJ Orders Complete Freeze on All Civil Rights Division Cases and Enforcement Department of Justice · Chad Mizelle · Kathleen Wolfe (Acting Civil Rights Division Head) · Donald Trump · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-20 | Emergence of Coordinated Legal Resistance Networks American Civil Liberties Union · Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights · Pro Bono Litigation Corps · Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-20 | ICE Launches Aggressive Raids in Puerto Rico's Dominican Community Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) · Rebecca González-Ramos · Jenniffer González-Colón · U.S. Department of Homeland Security | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-20 | J.D. Vance Inaugurated as 50th Vice President J.D. Vance · Donald Trump · Peter Thiel · Republican Party | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-20 | JD Vance Sworn In as 50th Vice President, Positioned for Potential Constitutional Crisis Management JD Vance · Brett Kavanaugh · Donald Trump · Usha Vance · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-20 | Project 2025: Trump Administration Launches Massive Federal Civil Service Restructuring Donald Trump · Heritage Foundation · Kevin Roberts · Paul Dans · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-20 | Systematic Coordination Emerges in Federal Worker Purge and Civil Service Dismantling Trump Administration · Heritage Foundation · Office of Personnel Management · Federal Employee Unions · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-20 | Trump Declares Nine National Emergencies in First 100 Days, More Than Any Modern President Donald Trump · Elizabeth Goitein · Brennan Center for Justice | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-20 | Trump eliminates ethics requirements and lobbying restrictions Donald Trump · Trump Administration · Office of Government Ethics · Public Citizen · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-20 | Young Black Lawyers Organizing Coalition (YBLOC) Legal Resistance Summit Abdul Dosunmu · Marc Morial · Clarence Okoh · Jessica Paige · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-14 | Pete Hegseth Dismisses Sexual Assault and Alcohol Abuse Allegations as "Smear Campaign" at Confirmation Hearing Pete Hegseth · Senate Armed Services Committee | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-13 | Bannon Vows to Destroy 'Truly Evil' Elon Musk, Declares MAGA Civil War Steve Bannon · Elon Musk · Donald Trump | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-10 | Trump Receives Unconditional Discharge for 34 Felony Convictions, Zero Penalties Donald Trump · Juan Merchan · New York State Courts | confirmed | |
| 2025-01-01 | Systematic assault on judicial independence begins Trump Administration · Federal Judiciary · Law firms | confirmed | |
| 2024-12-22 | Trump Declares Greenland 'Absolute Necessity' and Names PayPal Co-Founder as Denmark Ambassador Donald Trump · Ken Howery · Mette Frederiksen | confirmed | |
| 2024-12-18 | California Governor Newsom Declares State of Emergency Over H5N1 Bird Flu Outbreak Gavin Newsom · California Department of Food and Agriculture · California Department of Public Health | confirmed | |
| 2024-12-03 | South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol Declares Martial Law, Triggering Democratic Crisis Yoon Suk Yeol · South Korean National Assembly · South Korean protesters · Democratic Party | confirmed | |
| 2024-12-03 | South Korean Democratic Resistance Against Presidential Martial Law Yoon Suk Yeol · Lee Jae-myung · South Korean Parliament · Civil Society Organizations · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2024-11-06 | Private Prison Stocks Soar After Trump's 2024 Victory: CoreCivic Up 29%, GEO Group Up 42% in Single Session Donald Trump · CoreCivic · GEO Group · Tom Homan · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2024-09-30 | Guidance to Georgia officials on mass voter challenges Campaign Legal Center · ACLU of Georgia · Brennan Center for Justice · Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2024-08-13 | JD Vance Writes Foreword for Project 2025 Architect's Book JD Vance · Kevin Roberts · Heritage Foundation · Paul Dans · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2024-07-01 | Paul Dans Departs Project 2025, Kevin Roberts Takes Leadership Paul Dans · Kevin Roberts · Donald Trump · Chris LaCivita · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2024-07-01 | Supreme Court Grants Broad Presidential Immunity in Trump v. United States, Creating King-Like Powers U.S. Supreme Court · Chief Justice John Roberts · Justice Clarence Thomas · Justice Samuel Alito · +10 | confirmed | |
| 2024-06-27 | SCOTUS limits SEC use of in-house tribunals for civil penalties (SEC v. Jarkesy) Supreme Court of the United States · Securities and Exchange Commission · Chief Justice John Roberts · Justice Neil Gorsuch (concurring) · +5 | confirmed | |
| 2024-06-15 | Academic Evidence Reveals Systematic Corruption in Hurricane Katrina Education Privatization Louisiana State Legislature · Charter School Advocates · Right-Wing Think Tanks · New Orleans School Board | confirmed | |
| 2024-03-01 | Tunisia Dissolves Democratic Municipal Councils Under Authoritarian Consolidation Kais Saied · Tunisian municipal councils · Tunisian opposition · Ennahda party | confirmed | |
| 2024-02-08 | Michael Mann Wins Defamation Lawsuit After 12-Year Battle Against Climate Deniers Michael Mann · Rand Simberg · Mark Steyn · Competitive Enterprise Institute · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2023-12-11 | Vance Endorses Claremont Institute's 'Up from Conservatism' at Capitol Hill Event J.D. Vance · Michael Anton · Jeremy Carl · Arthur Milikh · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2023-12-01 | Vance Endorses Claremont Institute Authoritarian Policy Document J.D. Vance · Claremont Institute | confirmed | |
| 2023-06-30 | Supreme Court Allows Religious Exemptions from Anti-Discrimination Laws in 303 Creative v. Elenis U.S. Supreme Court · Justice Neil Gorsuch · Chief Justice John Roberts · Justice Clarence Thomas · +12 | confirmed | |
| 2023-04-06 | Tennessee House Expels Two Black Lawmakers in Racist Suppression of Gun Control Protest Tennessee House Republicans · Justin Jones · Justin Pearson · Gloria Johnson · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2022-12-15 | Global Indigenous Democracy and Governance Summit Global Indigenous Leaders · Academic Researchers · Indigenous Governance Scholars | confirmed | |
| 2022-11-15 | Global Civil Society Develops Standardized Resistance Documentation Protocol International NGO Alliance · Human Rights Watch · Amnesty International · United Nations Human Rights Council · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2022-08-16 | Trump-Backed Harriet Hageman Defeats Liz Cheney in Wyoming GOP Primary by 37-Point Landslide Liz Cheney · Harriet Hageman · Donald Trump · Wyoming Republican Party | confirmed | |
| 2022-06-06 | Milo Yiannopoulos Becomes Unpaid Intern for Marjorie Taylor Greene After Connecting Her to White Nationalists Milo Yiannopoulos · Marjorie Taylor Greene · Nick Fuentes | confirmed | |
| 2022-04-01 | Heritage Foundation Launches 2 Million Project 2025 Initiative Heritage Foundation · Kevin Roberts · Paul Dans · Steven Groves | confirmed | |
| 2022-03-12 | Free State Project Libertarians Slash Croydon, New Hampshire School Budget by Half in Coordinated Takeover Free State Project · Ian Underwood · Jody Underwood · Croydon School Board | confirmed | |
| 2021-11-23 | Apple Sues NSO Group Over FORCEDENTRY Exploit and Pegasus Spyware Targeting Apple · NSO Group · Citizen Lab · US District Court Northern California | confirmed | |
| 2021-10-18 | NPR Documents How Hedge Fund Newspaper Ownership Creates News Deserts and Undermines Democracy - Over 2,500 Newspapers Closed Since 2005 Alden Global Capital · Local Newspapers · Hedge Funds · Communities · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2021-07-01 | Vance Announces Ohio Senate Campaign J.D. Vance · Donald Trump · Rob Portman · Peter Thiel | confirmed | |
| 2021-03-25 | Georgia SB 202 Enacts Comprehensive Voter Suppression with Multiple ALEC Provisions Governor Brian Kemp · Georgia Republican Legislature · Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger · American Legislative Exchange Council | confirmed | |
| 2021-01-26 | Biden Signs Executive Order 14006 to End Federal Private Prison Contracts, But Excludes Immigration Detention Joe Biden · Department of Justice · Bureau of Prisons · U.S. Marshals Service · +3 | confirmed | |
| 2021-01-07 | Facebook Bans Trump Only After He Loses Power, Following January 6 Insurrection It Enabled Mark Zuckerberg · Donald Trump · Facebook · Facebook Oversight Board | confirmed | |
| 2021-01-01 | 440 Voter Restriction Bills Introduced in 49 States - ALEC's Largest Suppression Wave American Legislative Exchange Council · Heritage Foundation · Heritage Action · Republican state legislators · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2020-10-21 | Trump Issues Original Schedule F Executive Order: Civil Service Protection Elimination Donald Trump · Office of Personnel Management · Heritage Foundation · Project 2025 · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2020-10-15 | YouTube Bans QAnon Content Only After Years of Algorithmic Amplification YouTube · Google · QAnon movement · Federal Bureau of Investigation · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2020-08-21 | Tennessee Enacts Felony Camping Law to Suppress Black Lives Matter Protests and Strip Voting Rights Bill Lee · Tennessee General Assembly · Randy McNally · Cameron Sexton | confirmed | |
| 2020-06-30 | Espinoza v. Montana - Supreme Court Strikes Down State Bans on Religious School Funding Chief Justice John Roberts · Justice Clarence Thomas · Justice Samuel Alito · Institute for Justice · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2020-06-06 | Boogaloo Movement Kills Two Law Enforcement Officers: Chan Meme Culture Produces Armed Paramilitary Network Steven Carrillo | confirmed | |
| 2020-04-01 | CNP Coordinates National COVID-19 Anti-Lockdown Protest Movement Council for National Policy · CNP Action · Stephen Moore · Heritage Foundation · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2020-02-28 | First AFPAC Conference Launches as White Nationalist Alternative to CPAC Nick Fuentes · Michelle Malkin | confirmed | |
| 2020-01-07 | Rep. Pramila Jayapal Launches Congressional Inquiry Into McKinsey's ICE Contracts and Detention Recommendations Pramila Jayapal · McKinsey & Company · Kevin Sneader · House Judiciary Committee · +1 | confirmed | |
| 2019-12-03 | ProPublica Exposes McKinsey's ICE Work Through FOIA Lawsuit: 1,500 Pages Reveal Detention Cost-Cutting Proposals ProPublica · New York Times · McKinsey & Company · Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) | confirmed | |
| 2019-10-29 | WhatsApp Sues NSO Group Over Pegasus Spyware Attack on 1,400 Users WhatsApp · Meta · NSO Group · US District Court Northern California | confirmed | |
| 2019-10-01 | Zuckerberg Holds Secret White House Dinners with Trump, Kushner, and Thiel to Negotiate Content Moderation Mark Zuckerberg · Donald Trump · Jared Kushner · Peter Thiel · +2 | confirmed | |
| 2019-09-24 | Trump Freezes Ukraine Military Aid Demanding Biden Investigation Donald Trump · Volodymyr Zelenskyy · Rudy Giuliani · William Barr · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2019-03-15 | Christchurch Mosque Massacre: 8chan-Radicalized Terrorist Kills 51, Live-Streams Attack Brenton Tarrant · 8chan | confirmed | |
| 2019-01-01 | NBER Study: Private Equity-Owned Nursing Homes Have 10% Higher Death Rates Due to Cost-Cutting Private equity firms · Nursing home residents · Healthcare workers | confirmed | |
| 2018-06-27 | Janus v. AFSCME - Supreme Court Strikes Down Public Sector Union Fees, Targeting Teachers' Unions Justice Samuel Alito · Justice Neil Gorsuch · National Right to Work Foundation · State Policy Network · +4 | confirmed | |
| 2018-06-26 | New York Times Discloses McKinsey's $20 Million ICE Contract: Employee Outrage and Internal Crisis McKinsey & Company · New York Times · Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) · Kevin Sneader · +1 | confirmed |