Authoritarians have studied protests. They've adapted, and the effectiveness of protests has dropped.

[summer_in_TX]

Becoming Dangerous: How to Go from Activist to Operative
They have evolved; so must we.
CHRISTOPHER ARMITAGE

They’ve built plenty of prisons….the fascists have been studying us. The ultra-wealthy worldwide are comfortably united, not along national boundaries, but along exploitative ones. And let me tell you, they have our number. They aren’t scared by people in the street. It doesn’t do what it used to do. Erica Chenoweth, whose research shaped a generation of activist strategy, has found that the success rate of mass nonviolent movements has fallen from roughly half to about a third, and she traces the drop to authoritarian regimes learning from one another, sharing tactics, and training their police and soldiers to hold the line before a protest can grow. We too must evolve.

…snip…

…intelligence agencies…study what works. They gather information. They identify vulnerabilities. They apply pressure through coordinated operations.

…snip…

An operative understands exactly how power works in their specific context. They have the skills to independently gather intelligence and act effectively. An operative can make their target organization, or individual, feel the consequences of their choices every single day.

I want to be completely clear. I don’t advocate for violence. Not because I have a moral problem with violence. I don’t advocate for violence because the evidence unequivocally shows it is ineffective against authoritarian movements. If it worked I’d encourage it. It doesn’t. So I don’t. What works is making power too costly to exercise. What works is making them think about you when they’re trying to fall asleep.

I get the impression that a lot of DUers haven't yet run across his writings. If they had, there'd be a bunch more folks sharing his quite brilliant work. He is the most prolific and innovative thinker I've ever encountered and his strategies are astute and aimed at what works. Footnoted too. He's published several books, including Conservatism: America's Personality Disorder. Some of his work has been accepted for peer-reviewed academic journals.

Fascinatingly eclectic experience.. Military service, worked for about ten years in a prison, became a lawyer, as well as author. Interviewed by Thom Hartmann and many others. His Substack, The Existentialist Republic, is the best place to get his articles and he makes a lot of his handbooks for activists free to download. His stuff isn't behind a paywall.

He has made the case for bar associations disbarring the corrupt members of SCOTUS, along with the case law they've violated and links to the publications whose investigative work exposed Clarence Thomas and Alito's. He personally filed a request for investigation and disbarment of John Roberts with the DC bar association.

An ever-growing Existentialist Republic activist community formed on Discord, divvying up interests and tasks to do research, develop scripts, advocate for his policies with members of state legislatures, attorneys general, DAs and county attorneys, etc.