Republicans Have Found Their Reichstag Moment

With the murder of Conservative firebrand Charlie Kirk, Republicans have found their Reichstag Moment.

On Feb. 27, 1933, exactly four weeks after Adolf Hitler was sworn in as Germany’s Chancellor, an arsonist’s fire engulfed Berlin’s Reichstag building, home of the German parliament.

The Dutch national convicted of the crime claimed he acted alone to protest the condition of the German working class. Four others were ultimately acquitted.

The Berlin fire chief reported Nazi officials intentionally hindered his efforts to combat the fire.

But the facts didn’t matter.

Nazi officials immediately accused the opposition Communist Party of conspiring against Germany.

The day after the fire, at Hitler’s request, President Paul von Hindenburg signed the Reichstag Fire Decree, attacking those deemed ‘enemies of the state.’

The decree suspended civil liberties, including habeas corpus, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, freedom of expression and the right to privacy.

With the legal stroke of a pen, civil liberties in Germany were stripped away and power consolidated under one party, led by an elected Chancellor Hitler.

Hitler further utilized the Constitution with the passage of the Enabling Act, which allowed him to pass laws by degree in times of emergency.

Hitler didn’t seize power. It was given to him legally as he attacked his opposition.

And this is where we find the United States in September 2025.

Within hours of Kirk’s murder Republicans and right wing media baselessly accused liberals and Trans people of fomenting violence.

Once again, facts don’t matter.

Allegations don’t need to be true. What matters is the damage the lies inflict.
So Republicans are turning up the rhetoric against “those people” who don’t demonstrate acceptable remorse for Kirk.

The administration is targeting the free speech of “them” with the full weight of the law, starting with the FCC’s attack against ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel.

During a Sept. 12 appearance on Fox & Friends, President Trump responded to a question about how to “come back together” amid political division following Kirk’s death by saying, “I couldn’t care less.”
“The radicals on the left are the problem,” he added. “They’re vicious, and they’re horrible, and they’re politically savvy.”

The administration is pledging to hold “liberals” and “the left” accountable for anything the government decides to blame on anyone deemed “them.”

On Sept. 11, Trump said “radical Left political violence has hurt too many innocent people and taken too many lives,” while he ignored violence against Democrats.

Republicans seem to forget the June 14, political assassinations of Minnesota Democratic State Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark, along with their dog, and the wounding of Democratic State Sen. John Hoffman, and his wife, Yvette.

On April 13, while Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family celebrated Passover, their home was fire bombed, but MAGA doesn’t care because the fact doesn’t fit their narrative and besides, facts don’t matter.

Trump made it easier to persecute and prosecute voices of opposition on Sept. 17, when he claimed he’ll name “Antifa” a “major terrorist organization.”

Trump made the same claim in May 2020 and did nothing.

The fact is, an “Antifa” organization doesn’t exist; Trump’s previous FBI director, Christopher Wray, said Antifa is an ideology, not an organization.

Besides, Antifa can’t be named to a list, because the Department of Justice has no list of domestic terrorists.

Of course, if such a list existed, it would include the 1,500 Jan. 6, criminals Trump pardoned, including members of the domestic hate groups Oath Keepers and Proud Boys.

Antifa counter protesters began publicly clashing with Proud Boys during Trump’s first term.

Antifa, short for anti-fascist, comes from the German Antifaschistische Aktion, a loose association arising in 1932 to oppose the Nazi Party.

Antifa opposed the Nazis. Antifa opposes Trump.

But facts don’t matter and irony is dead.

What matters is Trump followers believe Antifa is an illegal organization, and by extension those who oppose Trump, the Proud Boys, or the administration in any way, will be treated as enemies of the state.

Germany’s concentration camps weren’t built for Jews, they were constructed originally to house political opponents of the Nazi Party, including Antifa.

Posting around 1:30 a.m., Trump called Antifa a “SICK, DANGEROUS, RADICAL LEFT DISASTER,” and threatened to investigate funders of Antifa.

The Republican Supreme Court has already given Trump unfettered power to do nearly anything he decides is in his job description. The Republican Congress ignores any remaining fetters.

Trump and his sycophant appointees have spoken with one voice.

Using the Reichstag Fire Decree as a fascist ‘to-do’ list, the administration is systematically stripping the country of basic rights and they will financially ruin those who speak up in opposition.

Things will get much worse.

On Aug, 25, Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called the Democratic Party a “domestic, extremist organization.”

Starting with anyone the Administration claims is Antifa, they will quickly expand to investigations of the Democratic Party, Democratic elected officials and party contributors.

Learn the term, Competitive Authoritarianism, because this is where we are. The appearance of a competitive democracy controlled by authoritarian incumbents.

In 15 months it will become even more evident, when the Trump administration nullifies Democratic elections and launches investigations into Republican losses.

Congressional Republicans will refuse to leave office during the investigations, and the new Congress of 2027 will be sworn in with another Republican majority.

Unless you do something to stop it.