On Second Day In Office, Trump Remains Dictator

President Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of over 1,500 rioters who attempted to overthrow American Democracy on January 6, 2021. The rioters beat police officers and chanted "Hang Mike Pence!" They vandalized the Capitol building. They were thwarted by brave officers who ushered legislators away to safety. Read a summary HERE. 

Rioters scale a wall in their attempt to overthrow democracy and install a dictator on January 6, 2021.

Trump ran on the promise that he would become dictator, but only on the first day of his presidency. On day two, he broke that promise, signing a slew of executive orders, including one that seeks to overthrow an interpretation of the Constitution that has existed since the 1860s.

 In general, in orders on both January 20 and January 21, Trump has signed orders dismantling all efforts made by agencies to ensure equal opportunities for all job applicants and employees. These agency efforts to follow the spirit and rule of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 are now deemed illegal, according to the orders. In addition, President Trump's justice department announced it will not prosecute civil rights violations, and placed a freeze on new civil rights cases indefinitely. In effect, as of now, we have no enforcement of any civil rights rules or prosecution for violators of civil rights amendments. 

On January 21, Trump signed an executive order, mandating the Department of Labor to immediately cease explicitly promoting diversity and equity in their hiring, pay and promotion practices. In addition, he rescinded a 1964 executive action requiring that all Federal agencies assure their hiring and promotion practices eliminate discrimination and provide equal opportunity to everyone, regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or national origin.*

For more information about these executive actions and for a full list of actions on this date, visit the White House website.

*The Department of Labor issued a press release on its website stating that, in response to Order 11246 (the 1964 executive action), all cases brought to them under this order were dropped.

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Department of Justice | Civil Rights Division | United States Department of Justice

The about page of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, as of January 2025, still hasn't changed, despite the executive order that it cease prosecutions:

History

The Civil Rights Act of 1957 created the Civil Rights Division and, at its head, the Office of the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights. The Civil Rights Division was established on December 9, 1957, by the order of Attorney General William P. Rogers. Passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act expanded the Civil Rights Division’s authority into prohibiting discrimination in public facilities, places of public accommodation, employment, and schools.

Mission

The Civil Rights Division protects the civil and constitutional rights of all people in this country, enforcing the Constitution and federal laws of the United States in pursuit of our founding ideals – fundamental fairness, equal justice, and equal opportunity for all. 

To achieve our mission, we strive to advance three key principles:

• Protect the most vulnerable among us by ensuring that all in America can live free from fear of exploitation, discrimination, and violence.
• Safeguard the fundamental infrastructure of democracy by protecting the right to vote and access to justice, ensuring that communities have effective and democratically accountable policing, and protecting those who protect us.
• Expand opportunity for all people by advancing the opportunity to learn, earn a living, live where one chooses, and worship freely in one’s community.

The Division enforces the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1968, as amended; the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended; the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, as amended; the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988; Executive Order 12250 (inter alia, Title VI, Title IX, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended); and the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act.

The Division also enforces the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act; the Police Misconduct Provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994; the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000; and Section 102 of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, as amended, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of national origin and citizenship status as well as document abuse and retaliation.

The Division is also charged with all departmental responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).  The ADA assures equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities in employment, public accommodations, and services, transportation, and telecommunications. 

Major Functions

The major functions of the Civil Rights Division are to:

• Investigate and, when warranted by the findings, initiate legal proceedings seeking injunctive and other relief in cases involving discrimination in education, credit, employment, housing, public accommodations, and facilities, federally funded programs, voting, and the rights of prisoners and mentally and physically disabled persons.
• Prosecute violations of criminal statutes that prohibit specified acts of interference with federally protected rights and activities, such as conspiracies to interfere with or deny a certain individual or group of individuals the exercise of these rights.
• Prosecute violations of anti-trafficking statutes, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and play a strong role in identifying, protecting, and assisting victims of human trafficking.
• Implement Executive Order 12250 by studying, reviewing, and approving regulatory changes proposed by all federal executive branch agencies as they pertain to civil rights, including Titles VI and IX and Section 5 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.
• Under the ADA, coordinate the technical assistance activities of other federal agencies and provide technical assistance to places of public accommodation and state and local governments.
• Serve as the principal advisor to the Attorney General on all matters pertaining to civil rights.
• Provide Department representation to, and maintain close liaison and cooperation with, officials and representatives of other divisions, federal agencies, state, and municipal governments, and private organizations on civil rights issues.
• Develop policy and legislative positions and proposals that advance the Division’s enforcement work.

US Department of Labor to cease and desist all investigative and enforcement activity under rescinded Executive Order 11246 | U.S. Department of Labor