President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C. recalls an ominous period in the years leading up to World War II when innocent men, women and children in Italy were brutalized and killed.
Benito Mussolini's militarization of cities during the Fascist regime (1922-1943) was a key aspect of his totalitarian vision and had a significant, harsh impact on urban landscapes and the lives of ordinary citizens.
Once in power, Mussolini moved quickly to establish a dictatorship, outlawing political parties, muzzling the press, rigging elections, and replacing elected officials with Fascist loyalists.
His regime established a secret police force, tasked with rooting out anti-fascist activity. This force infiltrated society and compiled dossiers on perceived subversives.
Thousands of Italians were arrested and imprisoned or sent to remote "internal exile" in island colonies or villages.
Blackshirt squads terrorized
opponents. Political dissidents faced beatings, castor oil forced-feedings (causing severe diarrhea and dehydration), and even death.
President Trump cannot be allowed to repeat this history. He must be stopped.
