Community Resistance Proves More Powerful Than Courts Against Trump

Legal scholar argues that direct action, not just relying on the courts, is needed to check unconstrained executive power.

Mar. 22, 2026 at 6:49pm

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In a New York Times guest essay, legal scholar Duncan Hosie argues that while courts have an important role in creating friction and issuing rulings that can hold leaders accountable, the courts alone cannot save us from a leader like former President Trump who disrespects the Constitution. Hosie says we should place more faith in politics and direct community action, pointing to how activists in Minneapolis stepped in where the courts failed to halt aggressive federal immigration sweeps, coordinating mutual aid and confronting federal agents directly. Hosie contends that this decentralized community resistance is more powerful than legal challenges that can be neutralized through "legal bravado" and worn down through fees.

Why it matters

Hosie's essay challenges the traditional view of the courtroom as the primary arena for political resistance, arguing that in times of genuine emergency, community-based direct action is essential to check executive overreach when the courts fall short. This perspective has implications for how citizens engage in protecting democratic norms and institutions.

The details

The essay focuses on how federal authorities initiated aggressive immigration sweeps in Minneapolis, and while two federal judges recognized the agents were likely engaging in racial profiling, they declined to halt the operation. In response, local activists stepped in, coordinating mutual aid networks, tracking ICE operations in real time, and physically interposing themselves between federal agents and those at risk of being detained. Hosie argues this decentralized community resistance is more powerful than legal challenges that can be neutralized through "legal bravado" and worn down through fees.

  • The New York Times guest essay was published on March 22, 2026.

The players

Duncan Hosie

A legal scholar at the Stanford Constitutional Law Center who authored the New York Times guest essay.

Minneapolis Activists

Community members in Minneapolis who coordinated mutual aid networks, tracked ICE operations, and physically confronted federal agents during aggressive immigration sweeps when the courts failed to intervene.

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What they’re saying

“Even in the face of Mr. Trump's disrespect for the Constitution, courts have an important role, creating some friction and issuing rulings that can furnish the basis for accountability in the future.”

— Duncan Hosie, Legal Scholar

“Decentralized community resistance cannot be summoned to court, deprived of institutional standing or worn down through legal fees.”

— Duncan Hosie, Legal Scholar

The takeaway

Hosie's essay challenges the traditional reliance on the courts as the primary means of political resistance, arguing that in times of crisis, community-based direct action is essential to check executive overreach when the courts fall short. This perspective highlights the need for citizens to engage in protecting democratic norms and institutions through a diversity of tactics, not just legal challenges.