So Much To Fight, And So Many Ways To Do It This Week (4/13/26)
A *very long* list of ways to help win Virginia, stop detention centers, prep for the World Cup, hold sexual predators accountable and more
TOO LONG, DIDN’T READ
A full calendar of phonebanks, textbanks and social media actions to help win better maps in Virginia
A whole bunch of mass calls on opportunities to get engaged with mass action this week, including a training on fighting detention centers TONIGHT at 7:30 PM ET, a prep call for the 4/25 Communities Not Cages Day of Action TOMORROW at 8PM ET, an ACLU rapid response training TOMORROW at 8PM, mobilizing to get Citizens Bank to stop financing concentration camps THURSDAY at 7PM ET, and organizing for the World Cup THURSDAY at 8 PM ET
Tell the House to expel Swalwell, Gonzales, and all sexual predators
If you have questions, comments, and especially submissions for actions, please email us at roganslisttips@gmail.com!
8 DAYS TO GO FOR A 10-1 MAP IN VIRGINIA
Trump and MAGA launched an unprecedented mid-decade redistricting effort to try to steal the House in these midterms. A week from tomorrow, we get a chance to level the playing field. The vote on whether to redraw the maps in Virginia to respond to GOP gerrymandering is looking close, in spite of our massive spending advantage, the light blue tilt of the commonwealth and Trump’s unpopularity. Among the most worrisome indicators: turnout is running higher in GOP-held districts. We need to make sure it doesn’t stay that way.
Here’s a full list of ways we can help turn out folks in Virginia every day until Election Day:
ANY TIME
TODAY
TOMORROW
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
MONDAY
ELECTION DAY
And for those of us or near Virginia, we can find shifts to go door-to-door here.
(We’re also getting close to Special Election Day in the New Jersey 11th Congressional District! Progressive activist Analilia Mejia is well positioned to defeat GOP nominee Randolph mayor Joe Hathaway in an oddly-timed Thursday vote, but we can help close him out by signing up for phonebanks every day this week here.
MASS CALLS TO GET ENGAGED WITH MORE UPCOMING ACTIONS
While we continue bringing more people on board with the May Day strikes, May 1st isn’t the only day of mass action on the calendar in the near future. This week will feature multiple mass calls where we can get more deeply engaged with upcoming campigns.
Trump and Miller thought if they moved fast enough, they could set up a network of human warehouses too fast for us to mobilize. They were wrong. Activists and local officials have worked together to block their plans in community after community, and we’re just getting started. This week, we have two major opportunities to plug in. ️🫂 TONIGHT, the DSA and the Detention Watch Network are holding a training from 7:30-9:00 PM on how to fight ICE detention centers. We can learn how to map our current and future prisonsheds and effectively push back here. 🫂
🫂 And TOMORROW at 8PM ET, DWN, Indivisible, Public Citizen and the Disappeared in America coalition are holding a movement call to talk about how we can show up in defense of immigrants on the Communities Not Cages Day of Action April 25th. We can sign up here and find events already scheduled near us here. 🫂
Citizens Bank is making the concentration camps possible, providing more than half a billion dollars in financing each to CoreCivic and The GEO Group. This is a choice to be complicit, and Citizens can make a different one. The De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition is building pressure on corporate leaders, with standouts ongoing, a digital week of action starting Wednesday, and a protest scheduled at the bank’s upcoming shareholder meeting in Providence on April 23rd. 🧊 On THURSDAY at 7PM ET, they’ll be holding a national mobilization call to talk about how we can get more involved in these efforts. Let’s sign up here. (We can also find more info and a toolkit about taking part in the digital actions here.) 🧊
We’re less than two months away from the World Cup, and Donald Trump has made it clear he wants it to be his show. We’re not going to settle for that. Groups like Mijente and the Working Families Party are coming together to take advantage of the World Cup as an opportunity to build power against the authoritarians and the oligarchs, pulling together watch parties and organizing at fan fests to celebrate the tournament while activating folks for the change we need. ⚽ They’re holding a mass call to talk about the Our Copa campaign and how we can get plugged in THURSDAY at 8PM ET. We can sign up for it here. (We can also join their World Cup bracket competition here!) ⚽
We never know under Trump when we’re going to wake up to a new emergency, and one of his great advantages over us is that he can keep creating new ones while we’re still responding to the last crisis. We need to get much, much better at rapid response activism. 🏃🏽 TOMORROW at 8PM ET, the ACLU is holding a training on rapid response and how to organize effectively when time is limited and stakes are high. Let’s sign up to join them here. 🏃🏽
GET SEXUAL PREDATORS OUT OF THE HOUSE, REGARDLESS OF PARTY
On Friday, a former aide to Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) told the San Francisco Chronicle they had sexual encounters while she worked for him (in and of itself a career-ending violation of House rules), and that he sexually assaulted her twice. CNN then ran a report about this staffer in which she described Swalwell leaving her bruised and bleeding, along with three other women who accused him of sexual misconduct – all of whose stories they found corroboration for. The Manhattan DA’s office has opened an investigation into the congressman.
While Democrats very quickly and overwhelmingly responded with support for the victims, rescinded endorsements, resignations from his campaign and demands for Swalwell to drop out of the governor’s race, there have been fewer voices calling for the next step: his resignation from Congress. (Although the number is growing, with at least five House Dems led by Rep. Pramila Jayapal indicating they would support his removal.)
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) is planning to force a vote in the coming days to expel Swalwell. Democrats have indicated they will respond by moving to expel Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX), who has been caught pressuring multiple female staffers for sex acts.
To cut to the chase: good. The evidence we have shows Swalwell and Gonzales are sexual predators. They cannot be trusted with power, and they should be removed from public service.
The reality that these men may be held accountable for what they’ve done only as part of a partisan tit-for-tat is a systemic failure. The evidence that Rep. Gonzales pressured an aide for sex acts and retaliated against her when their “affair” was discovered has been public for weeks. Speaker Johnson and House leadership shamelessly stood by him, and Rep. Luna wasn’t nearly as quick to force them into action. How long would this have gone on if they hadn’t found a Democrat to punish to even the score?
Powerful people are getting away with hurting folks, and their fellow insiders are protecting them from justice until it can be used to serve their broader agendas. We deserve better from our elected officials. 🗣️ Let’s reach out to our representatives with a clear message: expel Swalwell and Gonzales, and keep upholding higher standards regardless of party ID. We can find scripts and language here, or send this email via Resistbot by texting SIGN PJOBAB to 50409. 🗣️
WILL DEMOCRATIC VOTES PRESERVE TRUMP’S MASS SURVEILLANCE POWER?
Warrantless mass surveillance under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) was a civil rights disaster under presidents with much more respect for our civil rights than Donald Trump. Under this law, our government can collect and access data from foreign nationals, including any information shared by US citizens “incidentally” caught in the dragnet, without judicial review. Intelligence agencies conduct hundreds of thousands of “backdoor” searches for private communications from American citizens under Section 702 every year, and they’ve repeatedly been caught ignoring limits on them.
Under a 2024 reform bill, Section 702 is set to expire on April 20th,, one week from today. This was intended to give Congress time to negotiate necessary changes, which they haven’t done. Trump, who used to be a FISA opponent, has called for an 18-month extension of this authority without any amendments, citing his war on Iran as a reason. Privacy advocates on both sides of the aisle, who range from Oregon Senator Ron Wyden to Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert, are demanding serious reforms – as Boebert has said, “warrants or bust.” Unfortunately, there’s a strong core of mass surveillance supporters in both parties, too, and Mike Johnson is planning to bring the extension to the House floor this week.
The scrambled politics mean we have a real chance of making a successful stand against the surveillance state, but the whip count is up in the air. 🗣️ Let’s make sure we let our members of Congress know they need to take advantage of this opportunity to stop the backdoor searches – and especially urge Democrats to get this power out of Donald Trump’s hands. We can find an email tool and language from the Electronic Frontier Foundation on opposing a “clean” extension here and call scripts from 5Calls here. 🗣️
THIS WEEK’S JUDGES TO THANK
Facing threats, political pressure and a Supreme Court that has frequently not had their backs, lower court judges are still doing vitally important work to keep this administration’s power within the bounds of the law. Let’s acknowledge their work and send encouragement to keep fighting!
Judge Paul Friedman ruled that the Defense Department has been violating his earlier order to restore reporters’ access to the Pentagon. 📝 Let’s write a note or postcard to thank Judge Friedman for refusing to allow the administration to keep violating freedom of the press. 📝
Judge Paul Friedman
U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia
333 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20001
Judge Leo Sorokin blocked an attempt by the Department of Justice to access voter information in Massachusetts. This is the fifth time a judge has done so, and probably won’t be the last. 📝 Write a note or postcard to thank Judge Sorokin for continuing to protect the privacy of our information. 📝
Judge Leo Sorokin
John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Suite 6100
Boston, MA 02210
Judge Brian Murphy blocked the administration from ending temporary protected status for Ethiopians. 📝 Let’s write a note or postcard to thank Judge Murphy to thank him for protecting more than 5,000 Ethiopians in a legal immigration program from being deported. 📝
Judge Brian Murphy
John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse
1 Courthouse Way, Suite 2300
Boston, MA 02210
Judge David Joseph blocked an attempt to make it illegal for abortion medication to be sent through the mail. 📝 Let’s write a note or postcard to thank Judge Joseph for protecting reproductive rights and and safe medical means of ending unwanted pregnancies. 📝
Judge David Joseph
Court for the Western District of Louisiana
800 Lafayette St., Suite 4200
Lafayette, Louisiana 70501
Judge Richard Boulware II ruled that ICE could not incarcerate people solely on the basis they may qualify for deportation. This ruling may release thousands from prison. 📝 Let’s write a note or postcard to thank Judge Boulware for this very important decision. 📝
Judge Richard Boulware II
Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse
333 Las Vegas Blvd
South Las Vegas, NV 89101
👀 KEEPING AN EYE ON… 👀
NEWS: After 16 years, Hungarian voters oust far-right authoritarian PM Viktor Orban
NEWS: Trump purged more than 100 immigration judges in effort to speed up deportations
War powers votes likely in both Houses this week, Trump may send $98 billion request for supplemental appropriations for Iran atacks to Congress - tell MoCs to end the war, not approve a single penny
We’re now just 18 DAYS AWAY from the May Day shutdown - commit to joining, find events near us, and convince more people to be part of it
ICE is seeking to lease co-working office space in more than 100 communities nationwide - let’s see if it includes us and push owners and their agents not to sign any contracts
Public Citizen identifies 446 hospitals at risk thanks to the MAGA murder budget, let’s make sure folks in our community know we’re in danger and who’s to blame
Looking for ways to get engaged in the midterms? Here’s a full list! And here’s some ways to help with the spring elections!