One thing I’ve found strange, as a longtime observer and recent member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is the leftist group doesn’t seem to do a lot of messaging about the need to lock up the fascist criminals in President Donald Trump’s administration. I generally associate these kinds of demands with mainstream liberals who watch MS Now or alienated conservatives who read The Bulwark. And, yet, punishing such authoritarian lawbreakers for their domestic and international crimes is essential in my view. Without severe consequences, Republicans have demonstrated they will simply continue to radicalize.

When I wrote this on DSA’s internal forums, I was met by a good deal of trolling, as I’d recently caused a bit of a stir by arguing the socialist group should vote against self-avowed Marxist-Leninists seeking positions of DSA leadership, as Stalinism and its descendant ideologies were unapologetically anti-democratic. One person asked, who was the Marxist Leninist now? Needless to say, prosecuting Trump and his cronies who have genuinely tried to overthrow the limited self-government we have is very different from Stalinist show trials. I don’t think these objections were made in good faith, so they’re not worth dwelling on.

One argument that appeared to be made in earnest was that DSA has committed itself to police and prison abolition, so the organization calling for fascist gangsters to be locked up would be hypocritical. For what it’s worth, I don’t consider myself an abolitionist in this sense. Even if police and prisons are dramatically transformed and called something else, I believe there will always be a need for people to enforce the law and a place to confine those who violently break it. While I’m all for forgiveness, if abolitionism is preventing you from supporting legal consequences for an aspiring dictator and his conspirators, who are unleashing terror at home and abroad, you should reconsider your politics.

That said, most of those writing on the forums seemed to agree prosecuting leaders of the Make America Great Again movement was necessary and that, for whatever reason, DSA didn’t seem to be making this demand a priority. A number of people added messaging on the subject would be immensely popular with the Democratic Party base, which is hungry for justice when it comes to Republican malfeasance. Political layups don’t get much easier. DSA should take the opportunity to give mainstream liberals what they want, while distinguishing the organization from the do-nothing, Democratic establishment.

All political progress in this country is contingent on beating back the current fascist menace. The experience of President Joe Biden’s administration shows that attempts to turn the page on fascist criminality without imposing stiff legal consequences will only result in the far right coming back stronger and more radicalized. Most Democratic politicians are conflict-averse. Unless there is an overwhelming drumbeat within the party’s base demanding accountability for Trump and his coterie of fascist gangsters, liberal politicians will repeat the mistakes of Biden’s administration. DSA should be beating this drum as hard as it can.

Jon Hochschartner lives in Connecticut. He is the author of a number of books, including The Animals’ Freedom Fighter: A Biography of Ronnie Lee, Founder of the Animal Liberation Front. Visit his blog at SlaughterFreeAmerica.Substack.com.