Our Declaration
A U.S. flag proclaiming “We the people” at the 2025 May Day rally in Boston. Photo from a Mass 50501 volunteer.
In the course of a nation’s history, it is important to sometimes reflect on the values of the nation. We take it upon ourselves, in the sestercentennial of these United States, to hold such an opportunity.
Two hundred and fifty years ago, the founders of this nation declared their independence from Great Britain, and with it, rejected monarchy as a method of government. They did so because they rightly determined that such a style of government was incompatible with promoting the interests of its subjects and defending their natural rights, and instead tended towards abuse of power and violence against the citizenry. In its place they eventually established, on their own authority, a new government based on democratic elections, constitutional guarantees, and the separation of powers.
The history of the current President is a history of abuses intended to discard, or otherwise reject these ideas. All together, his actions have amounted to an attempted establishment of tyranny over these States, causing direct harm to us, the inhabitants. We submit these facts as proof:
Doge Efficiency. Original art by Mike B.
He has closed entire departments of the government in violation of Federal law.
He has attempted to rewrite Federal law, and even the Constitution, through executive fiat.
His administration has repeatedly ignored court orders while breaking existing law, making a mockery of the separation of powers ordained by the Constitution.
He has sought dominion over independent regulatory agencies in an attempt to centralize power within his office.
A sign from “Hands Off” in Boston, April 5, 2025. Photo from a Mass 50501 volunteer.
He has purged the public service, and encouraged those who remain to serve himself over the citizenry.
He has sent lawyers to harass his political opponents with meritless prosecutions.
He has bullied independent law firms, diminishing their ability to do work which is adverse to the government’s aims.
Activists proclaiming “No Kings,” “No Tariffs,” and “No ICE” at the December 16, 2025, Boston ICE Tea Party. Photo from a Mass 50501 volunteer.
He has imposed taxes, in the form of tariffs, without consent from the people’s representatives.
He has further restricted our trade with all parts of the world through illegal proclamations.
He has illegally withheld Congressionally-appropriated funds, taking for himself the power of the purse.
He has sold presidential pardons in exchange for money.
He has profusely lied to the public, abusing the pulpit of his office.
He has put personal profit above the national interest by accepting upwards of two billion dollars in payment from actors foreign and domestic while in office, violating the Constitution’s emolument clause.
Birthday Boy. Original art by Al and Kat.
He has attempted to funnel billions of dollars to his political allies at the taxpayer’s expense.
He has weakened our alliances, making the Nation more vulnerable to foreign threats.
He has ordered extrajudicial killings in the Caribbean by the military.
To those lawmakers who reminded soldiers of their duty to refuse such unlawful orders, he has made accusations of sedition, and threatened their lives.
He has commanded an invasion of a sovereign nation, and captured their leader without notifying Congress, usurping Congress’s constitutional war-making authority.
He has at times, through abusive command of the National Guard, effectively created standing armies without the consent of State governments.
Justice Blind ICE Lost. Original art by Jezzie.
He has hired a multitude of new officers in the name of “immigration enforcement,” and sent swarms of them to harass our people.
He has obstructed the laws of naturalization of foreigners, discouraging others to migrate here.
He has imprisoned immigrants for their speech, in violation of their First Amendment rights.
He has swiftly moved detained immigrants to jurisdictions far from their families and attorneys and imprisoned them in inhumane conditions in order to weaken their resolve, in the process depriving them not just of their due process rights, but their unalienable right to pursue happiness in these lands.
He has transported people beyond seas for pretended offenses.
Constitutional Plane. Original art by Mike B.
He has, through his command of Federal agents, caused the blood of citizens to be spilled on American streets, an unconscionable and unforgivable act.
He has further shielded the offending officers from punishment for the murders they committed on the inhabitants of these States.
He has cast doubt on legitimate election results which do not serve his interests, and incited domestic insurrection against a duly elected government.
He has turned the American people against each other, and released those guilty of assaulting the People’s house to walk among us unpunished and unrehabilitated.
Discount Democracy. Original art by Blue Cat.
Through these actions, the President has harkened back to the rule of King George which inspired the founding of this nation, and has marked himself unfit to rule. Our predecessors responded to regal offenses with violence. This moment does not call for the same reaction, but it does demand us to act. As Alexander Hamilton once wrote,
“If the federal government should overpass the just bounds of its authority and make a tyrannical use of its powers, the people, whose creature it is, must appeal to the standard they have formed, and take such measures to redress the injury done to the Constitution as the exigency may suggest and prudence justify.”
An activist protesting in Plymouth on June 5, 2025. Photo from a Mass 50501 volunteer.
Here, we make clear our standards, and declare our measures of redress:
We hold it true that the American people are entitled to certain rights that must not be abrogated by the government. When the government becomes intolerable of those rights, it is the responsibility of the people to do what they must to safeguard their protection for themselves, for their descendants, and for all others who will eventually call this land home.
We hold that nobody should be above the law, and neither should anyone be unjustly pressed beneath it.
We hold that democracy is in all ways preferable to absolute centralized authority, and that the Constitution applies regardless of the officeholder; While the American system has not always supported the ideals expressed in this document, through our commitment, a more perfect society can be brought forth.
Activists proclaiming the power of We the People at a June 9, 2025, rapid-response protest in support of SEIU president David Huerta after his detention by ICE. Photo from a Mass 50501 volunteer.
We hold it true that The People are the ultimate masters over their government.
With these values in our minds and hearts, we make the following declarations: We declare that we shall demand and protect free and fair elections, and honor their outcomes; that we shall elect representatives who respect the basic equality of the people; that we shall defend our liberties against encroachment; and that We, The People, will enforce the Constitution as its ultimate guarantors. Where the Constitution is insufficient to deliver on the promises made by a just government to its people, we shall amend it as necessary through the established processes.
Mass 50501 is a nonviolent, nonpartisan nonprofit organization that focuses on community organizing to defend everyone’s rights and liberties and to resist tyrannical and unconstitutional actions. You can read more about our stated values here. Join us on Discord!
Participants in Boston’s 2025 Pride celebration. Photo from a Mass 50501 volunteer.
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