Press Release: Launch of DEFIANCE.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 29, 2025
DEFIANCE.org Launches to Help Americans Push Back Against Trump’s Revenge
New club offers answer to the question “What can I do?” — and a “mutual aid” pledge to protect those targeted unlawfully.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In response to a sweeping campaign of political retaliation by the Trump administration, a coalition of national security veterans, whistleblowers, and pro-democracy leaders today announced the launch of DEFIANCE.org, the first iteration of a “club for courageous Americans” designed to help people push back peacefully, lawfully, and defiantly against presidential abuses of power.
With threats mounting against dissenters — including civil servants, nonprofit leaders, journalists, immigrants, and everyday citizens — DEFIANCE.org provides ways to fight back, from signing the Declaration of Defiance (a nationwide “mutual aid” pact to defend those under attack), to supporting trusted nonprofit partners and impact organizations, to joining peaceful protests and legal defense efforts.
In a launch video for the effort, Oscar-winning actor Robert De Niro called on Americans to get engaged. “We’re all devastated by what’s going on in our country,” De Niro said, “but you can’t just sit on your ass and wait for the insanity and cruelty to pass. You gotta stand up and fight.”
At launch, the Declaration was signed by a core group of former Democratic and Republican officials who’ve served in Congress, presidential administrations, and top nationwide posts. The pact follows similar compacts between nonprofits organizations (dubbed “NATO for nonprofits”) and an alliance of Hollywood leaders to defend each other against weaponized government.
Each month, DEFIANCE.org updates members about threats to democracy and presidential abuses of power and provides options for how to “defy” the lawlessness through trusted partners, from whistleblower protection to election integrity to defending rule of law. The project is run by a largely volunteer team committed to supporting top organizations around the country.
“You don’t beat a tyrant by standing still. You beat them by standing together,” said Miles Taylor, a former top Homeland Security official who served in the Trump administration and helped launch the initiative after being similarly targeted. “DEFIANCE.org will give Americans a playbook for defying this madness and a community that has their back.”
The site launches with a first group of partner organizations, including Whistleblower Aid, Represent.Us, and Democracy Defenders Fund.
MEDIA CONTACT: press@defiance.org
