In the last week, while the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement descends on workplaces, thousands across the country have taken to the streets in anti-ICE protests, pushing back against the ideology that children with brain cancer, breast cancer survivors, parents with newborns, third graders, and farmers keeping the economy are more terrorizing than masked federal agents who vanish people off the streets without warning, warrants, or due process.

National headlines fixate on California—where Trump has deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines in a dystopian show of force even the LAPD finds alarming—but Seattle isn’t standing still. There have been protests outside immigration courts throughout the week, and on Saturday, June 14, the same day Trump plans a self-fellating birthday parade to celebrate both his 79th year and ostensibly the 250th anniversary of our imperial war machine, more than 1,800 protests are planned nationwide, including two taking place simultaneously in Seattle: a march from Cal Anderson to Seattle Center and a rally at UW’s Red Square.

Seattleites have every reason to stay alert. Recent reports say that the administration has directed ICE to deploy special tactical units in blue cities, including here, and it’s been barely a month since SPD cracked down on counter-protesters at an anti-LGBTQ rally, while far-right agitators were given a pass. Even as protests erupt nationwide, officer conduct is scrutinized far less than the people they claim to serve and protect.

Against this backdrop, we spoke with Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown, one of the few top state officials calling out Trump’s actions for what they are: fascist. In his position, Brown, who recently threatened to sue over the administration’s latest travel ban targeting majority-Black and Brown nations, may soon be one of the only legal guardrails standing between this city and a federal agency unleashed with impunity. He talked with The Stranger about the country’s descent into fascism, his ability to fight against it.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Washington has historically declared itself a sanctuary state. What does that really mean when federal military units are being used to support ICE? How would you uphold our sanctuary commitments in that context?

Well, I generally avoid using the term “sanctuary” because it means different things to different people, and it’s not defined in any of our laws. That vagueness can be risky in terms of what people think it entails.

What I will say is this: for generations, Washington has been a state that supports immigrant and refugee communities—whether someone has legal status, temporary status, or no status. We’ve reaffirmed, through state policy, that our law enforcement agencies are here to enforce criminal law, not civil immigration law. Many local jurisdictions have taken that same approach.

We’ve seen the president try to challenge those kinds of policies elsewhere. His administration even issued a so-called list of "sanctuary jurisdictions" last week—which they quickly retracted because it was riddled with errors.

But I think two things can be true: we can keep our communities safe and enforce our laws without becoming an arm of ICE or the federal government. And honestly, most of the law enforcement officers I’ve spoken to don’t want to be immigration agents. A lot of federal law enforcement officials feel the same way—they’re being pulled into immigration work because the president is fixated on it, instead of focusing on more pressing public safety challenges.

Our laws are under scrutiny, yes, and we’re facing threats. That’s part of why I brought a lawsuit against a county sheriff in Adams County who violated the Keep Washington Working Act. We were in court on that case just today in Spokane, and I feel confident about our path forward. We are committed to defending state sovereignty and making sure our resources are used where they belong—not on attempts to erase immigrants or undocumented people from our communities.

If the federal government were to deploy the National Guard or US Marines to suppress anti-ICE protests in Washington, as has happened in California, what legal recourse would your office pursue to protect the rights of Washingtonians?

As a legal matter, at least from my observation, the president is abusing his authority once again. You can only mobilize the National Guard under very specific conditions—you need both a substantive and procedural basis to do so. From what I can tell, none of the three substantive criteria for doing so are present in this case.

And procedurally, the president is required to work through the Governor’s office. According to all the reporting and the lawsuit California filed, none of that process was followed. So, to me, it appears clearly illegal.

If the same fact pattern were to happen here in Washington, we’d likely be in a very similar legal position to California—and I expect we’d challenge it too. If there were a truly substantive situation that required federal assistance, and if the president followed the law and worked with the Governor here to coordinate deployment, that might be legal. But if he acted here as he did in California, we would absolutely challenge it.

Can the Attorney General’s Office intervene if federal authorities begin detaining activists or organizers under the guise of “national security” or “immigration enforcement”? What limits (if any) exist on that power?

Yes and yes.

First, I think it's essential that people continue to protest and have their voices heard. Communities are rightly energized and scared right now—and they should not cower in the face of that fear. We need to preserve the spirit of protest, but we also have to be smart about how we do it. We don’t want to hand the president an excuse to escalate things, as he has in California.

We’re monitoring what’s happening in other states and doing everything we can to support our partners, including the Governor’s office. We're trying to assess what might unfold this weekend. Now, we don’t represent individuals, but we do have a duty to defend state law and state authority. If federal officials violate our laws or people's rights, we have a role to play. What that looks like will depend on the specifics.

Look, immigration enforcement has existed for over a century. Previous administrations, including Biden’s and those before him, have deported people. But what we’re seeing now is something different. It’s authoritarian. We're talking about people being kidnapped off the street, visas revoked for speaking out, workplace raids that disregard human dignity. That demands a much more urgent and active response from state officials.

Are you in communication with city attorneys or local mayors about a united legal response should ICE, CBP, or the military begin coordinating actions in their jurisdictions?

Not specifically in response to what might happen this week, but yes—we’re in regular communication, especially with larger jurisdictions where more of this activity tends to occur. I spoke with the Mayor this morning about the situation in California and what that might signal for us.

Sometimes we join legal challenges together. More often, we coordinate with other states on lawsuits, since each AG has different responsibilities. Information-sharing and collaboration are important, even if we’re not always signing on to the same litigation.

This county has a long and painful history of federal force being used to suppress Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and working-class communities—from the civil rights movement to Standing Rock. Have you taken any lessons from that history in shaping your approach today?

Absolutely. I was really struck this morning watching the president say that protesters will be met with “huge force.” We’ve gotten numb to his rhetoric, but we shouldn't be.

The idea of a president so reflexively opposed to protest and First Amendment rights—especially in light of our history—is terrifying. The communities most targeted by authoritarianism are always the most vulnerable. Trump has built his political career on attacking communities of color, dehumanizing marginalized people, and fostering a culture that legitimizes hate.

One of the reasons I value being a lawyer is because, during the civil rights era, the courts were a bedrock of progress. The Supreme Court was—at times—an institution the Black community could turn to for protection of our rights. We’re not in that moment now. The Court is moving in the wrong direction. But the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education, of district judges ruling in favor of the least powerful—that matters. It shows what’s possible.

That’s why I believe attorneys general have a vital role right now. We have tools to fight back. I said this recently, and I don’t say it lightly, but I don’t know how anyone can look at the last five months and not start to see fascism. The suppression of dissent, the rewriting of history, the targeting of opponents—these are textbook signs. We have to oppose this with every legal and moral tool we have.

I recently spoke with a woman—she's been a US citizen for over 40 years. English isn’t her first language, and she told me she’s scared to leave her home. She’s brown-skinned, and for the first time, she said she’s afraid to attend a protest because she might be profiled, abducted, or disappeared. So this is less a question for the attorney general and more for you as a citizen: What would you say to someone like her—someone who feels like the government no longer protects them, and maybe never did?

First, I’d say: this moment is not her responsibility.

People like her shouldn’t have to carry the burden of fixing this. I don’t want to minimize her fear—it’s absolutely real. When the president, the Secretary of Defense, and the US Attorney General are all leaning into authoritarianism, the last thing we should do is expect those most at risk to stand on the front lines.

We will get past Trump. This country will survive. But our moral fabric—that can unravel quickly. And it’s going to take more than lawyers to repair it.

Those of us in safer positions must step up. We have to be the voices for those who are afraid. We have to tell the truth about what’s happening—loudly and often—because we’re already losing our grip on it.