How Blue States Can Push Back: Fighting Vigilante Laws with Policy and Economic Power
JUDJ-Prepared Summary from April 16, 2025 | Vigilante Nation: The Subversion of American Democracy
In a recent America at a Crossroads discussion, UCLA law professor Jon D. Michaels—co-author of Vigilante Nation: How State-Sponsored Terror Threatens Our Democracy—explored how blue states can resist the growing wave of right-wing “vigilante” laws spreading across red states. Michaels, an expert in constitutional and administrative law, argued that while federal institutions face increasing strain, state governments and local communities still have powerful tools to defend civil liberties. From creative legislation to economic leverage, Michaels laid out a roadmap for states to push back and protect democratic norms.
The New Face of Vigilantism
While acts of political violence often draw headlines, Michaels emphasized that some of the most insidious threats are legal—not physical. Laws like Texas’s SB8, which deputizes private citizens to sue anyone who assists with an abortion, create a chilling environment without direct government enforcement. A similar model is now being used to target gender-affirming care for trans individuals. These laws allow neighbors, co-workers, and even strangers to become enforcers of cultural and political agendas—weaponizing grievance as a legal right.
What makes this approach especially dangerous, Michaels explained, is that it doesn’t require proof of personal harm. Instead, lawsuits are justified by moral outrage, enabling a broad swath of society to surveil and punish others based on ideology.
Crossing State Lines: Exporting Red-State Policy
Red states aren’t content to keep these tactics within their own borders. Michaels warned that new laws are being drafted to punish out-of-state donors and organizations that assist with abortions or gender-affirming care—even when that care takes place in blue states. This legal overreach aims to isolate red-state residents from national support networks and force blue-state institutions into retreat.
He pointed to Kyle Rittenhouse as an example of how physical and ideological boundaries are being breached. Rittenhouse traveled from Illinois to Wisconsin to join an armed response to Black Lives Matter protests—an act now echoed by other groups seeking to disrupt events in neighboring states.
Model Laws for Blue State Resistance
Rather than retreat, Michaels urged blue states to lead. In Vigilante Nation, he and co-author David Noll outline 19 “model laws” that progressive states can adopt to counteract right-wing extremism. These include legal protections for abortion providers, sanctuary policies, and restrictions on data sharing with out-of-state prosecutors.
One of the most powerful tools, Michaels argued, is economic leverage. Using California as an example, he described how the state enacted humane farming standards that effectively forced out-of-state pork producers to change their practices—or lose access to California’s massive market. Blue states could take a similar approach with social policy, requiring companies that operate within their borders to uphold reproductive rights, LGBTQ+ protections, and anti-discrimination laws.
Funding, Universities, and Resilience
Michaels also highlighted the looming threat to public universities, particularly in red states where federal funding is being used as a political weapon. Activists aligned with Project 2025, a far-right blueprint for governance, have called for starving universities of federal dollars to undermine academic independence.
In response, Michaels posed a critical question: Can blue states and their universities prepare for a future where federal support disappears? He urged institutions to develop contingency plans, build independent funding sources, and strengthen state support to maintain educational and research infrastructure.
A Call to Action for the States
Despite the bleak national landscape, Michaels ended on a hopeful note. Blue states may not have the political power to block authoritarian shifts at the federal level, but they do have unmatched economic, cultural, and legal resources. By working together, states like California, New York, and Illinois can form a firewall—setting national standards through markets, legislation, and values.
The moment demands more than resistance, Michaels emphasized. It calls for innovation, courage, and a bold vision of democracy grounded in local action and collective strength.
About America at a Crossroads
Since April 2020, America at a Crossroads has produced weekly virtual programs on topics related to the preservation of our democracy, voting rights, freedom of the press, and a wide array of civil rights, including abortion rights, free speech, and free press. America at a Crossroads is a project of Jews United for Democracy & Justice.