Federal agents at Detroit Metro Airport detained attorney Amir Makled for 90 minutes. They asked him about his clients. They asked to search his phone.
Why? Because he represents a pro-Palestinian protester arrested at the University of Michigan.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Makled refused to turn over his phone, citing attorney-client privilege. But the message was clear: represent the “wrong” person, and you might be next.
This is not an isolated incident. It’s part of a dangerous pattern. It’s evidence of our quickening slide into authoritarianism. When the authorities target lawyers just for doing their jobs, democracy is on life support.
Federal judges are also being targeted for doing their jobs—facing threats, doxxing, and even having pizzas delivered to their homes as intimidation tactics. And let’s not forget the executive orders targeting specific law firms.
This is what authoritarianism looks like. It doesn’t arrive overnight. It creeps in under the guise of “national security,” “patriotism,” or “just doing our jobs.”
History gives us warnings. The Gestapo didn’t start by breaking down doors. They started by making it dangerous to speak, to defend, to dissent.
If lawyers can’t represent clients and judges can’t issue rulings without fear of retaliation, the rule of law collapses—and democracy becomes performance theater.
We cannot shrug this off. We cannot normalize it. This is simply not acceptable. Period.
Speak up. Call it out. Demand better. Because silence isn’t neutrality. It’s complicity. It’s surrender.
