Discover video-sourced quotes by politicians

Stacey Abrams: “Authoritarianism amplifies the smallest behaviors of…”

Featuring: Stacey Abrams, Democratic | Former Candidate, Governor of Georgia

Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company

Published September 8, 2025 | Video Starts at 09:58

A man threw a sandwich and faced a federal grand jury. The weight and heft of the federal government came after a man who, in a moment of panic and anger, threw a sandwich. Authoritarianism amplifies the smallest behaviors of citizenship and turns them into crimes. That's important to understand, because if you can go to jail for a sandwich, then how dare you protest in the streets? How dare you take action against how dare you sue? (09:58–10:06)

CLAIM

Asserts that authoritarian regimes criminalize minor acts of dissent.

This is an excerpt from a raw transcript. The assertions have not been audited or verified. Tap the video to view the source footage and understand the context.

Discover more from

Stacey Abrams

“We've seen the kidnappings of people in our country, including citizens.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 01:28-01:34
“When Georgia purged 471,000 voters with very clear understanding of what effect it would have on minority voters, that was step 10.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 06:12-06:22
“We are in the midst of an authoritarian regime.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 00:37-00:40
“We have an authoritarian regime where we've seen an expansion of executive power, a sublimation of competing powers, both Congress and the…”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 01:14-01:24
“We've also seen attacks on the media, attacks on communities.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 01:24-01:29
“We're also watching the military occupation of our cities.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 01:34-01:38
“We ushered in authoritarianism using democracy.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 03:11-03:15
“We have a private police operating in the United States called [ICE].”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 04:36-04:40
“We have had a court in California say, no, you cannot use the threat of emergency or the declaration of a false emergency to justify this…”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 04:57-05:08
“When Texas gerrymandered in the middle of the decade to intentionally strip people of color of their voting power and to hand power to a…”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 06:00-06:13
“Incentivizing private violence is a step in authoritarianism because it's when the state starts to co-opt the people into doing its will.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 07:49-07:58
“It's why they defunded public television. You defund public broadcasting because public broadcasting dared to tell the truth.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 10:16-10:24
“Washington, Oregon and California have said in response to the decimation of the CDC, we're going to provide public health to our people.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 15:00-15:07
“USDA food that they relied on is no longer coming.”
Stacey Abrams: "We Are in the Midst of an Authoritarian Regime" | Amanpour and Company | Uploaded September 8, 2025 | 15:10-15:14