Experts who study protest movements say the scenes unfolding in California broadly follow a script that has played out many times in other countries — sometimes with deadly consequences.
Crackdowns shape optics, and optics shape uprisings.
Heavy-handed responses can lead to more violent protests.
Crackdowns can be steppingstones to wider power grabs.
This was Trump’s playbook all along. And an old one that we’ve seen from authoritarian regimes.