Donald Trump signed a new executive order that solidifies America’s status as a police state by essentially converting police officers into de facto soldiers by funding military training and equipment for them, and shielding them from culpability if (read: when) they abuse their power. It’s one of many characteristics that effectively makes America a police state. In fact, experts such as Steven Levinsky and M. Gessen have already concluded that America is no longer a democracy. Levinsky, a political scientist professor at Harvard, says America no longer meets the criteria to qualify as a liberal democracy. Gessen argues that America is a straight up police state–a conclusion he came to based on his experience living in a police state himself. In this video we’ll discuss Trump’s executive order as well as the characteristics of police states and how they operate.