When thousands of immigration agents flooded Minnesota earlier this year, a loose network of neighbors sprang into action.
They fed each other, got kids to and from school safely, and tracked the surge that tore through their communities.
After organizing block by block to monitor Donald Trump's crackdown, the same neighbors are shifting focus to a different threat: what if the president tries to steal an election?
With November's midterm elections approaching, one group that taught Minnesotans to document immigration enforcement has launched democracy defense trainings.
The sessions encourage people to knock on every neighbor's door to help them vote and, if needed, respond to attacks on the election.
"There is a general, very visceral concern that this administration is planning to ensure that the elections go their way by any means necessary," said Jess, a trainer with Unidos MN.
Jess, a former federal worker fired during Elon Musk's efficiency drive, asked to use only her first name for fear of retaliation.
Dozens of neighbors poured into a stuffy Minnesota church basement on a steamy Tuesday evening in June. They sat at tables marked with their geographical areas.
They had lived through an assault by the Trump administration that killed two local residents and deported many hundreds more.
They knew to take Trump's threats seriously and wanted to learn how to protect elections.
"We've got to make sure that everybody who wants to vote can vote, and everybody's vote is counted, and those votes and the will of the majority is respected," said David Brauer, a training leader with Monarca.
The training gets citizens thinking about what Trump and his allies could do to undermine the voting process and election results.
The exercises are theoretical but based on reality: the president has already sought to undermine California's election results and said they will be investigated.
Defending democracy is often seen as the work of election officials or nonprofits filing lawsuits.
Some states have put laws in place to fend off federal overreach, beefing up election security and informing the public to counter misinformation from the White House.
But with partisan gerrymandering and a president who denies unfavorable results, advocates say defending democracy requires all hands on deck.
The block-by-block strategy keeps eyes on election processes, since people vote by precinct where they live.
In 2020, institutional guardrails held when Trump sought to overturn the election.
Times have changed: Trump has filled his government with loyalists, and there is growing apprehension that protections may not hold.
In Minnesota, the president's threats carry weight. Organizing can feel daunting; people are burnt out after months of activism.
They worry about criminalization: the Department of Justice has charged nearly 40 people over a church protest and 15 more with conspiracy for responses to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, not to mention hundreds detained and deported.
Protect Democracy, a nonprofit, called the charges a sign of how the administration could undermine the vote.
It's part of a "disrupt" strategy to deploy federal power against opponents, said Jess Marsden, counsel and director of impact programs at Protect Democracy.
Building a Network From the Ground Up
The democracy defense trainings started in Minnesota in late April. Hundreds have signed up, according to Luis Argueta Jr, communications director of Unidos MN.
He is not aware of similar ground-level trainings elsewhere but has heard from curious groups in other states.
On the night of the training at the suburban church, there were sessions at four other Twin Cities locations, Argueta said.
Word of mouth has spread among community groups, just like with previous constitutional observing trainings.
Attacks on democracy have been a "continuous concern," with people routinely worried about immigration agents at the polls, Argueta said.
He has heard fear from newly naturalized citizens that if they vote, their loved ones who are not naturalized could be exposed.
While most immigration agents left the state, some people remain fearful of harassment or detention.
A plan to convert a private prison into a detention facility amplified worry, as did additional apprehensions this summer.
"So, what do you do?" asked Argueta.
In the church basement, Brauer told the crowd they might be "checklist people" wanting to check off five tasks and win democracy.
That's not how it works, he said.
The training aims not to solve fundamental problems but to get organized and have a plan to respond to whatever the Trump administration throws at it.
The audience shared what made them proud of Minnesota during the federal occupation and what democracy defense meant to them.
One attendee said it was motivating to see people move outside their comfort zone, even if nervous or scared.
They would need to embrace discomfort again to defend democracy.
Preparing for Uncertainty
Threats to elections are already playing out. Louisiana threw out tens of thousands of votes to redraw maps diluting Black voting power.
Republican leaders have said they want immigration agents or troops at polling places.
The federal government has seized ballots in Georgia in an endless quest to prove fraud in the 2020 election.
What defending democracy could look like on the ground isn't exactly clear.
It could be get-out-the-vote efforts, signing up as election judges, or monitoring polling places for immigration agents.
It could be protesting or lobbying local officials if they face pressure to undermine the vote.
All these conversations could come up on a neighbor's doorstep when asked what they'd be willing to do if someone attacks the vote.
The group worked through a scenario: the Department of Justice announced in August 2026 that voters needed to appear on newly issued federal voter rolls, causing confusion just before early voting.
A trainer asked what they should do and how an organized network could respond effectively.
One person said the federal government couldn't move that fast—a natural reaction, the trainer noted, because people want to argue away the threat.
Another said they would get loud and make sure Minnesota's elected leaders did the same.
Emilia González Avalos, executive director of Unidos MN, acknowledged that conversations with neighbors can be difficult, especially if there are political disagreements, but there is value in "breaking down the dehumanization amongst us as an exercise of power building."
The strength built block by block will be reflected to defend access to the polls and ensure results are ratified, she said.
"We don't need perfect leaders."
