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Our History
Before Donald Trump’s election, an informal group of trainers—many with experience working under authoritarian regimes—began asking a sobering question: what would people need if he won? One answer rose above the rest, echoed by pro-democracy movements worldwide: training. Out of those early conversations, Freedom Trainers was formed.
Today, Freedom Trainers is a decentralized network of experienced educators and organizers, including leaders from the Horizons Project, Beautiful Trouble, and Free DC. Together, we work to counter democratic backsliding by equipping people with the skills and strategies of strategic noncooperation.
Our trainings are grounded in three core pillars:
- Know the authoritarian playbook — Understanding how authoritarians consolidate power.
- Understand the pillars of support — Develop a sense of how authoritarian power is vulnerable.
- Build noncooperation skills — Developing the noncooperation practices that fracture authoritarian support.
All of our trainings draw on rigorous pro-democracy research and data, combined with popular education and direct action training. Around the world, movements that successfully resist authoritarianism invest heavily in training—and it remains one of the clearest “no-regrets” strategies for strengthening civil society and nonviolent resistance.
Since launching in 2024, Freedom Trainers has trained hundreds of thousands of committed people across the United States.
I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Our Team
Our values
- Strategic nonviolent noncooperation over state violence. We oppose state violence through strategic organizing and collective noncooperation, taking a clear and principled stand against all forms of violence and oppression.
- Solidarity across movements. We stand in solidarity with movements for equality, freedom, and liberation, and welcome all people committed to that struggle.
- Mass participation, not ideological purity. We believe resisting authoritarianism requires a mass movement—one that embraces disagreement and works with people we may not align with on every issue.
- Deep, participatory democracy. We strive for a democracy rooted in people’s wisdom, where communities have real power and direct control over their own futures.