Human Rights Watch warns US heading to 'authoritarianism'

Jack Dickinson, dressed in a chicken costume, looks to other protesters outside a United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Portland, Oregon, Monday, Oct. 20, 2025. JENNY KANE / AP

Human Rights Watch warned Wednesday, February 4 that President Donald Trump was turning the United States into an authoritarian state as democracy declines globally to its lowest ebb in four decades.

Trump's return to the White House has intensified a "downward spiral" on human rights that was already under pressure from Russia and China, the New York-based advocacy and research group said in its annual report. "The rules-based international order is being crushed," HRW said.

In the US, the group said, Trump has shown "blatant disregard for human rights and egregious violations."

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