Waging Nonviolence

09/23/2025

The attempt to silence late-night host Jimmy Kimmel has backfired in a big way, with Disney/ABC now reversing the “indefinite suspension” it announced last week. This important victory over the Trump administration’s efforts to suppress free speech provides insight into the workings of nonviolent noncooperation and how it can effectively defend democracy on its most critical fronts.

Still, Kimmel’s reinstatement today shouldn’t breed complacency. What we’ve seen is the power of the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, to approve mergers and how that gives the executive branch dangerous leverage over media. Though it was unsuccessful in this instance, movements need to stay vigilant and be willing to take action to prevent further efforts to consolidate power.

A popular tool used in nonviolent trainings, called the pillars of support, provides a helpful framework for understanding what just happened. The model examines how regimes source and maintain power. The pillars that prop up any government include security forces, the bureaucracy and business leaders, as well as educational, religious and media institutions. In authoritarian systems, controlling the media pillar is crucial, as it allows regimes to shape public narratives.

In this case, the FCC leveraged a merger that would affect Disney/ABC in order to push Kimmel off the air, and exert control over the media pillar. But it’s crucial to understand that what’s happening isn’t just about the media. Kimmel’s now temporary suspension isn’t a “one-off” thing. It’s bigger than that. It’s part of a trail of actions designed to dismantle any institution that could challenge the regime in the court of public opinion. It’s the culmination of a long-term strategy by the administration to consolidate power across multiple pillars of support at all costs.

All these actions work together: They remove lawyers who might challenge them, silence federal employees who could speak out, and empower police forces that could potentially pivot to suppress protest under the guise of “obstructing immigration enforcement.” It all forms part of the same strategy: systematically consolidating all sources of power under an authoritarian regime and eliminating every mechanism society uses for self-correction.

And yet, in light of all these dangerous developments, Jimmy Kimmel will be back on the air.

The speed and intensity of the backlash against the suspension demonstrated that pillars of support have many facets. Our swift and widespread opposition showed that just because corporate bosses value their stock prices more than free speech, that doesn’t mean ordinary people have to. The reversal wasn’t an act of corporate consciousness — it was a strategic retreat as they began to understand that their media conglomerates are ultimately accountable to the people.