Federal agents detain a protester during clashes after the fatal shooting of a demonstrator earlier in the day, on Sunday in Minneapolis, Minn.KEREM YUCEL/AFP/Getty Images

In 1935, American author Sinclair Lewis published It Can’t Happen Here, a dystopian novel about the rise of a populist demagogue named Berzelius (Buzz) Windrip, who becomes the U.S. president after cultivating a cult following for his nationalism, anti-elitism and quixotic promises. Windrip was fixated on restoring domestic production of material goods and hated the press.

He establishes a paramilitary force called the “Minute Men,” or “M.M.,” who are initially primarily made up of retired military personnel, but grow to include farmers, industrial workers and even former criminals, all of whom appear to revel in the opportunity to wield control and power over their fellow citizens. M.M. officers spy for the state and violently break up protests, and as Windrip’s presidency metastasizes into authoritarianism, they arrest and execute perceived dissidents with complete impunity. The regime justifies these actions by claiming the M.M. only targets malicious agitators: “The way to stop crime is to stop it!” Windrip declares to great fanfare.

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