The future you're about to see may only be moments away.
President Trump has frequently criticized American cities, including San Francisco, as “unlivable.”
“Something must be done before it is too late,” he’s said. “Next time, I’m not waiting.”
He's vowed to invoke the broad powers of the Insurrection Act, sending in troops to suppress protest, assert authority, and enforce deportations.
If he makes good on this pledge, the following scenario might also become real, stories of occupation and resistance across San Francisco—or any city in defiance.
It could start next year, or next month—or next week. One weekend of unrest is enough to set this story in motion.
Even as local authorities quickly regain control, viral images of flames create an impression of urban chaos.
San Francisco, already an “enemy” of the Trump administration, braces for an overwhelming federal response.
By the next evening, the President declares San Francisco “ungovernable” and orders troops to “reclaim the city.”
“The people,” he predicts, “will be so grateful.”
The local response is immediate: a protest march, on a scale not seen in generations. The city's diverse communities unite against the coming crackdown on democracy and dissent.
Point of no return
The largest protest in San Francisco since the Vietnam War erupted yesterday as 150,000 marched against President Trump's military occupation of the city under the Insurrection Act. Troops deployed to "reclaim the city" opened fire to disperse the crowd; at least 11 were killed, 237 injured, and thousands arrested. A citywide curfew signals the start of an entrenched military presence, as commanders prepare to outline their plans tomorrow.
“These weren’t rioters, they were Americans peacefully exercising their rights. When the shots erupted, all I could think was, how do we, as a country, come back from this?”
As the crackdown unfolds, the real goal becomes clear...
Mission objectives
General Marc Kershaw stands at San Francisco City Hall to announce “Operation Golden Glory” following President Trump's invocation of the Insurrection Act targeting the city. The president's broad directive—quell protests, restore order, aid deportations—has stirred fears of a de facto federal occupation.
“I couldn’t help but wonder if this is how it starts—symbols swapped overnight, a military commander at the mayor’s podium, flanked by soldiers instead of local leaders. His words were all about cooperation, but I kept thinking—if this is cooperation, what does control look like?”
The visitors quickly make their presence known...
Occupation inbound
Troops commandeer San Francisco’s iconic Powell-Hyde cable cars for military transport. Local leaders condemn the move as a blatant display of dominance, while a guerrilla network of transit workers reportedly scrambles to sabotage operations.
“We're hearing rumors that soldiers are conflicted about being deployed here, but doubts won’t stop the bloodshed. It’s already started, and this city will resist at every turn.”
Dissent itself is soon a punishable offense...
Denying democracy
Protesters scatter downtown as a military Humvee deploys the Active Denial System, a microwave-based weapon that induces excruciating pain. Designed for overseas crowd control, the technology has now made its domestic debut in San Francisco. Civil rights groups warn its use against legally-assembled demonstrations signals a chilling disregard for constitutional freedoms.
“I kept thinking: this wasn’t about breaking up a protest—it was about breaking the protesters themselves. What’s left of democracy when the tools of war silence the basic right to dissent?”
For many, the stakes are even higher...
Papers, please
Rosa, 62, clutches her granddaughter as soldiers demand information at her Mission District home. As city and state sanctuary policies impede federal access to local jails, military units now scour neighborhoods, fraying the community's social fabric and leaving neighbors wary of each other and fearful of informants.
“I first noticed her outstretched arms, somewhere between a hug and a plea. But the soldiers were just as unsure as the girl. I later learned that Rosa refused to answer any of their questions, standing her ground in an act of quiet defiance.”
The scale of arrests begins to reshape the city...
Parks & requiem
Hundreds of arrested protestors are held in a makeshift detention center quickly erected in Dolores Park. Detainees report being subjected to biometric scans and extensive photographing, sparking fears of a permanent federal registry targeting dissenters—a digital ‘blacklist’.
“The sign caught my eye first—‘Civic Processing Center'—a euphemism so sanitized that it completely masked the horror inside. People used to gather here to celebrate life. Now it’s where freedom meets a quiet death.”
Solidarity soon reaches far beyond city limits...
A State of union
Rio, 19, holds up a California flag amidst smoke and chaos in downtown San Francisco. Rio is one of hundreds reported to have traveled here from across the state to join local resistance networks.
“Rio casually said home was Bakersfield, like it was no big to drive hundreds of miles into a war zone. ‘This is all California's fight,’ they told me with such a sense of conviction. I couldn’t stop thinking about how young they were—how this generation’s first war is against their own government.”
And some just have defiance in their DNA...
Fierce resistance
Soldiers detain drag queen “Col. Lateral Glamage” during a satirical protest in San Francisco’s Castro District. The unchecked scope of the military's occupation has emboldened pervasive homophobia and transphobia among troops, fueling targeted harassment and detentions in LGBTQ spaces.
“This is what queerness knows: how to survive, how to resist, how to thrive. The Colonel didn’t surrender—she turned this moment into proof that we will outlast them.”
As barricades rise in the city of bridges...
Gated community
A soldier inspects the green card of a woman at a gated checkpoint in San Francisco’s Richmond District. Witnesses report that even legal residents are being harassed under vague accusations of fraudulent documentation. As barriers and checkpoints multiply, residents fear a future where every move requires military approval.
“Her ID said she belonged, but the gate and interrogation said otherwise. Every interaction with them feels like a test with no right answers . How long can people hold out when the rules aren’t just unfair—they’re unknowable?”
When your new home starts looking like the one you fled...
Land of the free
Rana, 21, grips the fence of a detention camp in Duboce Park. Her family fled Syria years ago, escaping a regime known for crushing dissent with mass arrests and indefinite detention. Now, after being arrested at a student protest, she finds herself facing the same tactics in the country her family hoped would provide refuge.
“I got as close to the fence as I could without drawing attention. Her anger was evident, but even stronger was her sense of betrayal: ‘We came here to escape brutal authority. How is this any different?’"
Only here could resistance take such unexpected forms...
A habit of defiance
Sister Chaos Divine, a member of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, applies makeup to a deserting soldier inside a San Francisco safe house. The disguises are part of an underground effort to help AWOL troops evade arrest while also tricking facial recognition surveillance. Resistance sources say the number of soldiers deserting has steadily increased as doubts about enforcing orders grow.
“The Sister joked that their makeup had a special ingredient—empathy. It made perfect sense. The Sisters have been defying oppressive norms for decades—sex, gender, religion—so of course they're here on the frontlines as their hometown takes on tyranny.”
Across town, they had thought they were safe...
Collateral damage
A toddler sits amidst the wreckage of a mistaken raid on his family’s Excelsior home in San Francisco. Federal troops, acting on faulty intelligence, admitted to targeting the wrong address—one of many errors eroding support for the operation as its indiscriminate nature becomes clear.
“The kid looked at me with eyes full of questions I couldn’t answer. 'If you’ve done nothing wrong, you have nothing to fear,' we’ve been told over and over. But this raid proved that when power is unaccountable, no one is safe.”
Fear is no longer a consequence, it's the goal...
Disappearing act
Eduardo Ramirez, 62, adds his daughter Maria’s photo to a Mission District wall as the faces of arrested protesters and undocumented immigrants stare back. Each photo tells a story of resistance or refuge, both now criminalized under Operation Golden Glory.
“Every photo up there was a warning: this is what happens if you resist. The goal wasn’t just to stop protests today; it was to make people too afraid to even think of starting one tomorrow.”
This city never breaks, it only burns brighter...
Oro en Paz, Fierro en Guerra
Through a haze of smoke and tear gas, a protestor raises the unofficial ‘Fog & Gold’ flag of San Francisco, a symbol of defiance on a night of widespread insurgency. Hours earlier, resistance fighters crippled military communications, leaving troops disoriented and retreating. Whether this marks a turning point or a fleeting triumph remains to be seen.
“She lifted the flag and it hit me: this city isn't just a place that endures, it's a force that defies. Anyone who thinks San Francisco is beaten doesn't know its story or its spirit.”
About the Project
Insurrection: An American Future is a groundbreaking work of speculative fiction that examines the consequences of a second Trump administration's deployment of military force against American cities. Grounded in well-documented plans and public statements, it reveals a deeply plausible scenario: the use of federalized troops under the Insurrection Act to suppress dissent and assert control over local governance.
The project unfolds through a series of photojournalistic scenes that capture both sweeping confrontations and intimate human moments from a city under siege, revealing how unchecked federal power would reshape neighborhoods, communities, and individual lives. Each image draws on documentary photography traditions to ground speculation in emotional truth, allowing viewers to grasp the human stakes of political threats that can feel distant until they arrive. The narrative weaves together acts of oppression and resistance, courage and fear, demonstrating how a city's diverse communities might respond when democratic institutions fail to protect them.
At the heart of this speculation lies the Insurrection Act—a dangerously broad and ill-defined executive power often described as "a loaded gun for any president." While historically reserved for grave threats to republic stability, reports from across the political spectrum indicate that President Trump and his advisors plan to expand its use domestically, transforming it from an emergency measure into a tool for suppressing constitutionally protected protest. The project asks viewers to confront how this unprecedented use of force would impact the survival of an open society rooted in debate, diversity, and the right to dissent.
The project's creative approach merges generative AI techniques with meticulous photojournalistic refinement to achieve striking authenticity. This pioneering approach demonstrates how emerging tools can democratize who gets to tell stories about the future, allowing new voices to envision how democracy might be transformed or disrupted. Through its synthesis of documentary techniques, speculative storytelling, and technological innovation, the project sparks urgent public conversations about the kind of nation we are becoming and the choices we face in shaping its future.
Please note: Insurrection: An American Future is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either products of the creator's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Contact
For general feedback: info [at] insurrectionactfuture [dot] org
For media inquiries: media [at] insurrectionactfuture [dot] org
About the Creator
Jason Tester is a strategic futurist and speculative designer focused on helping individuals and organizations explore future possibilities. Originally from the Midwest, Jason has lived in San Francisco for the past 24 years.
References
Charlie Savage, Jonathan Swan, and Maggie Haberman. “Deploying on U.S. Soil: How Trump Would Use Soldiers Against Riots, Crime and Migrants” New York Times, August 17 2024
William A. Galston. “Fix the Insurrection Act Before a Trump Inauguration” Wall Street Journal, February 27 2024
David French. “It’s Time to Fix America’s Most Dangerous Law” New York Times, December 3 2023
Alex Tausanovitch. "The Dangers of Deploying the Military on U.S. Soil" Lawfare, September 12, 2024
Joseph Nunn. “Trump Wants to Use the Military Against His Domestic Enemies. Congress Must Act.” Brennan Center for Justice, November 17 2023
Isaac Arnsdorf, Josh Dawsey, and Devlin Barrett. “Trump and Allies Plot Revenge, Justice Department Control in a Second Term” The Washington Post, November 6 2023
Brett Wagner. “Trump Said He Plans to Declare Martial Law. Here’s What That Would Look Like” San Francisco Chronicle, January 31 2024
Gary Fields. “Trump Hints at Expanded Role for the Military Within the US. A Legacy Law Gives Him Few Guardrails” AP News, November 26 2023
Joe Gould. “Trump Wants to Send Troops to the Inner Cities. A Top Senator Wants to Rein Him In” Politico, January 24 2024
Charlie Savage and Michael Gold. “Trump Confirms Plans to Use the Military to Assist in Mass Deportations” New York Times, November 18 2024
Tim Elfrink. “Safety and Ethics Worries Sidelined a ‘Heat Ray’ for Years. The Feds Asked About Using It on Protesters” The Washington Post, September 17 2020
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