re police state....I was in Spain for a holiday when franco was still in power.
I was staying in a small family run hotel. one day the cops with the odd leather hats, "franco's men" appeared, I think they just drove by on their motorcycles, can't remember the details of how or why.
The hotel owner froze with fear just at the sight of them. Absolute power, they simply took you away, and you disappeared. Nothing anyone could do.
Living in a free country, it made a big impression on me.
course the US is nowhere near that. But certainly Trump would admire Franco.