Former Attorney General Eric Holder accused President Donald Trump’s administration of trying to “re-segregate America” during an event to honor Martin Luther King Jr. on Monday.
“We are seeing a sustained effort to eradicate the Voting Rights Act. That is the crown jewel — the crown jewel — of the Civil Rights Movement and an essential part of Dr. King’s legacy,” Holder said.
He made the comment in a speech at the Annual MLK Day Legislative Breakfast in Washington, D.C. Holder — who served as AG for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2015 — was flanked by MS NOW host Rev. Al Sharpton while he said the Trump administration was working to hurt Black Americans.
“We are experiencing unprecedented mid-decade Gerrymandering attempts to disproportionately disenfranchise Black and Brown voters as the president desperately clings to power like an insecure dictator,” he said. “There is a concerted effort to re-segregate America.”
Holder’s provocative statement comes as Democrats and Republicans have both been pushing to change voting maps in multiple states heading into the 2026 midterms.
Politico reported last week the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais — which a federal court ruled likely violated the Voting Rights Act — could weaken the 1965 legislation and “open the door to redrawing congressional maps, particularly across the South. Court watchers expect at least a partial win for conservatives that could let the GOP draw more seats for themselves by erasing Black- and Hispanic-majority districts.”
Holder ripped the Trump administration for its attempts to deport illegal immigrants as well. He accused Trump’s “lackeys” of using “Gestapo tactics” in Minnesota and other states — adding another example of Democrats comparing ICE to Nazi Germany.
He also urged the crowd to honor Renee Good, the protester who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Minneapolis earlier this month.
“You all remember the name Renee Good. And you say her name. You say her name,” Holder told the crowd.
Watch above via C-SPAN.
