The USIP launched a chaotic, short-lived uprising against Elon Musk’s government efficiency (DOGE) on Monday, stumbling its own buildings and communications infrastructure in a failed attempt to resist the Trump administration’s takeover, sources told the Daily Color News Foundation exclusively.

The standoff comes from President Donald Trump’s February 19th Presidential Order It calls for dramatic downsizing of numerous federally funded organizations, and explicitly requires USIP to reduce its business and personnel to the minimum required by law. The administration determined that the institute leaders were not complying with the directive under George Moose, and Trump led Moose to replace the official Kenneth Jackson senior from USAID on Friday. (Related: Doge won the American Institute of Peace Leaders after not enacting peace)

Mr. Moose denied legal access to Kenneth Jackson, acting president of USIP (approved by the USIP committee). @dcpolicedept We arrived on the property and escorted Mr. Jackson into the building. The only illegal individual was Mr. Moose. https://t.co/fy8hjclx9e pic.twitter.com/yqq81qnkxm

– Government Efficiency Bureau (@doge) March 18, 2025

USIP leadership coordinated widespread internal sabotage before Doge officials arrived to implement Trump’s mandated leadership changes, according to Trump administration officials involved in the USIP leadership transition that requested anonymity.

Contrary to previous reports Washington Post and New York TimesThis claims that the lab simply locked the door, and photographic evidence obtained exclusively by DCNF shows that the lock was physically removed from the external door, effectively destroying the entry mechanism. Officials said USIP staff had removed the lock.

Additionally, staff contacted the Washington Metropolitan Police Station (MPD) to prevent Doge staff from entering, citing barricade doors and security concerns. MPD officer later Confirmed These obstacles upon arrival further credit the claim that USIP was only involved in passive resistance. Much of USIP’s leadership, including Moose, barricaded the building’s fifth floor, closed window tints and blocked access points in a final groove effort to resist Doge’s entry, officials told DCNF.

The blockage did not end with the damaged door. Before Monday’s conflict, USIP leaders disabled telephone lines, internet connections and other IT infrastructure, forcing communication between staff, according to officials. This deliberate effort to disrupt the operation delayed the entry for Doge, adding to the confusion during Monday’s standoff.

The flyers distributed internally further revealed an organized planned resistance strategy. “We will greet guests, but do not engage in conversation and notify the eu during the death immediately,” read Flyers and explicitly refer to the included expected Doge officials, photos and names. DCNF only obtained such flyers, including photos inside the security booth outside the building. The flyers were posted throughout the facility in preparation for Monday’s conflict, officials said.

(Left) A photo of a flyer widely distributed throughout the American Peace Headquarters Association prior to the arrival of the Trump administration. (Right) Photo taken in Washington, DC on March 18, 2025, depicting the same flyer supported by the window of a security guard booth outside USIP’s headquarters (Thomas English/Daily Caller News Foundation)

Further strengthening the intentional and calculated nature of the rebellion, an internal memo obtained solely by the DCNF, titled “External Agent Visitor Procedures,” on February 6, outlined a detailed contingency plan to resist attempts in the Trump administration’s leadership transition. The document advocates USIP’s discretion on its facilities, security protocols and access controls, and supports the leadership’s belief that it can deny external supervision.

It also assumes control over the laboratory’s own physical infrastructure, and believes leadership has the authority to disable security systems, destroy locks, and otherwise render buildings unable to act as a means of resistance. The document confirms the advanced plans more than 10 days before Trump incites the executive order, contradicting the appearance of Monday’s showdown as a voluntary, purely reactionary resistance.

The opening salvo for Executive Branch-Usip Clash came on Friday night when newly appointed USIP president Jackson came. It’s arrived At the headquarters of Doge staff and FBI agents to force changes to Trump’s leadership, officials said. USIP’s lawyers apparently recognised the faces of several people from the flyers, recognising the orders were illegal and invalid, urging Trump officials to withdraw at night. Over the weekend, Moose and other USIP leaders strengthened the resistance plot by holding emergency meetings and firing the institute’s security contractor (a company called Inter-con) to block Doge access. This was illegal by administrative officials. Intercon declined to comment.

By Monday afternoon, Doge officials had returned to USIP headquarters, denied entry and urged lab staff to call MPD. Staff were hoping that police officers would oppose the Trump administration’s attempt to take over. Instead, MPD officers arrived in response to complaints from US lawyers in DC Ed Martin’s office. According to For police report. MPD officers entered the facility through emergency stairs after encountering the tints of the building’s fifth floor windows and barricaded doors, and eventually escorted moose and other holdout staff off-site. The US Lawyer’s Office declined to comment.

“Eighteen board members have been legally removed, and the remaining board members have appointed Kenneth Jackson’s representative president,” White House assistant reporter Anna Kelly previously told DCNF. “No fraudulent bureaucrats will be allowed to hold agencies hostages. The Trump administration will enforce the president’s executive body and ensure that his agency is held accountable to the American people.”

First Report by the New York Times Proposed Trump administration officials explicitly rebutted this, but the FBI administration explicitly rebutted it, but continued FBI involvement came on Monday, only briefly present during the first Friday evening attempt by FBI agents to implement compliance.

This conflict represents a unique dramatic example of bureaucratic rebellion against the president’s orders. That’s when police disbanded the moment they arrived to install legal alternatives despite thorough planning and internal coordination. By Monday evening, Jackson and other Trump-appointed leaders had assumed unquestioning control over the Peace Institute, wasting the efforts of former stewards to resist.

Neither the USID press nor the Harvard Institute of Politics, where Moose is an adjunct professor, responded to DCNF’s requests for comment.

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