Soviet-born author and political analyst Michael Malice warned that America experienced what he described as a dangerous shift toward Soviet-style informant tactics during the pandemic, as citizens willingly turned in their neighbors for violating lockdown rules.
Speaking on the "Planet Tyrus" podcast, Malice argued that authoritarian regimes don't rely solely on military force, but on the participation of civilians as well.
"I think the first time Americans realized the nature of evil was during COVID. Because COVID was the first time we saw in this country, people were turning in their neighbors and were bragging about it," Malice said, adding, "They were happy: 'I got this cashier fired.' That was very Soviet."
"So that was the first time I think Americans realized that these systems, which are dictatorial, it's not through force. It's the fact that small-minded people are tripping over themselves to implement these dictatorships and turn in their neighbors," he said.
Malice is the author of "The White Pill," a book about the rise and fall of the Soviet Union and the tactics used during that period. He compared the pandemic response to that of authoritarian regimes.
Criticism of the pandemic response has resurged in recent days after Dr. Anthony Fauci, who served as one of the nation's leading public health officials during the COVID-19 pandemic, appeared before Congress on Wednesday.
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Fauci repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination and declined to answer questions.
Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators took to social media after the hearing to criticize the months-long shutdown, recounting arrests and threats against those who disobeyed lockdown orders.
"Dr. Fauci isn't the only guilty one," Rep. Lance Gooden wrote on X. "Democrats went as far as filling outdoor skate parks with sand to enforce their draconian COVID-19 lockdowns. Americans should never forget what they did."
In Fauci's opening statement, he defended his conduct during the pandemic, stating, "The only conclusion I can reach is that the sole reason he [Sen. Rand Paul] is calling me before this committee is to get me to say something, anything, that could vindicate his repeated public pledges that I end up, in his words, quote, ‘behind bars,’ unquote."
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Malice added that dictatorial control doesn't usually present itself as an obvious villain. Instead, he argued, it relies on petty bureaucrats and neighbor-against-neighbor enforcement.
"There's so many people who have that little bit of power, and they will hold onto it with every bit of fiber in their being," Malice told Tyrus, adding that he believes such enforcement by citizens is historically "alien to the American psyche."
Fox News Digital’s Pete D’Abrosca contributed to this report.