For these three reasons alone, I consider it highly likely that this regime will now abandon even the pretense of democracy and establish a true autocracy:

1. ICE has a larger budget than all U.S. federal agencies combined. This budget is equivalent to the military spending of a medium-sized country. It is clearly a secret police force.
2. Given the serious crimes they have already committed, all members of the cabinet would likely face criminal prosecution under a new administration—even within the completely dysfunctional U.S. legal system. They will not let it come to that.
3. Coups d’état have no criminal consequences in the U.S., at least for conservatives, as evidenced by the fact that no one actually responsible was prosecuted during the last coup attempt—even the foot soldiers are all back on the loose.