a report from on the ground. w. . literature invites us to see people in particular that i like to see myself as the kids find the strength. to find beautiful. books on youtube. these are tumultuous times in the u.s. the country has been shaken by protests sparked by the death of george floyd's a black man who died while being arrested by a white police officer during. the demonstrations are the largest seen in decades protesters are demanding an end to

police brutality and racism. it's almost like police officers have been able to just do whatever they've been wanting to do. on the streets this frustration turns to violence buildings are torched and businesses plundered. right wing militias like american will take it upon themselves to preserve law and order these people that are down there they're not protesters they're criminals and they're actively working to help. them and president trump keeps fueling the tensions with his rhetoric from him i wish stand back and stand by.

october in louisville kentucky a city scarred by the penn demick and protests windows are boarded up the clashes that occurred here in recent months have left their mark. the city is still reeling from the death of black medical worker brianna taylor who died while police were searching her home in march. black lives matter activist to tour a heroin once. briana she accuses the police of getting away with murder thanks to the structural racism in the u.s. . brianna taylor is her hero and the symbol of a movement that will no longer be silenced personally and emotionally briana taylor's name for me it gives me strength she gives me hope and she gives me a reason to wake up every day and fight for justice i mean. i'm 40 years

old in we have seen the injustices of black people in this nation in you know the black woman is the most disrespected one man in america 'd and so for me you know she she just gives me that string to keep fighting. briana taylor lived here on the outskirts of louisville in march police entered her apartment using a no knock warrant this type of search warrant authorizes officers to enter private premises without announcing their presence and forcibly opened doors the police were searching for drugs. an exchange of gunfire and sued and briana taylor died in a hail of bullets he you can see from out here that when police officers started shooting that they shot from outside the home and so here's lawyer and still bullet

hole in the police evidence tape that was still there the so shows evidence that they were shooting from outside and so. you know it's just very unfortunate and just the amount of bullets that was reported over 20 bullets shot. inside the home police strategist karen drafted briana's law which bans the use of no knock warrants in louisville it's now been passed and she hopes it will soon be adopted throughout kentucky she says the roots of police brutality lie in the judicial system and with the police themselves there's different policies that are past the legislative level and then you see different police policies or police practices that are done on the ground level 'd and so i think that it's a combination of all the things and then also just a combination of no police accountability like no one is really holding the police

accountable and it's almost like police officers have been able to just do whatever they've been wanting to do 3000 kilometers to the west they aim to provide backup to the police at a secret location in the u.s. state of washington members of the american militia for shooting practice their leader entrepreneur peter davis. to cover. their weapon of choice the infamous a k $47.00 also known as the kalashnikov originally developed for the soffit army. plans to use the assault rifles to defend america's freedom. pretty good classic so they don't make them like that anymore right you could drop

it in the mud. peter diaz found an american wolf not long ago he's financed the militia using more than $100000.00 of his own money earned by renting old office furniture he feels it's his mission to protect america with arms if necessary and i think it should be important for everybody to be familiar with it because especially right now you just don't really know what's going to happen next the place that we're in that this country and the world really is in right now if i would have told you 6 months or a year ago that we were going to be locked down told where you can travel told what you can and can't do who you can and can hang out with where you can eat where you can eat the amount of control that's being pushed on us right now nobody would have ever believed me so saying something that this may be important in the future. isn't as outlandish as one would think since. this stuff here.

it's estimated the usa is home to some 180 militias american wolf has around 10 active members many a former soldiers and like peter de subscribe to conspiracy theories. what is happening right now is our government is in the midst of a coup. there's certain members of our government who are actively working to change this government from what it's designed to be the land of opportunity they're trying to turn us into some sort of socialist government a new form of government humanitarianism. i don't know who or why exactly but it really doesn't matter who or why it all that matters is it doesn't happen testers cynthia milledge was all too familiar with these kinds of theories she heads the polarization and extremism research and innovation lab at the american university

in washington d.c. and she warns that militias are among those profiting most from the current political climate. all the militia groups and of fact i would say all extremist groups essentially are defined by most essentially by a sense of threat sense an existential threat of dire threat a feeling that my people whether that's a race origin or nation are at threat because of this other group and that i'm morally compelled to act against them and so that takes heroic warrior like action . to tour a parent's whole life has been shaped by structural racism she says she's never broken the law yet she's been arrested several times from an early age her parents made her aware that the police could pose a very real threat. the fear of being stopped by the cops follows her wherever she goes. it's always been

a situation where you're told whenever you interact with the police you know you back then you know when i grew up it was say yes ma'am no ma'am yes or no sir or do everything that they ask you to do and now that that is can a shift to were make sure that your hands are being seen keep your hands on the stern will if you're going to pull something out of your glove box like your insurance or registration make sure you're telling them exactly what you're doing it every single moment. for years could tour a heroine had been thinking of buying a handgun. the protests in recent months have finally made up her mind.

if you take the mag out just hit that button right there. and then this one in there you'll be able to feel the difference. of this one just punch it. now put it in your hand. feel better. because this exact is a lot of folks when they get smaller guys and they grip and they don't like for their computer float so what i was able to get was a 9 millimeter very small i really like it because it fits in my hand. really like the grip on it and so for me it was i was looking for something that is lightweight and something that i could. you know i could have on me and conceal and it wasn't very heavy and so it's perfect and so now i just need to get. gun rings yet it's not fear of the police that's convinced her to get a gun she says it's the armed militias who are turning up at protests more and more

often. i mean it's scary obviously and you never know what's going to happen when you're out and i think that it's important. and arm themselves for that extra protection that they do so i don't go out by myself now and so easily with at least one or 2 other people and so on that there's a case where i need to be alone then this is this is something that i can take with me still secure. 15 minutes that's all the time it takes to buy a gun in kentucky and sales moment in a deaton says she's never sold as many firearms as she has in recent months she thinks it's right that more and more civilians are taking matters into their own hands especially in times like these i think it's nice that people are willing to do something like that but i fear for him you know because they don't have the

training that the police officers may have the worst it scares me. down and it's nice to know that there are people out there that are willing to risk their lives for something like that it doesn't necessarily belong to them. the militia american wolf on route to what they call their next mission their destination portland oregon peter d.s. wants to see the black lives matter of protests there for himself still he's already convinced there are violent though he's never actually been there his pistol is always within reach to use in self-defense he says. we're. going to see. you know these people that are down there they're not protesters they're criminals and they're actively working to help the stabiliser government to destroy our way of life that's what we're up against right. now i'm going down in for riot gear and throwing rocks or breaking windows and shops how does that have

anything to do whatsoever with racial equality they use the be movement simply to keep public support. for months activists have been taking to the streets of portland deaths have resulted from the clashes between left and right wing demonstrators at the height of the conflict donald trump sent anonymous federal agents into the city in a bid to present himself as the law and order president the demonstrators view the presence of the right wing militia as a provocation and start chanting their discontent d.s. and his man soon find themselves surrounded by black lives matter activists. look at it this man even threatens the militia men with physical violence you know that's not why despite the crush of people nono theosis men are wearing masks the

mood grows increasingly tense. they were walking around as a group of people into a group of people surrounded by a group of people while not wearing face coverings despite that being the law understandably so because they were in the middle of a pandemic like world wearing masks and i believe like some of it has to do with i our president feels let that kind of behavior and that ideology just courage and i think that now they think that they have power. when again we're not here for black lives matter. and they're all here for white supremacy so there's a clear. you know there's a clear difference of opinion and their opinion is not welcome here it's actually not welcome anywhere. d.s. insists his group doesn't stand for light supremacy yet it doesn't take long for a fight to break out he accuses the protester of taking drugs she's not on drugs that's my friend don't start that she's far from drunk if you don't know your back

that's a bit like the johns say about black people their own drug become start they don't start they don't start it when i say don't start all right everything is taken that can stand in my opinion when it gets to this type of. mob mentality it should be dispersed that's where i stand with it. police hanging back i understand that they're worried about the numbers growing but i would handle the situation differently if i had the manpower and equipment. here. on this night the police keep hanging back eventually peter dia's and his men are forced to retreat by black lives matter demonstrators. i think we have been witnessing a polarization of society and now much more radicalization of society particularly among young people and now we're also seeing that i think people taking to the

streets which in peaceful protest makes perfect sense but when you combine that with gun sales and with people feeling extraordinarily anxious both about the rise of these militias and the violence that they're seeing and accelerating plots and violence and we're seeing you know just increasing media coverage of them in the streets and uncertainty about what's happening next and unknown danger with the virus or how things are going to play out i think we're in a really sort of a tinderbox situation. you know show wisconsin in late august. after african american jacob blake was shot by. please protester set buildings on fire once again people's anger spilled out onto the streets. earlier they're saying enough is enough and demanding an end to police brutality

scenes like these ones in conneaut show this past summer has become a common sight in cities across the u.s. . the police respond with tear gas. and the demonstrators by burning barricades. the police were always able to prevent incidents of looting and plundering so right wing militias like the guards took it upon themselves to patrol the streets. among them was a 17 year old trump supporter seen here in cell phone footage after being chased he allegedly shot dead 2 black lives matter demonstrators. exclusive images taken by our camera team showed the rifleman just after the shootings he tries to turn himself over to the police to no avail.

he was not arrested and charged with murder until the following day the american wolf militia later called him a hero and collected tens of thousands of dollars in donations towards his defense the double murder suspect even received backing from the white house. he was trying to get away from them i guess it looks like and he fell and then they very violently attacked him and it was something that we're looking at right now and it's under investigation but. i guess he was in very big trouble he would have been i. he probably would have been killed i mean the most important thing i think is that he never should have been there in the 1st place right enter react after that from any elected official or authorities to have a reaction that legitimizes violence or valorize is that by calling him an american hero or saying that he was justified in his violence even if it turns out to be self-defense even if you know it is really what we need is the escalation and

a walking back of that kind of rhetoric and not something that further legitimizes the next person to feel like they should go out and take matters into their own hands. heroin doesn't budge donald trump's rhetoric she holds the president responsible for the fact that the 2 sides differences are growing more irreconcilable by the day and that civilians now feel the need to patrol the streets armed with weapons. probably would have been killed there coming now because you know the leader of this nation is calling for them to be out and so they're doing exactly what he's asked them to do you see in the situation and can osho the young man who went there he didn't even live in kind of. you know but he felt like he needed to come there and do what the leader of this nation has said in and he actually calls him brutalized and cause more harm to that community

as we seem to want to see a militia it draws has another worry the more often the president trump backs the right wing militias the more it emboldens them what are you willing to do anything donald trump clearly stated his support for such groups during his 1st t.v. debate with joe biden you give me one surprise are you willing tonight to condemn white supremacy and militia groups and to say that they need to stand down. stand back and stand by but i'll tell you what i'll tell you what somebody has got . do something about the left because this is not a right as we have them immediately in my research team we're seeing online you know chatter and far right channels that we're saying you know sums up that they they created a new logo you know right away for the crowd boys there was a t. shirt on for sale within 12 hours with it on it not so they immediately saw it as

we are we're being called action and being called to support the president and being called to support the administration. in late august thousands took to the streets of washington to protest against the president in front of the white house they demanded an end to racism and made clear who they helped politically responsible. on august 28th its 57th anniversary of martin luther king's famous i have a dream speech was played over loudspeakers. we . make it seem to be where we were going to be 7 years ago. that you were taking that that still applies here today not really anything. when you get there and you need more minute x. meaning some dreams even that's right and even though it's nice it's pretty to look at real change is not being committed rightly that we.

go by race. and the races. and never. think that there's progress in the now you see this. playing among the demonstrators and members of radical black nationalist organizations like the new black panthers and the and if you see a fringe group that's grown substantially of late and if the leader grandmaster j. accuses white sympathizers of the black lives matter movement of hypotheses. well. and we know. the ultimate goal is to be treated as an equal human being in every

aspect that there is but the way that we get there is we need some space to heal we need some space to recover from 400 years of enslavement we need some place to go back to remember 25 dynasties of our culture has been taken away from us we need someplace to go and get over post-traumatic slave disorder we need somewhere to go and learn to feel proud about out sales and to love we need that so we need some space to do that if the united states of america is unwilling or hasn't been given the opportunity which they have to give us that space we've got to create it on our own if inside of the confines of the law if that works but if not then i guess we just have to do it at the barrel of a gun at the end of a c. trains its members how to use weapons to pursue the militia stream of creating its own all black state and it says to defend itself against the attacks by white police officers its leader rejects criticism of the organisations paramilitary

dress why is it that when we decide to dress like this it's a problem but when you are people who look like you decide to not only dress up like us but get weapons threaten the polies threaten politicians it's not called the militia it's not called the white militia it's called citizens that are protesting but the moment we do it why you're doing it all of the guns necessary why you all dressed like that who are you going to attack when the truth of the matter is the response will not be all fits with the defects that have long been black separatist movements as well the white supremacist separatist movements are calling for a way to stay in many. ways now we're seeing that echoed in that same kind of a call and i think that's a reflection of that of this growing sense of polarization and a kind of radicalization too and a giving up on the idea of coexistence for larger numbers of people of coexistence and and and really sort of peaceful democracy in the way that our democracy is so i think those are real challenges. peter to us is paying

a visit to his parents who live in washington state. oh. are you really peter's mother and dia's hasn't seen much of her son since he began to ring through the united states with his militia while he is concerned about his country's future she's more worried about his safety. back over here do you want the salon term was the great. thing 2 and i take this in your use is to. i don't think there's any reason for violence in that it's the peace that really frightens me here has had several death threats and i'm terrified that this is as his mother i would like for the police to do their jobs and for people like my son and others to be able to stand down and not take up arms and not have to feel it to protect themselves or their families or their way of life because i

think we some ways that's where we're going to. this culture war keeps creating ever greater divisions in american society yet it is in itself full of contradictions as can be seen in peter theosis own family not who. they would like is going there because you have reservation his father was an illegal immigrant who came to the u.s. from mexico when his mother is a white american yet the family views immigration as a threat and seeks to defend what's there else you need to. regenerate. fire in the bottom drawer we're not in a position right now to be able to hope people coming here we need to take care of the issues we have here already and the people who are starving to death in the country who are already citizens before we are really in a position to welcome more people in and help them. i.

louisville kentucky in october 4 weeks ahead of the presidential elections protesters take to the streets once again. in late september kentucky's attorney general revealed that the police officers who shot briana taylor would not face murder charges. i mean the decision came as a shock for couture hair and many others she fears the months of protests were all in vain knol she's pinning all her hopes on a new president will tackle this is to make racism in her country. i think that this is probably the biggest election on in our lifetime i think that you know when we were voting in. the past president obama we felt like that that was a big election and i think that this election is bigger than that i think that of you have to in this rhetoric we have to protect all folks in the united states and

i don't think that the current owner ministration has done that i think that they have have not feel like they've been misused and of these in their power and so this this this election is is the most important that i've ever seen oh offerings. are. really good to a heroine who is especially concerned that donald trump has refused to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. should she lose the election. in louisville they're singing for peace and for an end of the escalation of violence.

that. can come. streaming down to see a dormant wife and child. after the revered time be the loser now my months without him when. i. see byron steamroll i'm tough frankford thomas levin dostie should say implicitly directing you to pick up. 30. people for you on facebook and twitter to date and in touch and.

this is the w. news wire from berlin. in the us a new supreme court judge promises to defend the rule of law. do my job without any fear her favor and that i will do so independently of both the political branches and of my own country amy kone barack was sworn in.