during an emergency. captioning sponsored by wnet >> sreenivasan: on this edition for saturday, december 4: the parents of the michigan teenager who killed four students are arrested and charged. maryland confronts racial terror and a history of lynchings. and, authoritarian regimes reach beyond their borders, to control opponents worldwide. next, on pbs newshour weekend. >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernard and denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the sylvia a. and simon b. poyta programming endowment to fight anti-semitism. the estate of worthington mayo-smith.

leonard and norma klorfine. the rosalind p. walter foundation. koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. barbara hope zuckerberg. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group: retirement services and investments. >> for 25 years, consumer cellular's goal has been to provide wireless service that helps people communicate and connect. we offer a variety of no-contract plans, and our u.s.-based customer service team can help find one that fits you. to learn more, visit www.consumercellular.tv. additional support has been provided by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your

pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> sreenivasan: good evening, and thank you for joining us. the parents of the teenager charged with killing four students and injuring seven others at a michigan high school were arrested and arraigned today. >> do you understand that you are charged with the following counts: count one, involuntary manslaughter? >> sreenivasan: jennifer and james crumbley appeared at a hearing via video. they each entered "not guilty" pleas to four counts of involuntary manslaughter. early this morning, authorities announced the couple was arrested, after being found hiding in a commercial building in detroit, after they failed to show up for a court hearing yesterday. the judge set a combined $1 million bond for the crumbleys. their son is being charged as an adult on counts of murder and terrorism. russia denied reports today that it is planning an invasion of ukraine in the coming months, even as u.s. intelligence agencies said more russian troops are preparing to go to the ukrainian border. ukraine has a large military presence in the region. the new u.s. intelligence

finding reportedly estimates russia is planning to deploy 175,000 troops, with half that number already in place. last night, on his way to camp david for the weekend, president biden said he will address the issue with russia's president vladimir putin in a secure video call set for tuesday. in south africa, researchers report new cases of the omicron riant are spreading twice as quickly as the delta variant. the new variant was first identified there less than two weeks ago. in mid-november, the country was reporting about 200 covid cases each day. that number jumped to more than 16,000 daily, as of yesterday. in the united states, omicron infections have now been identified in at least 11 states. health officials are stepping up contact tracing efforts as new cases emerge. the delta variant is still the most common cause of covid cases in the u.s. the "new york times" database shows hospitalizations due to covid are up 18% on average over the past 14 days.

>> sreenivasan: for more national and international news, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. >> sreenivasan: earlier this year, we reported on a movement to confront historical acts of racial terror in a place you might not expect. horrific lynchings ourred after the civil war in the deep south and the former confederacy, but also in many border states, including maryland. as special correspondent brian palmer reported, maryland is now the first state to undertake a formal truth and reconciliation process, to reckon with its painful and violent history. we'll speak with a historian about that, but we begin our update with an excerpt from our june report-- which, we need to warn you, includes graphic descriptions of violence. this story is part of our ongoing series, "exploring hate: anti-semitism, racism, and extremism." >> reporter: in the center of downtown salisbury, on maryland's eastern shore, the

historic wicomico county courthouse stands today as it did in 1931. back then, this supposed hall of justice was the site of a brutal, extra-judicial killing: the lynching of 23-year-old matthew williams. >> you know, he was a normal child. i mean, he played with his cousins. he loved going to watch pictures. and during the depression, he had money in two bank accounts, he had a stable job, was employed and was able to maintain employment. >> reporter: charles chavis, jr. is a historian at george mason university, and the author of the forthcoming book, "the silent shore: the lynching of matthew williams and the politics of racism in the free state." the horrific lynching of matthew williams was reported widely at the time, including in the "afro-american," a black- owned paper in nearby baltimore. while there are differing accounts of what happened that day, what we do know is that williams worked for a wealthy white business owner in salisbury. after an altercation, williams'

boss was dead, and williams himself suffered several gunshot wounds, but was still alive. once word got out, a white mob formed at the hospital where he had been taken. the nurse in charge of the segregated black ward reportedly stepped aside to allow his abduction. >> there's a famous quote that's actually published in the "baltimore sun," where she says, "if you're going to take him, take him quietly." >> reporter: the injured williams was thrown from a hospital window and dragged several blocks to the courthouse. the white mob tortured, hanged, and then burned his body. the crime was captured in this drawing that ran in e "baltimore morning sun." >> williams was not only lynched on the courthouse lawn, but his body was taken after, you know, when it was burned to the black section of salisbury, put on display for onlookers to drive by, while the local police department directed traffic. >> reporter: no one has ever been held accountable for his killing. matthew williams is buried somewhere in this cemetery, his

grave unmarked. but after nearly 90 years since the lynching of this black man, the city of salisbury is beginning to acknowledge its history of white racial violence. >> when the mob came for him, they faced little resistance. >> reporter: on a recent saturday, a group of several dozen people gathered to retrace the path that the mob took as it dragged williams to his death, from the hospital where he was kidnapped, still a medical center, across the wicomico river, to the courthouse lawn, the occasion was the unveiling of a sign memorializing williams, an unidentified black man found beaten to death a day later, and believed to be a victim of the same mob, and garfield king, an 18-year-old black man lynched in the county in 1898. >> sreenivasan: today marks the 90th anniversary of the brutal lynching of matthew williams, and the second man, also believed to be a victim of the same white mob. charles chavis, assistant

professor at george mason university and the vice chair of maryland's lynching trh and reconciliation commission, joined us again for more on the work being done in the state. charles, tell me, what is e significance? i mean, it's symbolic, but why the marker in salisbury? why is it important? >> these are acts of symbolic reconciliation, and we see them as being a first step in a number of steps that have to take place in order for communities to heal. and in salisbury, where the lynching memorial taskforce has established this marker, it's so important that it is right there on the courthouse lawn where the act actually took place. >> sreenivasan: i know the state maryland lynching truth and reconciliation commission-- you've started doing public hearings, so to speak. now, you cannot-- you can't retry the case or the crime. you can't provide justice, so to speak, for the descendants of

those people who were lynched. but, what are those meetings like, or what are you hoping to get from them? >> so, the meetings are deeply powerful, not only for those who witness it, but most importantly for the victims, the descendants of the victims, in which we've had the honor of connecting with and providing them with the space to share their story of their loved ones. >> sreenivasan: you went into this process and began researching the death of matthew williams, who's-- at the anniversary of the unfortunate anniversary is 90 years ago now. 90 years actually doesn't seem like that for ago long time ago when we think of the word lynchings. >> i hope that it dispels the myth that these things that lynchings took pla at the hands of persons unknown. i titled my book “the silent shore,” because this-- there's a myth of silence. what i'm able to uncover in the book is that white members of the community talked about this openly among themselves.

we know that this lynching, the lynching of matthew williams, like most lynchings, was a state-sanctioned lynching, where you had states, attorneys, and local law enforcement officers all complicit and culpable in the lynching of matthew williams. and there's still a silence, even 90 years later, that is palpable in this community. and it's very important for us to understand that if we're going to move forward and break the silence, then the truth has to be validated, and we have to make sure that those who are continuing to experience this have their opportunity to speak truth to power. and the one other thing its important to understand is shannie shields, who's a salisbury activist, she mentions that, you know, one of the reasons why people didn't speak up is because they worked for the family members of those who were involved. and to this day, some of those family members still hold power over this community, and there's still that power dynamic at play, which speaks to the

continued silence even 90 years later. >> sreenivasan: charles chavis, thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you so much, hari, for having me. >> sreenivasan: for more, including an essay from charles chavis, please check out the "exploring hate" website, www.pbs.org/exploringhate. >> sreenivasan: authoritarian governments have always sought to control their people, and to suppress political opposition within their countries. but now, human rights experts say there is a new and growing trend by those governments to reach beyond their borders. it's being called transnational repression-- countries trying to control their people wherever they are in the world, even in the united states. newshour weekend special correspondent benedict moran has the story of a man once hailed as a hero in rwanda, who later fled into exile and is now convicted and jailed in his homeland.

>> reporter: today, hotel des milles collines is a tranquil place for tourists in the heart of rwanda's capital kigali. during the 1994 rwandan genocide, this neighborhood was a killing field. more than 1,200 people fled to this hotel for safety. it was then managed by a 39- year-old rwandan man named paul rusesabagina, who, using cash bribes and gifts of whiskey, ke the killers at bay. the story of how rusesabagina saved the lives of more than a thousand people made him famous first in the 24 oscar- nominated movie, "hotel rwanda." >> the true story of a man who fought impossible odds. >> i cannot leave these people to die! >> reporter: in 2005, he was awarded the presidential medal of freedom and wrote a best- selling memoir. in the late 2000s, he used his celebrity status to found a rwandan opposition political party. he did so in exile, to counter what he saw as rwanda's turn to dictatorship. that put him in the sights of

rwanda's authoritarian leader, paul kagame, who has been in power sie the genocide. rusesabagina spoke to me in 2018. why do you think they are targeting you? >> with the rwandan government, you are not allowed to be a popular person who is not working for them. either you are with them, their friend, or you are their enemy. and that's it. you are their enemy because you tell what they don't want to be told. i'm not the only one; there are ma others today. >> reporter: international rights groups say opposition politicians, journalists and activists both in rwanda and abroad have been killed or made to disappear after criticizing presidenpaul kagame. rusesabagina believed the long arm of rwanda's government had followed him to belgium. he said people broke into his home, trashing it, taking nothing but rwandan-language

documents. >> they came in through this door. you can see how it looks like. you can see how the door gave up. >> reporter: with a constant stream of threats to his life, he said, he could never return to his homeland. >> they wish i would come. as some of my friends told me, if they see me, they will eat me raw. they wouldn't need to cook me. >> reporter: and what's your fear if you do that? >> well, if i go there, they kill me, in other words, as they have done to many people, many others guys. >> reporter: in 2020, he did go there, though not voluntarily. his problems began when he left on a trip from his second home in san antonio, texas, where he is a legal resident. paul rusesabagina flew from texas, to dubai. there, he boarded a private plane that he thought was going to burundi, where he said he had plans to speak to churches.

but the plane actually flew to rwanda. in an interview with al jazeera english, rwanda's then justice minister, johnston busingye, admitted tt rwanda paid for the private plane that took rusesabagina without his knowledge to kigali. >> i'm asking, who paid? >> the government paid. >> so, the government paid for the plane that transported him. >> reporter: once in rwanda, rusesabagina was arrested and charged with being behind a series of deadly 2018 rebel attacks. and suddenly, paul rusesabagina was on trial, charged with crimes including terrorism. >> the time has come for us to use any means possible. >> reporter: in a video published online after our 2018 interview, paul rusesabagina made provocative statements regarding the rwandan government. however, he denied ever playing any part in any violent action. i spoke to his daughter, anais kanimba, in august of this year, in washington, d.c., before the verdict.

she was there, lobbying the u.s. government for help in securing his release. >> it's been a nightmare for our family. >> reporter: kanimba is a genocide survivor herself. in 1994, when she was just a toddler, her biological parents were murdered. rusesabagina is her uncle. after she and her sister were found in a refugee camp, he adopted them and raised them as his own. >> to me, you know, he's the person; that's the reason why i'm still alive today, you know. he's providing me the education and the love, the support that my parents couldn't because they were killed in the genocide. and so, this is very personal to me because i'm afraid that he's going to be taken again, taken away. >> reporter: she said she, too, felt threatened. while her father's trial was under way,mnesty international revealed through a forensic analysis that kanimba's sister, carine, was likely the victim of a near-constant surveillance campaign. from january through june this year, her phone had been hacked. amnesty's data strongly suggested the rwandan government

was behind it, and they were usg her phone as a device to listen in on her private meetings with lawyers and government officials. >> they're trying to infiltrate and get to you as much as they can, all the way to everything that you have on your phone. and it's very scary. why are they doing that if it's not just to repress people, to repress our family, to repress my father and to repress any other person who dared to speak against them? >> reporter: the nonprofit american group freedom house, which does research on democracy and political rights around the world, says rusesabagina's rendition and the rwandan government's alleged hacking of his daughter's phone are part of a larger trend of what's known as transnational repression, and it's happening to dissidents around the world. michael abramowitz is the president of freedom house. >> transnational oppression is essentially the effort by coercion or intimidation or, in some cases, violence to silence e voices of critics of

authoritarian regimes who have fled authoritarian regimes to the united states or other countries. >> reporter: once an exceptional tool, it's now a normal and institutionalized practice for dozens of countries that seek to control their people abroad according to freedom house. the organization documented hundreds of cases from russian president vladimir putin allegedly assassinating dissident alexander litvinenko in the united kingdom by using radioactive poison; to saudi crown prince mohammed bin salman alleging approving the istanbul murder of saudi journalist and critic jamal kashoggi; and, most recently, belarus president alexander lukashenko using a bomb threat to force down a ryanair flight carrying an opposition journalist. >> no one is safe anymore from the long arm of the authoritarian state. so, even american citizens, if we don't stand up to transnational repression, i think that we are opening the door to authoritarian countries going after everyone living in a democracy. so, i don't think this is just a

matter of us and them; it's a matter of all of us. >> reporter: on september 20 of this year, paul rusesabagina was found guilty. >> he founded a terrorist group >> ( translated ): he founded a terrorist group that attacked rwanda. he financially contributed to the terrorist activities. he approved monthly payments for these activities. he invented a code to hide these activities. >> reporter: human rights observers say the trial was flawed and unfair, with numerous violations of due process. sarah ckson is deputy regional director for east africa with amnesty international. >> if the rwandan authorities had wanted to investigate and prosecute paul rusesabagina, if they had a basis for this, they could have lodged an extradition request. but, instead, he was subject to rendition and taken back to rwanda. >> reporter: his lawyers say it was a set-up, and his rendition to rwanda amounted to an illegal kidnapping. >> if they had presented a formal request for extradition,

it would have never withheld a test of a judge. this is why they decided to kidnap him, because they knew following due process would have not worked out and would not have allowed them to get him. this has been going on for the last 27 years that they've been tracking, hunting, kidnapping, you know, killing opponents. and, regardless of where they are in rwanda or abroad, the list of people who have been, you know, killed or kidnapped is a very long one. >> reporter: president kagame rejected accusations that rusesabagina was targeted because of his outspoken views, sayi in this televised interview days before the 2021 verdict that he was on trial only for the alleged attacks in 2018. >> now, he is here being tried for that. nothing to do with the film. nothing to do with-- there is not even an argument. nobody's arguing about his

celebrity status. however he got that, that's them, whoever gave it to him, or even for himself. it's their business. >> reporter: paul rusesabagina's family is now suing the private airline that flew him to rwanda. now, the only contact anaise kanimba has with her father is a five-minute weekly audio call from his kigali prison, which she records and listens back to. >> i love hearing this, i love listening to his voice, the moment that we have with him, and how fast it is. it's really easy to feel like there's no hope. even us, sometimes we have those scary thoughts, but we just don't allow ourselves to think about that. why would kagame let him go? i ask myself that question, but then i go to sleep by telling myself, "no, no, no, he's going to come back. there's no reason, rationale to how he will, but he will come back." >> reporter: meanwhile, the rwandan government is working in the courts to have rusesagabina's sentence changed

from 25 years in prison to life. >> sreenivasan: that's all for this edition of pbs newshour weekend. for the latest news updates, visit www.pbs.org/newshour. i'm hari sreenivasan. thanks for watching. stay healthy, and have a good night. captioning sponsored by wnet captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org >> pbs newshour weekend is made possible by: sue and edgar wachenheim iii. bernarand denise schwartz. the cheryl and philip milstein family. the anderson family fund. the sylvia a. and simon b.

poa programming endowment to fight anti-semitism. the estate of worthington mayo-smith. leonard and norma klorfine. the rosalind p. walter foundation. koo and patricia yuen, committed to bridging cultural differences in our communities. barbara hope zuckerberg. we try to live in the moment, to not miss what's right in front of us. at mutual of america, we believe taking care of tomorrow can help you make the most of today. mutual of america financial group: retirement services and investments. additional support has been provided by: consumer cellular. and by: and by the corporation for public broadcasting, a private corporation funded by the american people. and by contributions to your

pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. you're watching pbs.

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