there are more than 32,000 people currently in shelters in the state. we have approximately 30,000 beds that are available for sheltering as needed and we continue to work on additional backup plans in the evevent more than that is needed.

the devastation from the largest rainstorm to hit the united states is growing. more than 38 people have died. we will go to houston and port arthur texexas for the latest. we will speak with george about the crucial questions hurricane is not being asked about. another suspect in the brutal beating of deandre harris. he has been arrested. why has it taken so long when the beating was caught on film? we will speak with the reporter who interviewed deandre. >> there was all of this chaos going around. i felt myself getting hit. every time i got up, i lost consciousness and fell. and tooks picked me up me over ththere so i can g get . amamy: all that and more, comimg

up. welcome to democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in texas, tropical storm harvey made a seconond landfall wednesy near the border with louisiana, bringing more rain and catastrophic flooding to the gulf coast as the death toll from the unprecedented storm rose to at least 38. on thursday, the city of port arthur, texas, which is 100 miles east of houston was completely under water. flooding even forced the city to evacuate one of its own shelters set up for people who had fled their homes. port arthur is home to the largest oil refinery in the united states. meanwhile, a mandatory evacuation was also ordered this morning for several subdivisions west of houston near the barker reservoir area which has already , reached capacity. up to 40,000 homes may been destroyed and 500,000 cars totaled in the storm.

more than 32,000 people are in shelters in texas. texas governor greg abbott said wednesday the storm will likely be the most expensive disaster in u.s. history. was overtrina funding $100 billion. i want to say it w was over $125 billion. go on a parallel standard, it should be far in excess of that amount. amy: elsewhere in texas, a pair of explosions rocked the arkema chemical plant northeast of houston early thursday, lighting the night sky and sending thick , black smoke into the air. the harris county sheriff's office says 10 deputies were hospitalized after inhaling fumes. officials had already evacuated residents within a one-and-a-half-mile radius of the plant in the town of crosby, after it lost primary and backup power to its coolant system. the plant is believed to produce highly volatile chemicals known

as organic peroxides, but the company's ceo has refused to state precisely which chemicals were produced or how much of them were on-site at the time of the explosions. james mattis said wednesday, the u.s. is never out of diplomatic options in dealing with north korea, contradicting donald trump minutes after the president tweeted the u.s. has been talking to north korea and paying them extortion money for 25 years, talking is not the answer, unquote. flu -- a comedy by byth korean -- accompanied south korean fighter jets. back in texas, a federal judge blocked implementation of texa''

new anti-immigrant law just twoo days before it was set to take effect. the ruling by u.s. district judge orlando garcia is temporary and will give opponents of the law time to mount a court challenge. s.b. 4 would make it a misdemeanor for local police to limit cooperation with federal immigration agents. it also would ban sanctuary cities in texas and allow officers to ask about the immigration status of anyone they detain. the law's scheduled implementation raised concerns that many immigrants in texas are not coming forward to seek help amid flooding from hurricane harvey because they fear being detained and deported. in new york, hundreds of protesters marched to trump tower in midtown manhattan wednesday, calling on the trump administration not to cancel daca, an immigration policy that protects nearly 800,000 undocumented immigrants who were brought to the u.s. as children. trump is reportedly considering ending the 5-year-old program, after attorneys general from 10

states threatened to sue if the administration doesn't end daca by september 5. this is angie kim, a daca recipient. >> i come from a dim -- a , beforeon before daca we use words like undocumented. i know what it is like to live life in limbo where you don't have the ability to work, make a living, go to school. meant everything to me. five years later, i am back in that place where my life is in limbo. amy: the american civil liberties union is warning that the immigration and customs enforcement agency, ice, is seeking permission to destroy 11 types of records, including information on sexual assaults by ice officers, solitary confinement of prisoners, and even the deaths of people in ice custody. immigrants rights activists say the request by ice to the national archives and record administration is aimed at

covering up the agency's track record of human rights abuses. on capitol hill, democratic members of the house judiciary committee are demanding a hearing into why president trump pardoned the notorious racist arizona sheriff joe arpaio, who was convicted of contempt of court for defying a court order to stop his deputies from racial profiling. all 17 democratic members of the committee signed a letetter to republican chair bob goodlatte, calling the pardon a gross injustice and saying it's, quote, highly problematic for the president to simply dismiss a pending criminal matter. the e letter came as federal jue refused to t throw out arprpai's convictionoror contempt of court, even n though trump'ss pardon will l keep h him outff prisononordering a arapio to appear in cocourt on october 4. arpaio's attorneys had asked u.s. district judge susan bolton to vacate her finding that arpaio is guilty of a crime. in afghanistan, a u.s. airstrike

destroyed a home in the southeastern province of logar, wednesday, killing at least 11 civilians and injuring 16 others. one resident put the death toll higher, saying at least 28 civilians were dead. the assault came just two days after airstrikes killed more than a dozen civilians in the western province of herat on monday. meanwhile, the pentagon said wednesday the number of u.s. troops in afghanistan has increased to more than 11,000 -- thousands more thahan previously known. in yemen, u.s.-backed saudi coalition warplanes attacked a checkpoint outside the capital sanaa on wednesday, killing at least five civiliansns. witnesses said the attack came out of the blue. >> we e were surprised by the missile falling on the checkpoint, which injured innocent people. amy: the latest civilian deaths came as human rights groups asked the u.n. to establish an independent inquiry into war crimes and human rights abuses in the yem c conflict, which the

u.n. says has killed more than 5,000 civilians since march of 2015. the u.s.-backed saudi-led war and naval blockade has decimated yemen's health and sanitation infrastructure and has left seven million yemenis on the brink of starvation, whilele a cholera epidemic has killed more than 2000 people and sickened more than 500,000 others. havethan 18,000 refugees recentolence in burma in days. thousands are at the border, attempting to cross. theyxodus came after openeded fire on civilians and forced thoususands to flee. many arriving in blank -- arriving in bangladesh arrived sick or with bullet wounds. are killing uss with bullets. they burned our houses. they killed my husband with a bullet.

amy: they have long faced persecution and violence in burma, where they are denied citizenship. been arrested in the brutal beating of a young african-american man during a white supremacist rally has been arrested. 33-year-old alex michael ramos was arrested in georgia and charged with malicious wounding for allegedly attacking anti-racist protester deandre harris during the unite the right rally in charlottesville, virginia, earlier this month. photos and video show at least six white supremacists punching, kicking and beating harris with large metal poles. later in the broadcast, we'll speak with deanre harris' lawyer. meanwhile, dozens of people are participating in a 100-mile march from charlottesville, virginia, to washington, d.c. the marchers are demanding charlottesville mayor mike cigna resign, all confederate monuments be removed, and

charges be dropped against people who were arrested protesting against a ku klux klan rally in charlottesville in july. they're also demanding an end to stop and frisk, the cash-bail system, and militarized policing. the protest took place in august. a top united nations official said wednesday that donald trump is inciting violence against journalists, warning that freedom of the press is under attack from the president of the united states. u.n. high commissioner for human rights, zeid ra'ad al hussein, was speaking in geneva. >> to call these news organizations fake does and to refermage to individual journalists in this way, is this not an incitement for others to attack journalists? ares assume journanalists harmed from one of these

organizations. does the president not bear responsibility for this? amy: u.n. high commissioner zeid also cited trump's attacks on women, mexicans, muslims, and disabled and transgender people, warning trump's comments will embolden his supporters to sharpen their assaults on those communities. the los angeles city council voted wednesday to eliminate columbus day from the city's calendar and replace it with an annual holiday marking indigenous peoples day, in an acknowledgement of the genocide that took place as european powers colonized the americas. wednesday's 14-1 vote makes the second monday of each october a day to commemorate indigenous, aboriginal and native people. columbus has long faced criticism for massacring and enslaving arawak indigenous people, and for opening the door to the european colonization of the americas. and members of the racial justice group southerners on new ground are bailing out black women in atlanta and other

southern cities this week in order to celebrate black august and call for an end toto the cash-b-bail system. the action follows a similar nanationwide black mama's bail t day in may, aimed at freeing as many black women from jail as possible in time for a mother's day celebration with their families. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. >> welcome to our listeners and viewers around the country and world. six days after hurricane harvey made landfall, the unprecedented storm is continuing to wreck havoc in texas and parts of louisiana. ththe death toll has risen to at least 38 but authorities expect it to grow as the historic flood waters begin to recede. early this morning a pair of explosions rocked a chemical plant northeast of houston sending thick, black smoke into the air.

officials had already evacuated residents within a one-and-a-half-mile radius of the arkema plant in the town of crosby. the plant produces highly volatile chemicals known as organic peroxides. the harris county sheriff's office says one deputy was taken to the hospital after inhaling fumes, and nine others drove themselves to the hospital. now a tropical depression, harvey has moved inland and is now dumping rain on louisiana and kentucky. but many parts of texas remain under water or under flood watch. on thursday the city of port arthur, texas, which is 100 miles east of houston was completely under water. flooding even forced the city to evacuate one of its own shelters set up for people who had fled their homes. meanwhile, a mandatory evacuation was also ordered this morning for several subdivisions west of houston near the barker reservoir area, which has already reached capacity. amy: accuweather is now

projecting the economic impact of harvey might top $190 billion -- that exceeds the economic impact of katrtrina and sandy combineded. up to 40,000 homes may been destroyed and 500,000 cars totaled in the storm. according to the red cross, more than 32,000 people are in shelters in texas. we go now to port arthur, texas, where we are joined by hilton kelly, the founder of community in-power and development association in port arthur texas. he is a former hollywood stuntman turned environmental activist. in 2011 he was awarded the goldman prize, the world's most prestigious environmental award for his work battling for communities living in the shadow of polluting industries in port arthur and the texas gulf coast. port arthur is home to the largest oil refinery in the country. the plan has been shut down due to flooding. , welcome toy

democracy now. port arthur is under can you describe the scene for us where you live and work? thank you for inviting me to the show. isht now, port arthur somewhat of a ghost town. the mayor has declared our area a disaster area and so has our governor. the federal government has also declared it a disaster area. there is a curfew in place. , on the 600 block of proctor street, near city hall. town here.st most of the neighborhood has been evacuated. people have been sent to various

shelters, different churches, because the neighborhoods have been flooded. my own home has taken on at least two feet of water inside the home. outside my home, we have about four feet of water. it is devastating to witness so many people being impacted i this hurricane -- impacted by this hurricane. us while we slept and flooded our homes. we woke up having to step in four or five feet of water to make it to the door. many people were stuck in their homes. people had to climb on their roof. to a lot ofating these families and a lot of the elderly people that were trapped . some shelters that were open,

particularly the civic center, it started to take on water. hundreds went there for refuge. when they got there, they found more water and they had to be as accu waited from the shelter. evacuated frombe the shelter. people were sent to a middle school, where it was filled to capacity, and many people were stuck outside the doors with nowhere to go. i joined the rescue effort and had a van full off people and i brought them to the woodrow wilson shelter. they were told they could not go in and we had to let those folks sit in the car, with me going back trying to help others. we did find it refuge for those folks and we continued the rescue. itit is sad when the first

responders are dumbfounded as to what to do. the system has failed and then they kick it into high gear and things get back into motion about 10:00 l last night. you tell us what people in port arthur need most now as rescue efforts are underway? clothing,ople need basic amenities, people need right thing this time and not just give you a on coming reneged through with the funding. comingvictim of fema not through. i had everything in place, receipts, the fema number. this was during hurricane ike. i still have not received a

check reimbursing me for what i spent for me and my family and the 18 other people i had with me whoho had no money. they told me i qualified. get theparamount we proper paperwork on the proper people in place to make sure thele are found through system properly and that they are given what they are due due to this natural disisasr they are facing, through no fault of their own. most of f the homes in our neighborhood have been filled of water. to three feet people have lost clothing, shoes, many of their electronics , and god knows what else is lost inside. in some cases, money. people had to flee with the clothes on their back. they have yet to return home

because the force responders -- the first responders are just starting to arrive, as far away as lafayette, baton rouge. these places are coming here to help us this morning. command center this morning for these first responders that come and get their coordinates together. i will be assisting them going through these communities so they can do a search and rescue and recovery. there are still people stuck in their homes, particularly elderly people. communications. in some cases, you are going in to recover bodies of people who have succumb to the cold and water. it is a sad day here in port arthur and i am basically, with

very few words when it comes to this happening. blowing my mind. i do not understand how this happened so quietly. know the rain came down, but we suspect some of the levees had to have been blown or overflowed and water crept up in these communities. i don't understand how that much water can come in so quickly and quietly. you are not just organizing now. you are a long time organizer. you are located among a major petrochemical and hazardous waste facilities on the coast. -- have suffered long from the omissions spewing

from these smokestacks. looking at the beaumont enterprise, they right motiva enterprises terms through more than 600,000 crude oil barrels a day. it's refinery was forced to cease operations. energy and exxonmobil refineries also shut down their conflict is. plant, placebian us there. the kind of work you have been doing. this is one storm on top of the daily toxic storm you have been organizing around. i have been working on this for more than 20 years now.

we have been getting these plants to reduce their having --,also from and what have you. because of the storm, the plants have shut down and what you smell is a pungent odor of chemicals. it is like a tar and kerosene odor, if i could describe it to you. when you inhale this air, you have a scratchy feeling in your throat and your sinuses in your nostrils feel as if they are burning. you have to squint your eyes when you walk outside because the odors and the chemicals are so strong in the air. the largestring at oil refinery in the northern hemisphere. barrels --t

thousands of barrels of oil a day. they are looking to expand. they have been celebrating their permit that has been put in. have a responsibility to do everything they can to protect this community and to assist this community. port arthur is home to a large population of disadvantaged folks who have been marginalized . if you come through port arthur, you would not believe the amount of money flowing through this community here. many of the buildings are dilapidated. the streets are in desperate need of repair. our schools are lacking in many supplies they need to teach. we have a disproportionate number of people suffering with respiratorory problems, cancer,

liver and kidney disease. brown,d of mine, eddie he was diagnosed with cancer in he is a and right now, state forecaster dealing with the daily issue of going through chemo. he did not want chemo, like so many, because it seems like it prolongs your life for six or seven months and then you die. he has no choice, because the other method is not working. this rings t true for many in pt arthur. elderly, not just our young men and women. children have acute asthma, they have to use nebulizers to grieve . children have to take -- have to use nebulizers to breathe.

most people here are susceptible to some form of pollution. many people arere susceptible to the dailily bombardment of toxic fumes coming from places like the flint hill chemical plant and others. it is a sad day here in the city of port arthur. with the shut down of these plants, there is a foul stench of chemicals in the air. i am disturbed by this. my granddaughter, who has been with us for three days because their home has taken on issues, our home has been flooded. we are about 12 blocks away from the refinery. really impacting our lives and our health. you for being with us.

i want to ask a question, something we have been talking about. who hasvironmentalist ,een organizing for decades that is the issue of climate change. this tropical depression has hit at the epicenter r of the fossil fuel industry in the united states. can you talk about the issue of climate change and how it relates to where you live and how much understanding people have of that. don't: anybody who believe climate change is real must be living in another universe. what we are seeing on the ground is land erosion. there is a beach we used to frequent here. the surf setback 50 yards from

where it is right now. now, it is within five or six feet of the road. you can no longer take portions of that road into gavel stunned -- into galveston. it has been eroded. canals are breaking apart because the water is coming in from the gulf, into the marshy areas. it is having a heavy impact on the wildlife that is there, such as the gators and other animals that need the wetlands and not necessarily salt water. we are seeing a severe disturbance in the climate here. -- matter ofact fact, hurricane harvey, this was the first of its kind where we have seen a storm in one place

for so long. it went offshore, came back. hurricane left is erratic and unnatural. seeing here are severe temperatures when it comes to the heat during the summertime and the winters, when the grass would freeze and crunch under your feet are no more. filled our winters are with wearing flip-flops and t-shirts. it is definitely having an we talk abouthen climate change. we have thousands of multinational companies that come out here to drill for oil. our federal government has leased those lands offshore. itwe can't use it, why bring above ground.

the petrochemical industries are having a huge impact on our climate and communities. it is time we do more to protect our communities and environment. amy: trump came to the area and left and he is coming back. both he and your governor are climate deniers. what message do you have for them as you speak to us with your entire city underwater? hilton: i would love to have trump and the governor to come to port arthur and spend seven ofs here and take a tour west port arthur, of these communities. victims, theancer kids in the housing projects within half a mile of these huge refineries. talk to the kids who go to

school within five walks -- within five blocks of these refineries. talk to the people who have to deal with the day in, day out noise of the industries. come to port arthur and day for a while. hilton kelley, thank you for being with us. the011, hilton kelley won goldman prize. thank you for being with us, speaking to us from the home of the largest oil refinery in the country. this is democracy now, democracynoun.org, the war and peace report. when we come back, we go across the pond, talking about climate .hange in the united states

in south asia, onene country, bangladesh, one third of the country is under water. there have been over 1200 deaths in bangladesh, nepal, and india. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace reportrt. i'm amy gogoodman. >> while houston continues to deal with the aftermath of hurricane harvey, we look at the media silence on the human contribution to it. our next guest writes that despite 2016 being the hottest year on record, with several climate-related disasters in the u.s. alone, the combined coverage during the evening and sunday news programs on the main television networks amounted to a total of 50 minutes. british jojournalist and author, george monbiot writes, quote,

our greatest predicament, the issue that will define our lives, has been blotted from the public's mind. the silence has been even more resounding on climate-related disasters in areas of the world where populations are more vulnerable. most recently, the devastating floods across the globe - from niger to south a aa. at least seven people are dead and as many as 40 feared trapped after a building collapsed in mumbaiai, india's financial capital. the storm reached pakistan thursday, where a state of emergency has been declared in karachi,i, the countryry's largt city as heavy rains inundated several low lying areas. amy: over the past month, more than 1,200 people have died amid flooding in bangladesh, nepal, and india. this y year's s monsoon season s brought torrential downpours that have submerged wide swaths of south asia, destroying tens of thousands of homes, schools and hospitals and affecting up to 40 million people. meanwhile in niger, west africa, thousands of people have been

ordered to leave their homes in the capital niamey after several days of heavy downpours. more than 40 people have died since the rainy season began in june. we go now to oxford in britain to speak to george monbiot. he's a columnist with the guardian. his book " out of the wreckage: a new politics for an age of crisis" will be out this week. his latest piece for the guardian is headlined, why are the crucial questions about hurricane harvey not being asked? george: to ask of those s challenges the entire political and economic system. weis to recognize the system tell ourselves that is the best possible system you can have, the optimum outcomes and the best of the world's is destined to push us towards catastrophe

and unless we were place that system with a better one, something different, it will destroy us. it will rip apart everything that makes our lives worth living and result in the deaths of a large number of people. >> the issue of climate change is not mentioned in the media as you writes, you think the term is misleading and the term we should use this climate break down. climate change is a bland term to just fine our greatest crisis, the predicament that will lead to catastrophe if we don't take drastic actions to prevent it. foreignke calling a

is.sion unexpected guest it enormousng to have an impact on our livesand as we e heang, has haan enormou impact on lives around the world.d. unlessou use the right lauauage to scriribe wt youu are talkining about, you mislead of what the implications of that are. talking about climate change as if it could be a good thing or thething, we like it when wintnter gives wayay to summer,e suggest t this ge c castrophe might not t be a catastrtrophe t all.l. climate breakdown is not the perfect term. i cannot quite put my finger on the right term, but it is closer to what we need to be saying.

what do you say to o those who say you cannot link this storm toto climate change or climate chaos or climate breakdown? george: you cannot not link it. ofr degrees centigrade warming followed the ice age. not have warm summers without that for degree of warming. one degree of warming, that creates fufurther implicications for e every weatr events on earth. e link is crystal clear. sea levels are higher.

cities like houston and port arthur are likely to be hit with storm surges because of the higher sea levels. is warmer, the sea the temperature is higher, that can increase the intensity of the storm. the air itself is warmer. warmer air holds more moisture than cooler air. we have seen here, it is impossible for the hurricane not to have in affected by climate breakdown. what we cannot say, there would not have been a hurricane if not ..r human contribution of coarse there were hururricans

t the pas -- of coururse there were hurricanes in the p past. you have been n accused ofof poliliticizing hurricane harvey by linking ite it to climate change. epa has accused climate scientists in the u.s. of politicizing it by mentioning climate change or climate breakdown. it is extraordinary. why not mentioning it, you are politicizing the issue. the linkage is clear and obvious. when you don't talk about it, you are taking a position. are nottion is, we going to talk about climate change, climate breakdown.

that is a political decision. it is highly charged. it reflects the interests we have been hearing about. the oil refineries and the oil rigs that have been hit by hurricane harvey in this aftermath. we ares up the issue dealing with, but it is not being discussed at all. the people who run those companies are responsible for shutting down all discussion of climate breakdown so we don't go talk about it. journalists and editors, with the glowing exception of your cells, have a powerful instinct -- with the glowing exception of powerfuls, they have a ,nstinct that if you go there you open up everything, you open pandora's box and you open a

discussion of whether capitalism is working, of whether the political system is working, of what the most p powerfuful actos are doing to the rest of the world's people. to go there, you put everything at risk. opinion of your colleagues at risk. to georgee talking monbiot. trump went to texas and he is going back. he did not address the vic them's or talk about the victims , but he said what a crowd, what a turnout. he is a proud to change denier, as is the governor of texas. denyingt out trump

human-driven global warning -- global warming is interesting because he built his golf -- to in ireland to build a sea around his golf resort to protect it. george: in the gulf of mexico, the oil companies keep raising the height of their oil platforms. in the 1960's, they were 40 feet. today, they are 91 feet above sea level. they have raised the platforms because they know the sea level is rising and storms are intensifying. done so to get the oil platforms out of the way of impacts caused by y climate breakdown caused by the oil

companies. those same oil companies have poured millions of dollars into paying professional liars to deny climate change across the media and across social media. they know what is happening and they are taking precautions to protect them selves. amy: another issue you raise in the piece, you talk about the media has failed to cover climate breakdown related disasters in the u.s.. onre is greater silence climate disasters in the rest of the world. over 1200 people have died. a s ste of emergency has bebeen declarared. and whatatalk about that

is happening in these places where people are so much more vulnerable than here? george: the part of the world worst hit by flooding is not actually texas. catastrophic as it is, it is even worse in india and bangladesh, where we are seeing huge, horrendous levels of flooding. 1200 people deadad. ththe complete shutdown of the economy, of public life, of private life across those countries. silenceis almost medidia througughout the wororld. this week, we have been hearing a lot about bangladesh. headlinese been n in the

the lastst two days. therere is loads of c commentar. why is that? they won c cricket against australia. a third of the country is unundr water. hundreds have died. we don't know how many. it will bebe a long timime befoe that c count iss made, if itit s made at all. loads of children can no longer go to school. devastation of that country. fifinally, it fefeatures in thte news, because of the cricket. it is s politically driven silelee. if we consider what is goining n the r rest of thehe world,, consider our contribution to what is going on in the rest of the world, there is a terrible irony about climate change. ,he main purpose of it

generally, the perpetrators are those who are hit least and last, where as people who have made so little contribution to theate breakdown are hit worst. it necessitates a major change in the way we run our societies and the way we run our economy and the way we live. why we do not talk about it. if we do talk about it, we a natural disaster, a terrible thing that t has happened to those people. we wash our hands of it. >> we just have one minute. a hint at what that change would look like?

torge: radical change politics and economics. a change that depends on perpetual growth on a finite planet is destined to deliver disaster. we need community ownership of local resources. which are not expected to deliver more and more money, but continuedo deliver and steady prosperity to the people of those communities and the people of this planet. the system we have at the moment about accumulation, the in anuation of growth planet that does not grow, that system is destined to push us over the cliliff. amy: thank you for being with us. george monbiot is a british journalist and author. he's a columnist with the guardian. his book "out of the wreckage: a new politics for an age of

crisis" will be out this week. his latest piece for the guardian is called, "why are the crucial questions about hurricane harvey not being asked?" we will have you back on to talk about your ideas and your latest book, george. thank you for joining us. coming up, another suspect in the brutal beating of deandre harris during the white supremacist rally in charlottesville has been arrested. why has it taken so long when the beating was caught on tape? ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. >> another suspect in the brutal beating of a young african-american man during a white supremacist rally has been arrested. 33-year-old alex michael ramos is charged with malicious wounding for allegedly attacking anti-racist protester deandre harris during the unite the right rally in charlottesville, virginia, earlier this month. police also charged 18-year-old white supremacist daniel borden in connection to harris' attack. the police have faced criticism for failing to quickly

investigate and arrest harris' attackers. photo and video show at least beating, supremacists punching, and kicking harris. harris later described the .ttack to zach roberts >> i was standing here, we were walking down as they were walking down. we got here and they rushed us. right in front of the police station. them and i fell over here. i keep hearing this chaos. i feel myself getting hit. i am trying to get up and run, but i cannot. i lose consciousness and fall out. my friends picked me up and take me over there's like and get

help. chipped my two, busted my lip, have a bunch of cuts. i have ate state -- i have 8 staples in my head. amy: that video was shot by zach roberts. photographs of the attack. he joins us now. we welcome our guest to democracy now. describe what happened on that day. >> i was following the white march.cist/nazi rally

they were walking along the streets in the direction of the police station and where the parking garage was. they share an alleyway. a fight breaks up behind me. comes runnnning out and isis followed by about a don white supremacists. they shoved him into a parking arm. he falls, they beat him, kicked him, use whatever they can find. white, the guy with the helmet, who was finally arrested in ohio, he used the parking arm harris, who was finally able to get away and hide out in the parking staircase. with no help from the police, was able to get across the street away from the white

supremacists. >> have you been interviewed to give an account of what you witnessed? >> i talked to the fbi. the only thing they had interest talking to me about was how they would get all of my photos, everything i had. go to their website to upload fililes, they allow four megabyte fileses, 256 limits. an iphone photo would have a problem sharing more than a few images. the charlottesville police department contacted me through , nototogrgraphy webs site via the fbi, my cell phone. when i called them, he was gone.

i called him again and he told me he did not have time to talk to me because they were trying to finish up things before the weekend. how can you talk about deandre is doing? the police station is right there, rightht behind the attac? was feet away. there are police officers on camera before and after the attack. this failure to intervene, the law enforcement behavior is unique. if it had been any other group, there would have been a round up. the groups would not have been allowed to leave without being interviewed. there are four people who actively participated, caught on camera, who have not been

identified or charged. the effort to do so seems to be reliant on journalists like my and other people, in general, the community, to do the work of law enforcement. deandre is recovering physically. he has a cast, he has had the staples in his head removed. mentally, he is still suffering from anxiety. he had to leave because of an anxiety attack. he had to resign his post and we are working on getting him treatment and care so he can recover mentally. amy: your response to the two arrest?

-- arrests? >> we are happy arrests are , the extradition of alex ramos from georgia and borden from ohio. these two men were identified by cover the rally. there have been no additional identifications of the other participants by law enforcement. we hope people don't settle with these two arrests. i am concerned they have been under charged. each has been charged with one felony count of a malicious assaulting. a group of white supremacist attacked a black male while shouting racial slurs. if this does not set the table

for hate-based criminal charges, i don't know what will. amy: thank you for being with us. thank you so much.

laura: can healing be an active justice? this week on the show, adaku utah, and j. bob alotta.a. when people say it cannot be done take a backseat to the ones who are doing it. welcome. the intersection of classism, racism and