06/13/18 06/13/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from pacifica, this is democracy now! >>his is the single worst humanitarian cris in the world. and unfortunately in this case, unlike in rwanda in the past or in bosnia, the united states has had a role because we initially provided aid to the saudis and continue to refuel their planes. amy: as the u.s.-backed saudi backed coalition begins a major offensive on a key port city in

yemen, we speak to democratic ssman ro khanna, a leading critic of the war which has already killed 15,000 civilians, sparked the world's worst cholera epidemic, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. then to the po campaign. >> americans wngjob atoes not pay you a living wage day in and day out. imagine not having a basic income and not knowing how you're going to feed your children. we have to have a people in this country that are willing to stand as long as it takes and organize as long as it takes and fight as long as it takes. amy: 50 years after the assassination of martin luther king, jr., the reverend william barber is helping to lead a new poor peoples campaign. we will air a report from washington where barber and many others were arrested on monday. some religious leaders were handcuffed for five hours from

had their religious vestments ripped off of them, and were brought into court in ankle irons after being jailed overnight. among them, poor people's campaign leader reverend liz theoharis. plus, we will look at the supreme court's major ruling upholding ohio's controversial voter-purge law. the religious leaders were arrested outside the supreme court. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. a federal judge has approved at&t's $85 billion mergerith time warner after ruling the justice department failed to prove the merger violates anti-trust laws. the far-reaching deal is expected to reshape the media industry and will give at&t control over warner bros. film and television studios, along with cnn, tnt, hbo, and many other brands. only three days after president 's inauguration, at&t paid

$600,000 to president trump's persononal lawawyer and fixerr michael cohen's company for help advising the telecom giant on how to steerer the planned mergr through regulatory scrutiny. despite the money, the justice department sued to block the merger. tuesday's approval of the at&t-time warner merger is expected to spur a flurry of other mergers and corporate consolidation across industries. in yemen, the u.s. backed saudi led coalition has launched an offensive against the key port city of hodaydah. the offensive is expected to be the biggest battle in the ongoing three-year assault. the conflict has articled 15,000 -- has already killed 1500 civilians, sparked the world's worst cholera epidemic, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. humanitarian organizations have warned the offensive could be a catastrophe for 250,000 civilians living in hudaydah and

for the rest of the yemen, which is highly dependent on aid that travels through this port. this is jens laerke with the u.n. office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs. >> military attack on hudaydah will impact hundndreds ofnds of innocent civilians. we fear as many as 250,000 people may lose everything, even the lilives will stopp amy: we'l have m more on the offensiveve against yeyemen's key port city after headlines with congressman ro khanna. in afghanistan, at least 18 people were killed in taliban attacks, including the governor of the northern kohistan district tuesday. the attacks came as the government a day cease-fire was slated to take effect. the taliban has announced its own ceasefire during the first three days of eid, later this week. in israel, police again questioned israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu in connection with one of a series of corruption cases. protesters gathered outside netanyahu's house monday night demanding his resignation, as

police question the prime minister inside his home about the bribery scandal involving communications giant bezeq group, aimed at securing more favorable media coverage for netanyahand his family. a number of members oftanyahu'se corruption case. back in the united states, voters went to the polls tuesday for primaries in virginia, south carolina, maine, nevada, and north dakota. inne, vors used a nepe of voting system, ranked choice voting, which allows voters to rank their preferred candidates in order of preference. tuesd, maine residents voted to also use this system for upcoming federal elections. but maine's republican governor paul lepage e is now threatening not to certify the results of tuesday's primary because of the ranked choice voting. >> most horrific thing in the world. i will probably not rtify the election. i will leave it up to the courts to decide. amy: meanwhile, in south

carolina, republican congress memb mark sanford lost his primary election to state prtive arrinon after he reputedly criticized president trump. trump himself attacked sanford on tuesday on twitter, tweeting -- "mark sanford has been very unhelpful to me in my campaign to maga. he is mia and nothing but trouble. he is better off in argentina." the last part a reference to the 2009 scandal in which thennforer disappeared for a few days, first saying he was hiking the appalachian trail, and later revealing he was having an extramarital affair in argentina. after conceding defeat tuesday night, sanford said he did not regret criticizing president trump. >> it may have cost me thehe election, t i i stand byby every one of thosese decisionsns to disagree with the president --ause e i did not think concururrent with h the promomii first ran for office. amy: in virginia, former state

trump campaign co-chair corey stewart won the republican senate primary and will will challenge democratic senator tim kaine in november. stewart ran on a pro-trump, far-right anti-immigrant platform. he has also embraced confederate flag and refused to condemn white supremacist for the deadly rally in charlottesville, virginia. womenn candidates also won big n tuesday night, including in virginia, where state senator jeifer wexton won her house democratic primary. she will challenge republican congresswoman barbara comstock in november. in nevada, susie lee won her house primary race. "the new york times" reports on the democratic side, tuesday's primary results were a victory for the democratic establishment, with a number of candidates handpicked by party leaders being out insurgent left challengers. on the republican side, the results represented a victory for far-right wing of ththe par, with trugnedmp-aliandidates beating out their challengers. in immigration news, mcclatchy is reporting the trump administration is considering buildingt cities on texas

military bases to to take immigrant children being held in u.s. custody. there are w more than 10,000 immigrant children being held u.s. custody as the trump administration continues its policy of separating children from their immigrant pararents t the border as the families pursue asylum claims. and in orlando, florida, hundreds gathered outside of pulse nightclub tuesday to honor the 49 people who were killed ck ever tago in the deadlat community in the united states. the majority of those killed mewhile, also in f,ple of color. ctivstts orged a die-in near trump's mar-a-lago resort to demand the administrationake action to curb gun violence. among those protesting and participating in vigils tuesday were survivors of the valentine' at marjory stoneman douglas high school that killed 17 people in parkland, florida, earlier this year. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and

peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show in yeme where a coalition led by saudi arabia and the united arab emirates has launched an all-out offensive against the key port city of hodaydah. the offensive is expected to be the biggest battle in the d saudi-ledee-year war between coalition and houthi rebels. the war has already killed 15,000 civilians, sparked the woolerepidemic, and pushed the country to the brink of famine. humanirian groups have warned the offensive could be a for 250,000 civilians living in the port city, and for the rest of the yemen, which is highly dependent on aid that travels through this port. the world health organization estimates 8.4 million people in yemen already face pre-famine conditions. ththe offensive comemes just das after the u.s.-b-backed, saudidd coalition bombed a new doctors wit bords cholera clinic in yemen's northwest abs region. on tuesday, i spoke with democratic congressman ro khanna

of california. he recently co-authored a bipartisan letter calling for defense secretary james mattis to help prevent an attack on hudaydah. i asked him to lay out his concerns. . >> it would just be a catastrophe of civilian casualties. meantack on hudaydah would thousands and thousands of women and children and civilians would e. isond, the port of hudaydah the only place right now for practical purposes that food and medicine can get in to yemeni civilians. one would think it should be common sense that the united states and the international community would be doing everything in our power to keep that port openn. in the past, even ambassador nikki haley has talked about the importance of that port for civilians. it would be a dereliction of our own values to not do everything

in our power to stop that attack and do everything in our power to stop refueling me saudis from their warming campaign in yemen. amy: what do you know about this doctors without borders cholera clinic the saudi rime just bombed? they said they gave their coordinates to the saudis. timese heard this so many before in other places. for example, in afghanistan. >> well, really it is shocking and unconscionable. this is not the only incident. we had reports over the last year, year and a half abou the saudis indiscriminately bombing civilian sites, bombing relief workers. and that is that something that the united states should in any way partate in our refueling of the saudi play the something the saudis

desperately rely on. we started doing that as a stop to saudi arabia when we did the a randel. without, ok, the saudis are insistent on this, so let's provide some assistance. it was a mistake. i don't think anyone would have anticipated the level of manihurian catastrophen yemen. it is important to understand this is not a counterterrorism operation in yemen against al qaeda. this is an active interference and the saudi efforts -- in the saudi efforts to bomb the houthis and engage in the civil the united states stands to stop our role in furthering the saudi efforts and we need to do everything in our power to stop the saudis from attacking the port of hudaydah. amy: the wall street jouournal s reporting the trouble administration is weighing a request by the united arab emirates to expand the u.s. role in the war in yemen by providing

direct assistance to the impending offensive against the port city of hudaydah. so you are talking about saudi arabia the united arab emirates. these are the countries also that particulalarly jared kushnr are presesident trump's son-in-w , senior advisor to president trump, is very close to. what does this direct assistance mean and how is this happening without congressional approval? is candidly been a lack of transparency by the trump administration. in the past when secretary mattis has testified to the armed services committee, on which i said, he has been very clear our efforts and yemen are largely limited to counterterrorism operations against alaeda and he has said the united states does not have an active role in assisting the saudi's and the fight against the houthis.

we are hearing reports that is not true and there considering expanding our aid to the saudi's and not because of counterterrorism interest, but because of the civil w which is a proxy war with iran. that is what prompted several of us to write secretary mattis a letter, at the very least, we need transparencncy from the adadministrationon about o our objectives in yemen. they are relying on the 2 2001 u mf which allows as to go after al qaeda o or its affiliates anywhere in the world. that was overly broad. but even underer that auththorization n of forcetheres no aututhority to gogo afterer e houthis, and the administration d we're g going to demandparent transparent answers from secretary mattis and others. amy: united arab emirates and saudi arabia. what is the u.s. interest in both of these places? >> we see them both as allies,

candidly, to contain iran. and this type of balance of to ariticolhas gotten us ot of problems in the middle east. unfortunately, we'retinuing the same type of thinking, saying we need to ally with countries that may be a check on iranian expansion. unfortunately, the administration has continued down that path of thinking without any authority from the united states congress. but the first step is to really understand what our involvement and roll is in yemen. the administration has been very coy about admitting we are aiding me saudis and a proxy civil war, aiding the united arab emirates in a proxy war in yemen against iran because they know it has absolutely no authorization under congressional by congress. amy: talk more about this. or people not familiar with the

u.s. role, why the u.s. is at all involved in this on the side of saudi arabia. under obama, for a period, they were directly assisting. then, as youou pointed out, they put some limitations on thth assistance. if you couould explain what that was and what caused that in and how trump himselff is respondin. do you think he has any understanding of what is happening in yemen? i mean, not to mention the deaths, something like 15,000. but talking about just people afflicted with cholera, the worst situation in the world with over one million yemenis suffering from cholera. the doctors without borders clinic was a cholera clinic. >> you are right to point out the humanitarian catastrophe. this is the single worst humanitarian crisis in the world . unfortunately, in this case, unlike in rwanda in the past or in bosnia, the united states has

hahad a role because we initialy coininue to refuel their planes. their reason for our aid t to te saudis was as a balance to our supporting a the iran deal. we were negotiating with iran no have in a ran deal. the saudis complained to the obama administration at the time saying w wfeel insececure with e normalization of the relationship with iran. and the administration made a decision that they would provide some assistance to the saudis, partly to make sure the saudis stilfelt secure with their relationship with the united states. when you talk to most of the former obama administration officials, they will say that was a mistake. that they never could have fathomed the level of brutality of the saudi regime in wasen that they could not have fathomed the civililian casuales. they tried to wind it down.

well, then they realized the trump was coming in but it was too late for them to wind down the efforts and the support for the saudis. the trump administration comes in and they redouble their support of the saudis and the united arab emirates as a check on it ran. the trump administration is singularly focused on containing iran was supporting allies of ours that may help us box iran the administration has doubled down on aiding the saudis in this catastrophe and with a huge civilian loss of life. amy: democratic congress member ro khanna of california. you can go to democracynow.org for more. when we come back, major supreme court decision on voter purging and over 100 people are arrested

and washington, d.c. come at the poor people's campaign contininues. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we now turn to washington, where the supreme court has ruled 5 to 4 to uphold ohio's decision to aggresessively purge voters from the rolls. one survey found nearly 15 thousand people were removed from the voting rolls in recent years in ohio's three largest

counties alone. critics say the e court's decicn is yet another victory for conservatives trying to restrict voting rights. for more, we are joined by ari berman, senior writer at mother jones, a reporting fellow at the nation institute. his latest pieces are titled "the supreme court is helping republicans kill a key voting rights law" and "we now know why steve bannon and kris kobach lobbied for a citizenship question on the census."." welcome back to democracy now! >> thank you, amy. amy: talk about this decision. >> it is really big because ohio has purged 2 million voters since 2011, more than any other state. african-american voters in the state's three largest counties were perched at twice the rate of whites. beeeenars the purgi has discriminatory. one of the ways that ohio purges as they remove infrequent voters from the rolls. so if y'n' vote in election, ohio since you a mailer. if you don't respond to that mailer to confirm your registration and you m miss two

more elections, your purged from the rolls even if you are still eligible to vote. what ohio is doing is they're using a new way of purging try to kick people off the voting rolls this is disturbing not just because ohio is set in important swing state but this could open the door to more voter purging by republican states and really, in a lot of was, compromise people's most fundamental rights. amy: in her dissent, justice otis on mayor wrote -- -- justtomaice sor wrote -- "congress enacted the against the backdrop of substantial efforts by states to disenfranchise low-income and minority voters, including programs that purged eligible voters from registration lists bebecause theyey failed to voton prior electitions." sotomayor went on to write -- "the court errs in ignoring this statutory text, ultimately sanctioning the very purging that congress expressly sought to protect agagainst," she adde. >> this is so important because

this is a very technical case about how you can and cannot purge. biggeror brought of the picture. with a very, very long hry of voter suppression, discriminating against people when they try to vote. the national voter registration act, the second major piece of voting legislation after the voting rightofs act 1965, allowed people to register at dmv and other public agencies. it was an incredibly important law. republicans s are trying to wean a key voting rights law to make easier to purge the voting rolls. this is one of many voter suppression tactics we are sing along with voter id laws, cutting early voting, making it harder to register to vote. the jim crow of era. this was donone in the jim crow soake as hard ass possible for black voters to register. even if they do register, you purge them from the rolls. sotomayor is saying history is repeating itself. we are getting the very law that was as to prevent this kind of thing from happening.

and you go talk about the role of neil gorsucuch. >> every fighter foror decisions -- every five to four decision is likely the result of mitch mcconnell and republicans in the senate stole a supreme court seat from president obama and donald trump at neil gorsuch on the court. has case in ohio only happened because the resistor one supreme court seat. it is innly are they stealing a supreme court seat, but then they are also making hard for people to be able to vote. this is a two-pronged attack on democracy. first, you deny the will of the people in that president obama should hbeen able to make this appointment because he was elected in 2012. you deny the will of the peo by making a harder for them to vote in the fifirst place. amy: talk about the person on which ththis case was based. larry h harmon. he voted in 2008 and d did not vote for a few elections and

showed up in 2015 to vote on a local referendum. he found out he was no longer on the voter rolls. usually are only removed if you are in eligible to vote, meaning you died or you moved o committed a crime or done to changeelse to try her status. he is not done anything. he still lived at the same place . he had voted in the past. he was removed on the voter rolls. the thing about voter purging that is so problematic, people do not know they are purged until they show up atat the pol. then they are not able to vote. there's nothing they can do about it. that is what happened of thousands of people in ohio. the worry is more republican states will try to do this in the future. amy: if you can talk about the piece you wrote about kris kobach. bannon andnow steve pushed for a question on there's a citizenship question on the

census since the first time since 1950. this is go to drastically diminish responses from immigrants and threatened the entire accuracy of the senses which is so critical for democracy. the reason they wanted this was to exclude noncitizens from counting toward political representation. that would be a dramatic rewrite of the constitution, democratic norms and it would deny immigrant communities, places like new york and california, significant representation and shippedsentreion to whiter and more republican areas. what kris kobach and steve bannon are doing is try to weaponize the census to fit the trump administration's aims to try to help republicans can -- politically. hurting people in more diverse states. anything you tweeted yesterday, 55 years ago today, naacp field assasassinated by kkk in sssii. a reminder of the bloodshed fighting for voting r rights." >> my worry is history is

repeating itself here. that so many people like medgar evers paid the highest price, their lives, fighting for their right to vote. he aa years later, we suprememe court, republican par, fundamental right. finding new ways to try to disenfranchise people, whether it is voter id laws, cutting back on the time people have the vote. this is old poison in new bottles. we have seen this before. we'rere seeing the disenfranchisement o of americas bebefore. people like medgar evers die for. suchs to be bac going back is an extreme theturbg d setirng lot of attention to. amy: your biggest concerns for the midterm elections that are coming up ththis year? >> my biggest concern is so many republican-controlled states of new voting restriction in effect now, 23 states have passed new

voting restrtrictions s for the time since 2010. not only that, gerrymandered maps across the country. the supreme court may strike that down or upholdd it which means all of the gerrymandering will continue in 2018 and 2020. i think we would like to believe we have totally free and fair elections in this country, but there are a lot of ways in which people's right to vote are being undermrmined. we look at who is going to win the election, we also have to look at the conditions ununder which the elections are going to take place to begin with. amy: ari berman is a senior writer at mother jones, a reporting fellow at the nation institute. we will link to your book "give us the ballot: the modern struggle for voting rights in america." the pieces "the supreme court is helping republicans kill a key voting rights law" and "we now know why steveve bannon and kris kobach lobbied for a citizenship question on the census." when we come back, one of the people are arrested in washington, d.c., between the capital and the supreme court.

nine religious leaders on the steps of the supreme court. they were put in leg irons. their vestments ripped off of them. they were held overnight in jail. onll hear what took place monday in washington. stay with us. ♪ [music break] amy: here on democracy now!, democracynow.org. d.c.,day and washington,

nine religious leaders were arrested on the steps of the supreme court. they were handcuffed for five hours, had religious vestments ripped off them, then jailed sales with in cockroaches. they were brought into court in ankle irons. the religious leaders were among 100 people arreed and washington, d.c., as part of a national day of action for thepn protesting poverty and racism. over the past five weeks, nearly 2000 people have been arrested and what organizers describe as the most expensive wave of nonviolent direct action the century. the reverence william barber and liz theoharis are leading the protest 50 years after dr. martin luther king jr. launched the first poor people's campaign will stop monday's protest came just hours after the supreme court dealt a major setback to voting rights by upholding ohio's controversial voter purge law. was on theow! streets of washington, d.c., covering the action.

>> poor people's campaign! a national call of moral revival. >> historians are telling us five weeks in, we are ready -- we already have the largest wave of nonviolent civil disobedience in the 21st century. already. and we are just starting. this is just the launch. this is just the beginning. us,we have, today with others that will be joining us in zone 10 will we start to .ly and across the country we have all kinds of folks. we are workers that a been locked out of where they're supposed to work because they're standing up for higher wages. we have homeless folks whose in camas have been destroyed, but who are coming to stand up for justice. we hav people who died

that we're standing up for still today because they could never access affordable housing. when this country could build prefab housing and 45 minutes, people are dying without housing. there are 62 million people that make less than a living wage. but there are 400 people that hour.97,000 an that is insane. that is immoral. that is unjust. but we are here. >> poor people's campaign, the national call for moral revival. >>-richmond, virginia. i am here because i am part of the poor people's campaign and also fighting for $15. it is open my eyes because i was making $7.35 at mcdonald's and working full-time hours. want $15, i want medicaid. it got me fired up.

i want to keep going. switch jobs to wendy's, i'm st going to fight because i'm still not making what i want to make. nine dollarsking and $10 and saying, i'm making good money. no, you are still poor. you are still struggling. >> poor people's campaign, a national call for moral revival. is katrina. i work at ronald reagan airport. many people i work alongside have families. if you don't ask them their story, you will never know. a lot of them are suffering from depression. it is hard because you're living paycheck to paycheck and try to put food and things on the table for yourself as well as your children. it gets hard. many of them have two or three jobs they are working. i the hardness on their face. here because we need a

union. i work at the dulles airport. >> i get fired over cap promised -- for almost 14 years. >> they don't like the union. we like the union. africans, soare they don't respect or regards for me. it is not good. we're all human beings. see?u that is why. i will cry because of disrespect. it is not good for me. close poor people's campaign,

national call for moral revival. poor people's campaign, national call for moral revival. looks i am from detroit, michigan. i came because i believe the 'spo campaign is going to bring about great change. 40% of detroit or slip below the poverty line. when wages and money -- when you don't accesto that, the price of water in your basic needs like electricity and things are going up and you don't he -- you cannot make ends meet. i live in a neighborhood that there was a three block radius that we all got shut off. that is endemic poverty. that happened all over the city. they would send it to guys in a truck and shut off water for a whole neighborhood. >> poor people's campaign, national call for moral revival. >> i'm president -- it is that inin this country youu e 400 people making $97,000 an who when you have people

clean airports, the wheelchair attendants, sky caps, working ,or tips, unreliable tips working to a three jobs at the airports. we're hoping this is going to bring to light the huge income inequality in this country. not just that, but structure racism and systematic racism. the war economy. women..ality for that is what this campaign is all about. >> i am from rocky mountain, north carolina. music is so important becauauset is the heartbeat. of thehe life's blood movement. a lot of people are drawn to the movement by the music.

i have encountered several people who said when we were doing our moral monday's and north carolina, "i heard the music." once they're there, they hear the message. i'm mr.ticular song jimmy collier goes ♪ everybody's got a right to live livebody's got a right to and before this campaign fails, we will all go down to jail everybody's got a right to live ♪ >> i'm reverend hagler, pastor of plymouth congregational united church of christ. amy: what are you doing today? >> and then your continuously supporting the poor people's campaign, and call for moral revival. it is clear we have to chase the narrative -- change the

narrative of this country that deals with the issues that sony of us are concerned about and feel it as i do crisis proportions t is g ongon terms of voter suppression, what is going on all around the country in terms of economic issues, the xenophobia that seems to be almost accepted quality. we are here to continue to challenge that kind of rhetoric thatialogue and create one is open and inclusive. amy: the poor people's campaign is not a new name. we echo back to 50 years of dr. king. >it is important to remember, i see people in the media say, "the new poor people's campaign." this is a continuation of where we have been, the kinds of things historically were on the table because we're done with mart when he was assassinated. there was unfinished business. it rained and rained like it has been raining here and basically washed away resurrection city. but we are here today to say

this is a continued issue that we need to continue to press 50 years later until it becomes ues.r this country needs a new to♪ everybody's got a right love and before this campaign fails, we will all go down to jail ♪ >> i am from was for genia. -- i am from west virginia. we are one of the nation's highest poverty rates. my children, i've daughters, my daughters have a greater chance of dying of a drug overdose then they do from graduating from high school. it is insane. i'm long was widowed in the 1970's. if there is one song in my childhood that kept playing all the time, it was get an education, amy jo.

get an education because you ould n have ork asard. think about the poor west virginia students who will see n increase over the past 15 years from 120,000 -- one of 20% to 150% for in-state tuition. think aboustudt the ts of the visit the food pantries on campus and there's a reason for their to be pantries on college campuses and was virginia. >> good afternoon. my name is josh armstead, i'm unionce president of the for the dmv. i'm a shop steward for unigeority. i lived here in d.c. all my life. it is expensive to be poor in the nation's capita it is something that you cannot live with. i'm glad i got into a union because now i'm able to actually see the benefits of standing together and being able to inspire others to stand together. >> i'm here in front of the capital with a poor people's campaign and my union and other

unions to show solidarity to the working class in america until the millionaires and billionaires that organi labor is not dead. amy: are you getting arrested today? >> absolutely. amy: why? standis time to take a and send the message we are willg to risk our lives not onlynside our workplaces but also on the streets. amy: you talk about right to work. strategy toacist divide working class people in this country. it was made by millionaires and billionaires who wanted to divide black and white workers who they wanted to keep wages down. we need to build up our collective party -- power again and realize racism and capitalism are intertwined in this country. it is the reason why we have wages so low, reasons why in the people sleeping in the square. we need to come together and realize the game being played in this country, that we need to flip it.

amy: can you tell me your story about how you got involved with the union? >> i got involved because i saw my mother struggle growing up. i did not ever want to be that way. i did not want to live that way. when i got to georgetown, i joined the union. i became involved a committee. i talk to coworkers. tgainst servicergest food corporation in america. we won that contract. i'm able to see because we have union health care and union contracts. the reverend dr. william barber. people likereating and corporations like people. you saw the rabbi, the imam, and the christian minister standing together in solidarity. something is happening. and on this campaign, we also

andeve something dr. king many others talked about, and that is a basic aaron tete income. -- basic guaranteed income.ks a too big to fail, the people are too important to fail. not be dying on our streets in the richest nation in the world. and we know that not pay a people a living wage and undermining union rights and cutting social safety nets for thepoor in this country, wealthiest country in the nation in terms of money, is unconscionable. it is a moral sin. it is a violation of our constitution's promise to establish justice. when we have these realities 250,000 people dying -- d know it today some say, we have stood out here in our. but imagine what living all the

outside for 24 hours. imagine having to worry about health care 24 hours a day. job thatorking at a does not pay you a lg day in and day out. imagine not having a basic income and not knowing how you're going to feed your chil. we have to have a people in this country that are willing to aganize as long as it takes and fight as long as it takes. [applause] when the supreme court handed decisionve to four that began to take us backwards we areng rights and seeing happening in this country now what we have not seen since 1883, when the supreme court overturned the civil rights act

875. it is unconscionable. it is a moral sin. it is a violation of the promises to establish justice. this weekend i heard a trump advisors say that there was a special place in hell for those who challenge trump on trade. abou bll let me tell you what the bible actually says places,ll and special since you brought it up. s a final word to you arrogant rich, take some lessons in crying. you wi need buckets of tears when the class comes upon you. your money is corrupt. your fine clothing stinks. cancer in the gut of urination. it i is deststroying you from within. you thought you arare piling up,

but what you have actually piled up is judgment. why? because all of all of the workers you have exploited. that is in the bibl'al because of all of the works you have exploited. people you've cheated. the groans of the worker you used and abused are roaring in the ears of god to his a master. you have looted it up on earth, lived it up on earth but all of .ou have to show for it you'll end up like a corpse if you don't change. in fact, what you have done is condemn and murder perfectly good persons who stand there and take it. you want to talk about a special place? anytimea special place politicians get up in the morning and all they can think to do is take people's health care. oh, there is a special place. whenever focus up in the morning

and all they can think about is how to block living wages and take care of the poor -- take from the poor. that is why if we really love the station and the people of this nation, we must have mass, nonviolent fusion mal civil ence ust m have mobilization. we must have mass are building among the poor and we must not stop until things . preacher tell you as a who have studied all of the comparative religious -- religions, what we're seeing is nott jus left and right policies and conservative policies and liberal policies. it is sin. when a form of wickedness the greedy take and take and take and take from the needy and the poor. i did not use the word wickedness.

where is my rabbi? i wasn't the one that used it. and since these people always want to bring preachers of your to bless the unjust action and they got bibles all over the capital and they're always putting their hand on the bible when they get ready to swear themselves into office -- well, you're messed up now because you have some folks in the movement that know what the bible ayals. this is in the bible -- stop blaming the poor. stop playing religion and quoting creeds. if you did not mean what is in the constitution, he should not have written it. lose the band of wickedness. stop lying and saying america doesn't have enough resources. if you can find the to try and know a tax cut, you can find the resources for everybody to have livingre and a wage. if we want this nation to be

seen as good in the sight of god , the divivine spirit, then we have got to cry aloud and spare not. we've got to be a part of rakin these bands of wickedness and justice and racism and system of policihapo we have to set the nation free. and i heard a friend of mine -- he is dead, but i heard him in a book. he was a powerful brother. he said something like this in the 1930's, and the middle of traumatic times that still has relevance today. "oh, let america be america again. the land that is never been yet and yet must be. the land where every person is free. the land that is mine, the poor man, the indian, the negroes, m e, who made america, whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain,

whose hand at the foundry, who was plowing in the rain, must bring back our mighty dream again." sure. sure, lakes and he said, call me any of the name you choose but the steel of freedom does not stain from those who live like leeches on the people's live. we must take back our land again. america. america. oh, yes, i say airplane. america never wasca t amerime and yet i swear this oath that america will be. is anybody out there that wdeclare right here and right w that i'm going to do everything in my power to make america what it ought to be? make america what it ought to be. make america what it ought to

be. amy: reverend barber, can you tell us what you are about to do? >> we are about now to do an act of moral fusion civil disobedience. we have in five weeks straight. right now this is happening all over the east coast. the next hour happening in the central area, then out west. our focus today is on labor and poverty and living wages and guaranteed incomes. we believe we have to shift the narrative of this country. deal the way we can do it is people have to put their lives and their bodies on the line. you preachers and poor people and infected people who are in these lines. and we are willing now to engage in an act of moral civil disobedience to strive home what is going on. we believe in justice is happening in the cause of congress and in the halls of state capitals around this country. amy: where are you planning to be arrested in front of today? >> i can't say just yet. i can say we're headed toward

the capital and toward the streets because what we are saying is we're going in the streetve to stop because this country is going in the wrong direction. theotto bline in weheook at poverty, 140 million people living in poverty and low wealth. we are more poverty today than in 1968. we're spending more money and war than at the height of the vietnam war. the movement was assassinated. theoharisy dr. liz and myself and others say we have to live and not the same way. they came to d.c. we're all over the country. we're launching a movement, not ending the movement. we're building coalitions of every race, creed, sexuality who will build a multiyear campaign to change the narrative, to shift the voting in this country, and to be a power among the poor.

we are inspired by dr. king and others. what we also know is this is not a commemoration. the last thing you do with the prophetic movement is commemorate it. what you have to do is reach down and the blood, pick it up, and randy j. that is what this is. -- pic andit up. that is what this is. amy: the reverend william barber of the poor people's campaign speaking on monday. he was joined in washington by labor leaders, the five for 15 campaign -- that's $15 an hour -- after the rally, he led the protestersrs from ththe capitalo the s street in front of th supreme court were about 100 of them were arrested. after they were ed, arreste reverend liz theoharis then led other leaders of to the steps of the supreme court to protest the court's ruling upholding ohio's controversial voter purge law. >> we are the poor people's

campaign, a national call for moral revival. more witnesses are coming bring a message to the supreme court. am a pastor in washington, d.c. >> national campaign. >> the poor people's campaign. >> middle collegiate church, new york. >> pastor from the congregation united church of christ hear from the of the supreme court, basically, to really raise up the questions about the decisions this body makes. the decis theyake an voter likesupprehio and decisions the other day in terms of legalizing discrimination against of gp gq community. -- og be gq community. amy: we're here front of the supreme court. nine people are being arrested.

we're not talking about the supreme court justices of the united states, but nine people of faith who were protesting the decisions the supreme court, part of the pooreople's campaign. theohariserend liz who totogether with rereverend willm barber is leading the poor people's campaign. they get arrested each week, along with hundreds of other people around the country. they are praying right now and the police have toldhey will be arre. >> if you do know, you will be arrested. >> thank you. we love you. thank you. we love you. thank you. amy: hundreds of people are standing lining the street between the supreme court and the capital where they just rallied. watching the arrest go down. >> thank you. we love you. >> ♪ everybody's got a right to

live before this fails, we will all go dn to jail dreamody's got a right to to lovey's got a right -- john amy: the scene in front of the supreme court on monday as revererend dr. . liz theohar, cochair of the poor people's campaign, national call for moral revival. hagler and seven others, nine people altogether, were arrested d just in front of the court, about 100 people were arrested that day. they were taken from the supreme court to, well, we're joined by dr. reverend liz theohoharis rit now. she was released from jail last stand, which means the nine religious leaders were held more than 24 hours in jail. what happened to you in jail, reverend? >> thank y for sharing this

story about people all across this country standing up for justice. we were arrested in front of the supreme court and moved around quite a bit over the past 24 hours. we were held at the supreme court for a while and then moved holding -- july in amy: all of this time you were handcuffed? >> yes. we were handcuffed for the first five or six hours while we were being processed at the supreme court. i thi - know there is kind of an impoverished democracy in this country and that poor people of all colors are criminalized. ct see the c that and why we need thiss campaign and why people, including faith leaders from the poor people's campaign, were standing up for justice this

past week. yes, we were kept for many hours,handcuffed, put into city jails with lots of poor people who suffer the indignities of life every day. we were kept at the courthouse for whshted to a federal court. amy: we have reports your religious specimens were ripped off of you? >> we had to remove them. my stole -- you were is the sash wearing. statement is a true from the bible. it is also something that during 90 60tpoor people's campaign from the caravan from mississippi had that on there. we wear those in solidarity with the campaign and with the bible.

.hat was taken and all of our religious scholars and investment were removed. -- and assessments were removed. folks got some of them back yesterday. i'm still waiting to get mine back. amy: your held overnight, cockroaches in your cells? >> yeah, just like poor people experience all across this country every day. we were held with cockroaches, with very little food, and -- amy: when you are brought before the judge, you are put in leg irons? >> well, so we were shackled in leg ir all day -- which is the treatment that folks get, poor people get across the country on a regular basis. whatnk it just ties into we need opera people's campaign, why we need to stand up and deare we need the right still

living wages -- john amy: dr. reverend liz theoharis, we have to leave it there, coach of the peoples poor campaignesk coach are the peoples poor campaign. ççspecial thanks to --