[captioning g made psiblble by democracy now!] amy: from new york, thisis is democracy now! truly remarkable progress in moving our nation forward. we have all seen the encouraging news as we open up america again, more than 3 million jobs created in retail sales are rolling. amy: truly remarkable progress. those were the words of vice president mike pence describing the countrtry's handling of the

coronavirus outbreak as cases soar to record highs. the u.s. death toll has now and one quarter of the m million covid-19 mobile cases are in the united states. we will get the latest. then we go to colorado. a warning to our audience, this clip contains disturbing audio. >> please -- "i'm an introvert, and i'm different." that's what elijah mcclain, a 23-year-old african american massage therapist, cried out as police in aurora, colorado, attacked him when he was walking home from the store buying iced tea. he died in the hospital a few days later. that was almost a year ago. protests arere continuing in

colorado, calling for justice. we will speak to the family's attorney. then we go to louisiana, where two environmental activists have been charged with terrorizing an oil and gas lobbyist for leaving plastic pollution at his home. >> would have millions of nurdles, plastic pellets, texasion from taxes -- that we have brought to louisiana to make the point that this combination not get a water or air permit and should not be allowed to operate in the state of louisiana. amy: the arrested activists are part of a campaign to block formosa plastics from building a new plant in st. james parish, louisiana, in an area known as cancer allll. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.orgrg, the quarante report. i'm amy goodman.n. coronvirus cases have now topped

10 million worldwide, with over a ha million d deaths. cases continue to surge across much of the united states, where confirmed cases have now topped 2.6 million, with over 128,000 -- 126,0 rorted deaths. that is one quarter of the world's cas and deaths. though the u.s. has ju over 4% of the global population. spikes are bei reported in 36 states. only two states, connecticut and rhode island, saw a decline in new cases compared to last week. on friday, the u.s. reported the highest number of new cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. at least a dozen states have paused their reopening. in california, governor gavin newsom ordered bars in seven counties, including los angeles, to close. the governors of florida and texas have ordered bars to close, among other restrictions, in an attempt to curb the surge in cases. but they are still refusing to impose statewide stay-at-home orders or mandate they're wearing of face masks.

secretary of health and human services alex azar warned the u.s. needs to act immediately. >> the window is closing. we have to act and people as individuals have to act respononsibly. we need to social distance and where our face coverings if we are in settings where we cannot social distance. amy: meanwhile, vice president mike pence friday touted the nation's, "truly remarkable progress," even as the u.s. reported a record 40,000 new cases in the previous 24 hours. pence recently canceled campaign events in florida and arizona due to the surge in cases. he did not, however, cancel an appearance at a dallas church sunday, where he wore a mask as he sat in the front row as a choir of over 100 people performed unmasked. over 2,000 people attended the event, many also not wearing masks. this comes as reports emerged friday that the trump campaign ordered the removal of thousands

of social distancing stickers on seats s at its tulsa rally rally last weekend. a reporter who covered the tulsa rally recently said he tested positive for covid-19. many of trump's campaiaign staffers h have also gonone into quarantine federal judge has ordered immigration and customs enforcement to release immigrant childrenen from its fafamily due tontion centnters t concerns over rising coronavirus infections. the order affects two immigrant prisons in texas and one in pennsylvania, as well as well as facilities housing unaccompanied minors. last w week, court documents revealed 11 immigrants held inside a prison for families in karnes, texas, tested positive for covid-19. u.s. district judge dolly gee wrote, "the facilities are on fire, and there is no morere tie for half measures." at least 750 ice prisoners and 45 ice workers have tested positive f for the coronavirus. coronavirus cases are continuing to increase across the global soututh.

in india, the number of covid-19 cases has topped half a million, and the peak of the pandemic is projected to be weeks away. health officials warn the total number of cases could top 1 million by the end of the month. iran has ordered residents to wear masks at indoor gathering places. on saturday, iran reported 127 deaths, its highest daily death toll in three months. meanwhile, australia is reporting its biggest jump i in covid-19 casases in two months.. protests against racism and police vioiolence continued over the weekend. in louisville,e, kentucky, a gunman fired more than a dozen rounds into a crowd of protesters late saturday, killing one person, injuring another, and sending scores diving for cover. 27-year-old photographer tyler gerth, a vocal supporter of the protests, died at the scene. police arrested 23-year-old steven nelson lopez and charged him with murder and wanton endangerment. after the shooting, authorities

ordered an end to a protest encampment which is demanding justice for breonna taylor, the 26-year-old african american emergency medic who was shot to death by louisville police inside her o own apartment in march. no offfficers have been chchargd in her killing. in aurora, colorado, police used pepper spray on crowds saturday as thousands took to the streets, shutting down an interstate as they called for justice for elijah mcclain, who was killed by policece last yea. the 23-year-old african-american was tackled by police as he headed home from a local convenience store, where he bought iced tea. the police placed in a chokehold, and then injected with ketamine, paramedics did who came to the scene. also at saturday's protest for mcclain, a group of violinists held a vigil, playing their violins, an instrument elijah

mcclain also played, in his honor. colorado governor jared polis announced thursday a special prosecutor would reopen a probe into the police killing of elijah mcclain. we'll have more on this story , s speaking with the mcclain family attorney later in the broadcast. here in new york, a protest occupation outside city hall continues for a sixth straight day, with activists demanding at billion in cuts to the police department's $6 billion budget. the encampment is set to continue until the city budget is submitted by a midnight deadline tuesday. in philadelphia, medical workers briefly took over the shuttered hahnemann hospital saturday under the banner "care not cops," administering free healthcare before the occupation was scuttled by police in riot gear. hahnemann hospital was closed last september after a private equity executive launched a plan to turn the property into luxury condomininiums. in seattle, washington, hundreds of protesters marched on the home of mayor jenny durkan

sunday, rejecting her proposal to cut 5% from seattle's police department. the protesters are demanding the city slash the police budget in half, reinvesting the funds in community programs. in minnesota, the minneapolis city council continues its move to disband its police force friday, as it unanimously voted for a charter amendment that would replace the police with a department of community safety and violence prevention. the popular uprising is foforcig cities and major institutions around the country to reckon with its symbols of racism and colonialism. the mississippi house anand sene voted sunday to remove the confederate battle emblem from its state flag following mounting pressure. the national collegiate athletic association, the ncaa, set earlier this month that would not hold c championship games in the state because of the flight, and mississippi state star running back kylin h hill said e would no longer represent mississippi unless the racist

symbol was removed. in new jersey, princeton university said it would remove woodrow wilson's name from its public policy school and one of its residential colleges. "wilson's racism was significant and consequential, even by the standards of his own time," said princeton's president. as president of the united oversawwoodrow wilson the e segregation of federal agencies. new jersrsey's monmouth universy also said it would remove wilson's name from one of its buildings. in new york city, city council members are calling for the removal of the statue of slave owner president thomas jefferson from the council chambers. and newark, new jersey, has taken downwn statue ofof christopher columbus. newawark mayor raz baraka also recently signed a bibill to cree the office of violence prevention, which will be funded with 5% of the city's police budget. meanwhile, four men have been charged for trying to topple president andrew jackson's statue in lafafayette square, nr the white house. in boston, kevin peterson, founder of the new democracy

coalalition, ended a onene-week protest fast sunday. he has been standing outside the famed faneuil hall, calling on city officials to rename the building and address systemic raracism in boston. towe call mayor walsh again the table to address the issue of white supremacy in the cityy by addressing the issue of renaming faneueuil hall. we cannot feel comfortable or at ease as citizens and that this city when the name of a slaveowner sits up atop a public building. trump retweeted a video sunday of a man in the villages retirement community in florida shouting "white power" at anti-racist protesters. white power.r, amy: president trump shared the video sunday morning with

caption, thank you to the great people of the villages, the radical left do-nothing .emocrats will fall in the fall the man was driving a golf cart with trump 2020 on its windshield. the video was removed from trump's twitter feed about three hours later. a white house spokesperson said trump, "did not hear the one statement made on the video. what he did see was tremendous enthusiasm from his many supporters," the white house said. yet, the white house press secretary, the depututy press secretary, did not condemn the term white power. facebook said friday it will start labeling posts that are newsworthy but violate the company's policies and would remove content that incites violence or suppresses voting rights, even if it originates from politicians. the announcement comes after ceo mark zuckerberg faced mounting pressure for refusing to t take action against p posts by president trump, including one threatening violence against protesters. facebobook's market value droppd dramically fday after unilevever announced it was temporarily pulling ads from the

platform due to concerns over hate speech. other major brands, i including coca-colola, honda, hershehey, d jansport also joined over 100 other companies boycotting facebook. georgia's hate crime law will lo into effecect later ththis week after it was signed into law by governor brian kemp friday. georgia was one of only four states without a hate crimes law . however, the naacp and others are calling out a police protection measure that was also approved by georgia last week , which some say will further endanger black people. in immigration news, a federal judge said friday trump does not have the authority to divert pentagon funds to construct parts of his border wall without congressional approval to construct parts of the border wall. the trump administration circumvented congress after declaring a national emergency on the border last year. howeve t the fate of the wall remains uncertain since the ruling is in opposition to a prpreme coururt decisision lastr that grant trump t the right t o use the e fense fus. the aclulu said it would returno the supreme court if necessary

toto stop coconstruction of the wall. the "new york times" has published a report claiming a russian military intelligence unit secretly y offered d bounts to taliban-linked militants for killing u.s. troroops in afghananistan. the "washington post" reports the bounties are believed to have resulted in the deaths of several u.s. service members. the reports are based entirely on unnamed sources. russia and the taliban have also denied the allegation. president trump says he was never briefed on the claim because u.s. intelligence agencies "did not find this info credible." a spokesperson for the national security council said, "the veracity of the underlying allegations continue to be evaluated." the reports comes s as peace tas are about to begin between the taliban and the afghan government. pakiststan's ststock exchange ce ununder the attack todayay whenr gunmen tried to storm the building in karachi. at least firefight.

the four gunmen, as well as three security officers. the baluchistan liberation army, a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. in cololombia, outrage has erupd afafter seven soldiers cononfesd to gang-raping a 13-year-old indigenous girl. the girl is from the embera tribe. the soldiers face up to 30 years in prison. women's rights activists and indigenous groups in colombiaa say they hope this case will be a turning point in punishing rampant gegender-based violence and crimimes against indigenous people. in mexico, morore than two dozen gunmen a armed with grenades and sniperer rifles attacked the police chief of mexico city friday morning, leaving him hospitalized and three others dead, two of his bodyguards and a female bystander. the police chief, omar garcia harfuch, blamed members of the powerful jalisco new generation cartel for the brazen attack , which took place in what is considered one of the most secure areas of mexico city. mexican police have arrested 19 suspects after a carrying out a number of raids. meanwhile, authorities in mexico

have arrested two people in connection to the rerecent assassinatioion of a federeral e and his wife inside their r home in colima state. back in the united states, 17 workers at rikers island will face disciplinary action for the death of layleen polanco, a transgender afro-latinx woman who was found dead in her jail cell in june. it was last year. four offfficers were suspended without pay. and inin more e news from new y, thousands took to the ststreets sunday for the second annual queer liberation march. protesters carried signs that lives matterans and defined the police, and they held banners with the names of transgender people who have been killed. the march made its through the streets of lower manhattan to the legendary stonewall inn, gathering near washington square park, where police officers descended on crowds, unleashing pepper spray and arresting at least four people. this weekend marked the 51st anniversary of the stonewall riots led by black and brown trans women, which sparked the modern day lgbtq movement. the queer liberation march emerged last year as an

alternative to the corporate-sponsored lgbtq pride parade. that was held virtually this year due to the pandemic. and those are some of the headlines. is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. coronvirus cas h have w totopp 10 mililon worldwide, with over a halfilillioneathths. brazazil, second only tohe united states in the number of cases and deaths, gisteredts hiest number of inctctionsn a week as ototestshis s weendd denoun the righting jair bolsonaro's, handling of the crisis. meanwhile, cases continue to surge across much of the united states. confirmed infections have now topped 2.6 million in the united states, with over 126,000 reported deaths.

under 5% ofas only ththe world's population. isis amidst worsing outbreaks inin florida, texas, and arizon. secretary of health and human services alex azar warned the u.s. needs to act immediately. >> the window is closing. we have to act and people as individuals have to act responsibly. we need to social distance we need to wear our face cocoverins if we are in settings where we cannotot social distance,e, particularly in these hot zones. amy: despite his dire warning, secretary azar defended presidenent trump in the samee inteterview for r his refusasalo wear a a mask, since trurump is regularly tested. during an appearance with texas governor greg abbott in dallas, vice president mike pence changed course from previous remarks and said "wearing a mask is a good idea." during the same visit, he attended a rally where dozens of -- he attended a rally where he wore a mask as a choir of over

100 people performed without wearing masks. many attending the event did not wear masasks. on friday, pence touted the tion's, "trululy remaable progress," en n as t u.s.s. reported aececord 40,00000 new cas in the pviouous 24 hours. he also commented on new data showing an increase in young people becoming infected. arguably, as we see where we are today as a nation because of what the american people have done, because of the incredible work of our health-care workers, because of the partnership of governors and ththe every state, we did just that, slowed the spread, flattened the curve, saved lives. we hear this in florida, texas, and elsewhere, that roughly half of new cases are americans under at age of 35, which is, certain level, very encouragingg tell us the experts because as we know w so far in this pandemic, if younger

americans are less susceptible to serious outcomes of the coronavirus and the fact that we are finding more younger americans have contracted the coronaviruss is a gooood thing. amy: for more, we are joined by laurie garrett, pulitzer prize winning science writer and former senior fellow for global health at the council on foreign relations, author of several books, including "ebola: story of an outbreak," and "the coming plague: newly emerging diseases in a world out of balance," and "betrayal of trust: the collapse of global public health." welcome back to democracy now! there is so much to unpack here. you have vice president pence speaking at the first public briefing of the coronavirus task force with scientists birx and fauci on friday. after two months not saying people should we wearing masks, talking about remarkable progress in the united states, and then on sunday, after enormous witticism, finally

wearing a mask in dallas. just talk about the state we are in. the globe has topped 10 million cases. a quarter of them are in the united states, as well as half a million deaths. again, a quarter of them are in the e united states s when we he just over 4% of the population. yeah, i was thinking about, i think the first time i was o on this show talking abouout covid-19, it t did nonot have ae yet, jusust said the coronavirus or wuhan virus at the time. it was februarary, and i told yu the best case scenario was we would get out of this in 36 months. wellll, it has been, what, five month since then, and i do think we have at least three years ahead of us. this has just been a massssive idioticdenial, of government policy, of the lack of any strategic planning, any

really specific strategic goal, and not just speaking of the united states. almost the entire world has screwed this up. even in europe e where they have managed to bring the epidemic down after great pain and suffering andd i in places like japan where they never r really had a serious s spike because ty took sucuch excellent, proactive steps, the whole world's efforts and all of the sacrifices the people have made elsewhere in the world are imperiled by our out-of-control pandemic. and as you said, we represent about a quarter of the entire global burden. if you add in the next victory, brazil, india, and russia, you make up half of the entire global total of this pandemic. what that means is that unless we control our efforts in our country and in those other three, the whole world gets imperiled by reinfection and reinfection and reinfection coming from american travelers,

brazilian travelers, indian travelers, russian travelers there and so we have a duty not just to ourselves and d to americans that we hopefully care americans in nursing homes we hopefully c cae about, we have a d duty to the whole planet. in the particular to countries that do not have the resources we have, thahat do not have the capacity t to conquer their own outbreakss when they are desperately poor or lack in entire infrastructure of health or both. verery, very dire straits right now. amy: let's talk about whahat has to be done. the vicethat quote of president talking abouout young people. at the beginning, there was no sense about young people because it was the sickest people and dying going to the hospital and everybody told to shelter at home. but now there is much more chance, though there was in places like germany and china, to get information from them to

learn about what is happening to young people. and the spike in the infections in young people. and when you address this, if you could talk about the different kinds of effects. you have the respiratory effect that we all know about, lungs filling up, that can be seen, but then you also have what looks like the vascular effects. kids having strokes, getting blood clots. talk about the two different ways of presenting and whatathis means. than two,o,is morore amy, actually. this virus affects the entire body.. ththe more we look at i it and e longnger we have this epidemic o on, we s see more and morere ca, it is s looking keke jus about everery singlele organ system ie entire human b body is a affecty this virus, directly or indirectly. because the initial presentations in china were all about pnpneumonia, we tended to think of it asas a respiratory disease.

but really, profoundldly, it isa cardiovascular disease. the entire cardiovovascular sysm is affected by infecection withh thisis virus. we are beginning to ununderstand that some people who have enzymatic or vyy mild infections s may, in fact, have long-laststing problems in the body that results from haviving been exposed to the virus. it is a whole host of factors. we know the virus can infect the brbrain. and the longng-standing repercrcussions of a neurologicl infection n can be quite profou. , mean,n, long-term depression loss of smell, loss of taste, certain hearing proboblems, visl , and certain kinds of cognitive issues. we see the entire blood vascular system is affected. blood vessels can be constrtricting. you can s see peoeople having

tachycardiaaving events, having a host of different issues related to plaque filled up or n not -- buildup or not. interestingly,y, taking statins seems to b be helpful. so it applies toto some ofof the mechanisms involved in cholesteryl buildup as attributed to heart diseasase, d may have a similar role with this virus. the renal problems, the kidney problems, a really profound. many people who have recovered and are out of hospitals after weeks of struggling with this virurus have permamanent kidney damage. we are beginning more and more toto realizeze that this is note havingng the flu -- you get over it, havave a couple weeks w whee yoyou are still a little shakak, and thehen, boom,m, you are a-o. this is not like that. people are having permanent damage. even a neurological l partial partial paralysis

syndrome has turned out with this virus. amy: let's talk about the means of prevention and what it means that president trurump has equad wearing a mask with being weak, wearing a mask -- and not wearing a mask with being a trump supporter. you now have republicans like mitch mcconnell wearing a mask. father,ey tweeted her dick cheney, former vice president, wearing a mask, saying real men wear masks. so the republican party is getting, especially as florida and texas, their numbers just skyrocket. but president trump insists on not wearing a mask and says testing should be slowed down because it just -- you find more cacases that w way, and if you d not t test, you would not find those cases. > l looked, amy, let's be cl, this whole situation in the united statates is a faiailure o develop a federal strategy, so

we have no real overeraring c creates aan that webbing between the various states so that we do not have a situatation where states are competeting against eaeach other undercututting e each other as s now the case a and has been fofr momonths now. andd the problem is that without a federal strategic plan and without reaeal genuine federal is simplyhe president using the whole covid issue to coincide with his reelection needs.s. he does nonot think he gets reelected if he appears on camera all the time w wearing a mask. he does not think it is a good look for a president who is aa real winner, likike some of who built the economy and made lifee better again. what does the mask imply.

it is s a threat, and that thrht hahas not been e encumbered by - has not bebeen conququered by te fearless leader. i think maybe 3, 4 months ago, it was possible to say, well, maybe there is more to this than the president's reelection, maybe there is some strategic issues in the backgrouound thate don'n't know about that the whie house e is considering, but this far r down the road, lookiking t arizozona,on in texas, flororida, arkansasas, in oklah, south carolina, you can go down the list, it is 30 states s on e rise, with at least 10 of them really spectacularly on the rise. amy: so can you explain why masks are so important? it may be obvious, but at the beginning perhaps they were playing it down because the country did not have enough masks, even for the health care workers. but why a simple process of putting on a mask can mean that you are saving tens of thousands of lives across the country?

and then talk about, do you think states like florida, california, texas, arizona should be shutting down, sheltering in place? they defied the cdc guidelines, florida and california, not only to a plateau, just flat line, but to flatten the curve, rather, but to wait a few weeks to see that the rate was going down. epipidemic when we thought this was a very similalr virus to sars, i actually said you do not need to wear a mask outdoors. did not work for s sars, will nt work for this, really not relevant. but i have learned my lesson, and i think the whole entire medical and scientific community have learned a lesson. back in february and early march, we did not realize how deeply contagious this virus is.

and it is contagious in two ways that involve your mask, wearing a mask. the first is the kind of propellant that comes from coughing or sneezing and you are creating a plosive, propelling droplets forward. in that situation, the droplets eye,e visible to the naked might not even be microscscopic, but the good news is there going out if they are contained within heavy water drdroplets, so gravy takes overer and they fall to te ground. mumuch worse is what is cacarriy asymptomatic carriers and peopoe with very m mild fections, , and it involves no coughing, involves just normal patterns of speech is that i am doing right now,w, involves normal breathin, involves the kind of slightly accelerated breatathing that cos wiwith being a jogger or having some kind of e exercise. in those situauations, your

propelliling virus in microscopc -size water dropletsts that cant be seen, a and they are not as gravitationally affected. they will go outwards and linger and get t caught in air streams and move aroround within an enclosed space for h hrs and hours and hours on end. and in that way, you as an individual walking without a mask on into a store, into a restaurant, into a friend's house,e, and standing there havg normal speech are basally contaminating the atmtmosphere f the space. as long as the windows are goodd or it is not a airflow throrough space, the contamination will remain for a considerable amount of timime. you do not know your infected, do not know you u are a carrier, you do not have symptoms, your 25 years old and feel fearless, what could threaten you? that you just managed to threaten a whole group of people you u got into contact with. amy, you probably have been

following the case of the harpers ball in east lansing, michigan. they opened up when michigan started opening up. it was legal what they were doing. the bar was a very popular hotspot in that college town. packed with 20-somethings. eveverybody tookok their maskskf or havave them angling from one ear, you know, like a fashion statement, a lot of drinking. at last count, more than 80 peopople have been contactct trd toto having covid directly b bee they went to that bar. well,he only waway to deal with the situtuation is to shut the whole bar down, disinfect the entire place, opened all the windows, put fans in, blow the place clean. this is what wewe're dealing within the entntire united stats now, situations wherere people refused to wear a mask. they take it as a political, you know, don't tread on me, baby, i have a right as and american, you cannot tell me what to dupe your that is true.

i cannot tell you to put on a where a or make you motorcycle h helmet unless i ama cop. but it affects everybody but you. everybody in the car won't didie because youou won''t wear a sim, but you wilill die. we are asking you is a goodod citizen toto give e a damnn aboe pepeople around yoyou. if youou c cannot do that, c cat mamanage to care aboutut them te way you would, say, with secondhand smokiking or you woud with various kinds of pollution that you might use, pesesticides sprayed on your front lawn as the wind blolows it into your neighbor's window, if f this i s your attitude, your neighbors can go ahead and have that pesticide because you feltlt lie killing ants on your front lawn, then you are not a good american, and you're not a good christian and not a good spiritual being. you are a jerk. testing, whileof

president trump says everyone can get a test, i have a friend right here that just got a test, took seven days to get results of that test. there is no way to make plans or to operate in a way of opening up when it takes that long if you're lucky enough to get one. waited hoursple and hours. in arizona, the lines were off the charts just to get one test. the public health professionals say you should be getting manyny tests as you try to reopen the country. what is wrong? why aren't they spending -- they spent $1 trillion on bailouts to the wealthy pepeople in the unid ststates. whatat about tests and masasks? is so complicated those ofof you who have not already may want to go o online and wawatch the segment on last night's "600 minutes" about whwy the antibody tests are a mess. these are s serology tests that measure whether yoyou ever have been infected, not if you are right now.

and then the nucleic acid testss are meant to determine if you have a virus in yourur body at this moment. the fda has essentially thrown up its hands and l let the m mkt get flooded with garbage.. there is so many test other that simply do not work or give completely inaccurate and unreliable results that states hahave spent millions and millis of dollars bing bogus products becae, again, we have no federal sttetegy, no federal syemf being a g gatekeeper and dedeterming g whh teststreally work andnd then distributing thm as needed to the states. the states havbebeen in thisis wild west siatation competingng against not only the united withbutut oer countries less tn honestshady deers places ke southn chi or th philippines and all over the world and being sold just utter crap.

amy: h how can that be turned around? >> you neeeed a federal governmt thatat gives a a darn about tatg the rinings -- taking the r reif this epidemic. our government has shown no signs of doing so. -- laurieguard garrett, thank you for joining us. pulitzer prize winning science writer, former senior fellllow r global health of the council on foreign relations paired when we come back, we will l lk at the police killing of elijah mcclain, 20 three-year-old african-amererican masassage therapist who was checked almlmt a year ago by aurora, colorado, policece, as hee said to them, i am different." we will speak with his family's attorney. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: violinists joinining as there's ---- joining others as a justice for elijah mcclain event over the weekend in aurora, colorado. "violin vigil" for elijah mcclain. he playeyed the violin.. this is democracy now!

i'm amy goodman. as we go now to colorado, where thousands shut down a highway in aurora saturday to demand justice for elijah m mcclain, te 23-year-old african-american man killed by police in august. story is-- elijah's facing renewed scrutiny and outrage amid the nationwide uprising against police brutality. last week, colorado governor jared polis ordered the state attorney general to investigate the death. on the night of august 24, 2019, elijah was walking home from a store when someone called 911 on him to report a "suspicious person." although they said he was unarmed. mcclain was wearing a ski mask, something his family says he often did because he had anemia and got cold easilily. police body camemera footage -- and warning, the footage we are showing has disturbing scenes, shows three aurora police officers answering the call, attempting to handcuff elijah mcclain. he was unarmed, committed no

crime, was simply walking home. after one e officer grabbed hihy the arms, mcclain said, "i am an introvert. please respect the boundariess that i a am speaking. ave me alolone." despite this, the officers then used a chokehold that has since been banned to bring mcclain to the ground. in body camemera footage of the encounter, mcclain can be heard saying the same words george floyd anand eric garner ututtern their final moments, "i can't breathe." again, a warning t to our audience, the following video contains graphicic footage of polilice violencnce. >> i can't breathe.. please. i d didn't do it. i am just t going he. i am in intrtrovert, and i am different. don't ---- i am diffeferent. i am just different.t.

[cries] thatat is all i was doing. i amam so sorry. stuff..do that . don't do a any fighting why? i do n not even kill flieses. i do not eat meat. i am a vegetarian. i do not judge people for any -- amy: medical responders soon arrived d on the scene and injected elijah mcclain with ketamine, a kind of anesthetic,, for someme of the sizef 300 pounds.. he is 140 pounds. he suffered d a cardiac arrest n ththway to thehe hospital and dd several days l later. footage e from the night of elih mcclain's killing is incomplete becaususe the officers' bodyy cameras did not capture the entire encounter. the policece say the cameras fel off duduring the arrest.t. but in one clilip from that nig, a police officer is seen telling another officer on the scene to

move his body camera. listen carefully at the audio. it is muffled. >> argh. >> move your camera, dude. dude, oneneur camerera, police officer saiaid to anothe. in anothther clip, one of the officer's hands his body camera to the other officer on the scene, saying he shut it off. >> here you go. mine. it was recording. off.t shut it amy: one of the officers claimed elijah mcclain reached f for the officer's gun in the arrest. but in this lip from the body camera, the police offfficer sas he did not feel elijah mcclain tried to grab his gun.

free, anded his arm it comes o out, but i do not remember himim going foror the . [indiscernible] the three officers involved in the killing were never criminally charged. they were temporarily placed on administrative leave but have all been reinstated. six months after his killing, an aurora police department excessive force review board found the officers' actions were "within policy and consistent with training." elijah mcclain was a massage therapist, a gentle soul who loved to play the violin. he would often go to animal shelters to play music for the dogs and cats there. well, , for more e on elijah mcclain's killing, we go to denver, colorado, where e we're joined by his family's lawyer mari newman. her op-ed in the "denver post" is headlined, "colorado's police reform law will help rein in worst of law enforcement behavior." welcome to democracy now! it is good to have you with us, mari. if you can take us through once

again what you understand and how it is possible that it is only almost a year later that the attorney general is now re-i-investigating this case and the officers are at work. what happened to him that night? >> you have given a great summary of whahat happened. you k know, it is really atrocis that it has taken almost a year for this case t to gain the kind of attenention that it should he gained immediately. back in november of last y year, we were standing on the stepspsf the menace of a building in aurora, colorado, demanding an independent ininvestigation, a all we heard w was crickets. of new mayorr was e elected aurora, mayor mike coffman, and even before he came intoo office he said his first order off busisiness would be to address this case. he did nothing, never reached out to the family. we heard nothing about that until veryry recently, after a n ononline petetition, once it red over one million signatures, i understand it is over 3 million

now, we heard through the media that aurora had hired a so-called independent investigator to look into the case. it turns out the independent investigator was not independent at all. it was in fact a former police offificer turned lawyeyer w whoe practice is dedicated too defending officers accusused of excessive forcrce. that is who aurora brought in for their independent investigation. yet another effort to deny all accountability. finalllly now that there h has n thisis massive outcry, millions and millions of signatures,s, international media attention, the governor of colorado has actually stepped in and called for a truly independent investigation from our state attorney general. hopefully that will lead to more robust outcomes. amy: elijah was walking homome from the grocery store, getting iced tea. an police stopped him. thenen explain exactly what they

did to him. , at the outseset there was s no legal justificationon r ththem to stop elijah. he was not suspected of committingngny crimeme, and i kw you played part of the 911 clip no, i doaller said, not believe he committed a crime, no o weapon involved, and i'm not in d danger. soso there was no reason to asst -- reason for suspicion of a crime being commimitted yet, t e three ofofficers not jusust stom but grabbed him, threw him against t the wall,l, tackled hm onto the ground, inflicted multiple types of force upon him, two carotid chokeholds, and his entire body covered with abrasions. as you sawaw, he is vomiting f m the pain and is crying out, saying that he is giving his name, saying that he does not fight, that he is a a vegetaria, that he does not jududge peoplp. of course, the tragic last words that we have heardrd from so may

who are killed by law enforcement, i can't breathe. amy: they were mocking him as he threw up? >> i it is astounding. you hear one officer say, ugh, don't get that on me, and then another one who threatens, i am going to bring in a dog to bite you if you do not quit messing around. i mean, , if that is the quality of law enforcement in aurora, then people should be petrified. amy: then paramedics c came in d ininjected him with a massive de of ketamine? explain what it is and why they would ininject him. >> there is no reason for them to have injected him at all he was handcuffed on the ground. cuffs were b behind his back.k. he was down on the ground. he was being pressed down by officers, each of whom very signifificantly outweighed him. he is being pressed on his whole body of a vomiting, struggling to breathe, but he was not fighting. so there was no reaeason to injt him of anything at all,l,uch less a dosage of ketamine that would have been appropriate, if

for anybody, for somebody well over twice his size. amy: so what are you calling for now? i mean, the vigils that have been held, vigils of thousands, the violin vigils because he played the violin. whatat are y you calling for? these - -- these three e policee on the street working? >> the three police just very recently, within the last couple of weeks after the case and international attention, have now been placed on desk duty, not to protect the public but to protect them. soso this is onene more illususn of aurora's motivation here. the city has not been concerned one bit about the safety of the public. in fact, the only officer who received even the tiniest hand slap was the one to threaten to sick a a dog on the dying man wo is being presseded down into his own vomomit. the rest of them were back out ontoto the street ununtil just a couple of weeks ago. amy: what does his mom want to see? elijah's m mom?

s seejah's family hopes to all the officerers involve criminally prosecuted, certainly the three directly involved, but also the seven officers, including the sergeant, who stood idly by and failed to intervene e as their son was beg killed,, a sergeant who even sas he was becoming inincreasingly concerned about elijah's physical well-being but did nothing about it, and then of course the two medics who gave the massive dose of ketamine, they should also be criminally charged. amy: mari newman, thank you for being with us, attorney for elijah mcclain's family. we will go to louisiana, where two environmental activists were charged with "terrorizing." we will find out why. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

"my: "killing me softly performed byby violiniststs durg the justice for elijah mcclain proteststs over the weekekend, a violent vigil because he played the violin.. thisis is democracy now! i am amy goodman.

as we had d to louisisiana, whwe two envivinmental acactivists fe up to 15 years in prison for leaving a box of plastic pellets found on the texas coast at the home of an oil and gas lobbyist in december. anne rolfes and kate mcintosh, members of the louisiana bucket brigade, turned themselves into the baton rouge police department thursday, facing "terrorizing" felony charges for the action, which was part of a campaign to raise awareness about plastic pollution. they both made $5,000 bail later that day and were released. the complaint against the activists claims they meant to cause fear when they left a box filled with plastic pellets, known as nurdles, outside the home of lobbyist greg bowser, along with a note that read, in part, "these are just some of the billions of nurdles that formosa plastics dumped into the coastal waters of the state of texas." the action was part of the campaign to halt plans by formosa plastics to build a new plant in st. james parish, an area known as cancer alley. pam spees, a lawyer with the center for constitutional rights, who is representing rolfes and mcintosh says the

charges are meritless and are meant to intimidate protesters. for more on this case and the criminalization of activism in the cancer alley, we go to new orleans, joined by two guests. es, director of the group louisiana bucket brigade, one of the activists facing charges. and pastor gregory manning, coalition against death alley & greater new orleans interfaith climate coalition. is joinining aing speedway welcome you both to democracy now! anne, you just turn yourself in. explain what you're being charged with right now and what it is that you left, what were these plastic pellets? of st., the community james, louisiana, historic black community, is under threat of destruction in the form of plastics. last december as the department ofof environmental qualityty was

considering the permit, and at the very same moment in texasasa judge found formosa plastics guilty o of violating the cleann water r act and the company settled the largest clean water act f fine i in u.s. histotory,0 million. so we brought ththe evidence frm that case to louisiaiana. it certainly seemed relevant. we really cannot believe that our state would even contemplate having this facility come into our state given what had just happened in texexas. so we thohought it was really timely and reaeally urgent to provide this evidence notot only to our state but a also to somef the lobbyist who are gearing up to desestroy, again, the black community of st. james parish with what would be the largest last explant in north america. amy:y: what are ththese plastic pellets, a w where didid you lee them? >> there just it'll tiny plastic polices -- pieces - -- they aree just littlee tiny plastic pieces that they melt into things like plasastic bags and d things that none of us need so we visited

the homes of some of the oil a d gas chemical lobbybyists and broughght them the evidedence fm texas. again, the state was considering at that very moment letting the same serial polluter into our state, and we felt that the lobbyist -- lobbyists oughght to reckon with the fact that they are destroying a a historic like community -- - black community hehere in louisisiana. all for what? plastics nobody needs. amy: what do you face?e? >> 15 years in prison. i was put in shekels per my colleagugue, grgregory manning,o was on the show today, was pinned to the ground late lasast year when he protested against the oil l and gas chemical industry. and sharon levine, president o f rise st.t. james, the group leleading the charge to stop formosa plastics, she has been visited repeatedly by sheriff's deputies. so it is a long chain of intimidation because of our very

successful campaign to stop formosa. it is clear that this is nothing more than retaliation. amy:y: pastor gregory manning, u have been arrested as you lead protests. they say you are inciting a riot. can you talk about st. jajames parish and why you're so bleak -- so deeply concerned, why it has been c called cancer alley. >> we not only collect cancncer alley, as it has been called historically, , but we have givn it a new name, death valley i'm a because not only doeses it hae the highest rate of cancer than anywhere i in the nation, itit s the highest rates of allll sorts of other diseases, such as autoimmune disease and asthma and respiratory issues. these are peoplple who i want to say or the african descendents of slaves, so we are standing wiwith them to say that these folks are being poisoned.d. they a are literally saying that we cannot breathe. they are crying out for people to notice that these petrochemical industries have moved into this land, over one

hundred of these, and have consistently terrorized them and poisoned them on n a daily baba. i am talking men, women, and children. so i believe that as clergy -- i am a pastor -- that i cannot sit idly by and watch these people the poisoned and killed ruthlessly by these petrochemical industries, the oil and gas industries. amy: pastor manning, can you talk about formosa plastics in the context of environmental racicism? in the vast racial disparities that your parishioners and people all overr the country in black k and brown cocommunititie facingng when it comes t to covd and how this all comes t tether now? >> i believe people must understata that the area a of s. johnhnnd st. jamames parish are also experiencing the e highest rates of deaeath by coronavirus than anywhere else in the nation. when we look at that, it is just astoninishing that, whwhile we e that these chemicacal industries

are conontinuing to have production, they are considered by legislators to be essential operations. ask ourselves, why are these businesses not considered nonessential? why is it essential to produce plastics and wetsuits and all of these in these prpredominantly african-american communities where we havave the african descendents s of slaves? why are their lives considered unnecessary? when we talk about the black lives matter's movement, we have to look and ask ourselves, do these black lives matter? do these black lives located in st. james parish, do they matter? i have to say as a clergy,y, asa pastor, that they not only matterer to me, the matter to g. whwhat we want is f for people o take notice that these folks are literally being poisoned each and every day, and t they are being told that, no, your lives do not matter, foror the sake of profit, , the sake of gagains, e sake o othese petrtrochemical industries, and we hear them

crying out. amy: thehere is a cemetery of formerly enslaved people on the proposed building site, pastor? >> yes, absolutely. thisis for most plastics company has knowown. they have literally been informed that there is an and sister --- there is s an ancestl burial ground ofof our enslaved ancestors that they discovovered and they litererally absbsoluteo not cacare. they are willing to desecrate this cemetery, move the resting place of these enslaved ancestors s of ours to buiuild s formosa plastics company that will further ravage land. and on the day that the warrant was issued for taking anne, we just got in with a wonderful, magnificat -- magnificent celebration of juneteenth and remembering these ancestors. amy: pastor manning, we will continue to cover this. that does it for our show. happy b birthday to john randol. please stay safe and wear a

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. last week the news that had been kept secret for nearly three months finally for. israeli is highest ranking catholic the man who rose to be the best you can the most powerful cleric had been convicted sexuall crimes against two thirteen year old