paralyzed. >> shows one important thing and there are three justice systems in america. one for black and brown, one for police, and one for the rest of america. america and as congress prepares to count electoral college votes today, washington is bracing for possibly violent protests by supporters of president trump. we will find out why federal authorities are so alarmed.

all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. democrats appear on the brink of taking control of the u.s. senate after the reverend raphael warnock won a special election tuesday over republican senator kelly loeffler while democrat jon ossoff has a 16,000 vote lead in his runoff against former republican senator david perdue. warnock is pastor of the ebenezer baptist church in atlanta, which was the spiritual home of dr. martin luther king, jr. and dr. king junior's father. warnock will become the first black democrat to ever represent a southern state, as well as the first black senator from georgia. he spoke to supporters last night. >> we were told we could not win this election.

we proved with hope, hardware, and people by our side, anything is possible. amy: we will have more on the georgia races after headlines. a joint session of congress is convening today to certify the electoral college votes. president trump falsely claimed tuesday vice president mike pence has the power to unilaterally reject electoral votes. at least 11 senate republicans and over 100 house republicans --e vowed expected to contest the results and to six states that would force lawmakers to debate the objection and take a vote on it, delaying proceedings. as all this unfolds on capitol hill, trump's plan to address his supporters at a save america

rally near the white house. pro-trump protesters clashed with police tuesday evening near black lives matter plaza, and mayor muriel bowser has called in the national guard ahead of today's protests. the u.s. recorded its highest daily pandemic death toll tuesday as 3775 people succumbed to covid-19. hospitalizations also reached a new high, while the number of confirmed covid cases topped 21 million. states a callingn nation guard meers and aining ditionalolunteeras part neefforts speed uthe rate ofaccinatis. nebrask governopete rickettsas come der fire ter sang undocented workers meatpacng plants wi not be igible treceive the conavirus vaccine. >> supposed to be a legal resident working in the plains,

so i do not expect illegal immigrants will be part of the vaccine that program. amy: workers in meatpacking plants have suffered some of the nation's worst outbreaks. an estimated 14% or more of nebraska's meatpacking workers are undocumented. in britain, officials are ramping up their vaccine drive as new estimates show as many as one in 50 people in the u.k. have covid-19, with that number reaching one in 30 in london. britain is now in its third lockdown in an effort to stem the rapid spread of the new coronavirus variant. in other news from the u.k., the judge ruling over julian assange's extradition case has just denied him bail. this comes two days after the judge rejected a u.s. bid for his extradition. the wikileaks founder must stay in prison while the u.s. appeals this week's decision. in wisconsin, kenosha county district attorney michael graveley has announced no charges will be filed against the white police officer who

shot jacob blake seven times in august, leaving the 29-year-old black man partially paralyzed. the officer, rusten sheskey, fired the shots at point-blank range into blake's back as he leaned into his car. inside the car were blake's children, aged 3, 5, and eight. the shooting sparked major protests against racism and police brutality in kenosha. b'ivory lamarr, an attorney for the blake family, criticized the decision. >> it is very discouraging for all the protesters and all the individuals who gather peacefully who urged change and shows we have a lot of work to do. we won't stop. it does not stop here. are three justice systems in america. there is one for black and brown

people, one for police officers come and one for the rest of america. amy: we'll have more on the case later in the broadcast. iran has issued a request for interpol to arrest president trump and 47 other american officials over the assassination of top general qassem soleimani just over one year ago. in june, interpol rejected a similar arrest request from iran. this comes amid mounting tension between the two nations in the final weeks of trump's presidency as some fear he may be gearing up for a military attack on iran. meanwhile, south korea is sending a delegation to iran after revolutionary guard officers seized one of its tankers. iran said the south korean vessel was violating environmental protocols. tehran has been pressuring seoul to release some $7 billion in oil revenues that have remained frozen in south korean banks due to harsh u.s.-led sanctions. in hong kong, authorities raided and arrested over 50 politicians and activists in a massive early

morning sweep as the crackdown on pro-democracy voices intensifies. the group is being held under the highly contested national security law, reportedly for organizing a primary vote last year to select candidates for a legislative election in the hopes of forming a majority bloc of pro-democracy lawmakers. qatar hare-established diplomatic relations with udi arabia, bahrain, the united arab emirates, and egypt three years after the four countries imposed an embargo against qatar and accused it of becoming too close to iran. the agreement to restore ties was signed tuesday at the gulf cooperation council annual summit in saudi arabia. back in the united states, the environmental protection agency finalized a rule which experts say will allow companies to further pollute the nation's air and water by limiting what research can be included in crafting public health protections. known as the transparency rule,

it requires researchers to disclose their raw data, which is often not possible since it can include confidential medical records and other personal data, excluding vital findings from the development of environmental regulations. meanwhile, the trump administration has just weakened protections for over 1000 species of birds. the interior department rule bars officials from charging companies for killing migratory birds in any unintentional act such as oil spills or toxic waste ponds. wildlife experts have warned the rule could lead to billions more birds dying over the coming decades. a top official from joe biden's team vowed the recent policies would reversed, though it's unclear how long that will take. in more environmental news, the first-ever oil and gas lease sale for the arctic national wildlife refuge is set to proceed today after a federal judge sided with the trump administration in its bid to allow corporations to exploit

one of the world's last pristine wilderness areas. joe biden has pledged to permanently protect the region, which is extremely rich in biodiversity and has been home to indigenous peoples for many generations. the justice department is seeking to undo long-standing protections against discrimination in the waning days of the trump administration. the oposed cnge tohe civ righ act affts a pvision baing recients of deral nding fr discriminating based on race, color, or national origin. the move would mean employers, housing programs, schools, and hospitals could enact policies or practices that "disparately impacts" minority groups, as long as intentional discrination cannot be proven. in a chaotic scene tuesday, pennsylvania republican state senators refused to seat their democratic colleague, senator jim brewster, who won reelection in november.

brewster's win has been certified, but republicans say they will not seat him while a legal challenge to his victory plays out in court. republicans also took the extraordinary step of removing democratic lieutenant governor john fetterman from presiding over the session after he insisted on swearing in brewster. in new jersey, 140 immigrant prisoners are now on hunger strike across the essex county and the hudson county jails. hunger strikers are demanding ice, that's immigration and customs enforcement, release them so that they can reunite with their families and be in a safe place amid the covid-19 pandemic while they fight their immigration cases. prisoners reported intimidation and threats from guards. and philadelphia, activists held a protest outside joe biden's local headquarters monday to demand he cancel student debt when he takes office. some 45 million people in the united states now owe a total of about $1.6 trillion in student loans.

this is lauren horner, an organizer with the pennsylvania debt collective. >> no longer shackled by the debt. we are not at fault for the debt for the racist structure that is controlling us. we are not taking it any longer. the moment that blackened communities,red hurting the most. amy: those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman in new york, joined by my co-host juan gonzalez in new jersey. hi juan. juan: hi, amy. juan: welcome to all of our listeners and viewers from around the country and around the world. amy: this is a remarkable day. democrats appear on the brink of taking control of the u.s.

senate after reverend raphael warnock won a special election tuesday over republican senator kelly loeffler while democrat jon ossoff has a 16,000 vote lead in his runoff against republican senator david perdue. if ossoff wins his race, the senate will be split 50-50 with vice president-elect kamala harris serving as the tiebreaking vote, giving democrats more power to pass president-elect joe biden's legislative agenda. georgia's runoff races were among the most expensive senate races in u.s. history. reverend raphael warnock is the pastor of the ebenezer baptist church in atlanta, which was the spiritual home of dr. martin luther king, jr. warnock was raised in public housing. he was the 11th of 12 children, the first to go to college. he will become the first black democrat to ever represent a southern state, as well as the

first black senator from georgia and just the 11th black senator in u.s. history. senator elect raphael warnock spoke to supporters last night. >> we were told we could not win the selection, but tonight we proved that with hope come hard work, and the people by our side, anything is possible. may my story be an inspiration to some young person who is trying to grasp and grab hold of the american dream. georgia, i am hored by the faith you have shown in me. i promise you this tonight, i am going to the senate to work for all of georgia, no matte who you cast your vote for in the selection. in this moment in american history, washington has a choe

to make. all of us have a choice to make. divide,continue to distract, and dishonor one another, or will we love our neighbors as we love ourselves? will we play political games while will people suffer, or will we win righteous fights together, stating shoulder to georgia for the good of , for the good of our country? will we seek to destroy one another as enemiesr he'd the call toward a common good, building together what dr. king calledhe beloved community. to everyone out there struggling today, whether you voted for me you,t, know this, i hear you, and every day i am

in the united states senate, i will fight for you. i will fight for your family. amy: that is the reverend raphael warnock, senator-elect, speaking last night. republican kelly loeffler, who was appointed to the senate last year, lost to warnock just a day after she promised to join a republican effort to contest the electoral college result during today's joint session of congress. loeffler has yet to concede to warnock, who has a 50,000 vote lead with 98% of ballots counted. to talk more about the georgia runoffs, we are joined by anoa changa, freelance journalist based in atlanta, georgia covering electoral justice and voting rights. her recent article for truthout is titled "raffensperger stood up to trump, but he also attacked voting rights groups."

what happened yesterday and i the days before, of course with early voting, was astounding. i think politico talks about the republican implosion with trump coming to georgia and talking about how the voting is a fraud, do not help things, but isn't the story of georgia and the unprecedented level of voting and new voters, 4.1 in 2016 voted -- 4.1 million. 4.4 million it is believed voted 2020e runoff, 4.9 in the election. this is unheard of, the number of people that voted. isn't the real story here, organize, organize, organize that is what you have been following these weeks. >> good morning. absolutely organizing and the amazing work that has been done by a broad coalition of multiracial,

multiethnic organizers across the entire state from rural to urban to suburban communities, really is the true story of what has been happening in georgia and not just in this one election cycle. folks may have picked up around the 2018 general election with stacey abrams versus brian kemp, and may have caught some of the highlights in terms of voter suppression, but it has been constantly overlooked that folks in georgia have not stopped working post 2016. even before then, and have been engaging year-round and how to help more voters coming into the process. but not just converting them into voters to vote for a particular candidate in particular cycle, but trying to sustain civic engagement so when we have municipal elections or we have legislative issues, whether city council or state legislate, we do still have informed participants of democracy showing up and participating. what we just saw and both are still being counted this morning, but what we saw in warnock becoming

the next senator of the state of georgia, to my daughter's delight, a radical liberal, we saw an amazing effort to engage people in this two months since the general election to get people to vote yet again stop voting in this high turnout and runoff election is unheard of. some foes like to compare this to the runoff election in 2018 when we had a public service commission seat in secretary of state's seat up for grabs. there was nothing effort and investment in connection with communities with organizers. what we saw this go round, the lessons that have been learned and the determination and forthrightness of organizers like i know you have heard of latosha brown and cliff albright, but you also have people like emmett hollowell based in savannah, one who works

here and countless others -- stephanie choi. so many amazing people who do this work for organizing all over the place. a statewide amazing effort because people knew what was at stake. everyone is investing in the long haul and how do we not just flip the state because it is good for headlines or national morale, but what is good for georgia. juan: i'm wondering if you could talk about specifically because georgia today is not the georgia of 10 years ago or 20 years ago. it is a much more diverse state and fast-growing populations of asian americans and latino americans. i think i saw some estimates that 79,000 latinos had voted early in this runoff compared to about 124,000 who voted early in the november election? given that it is a runoff and

there's normally a huge drop-off in boats, that is a staggering number. about howhave written the focus has been not just on metropolitan atlanta, but many of the rural areas of the state. could you talk about those trends, the diversity and the focus of organizers outside metropolitan atlanta? >> absolutely. have to start off and give amazing praise, get the flowers as the young folks that come to organizers from organizations mijente, so mangreat amazing organizers that have really done this work and did it authentically in their own communities. instead of having billet consultants parachute in and tell people what is going to be the winning thing, georgians have been clear. like, we're going to bring it all the way to the finish line.

you saw an amazing effort. i think two days before the runoff election, i think mijente a contact with every latino voter and at the state, which is amazing work being done. it is also connecting with younger voters. we have a diverse coalition of younger voters under the age of 30 that came out about, some for the very first time. they're being connected with in a real way. we also have, talking about folks that are non-native english speakers, having people communicate inanguage. so much more rich dialogue and conversation. this is a value. withined about diversity spaces, but it was recognid, honored, and lifted up in many ways in this election cycle that led to folks feeling a part of the process and not just another check mark. we saw the november election, a lot of people trying to give

various reasons why joe biden was able to flip the staples of joe biden did not flip the state. a multiracial coalition of georgians that it been working for years flipped the staples of senator warnock, senator elect warnock and hopefully soon senator elect jon ossoff have delved into those organizing spaces. center like warnock has actually been a part of the same movement that has helped to catapult him to the u.s. senate as the prior board chair for the new georgia project, the work is done to the ebenezer baptist church around public health, or through an mass incarceration back in june of 2019. he was part of a group of anti-phased leaders who held ending nascar's ration -- mass incarceration. was sell rabbis and preachers and pastors from across the south and across the country come together to address these very critical issues. that is the type of demeanor he

is already then and that has resonated with folks on the grnd because they worked alongside him and seen him already showing up. so it was a natural fit to step into these basis regardless of background. juan: i want to ask you about the georgia secretary of state brad raffensperger, republican secretary of state, who in the commercial media has been heroasingly raised as a for daring to stand up to president trump's false claims of fraud in the vote in georgia. but you have written raffensperger is not that much of a hero. if you could talk about his involvement in voter suppression? >> absolutely. raffensperger takes right after brian kemp him who preceded him in the office. ever since he was elected coming into office after the 2018 election, brad raffensperger has pulled tricks.

still dealing within voting within a pandemic and how it has disproportionally impacted people of color, brad raffensperger has sided with republicans who have been talking about issues around voter fraud -- even though we have seen raffensperger and other members of his staff rightfully saying there have not been -- there is no evidence of widespread issues, no evidence of x, y, z. the process has gone smoothly. we have seen doubletalking in providing support for some of the less extreme allegations. we have seen use of the investigations of his office leveraged to tech organizations. the new georgia project early in the run-up period were attacked by raffensperger's office based on wild claims they were trying to register people in new york city when in fact it was a matter of volunteers who were doing postcards, as we all know.

volunteers all over the country have been sending voters postcards in various states. these are easily for viable a seven in the pition he is in, yet he immediately rushed the media to announce things like investigating voter fraud. there was an allegation connected with that he claimed the same organizations were trying to register or encourage fraud by having people that passed away register to vote. that is an fort lee an issue with the voter rolls and making sure the data itself is clean. sending out notices to encourage people to register to vote is not itself an invitation to commit fraud. brad raffensperger knows that. think december 23, the associated press reported that raffensperger announced he supported legislative republicans moving to get rid of no excuse absentee ballots. those ballots have been the difference in this race. ever since the pandemic started, republicans and georgia

republicans have been crying about the use of absentee ballots. if everyone is able to vote absentee, they will not win. because they are not winning, they created these narratives to justify restricting our access to these other means besides showing up on election day and sing-along lines. while we have not seen long lines under the general election and now the runoff in the way we are used to sing them in georgia is because of the use of absentee ballots, because people taking advantage of early voting. their logic is -- amy: i was going to say in the african-american community georgia hit particularly hard by the pandemic. i want to play rev. raphael warnock's comments. we talked to him in july on democracy now! ahead of the funeral for congressman john lewis. he officiated over that funeral isat church, the ebenezer baptist church. >> the irony of this moment is ev as we celebrate and honor john lewis, the patron saint of

voting rights, he held from the state which in many instances is ground zero for voter suppression. we are still fighting against voter suppression in georgia, not only in georgia, all across this country. in 2013, the supreme court gutted the voting rights act, senseis along in real dipped under the blood of john others who fought the good fight. even as we celebrate him, it has not been reauthorized. the last time this bill was reauthorized, george w. bush was president. a past the united states senate 96-0, but in recent years, voting has become increasingly a partisan issue. there are those who are not embarrassed by making it difficult for people to vote. amy: so that is the

senator-elect reverend raphael warnock. salon reported senator kelly loeffler's as against him last ad thate ran a facebook artificially darkened rev. warnock's face. they had one that did not darken it, but they boosted the ad that did darkened it. rev. warnock of african-american. and you have jon ossoff, who senator perdue in his ads ossoff artificially lengthen his nose, calling it an adjustment act to point out he's jewish. if you can talk first about warnock and who he is -- you did a profile among other places in harper's bazaar, the

significance of what he has represented over the years -- grew up in public housing, first to graduate from his family, 11 of 12 kids come his mom picked cotton and then she voted yesterday to pick the next senator from georgia. jon ossoff, who does seem to be leading by 16,000 votes, well more than biden won by in georgia? >> yeah, rev. warnock has been summoned, like i said earlier, has been a community in organizing spaces alongside folks. when i wrote the piece for harper's bazaar, rev. warnock started out as a sexual health educator when he was a teenager working with the department of health. being a pr mentor, he did it also in college. those lessons stayed with him as he became -- what into the ministry and started working in communities. he has had a commitment in terms of making sure his congregation and other folks in the community were aware of being tested and

protected from hiv and other stds. blackproach from the belt, pastor. that is wild. we are sending two pro-choice senators to u.s. senate from georgia. one of them is a pastor who his appreciation and his respect for choice comes from his understanding and grounding in black liberation the elegy. that also is what undergirds his support for economic justice, climate justice, racial justice. that is at his core. we are saying, hopefully, be borne out in the way in which he participates in the u.s. senate. if he doesn't, there is an entire staple of people who what gladly remind him is promised to do. the same goes for jon ossoff is a very different relationship with georgians. using folks show up and drive this outreach that has led to

both ossoff and warnock leading by greater martin's that joe biden won in november. he has had to learn and listen to communities, to movement, and it has changed his approach in the way his campaign cycle in some ways. i do have my critiques, but he has changed the way he has approached angst, how he is willing to listen, and hopefully he will do that going forward. amy: and of course -- go ahead. if you canted to ask talk a little bit about how you see what is happening in georgia as reflecting what is going on in the south for decades now, the south has been the bedrock for the republican party beginning with the days of richard nixon and ronald reagan

strategy tosouthern win for the republican party, the allegiance of southern voters? is this a bellwether of vast changes occurring across the south? >> i think this is a continuation of the work we have seen done by folks like ella baker and fannie lou hamer wayne back to the work done -- going back to the work that in mississippi decades ago. what we have seen and what we have done is black southerners and others who have migrated to these areas have always been willing to roll up their sleeves and do this fight. not just make sure they have access to this thing called democracy, but that democracy is something that is working for everyone. those are the types of people or that is the type of work folks were now running campaignsnd running elections in doing this organizing work our building on those efforts. when we are talking about republican stronghold, we see

this diversification -- georgia is on trk to being the first nonwhite majority state later this decade i've projections hold up the way they have been. we are seeing in other places, the potential for organizing but what we know in georgia is having a concerted organized run effort but also the systemic investment for the long haul and not just giving organizations money to do voter registration but not also helping to fund organizations to be able to do the follow-up, the conversations talking about issues -- because that is what is going to lead to a change across, not just the south, but other states that have had various changes in issues as well. what we're seeing in georgia in terms of the concerted effort and the self-determination and the pushing back on the naysayers, everyone is praising stacy is arms today around the state but there is so much

pushback and a 2017 and 2018 before she became the nominee in terms of this method she had in terms of how to engage and go across all 159 counties in georgia regardless of whether they are "red or blue." we have that type of investment in community organizing regardless of whether or not traditional thinking would dictate whether or not a state would flip or county would flip, we are going to start to see more ships -- texas cap engine closer the cycle and similar thought processes in texas, similar organizing in ohio and so many others. it is to be invested and supported. amy: anoa changa, freelance journalist based in atlanta, georgia covering electoral justice and voting rights. we will link to her piece in truthout. georgia is on the cusp of changing the balance of the u.s. senate with raphael warnock, the first african-american senator

to represent georgia in the first african-american democrat to come out of the south and the senate. if jon ossoff is declared victor, he will be the youngest member of the u.s. senate. this is democracy now! when we come back, authorities are preparing for violence and industries of washington, d.c. come today. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "coffin dance." this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the quarantine report. i'm amy goodman. thousands who refuse to accept president trump's 2020 election loss to joe biden are protesting in washington, d.c., today as congress meets to certify the results and make it official. pro-trump protesters clashed witholice tuday night ar black lives matter plaza and yor murielowser has called the natiol guard ahd of today's protests. police arrested six people on charges that include bringing illegal guns tthe city. this comess the lead of the proud boys hate group enrique tarrio was released without bail tuesday after d.c. police arrested him monday for allegedly burning a black lives matter banner at a historically black church during protests in the city last month and possession of high-capacity firearm magazines. tarrio was ordered to stay out of d.c. he has posted on social media that proud boys members would be incognito for this week's protests.

former national security advisor michael flynn, who trump pardoned last month, spoke at last night's rally and thanked the digital soldiers -- a reference to the conspiracy theory qanon. this is podcast host clay clark addressing tuesday's stop the steal protest. >> last night about 150 of us went into whole foods we dressed up like people that aren't idiots hiding from a virus that is not deadly. we did not wear a mask. who here is up to the task of not weing a mask? tosk you again, who hears up the task of not wearing a mask? is time tong and it let freedom ring turn of the person next to you and give them a half hug. it is a mask spreader event. it is a massive spreader event. amy: president trump tweeted he will be speaking at today's so-called "save america rally" near the white house, and has

promoted the event for weeks. meanwhile, trump signed an executive order tuesday night that asks secretary of state mike pompeo to "assess actions of antifa activists," stop its members from entering the united states, and see whether it can be classified as a terrorist organization. all of this comes as all 10 living former u.s. defense secretaries signed a washington post op-ed sunday declaring that the time for questioning the results of the election has passed. they also said the u.s. military should not intervene in the presidential election. they wrote -- "efforts to involve the u.s. armed forces in resolving election disputes would take us into dangerous, unlawful and unconstitutional territory." for more, we're joined by william arkin, national security reporter for newsweek, whose recent piece is headlined "threat of pro-trump violence in washington overshadows inauguration security plans." can you start talking about what the police and the authorities are most concerned about today

in the streets of washington, d.c.? >> their most concerned about donald trump, whether he is going to instigate the thousands of people who have flooded into the district to take a violence either to march on the capital or even try to enter the capital during the elector count. the people i have talked to -- and it has been a broad range of national guard, law-enforcement, say toy officials -- all me this is an unprecedented moment. unprecedented because you have a president who is not only instigating protest and violence against the constitutional process, but also because there are other conditions which have been introduced. first talk of martial law. second, talk of implementation act, whichrrection

would allow the military national guard to engage in law enforcement. third, a kind of break between the district of columbia and the federal government, as was exemplified by a letter sent yesterday by the mayor of the district to the acting attorney general come to the acting secretary of defense, asking them to not put any nonuniformed people onto the streets of d.c.. and finally, the question of who is actually in charge of the is capitol police, the uniformed branch of the secret service today and in the coming week? but because there is really no one in charge -- in fact, the secretary of homeland security is in the middle east right now. so we have this very strange mixture of people who are both on high alert but also the wildcard in donald trump as to

what he will both do at his speech today in front of the whiteouse and secondly, what he could do in the coming days ahead in terms of issuing an order for the national security establishment, to the military that the military would i think have to say they could not follow because it was an unlawful order. juan: william arkin, this issue by thejoint statement living former defense secretary's -- which according to some reports was a statement organized by former vice president dick cheney -- it would seem to indicate to me that these people, obviously, they are connected to the current military establishment, that it is not just rumors but actual -- they have been getting some sense that the white house

and president trump might actually be thinking of , invokengas you say the insurrection act or so i bring the military in. is it your sense that there has been these kinds of discussions among top brass of the existing military? >> i have been cering the military for over 30 years. i remember when dick cheney was the secretary of defense before he was the vice president in the first bush administration. it is true he was one of the organizers of this letter. it really is an unprecedented statement, a bipartisan statement, that says the military has no role. but i think it is more of a message to the military itself, a reminder, if you will, that they need to go back to the constitution and go back to

their oath to the constitution to recognize that they are not just merely toys of the commander-in-chief. they are not merely a saluting soldier without a brain. they have to also understand the difference between a lawful and unlawful order. and part of the problem we are facing right now is that there is an acting secretary of wasnse, a person who installed by donald trump after the election -- i wildcard himself, that we don't really know where he stands because he is not said anything. and so while the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff general mark milley, who got a lot of criticism in june when he accompanied the president into lafayette park in uniform and thereby sort of implicitly gave the militaries support for what the president was doing, he has put out a statement saying that

the military has no role in the election. the reality is that there are an awful lot of active duty military engaged in washington, d.c., and our role security, air defense of d.c. -- inaugural security, air defense of d.c., emergency response in supportf everythi from weaps of mass destructioevents to continui of governmt. thousands of active-duty military who are on alert and could be called out and who would be called out if in fact the local authorities were overwhelmed. so you have on the one hand a kind of secret operation going on in the background that is the standard for inaugural security and the transition from one presidency to other, andn the other hand you have this high charged political reality that the incoming white house is not speakingo the alchemy

whe house and the president of the united statess off in his own fantasyland. amy: i want to bring jason wilson into this conversation, investigative journalist who tracks the political right and extremist movements for the guardian, southern poverty law center, and elsewhere. talk about who is out there today, expected to be out there. you have qanon supporters, republican leaders, proud boys, trump reportedly going to address them. can you talk about the confluence of these groups and where guns fit into it? yet the new congressmember boebert from colorado who says she is bringing her glock in a congress, which nancy pelosi and others are trying to stop. >> i think you hit the nail on the head, actually, amy. it is just another demonstration of the facthat during the life of his presidency, there's been a kind of merger between and thet activists

trump version of the gop. there is not really a srp dividing line between violent far-right street activist and the supporters the presint in cgress. you have a least three congress persons, from my count, who are talking about participating in this rally. you have all of these trump world figures like roger stone, sebastiaworker, whare all talking about bei a part th. of guns are not only a sort indication of the militancy and radicali of the gop in 2021, but they are bound up with the versn of freedom that we've seen articulated by far-right street activists throughout the life of the presidency as well. eally,ns are integral,

tohe political ideology and political project of this movement. again, they are an indication of militancy as well. i am pretty concerned we are ing to seeome violence today. don't forget, everyone is rightly focused on the rally in d.c., but there are parallel rallies happening all over the untry at the state capitals. of moving parts today. there's a lot happening all around the country. i am concerned the conditions are kind of ripe for some so maybe in more than one of those places. wilson, really have a minute or so left, but i'm wondering if you could comment on this whole issue that some of the trump supporters are reportedly going to become dressed in black, which would make them indistinguishable perhaps from antifa folks, if some antifa folks show up, to

counterprotests? are you concerned about the possibility of agent provocateur's actually instigating violence as a means to give trump an excuse for more drastic actions? thes yeah, i mean, over life of the trump presidency, these groups have evolved in their tactics. provocation is always been a quiver in their bow. t just of acacia counrprotesters, but police. where police respond with force to protests. disguing themselves as anti-fascist, they have done this bore. the fact they're talking about it now does not surprise me at all. as i said, they're are looking to trigger some kind of violence in the streets i think. amy: we want to thank you both for being with us. we will cover this closely today inside and outside congress. we want to thank jason wilson, investigative journalist who

tracks the political right, and william arkin, national security reporter for newsweek. in 30 seconds, we will be that getting a response to the wisconsin judge ruling that the white police officer who shot jacob like point-blank in the back seven times will not be charged. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: "the lonesome death of hattie carroll" by bob dylan. we end the show in kenosha, wisconsin. >> it is my decision now that i announced today before you that no kenosha law enforcement officer in this case will be charged with any criminal offense based on the facts under the laws as i will describe them to you know. it is our decision that no charges will be filed. amy: those were the words of kenosha county district attorney michael graveley announcing that no charges would be filed against the white police officer who fired seven shots at jacob blake, paralyzing the 29-year-old black man in august. the officer rusten sheskey fired the shots into blake's back as he leaned into his car. inside were his three little boys, aged 3, 5, and prosecutors eight. maintain the shooting was in

self defense because blake had a small knife. video of jacob blake's shooting sport uprising. b'ivory lamarr, an attorney for the blake family criticized the ruling. . >> i think at a 2021, shows that there are three justice systems in america. there is one for black and brown people, one for police officers, and one for the rest of america. amy: jacob blake's father also spoke on tuesday about his son's ongoing recovery. >> in bed 24 hours a day. sometimes he has better days than others. of course, his body has been peppered with bullets -- seven in his back. they did a surgery on his back, infusion surgery.

the incredible amount of pain from the muscle spasms -- to sit there and have to watch a day in and day out, as demoralizing it is for you, think about how it is on a 29-year-old that was fully functional before this. >> how are your grandchildren doing? >> it is hard on my grandchildren. but we are there to support them. it is very hard on them. they don't understand. they don't understand why daddy can't get up. and chasecan't get up them around or play with them anymore. but their understanding that they saw with her own two eyes -- they did not believe, and -- the first two weeks, we thought they were lying to them. they thought their father was gone and that he was not going to come back.

i had to keep telling them, no, he is here. we could not take them in because of the covid to see their father. a child needs to see what is going on, and tt is what they wanted to see. amy: that is jacob blake, sr. speaking on tuesday, standing next to the reverend jesse jackson. we're joined now by david bowen, a democratic state representative in wisconsin. you are in the streets protesting after jacob blake was shot by the white police officer. your response to the district attorney's decision? >> first off, thank you to the blake family being as strong as they are, folks that have been out to wesley protesting, not giving up, always focusing on the true goal and that is justice. we see a miscarriage of justice. that ist see a.d.a. able to charge an officer uses his discretion to put seven

shots in the back of a black man. go to the details of how he describes why he is not charging -- the first thing he goes to his state law. the same state law that we and democrats attempted to change in the wisconsin state legislature, where the republicans blocked it and did not allow votes at all on any othe governors call for special session bills. continue to i cosponsor and leave. this falls on our state republicans who refuse to allow this change. at this point, this is what they want. this is what they are ushering in. they want this status quo so black folks in wisconsin can continue to be hurt and suffer usacks like these that leave in deliberate states of not been

able to have functi the same, not havi access to be able to have our day in court -- like any other white person that would leave the scene, any other white person that pretty much has something in their hands and does not use it on the police officer but they are there susceptible to whatever decision those officers are using. and having this blank check of feeling threatened is now at the center of this debate. it should not be allowed for an officer to be able to use discretion to put seven shots in the back of a black man and never use that same action toward anybody that is white, that does anything similar or even worse to the poce. juan: representative bowen, what are the next steps for you and otheprogressive legislators in terms of the fight for police reform in your state? the next steps is for there

to be equity. the da in his explanation yeerday never went to the history of this officer. he continued to go only to the history of jacob blake. he did not get an official statement from the person that made the 911 phone call. using force on an individual that potentially could crash a vehicle, potentially crash a rental car, does not give law enforcement the right to use that level of force. that is why we are going right back to the same statewide standard that we called for in the last session the republicans refused to take up. lethal force needs to be used as a last result, not the first. life.tizing use de-escalation tactics so there is a requirement by state law in the state of wisconsin

for all officers to follow. we're even finding support among those in law enforcement, whether it is the gop, wisconsin republicans that stand in the way of the change. we're going to continue to move in that direction with a number of the bills we brought up last time and even more now where we attempted to have a very even moderate proposal of democratic-republican ideas, and that was being called too much. that was being called extreme. now we will move forward and bring forward policies that we know will get to the heart of the situation and they will come from the people. they will come from those who have been out in thetreets come out engaging in protests. amy: thank you for being with us, david bowen, state representative in wisconsin. in the coming days, we hope to be speaking with jacob blake, sr..

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[mikael colville-andersen] when we travel to other cities, we often experience a sense of familiarity. fragments of the urban landscape remind us of somewhere else. it could be street typology, architecture, topography, even just a feeling of another place. not once, however, has it ever happened to me here. there is no where else like it on the planet, and it's quite impossible to imagine that there ever could be. in order to discover the life-sized city here, i have to ignore the vast scale of the urban landscape because this... is tokyo.