01/20/23 01/20/23 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! >> julian assange revealed the truth about what the u.s. was doing, about the war in iraq and afghanistan. he revealed the truth. amy: british mp and former labour leader jeremy corbyn has traveled to washington, d.c., where is he calling for wikileaks founder julian assange

to be finally set free and not to be extradited to the united states. we will speak to mr. corbin in d.c. then we go to atlanta, where the battle over a new police training center has turned deadly as police kill a forest defender protesting plans to clear a forest to build what's known as cop city. >> gunfire was heard at 9:04 a.m., rapid succession followed by allowed room about a minute later. for hours after the murder of tortuguita, police continue to hunt, assault, and arrest our brave forest defenders. amy: and we will speak to black lives matter co-founder patrisse cullors on the death of her cousin keenan anderson, who died after being repeatedly tased by

the lapd. he was one of three men killed by the los angeles police within 48 hours. all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the biden administration and some of its european allies have pledged new heavy weaponry to ukraine, including howitzers, missile defense systems, and first-time shipments of armored vehicles. on thursday, the pentagon said its new $2.5 billion military aid package will include dozens of bradley fighting vehicles and stryker armed personnel carriers. the pentagon stopped short of shipping m1 abrams battle tanks, as ukraine had requested. and germany has so far refused to send leopard 2 tanks sought by kyiv. in moscow, kremlin spokesman dmitry peskov warned the u.s. and nato against arming ukraine with tanks.

>> this is potentially extremely dangerous. this would mean taking the conflict to a new level, which would not bode well from the point of view of global and european security. amy: meanwhile, "the washington post" reports cia director william burns traveled secretly to kyiv last week to personally brief president volodymyr zelenskyy on russia's military plans in the coming weeks and months. particularly talking about a potential spring offensive. in peru, thousands of protesters demanding the resignation of interim president dina boluarte took to the streets of the capital lima thursday where they were met with brutal force from riot police and swirls of tear gas. this was the sixth-straight week of mass protests since the ouster and arrest of leftist president pedro castillo in december. over 50 people have been killed in clashes with peruvian security forces. this is josé de la rosa, one of the protesters in lima.

>> we want dina boluarte to step down. the country is in an uprising at the moment. we came to lima from the southern regions. amy: boluarte spoke at a press conference thursday where she praised police and accused protesters of instigating violence and chaos. >> tt was not a peaceful protest. the violent acts that occurred in december and january will not go unpunished. amy: over 1 million people marched on the streets of french cities, including paris, marseille, and nice, on thursday as labor unions held a nationwide strike against plans by president emmanuel macron to raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64. in paris, more than three dozen people were arrested after police tear gassed protesters from bastille square. this is trade union leader

laurent cure. >> we want to have a good retirement. we don't want to retired broke, tired, broken. we want to enjoy our last years with our children, grand china maybe ouparentshat were taking ce of. the government did not comeo its sens, then the will be more strik toollow. that is y we appeao reason and not make the choice of irresponsibility and to choose the voice of reason. a mako in the united kingdom, unions -- amy: in the united kingdom, unions have condemned a bill proposed by conservatives that would allow the state to break strikes of public sector workers by ensuring they maintain minimum services during work stoppages. workers violating the bill could lose their jobs and their unions could be sued. labor leaders have condemned the bill as undemocratic, unworkable and illegal. they're planning to mobilize over 100,000 civil servants in a one-day strike on february 1. israel's supreme court has ordered prime minister benjamin netanyahu to remove aryeh deri,

the recently appointed far-right interior and health minister, saying he is not eligible to hold public office due to his multiple criminal convictions. this comes as netanyahu's new ultranationalist and ultra-religious coalition attempts to disempower the judiciary. analysts say the decision could either lead to a constitutional crisis or the dissolution of the weeks-old government. on thursday, u.s. national security adviser jake sullivan met with netanyahu in jerusalem, where sullivan reiterated biden's "bone deep" commitment to israel. sullivan also met with palestinian president mahmoud abbas in ramallah, who called on the u.s. to put pressure on the new israeli government to halt the killing of palestinians and its plans to expand illegal settlements. the meeting came as israeli forces killed two more palestinians during a raid in jenin thursday. the victims were identified as 26-year-old adham jabarin and 57-year-old jawad farid bawaqta,

a high school teacher and father of six who was delivering first aid to jabarin when he was shot dead by a sniper. at least 17 palestinians have been killed by israeli forces this year, including four children. the harvard kennedy school has restored its fellowship offer to kenneth roth, the former director of human rights watch, after harvard was blasted for rescinding the offer over roth's and human rights watch's criticism of israeli rights abuses. kenneth roth appeared on democracy now! earlier this month to warn against the chilling effect of harvard's initial decision. >> this is a very serious problem. not just for me personally, this is not impeding my career in a significant way, but first of all, i think about the younger academics who don't have the visibility i do who are going to take from this lesson the view that if you touch israel, if you

criticize israel, that can be a career-killing move. you will get canceled. that is disastrous. a mako to see our full interview, go to democracynow.org. colombia's government has pledged it will no longer award new contracts to drill for oil and gas as president gustavo petro seeks to fulfill a campaign promise to transition colombia away from fossil fuels. colombia's energy and mines minister irene vélez spoke thursday at the world economic forum in davos. >> we have decided we are not going to enter oil exploration ntracts. this has been very controversial at the national level. the upper us, this is a clear sign of our commitment to the fight against climate change because we know this decision is the planetary decision that is absolutely urgent and needs immediate action. amy in brazil, two indigenous : pataxó land defenders were murdered tuesday in the municipality of itabela.

17-year-old nawir brito de jesus and 25-year-old samuel cristiano do amor divino were traveling to a farm when gunmen on a motorcycle shot them in the back according to witnesses. the pataxó people have faced intense conflicts with local ranchers who've invaded their land. this comes as the government of president luiz inácio lula da silva has launched a series of raids in search of illegal loggers and ranchers in the amazon rainforest as part of its efforts to halt deforestation in the region which skyrocketed under former far-right president jair bolsonaro. this is the anti-deforestation mission's leader. >> the rhetoric of the former government created a mdset among people that led many to invade areas, d forced them, thinking that government would eliminate these lands. amy: back in the united states, the supreme court said thursday it is unable to identify the

person responsible for leaking the draft opinion on dobbs last year, which overturned roe v. wade, or the constitutional right to an abortion. the court conducted over 100 interviews as part of the investigation into one of the worst breaches in supreme court history. at least 90 people had access to the opinion before it was publicly released. this weekend would have been the 50th anniversary of roe v. wade. since the ruling was overturned, 12 states have enacted total abortion bans. in texas, prisoners across the state have been on a hunger strike for 10 days to protest indefinite solitary confinement. in some cases, people have been held in solitary confinement for decades. human rights groups, including the u.n., have said the practice amounts to torture. in new mexico, prosecutors in santa fe are charging alec baldwin with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the killing of cinematographer halyna hutchins by a loaded prop gun on the set of the film "rust." the film's armorer hannah

gutierrez-re will al be charged with involuntary manslaughter. baldwin's lawyers vowed to fight the arges. the union representing many hollywood actors and other film and media professionals also condemned the decision to hold baldwin, who was also a producer on the film, responsible for hutchins' death, saying, "an actor's job is not to be a firearms or weapons expert." google has announced plans to lay off 12,000 workers with immediate effect, affecting about 6% of the company's work force. google's ceo announced the layoffs this morning, just two days after amazon and microsoft announced layoffs affecting a combined 28,000 people. and the legendary musician david crosby has died at the age of 81. the singer, guitarist, and songwriter was a pivotal member of two of the most influential bands of the 1960's -- the byrds and crosby, stills, nash & young. in 2011, david crosby came into

the democracy now! studio with longtime collaborator graham nash shortly after they performed at occupy wall street in new york. he talked about his longtime opposition to nuclear power. >> the second part is human beings makmistakes. that gave us chernobyl. that gave us three mile island. moth nature n kick our butts anytime she wants to. that gave us fushima. it's not safe. there are two plants in california right on the beach. one of them is on a fault line. it's 50 miles to, windward, my house. i keep -- i sort of look that way to make sure i spot the plume when it happens. there's nothing safe about it, and there's nothing green about poisoning your country. amy: during their appearance on democracy now!, david crosby and graham nash also performed part of crosby's song "what are their names."

>> ♪ who are the men who really run this land? and why do they run it with such a thoughtless hand? what are their names? and on what streets do they live? i'd like to ride right over this afternoon and give them a piece of my mind about peace for mankind peace is not an awful lot to ask ♪ ♪ amy: david crosby and graham nash in our democracy now! studios in 2011. to see the whole interview, you can go to democracynow.org. david crosby has died at the age of 81. we will play more of his music

later in the broadcast. and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. we begin today's show with british mp and former labour party leader jeremy corbyn. he is in the united states to take part in the belmarsh tribunal today in washington. the tribunal is focused on the imprisonment of wikileaks founder julian assange, who has been languishing for close to four years in the harsh belmarsh prison in london while appealing extradition to the united states. if convicted, assange could face up to 175 years in jail for publishing documents that exsed war cres in iraq and afghanistan. other participts in toy's belmarsh tribunal include noam chomsky, pentagon papers whistleblower dan ellsberg, and assange's father john sifton. democracy now! will be streaming the tribunal live at 2:00 p.m.

eastern at democracynow.org. i will be cochairing the tribunal. the belmarsh tribunal is being held as pressure is growing on president biden to drop the charges against assange. five major newspapers that collaborated with wikileaks over the publication of the leaked documents recently appealed to the biden administration to drop the charges. in an open letter, the new york times, the guardian, le monde, el pais, and der spiegel joined together to say, "publishing is not a crime." british mp jeremy corbyn joins us now. he is in washington, d.c. welcome back to democracy now! it is great to have you with us. >> pleasure to be here, amy. amy: if you can talk -- have come from across the pond, from britain where julian assange is in prison. he is being held there because the u.s. has demanded his extradition, and it looks like

they are in the final stages of making that decision. can you talk about why you feel it was important to make this trip and why julian assange's case is so important? >> julian spent his life as a journalist. he investigated uncomfortable truths and ensuring they are published. he exposed the war crimes that were done in iraq and afghanistan, and he did it because he believes we all have a right to know what our forces and our government do. at the end of the day, in our name. he was then sought by the united states under the espionage act. he took refuge in the ecuadorian embassy in london where he was for several years. living there. not a great place to be living. and then the government changed in ecuador and he was then removed from the embassy,

arrested, and placed in prison eventually. he now -- it has now been four years he has been an belmarsh prison fighting the tradition request from the united states. it is a maximum security prison. he has to share his cell with people who are convicted of very, very serious crimes indeed. we are standing up for the right to know. we are standing up for journalism. we have a plea for people, particularly in the united states, who believe in free speech, who believe in the right to know, who believe that journalists should be protected in going about their work, and to drop the appeal against the decision made by a british court that he was not fit to travel and therefore should not be allowed to go to the united states.

we are making our plea. we ask thinking people in the united states, thinking people who value their freedom of speech, freedom of the press to speak out now in support of julian assange. that is what we will be doing this afternoon this afternoon -- this afternoon here in washington. amy: you met with bernie sanders yesterday, the independent vermont senator who just gave a major address on the state of the working class in the united states. did you raise the issue of julian assange? and if you can share his position, what you talked about? >> the meeting with senator sanders was entirely about industrial issues and class politics, and we had a good discussion on all of that. we discussed the wave of strikes and it united kingdom, which you mentioned in your excellent news report, and the strikes in france and the need for left across the world to be stronger and its anti-austerity politics,

not just to manage our politics, but to change. amy: how are you coordinating as you are part of progressive international and so is senator sanders, how do you coordinate, strengthen that response? >> progressive international is coming together a progressive forces around the world. we are working closely with people in brazil and colombia, chile bank, peru, bolivia, and all over latin america as well as many european groups of people in other parts of the world. the following living standards in many countries as a result of 12 years of austerity in britain have finally met with big industrial actions. february 1 in britain would be a big industrial action. your core dating our message across the world. essentially, economic inking been played out in davos, the

thinking that comes from the international monetary fund and world bank is exactly the same for the way out of this crisis is to lower the tax burden as it is called on t riches. does richest people. it does not work. we are facing a plethora of food banks in britain. there are more than there are branches of mcdonald's and increasing levels of poverty. in all of the demonstrations camaro workers, mill workers, communications workers of all sorts, civil servants and teachers, many other groups joined those demonstrations representing poverty, homelessness, migrants, and refugees. this is a campaign for social justice and decency and we are coordinating across national borders. economic thinking does not stop at the national borders. amy: we mentioned at the top of our news headlines this union,

antiunion bill that has been proposed by conservatives that allow the state to break strikes of public sector workers by ensuring they maintain so-called minimum services. workers filing the bill could lose their jobs, their unions could be sued. could you talk about what you're doing in britain? you are the former labour leader and still a member of the parliament. >> this piece of legislation has been produced in panic by the government who are giving, if the legislation is passed, the secretary of state powers to decide what our minimal service levels that must be guaranteed legally on railways, male, teaching, and so on, all of those industries where the strike action is being taken. it has gone through the first stage in parliament where it was given an introductory vote, also called a second reading vote in britain. he goes to the detailed committee stage on the 30th of

january in parliament. we will oppose the bill because it is in infringement of the right to strike. we believe it is contrary to the convention. what it will do is put union funds and union officials and union leaders in legal jeopardy unless they obey an order to maintain a minimal level of service. it will lead to the, ultimate, legal action being taken against them. we have been here before in britain. many years ago the conservative government head in the 1970's tried the same thing. indeed, prison trade unionists. they were released because there is massive industrial action for their suppordownhe same road at the present time. the government could solve this quickly and could simply accept those who work in all of the ski services have been impoverished

by frozen or falling wages over the past 12 years. poverty does stock the land. there is more inequality that almost ever before in britain. amy: what is your response to the current labour leader? you are the former labour leader. he fired junior shadow transport minister who joined striking real workers on a picket line. >> he was completely wrong to do that. the principle of being a labor mp is in the name. you are there to represent, yes, the labour party, but also the wider labour movement. i was there with him. what he was doing was on a picket line in london, showing solidarity with those workers in a pay claim for them with british telecom. you know what? they won that pay claim and the

strike was successful. i think the idea you would sanction labor members of parliament for supporting trade unions who themselves are affiliated and help fund the labour party, i'm sorry to say, is completely wrong. amy: jeremy corbyn, what about the war in ukraine? what about those pushing for negotiations, for diplomacy? often criticized for being russian puppets, yet deeply concerned about this what could be a global conflagration or even what is happening just alone to the ukrainians? you have thousand religious leaders in the united states calling for cease-fire must've bishop barbara, we played a portion of his speech where he said the war is immoral, illegal, he fiercely criticized putin but says negotiation has

to be the way. your response? i welcome the call 5000 religious leaders and many other people. we have had a number of jesting discussions all around washington yesterday on the possibilities of promoting the idea of an internationally organized cease-fire and negotiations. i totally condemn the russian invasion of ukraine and the brutality that goes with it. the destruction of life in ukraine, the loss of lives of conscripted russian soldiers is awful and appalling. this war could drag on and on and on. more and more people would die and you will end up with destruction all around. surely too good is come here we are in the 21st century watching in real time a conflict going on. can we not do better than that? call out the conflict. have negotiations and agree on a

viable future. if russia and ukraine can negotiate, albeit under the auspices of turkey to ensure grain supplies flowed out of russia and ukraine to the black sea, which are very important to feed people and in t middle east and north africa, then they can come together on lots of other issues itself. can we stop having armchair generals in our studios discussing how this could happen, that could happen, this could go on and that could go on and this could be destroyed? instead, raise the voice for peace and raise the voice for hopes and justice. i support the recipes campaign. i support the religious leaders that are calling for the more rational process. i call upon the leaders of the countries that are closely involved in this and heed those calls and find a way out of it. all wars end with some kind of peace conference. let's jump to that stage.

amy: i would ask you about brazil. you were there when lula defeated bolsonaro. the prosecutor general charged 39 bolsonaro supporters. the defendants are charged with staging a coup and other crimes. brazilian president luiz inácio lula da silva condemned the attempt to overthrow his government by what he called "fanatical fascists." >> all those people who did this will be found and punished. democracy guarantees the right of free speech but to man's people respect the institutions created to strengthen democracy. these people, these vandals, what can we say? there fanatical nazis, fanatical fascist. amy: your response to what happened in brazil, the significance right up -- that

was january 8, january 6 what happened in the united states, the insurrection? >> i was shocked and appalled when i saw the news coming through that straight after president lula da silva have been inaugurated as president, bolsonaro supporters tried to invade the presidential offices and federal government offices and try and stage a coup against the elected president. the response of the majority of people in brazil was to condemn it and hundreds and thousands of people immediately went on demonstration in support of president lula. we had a whiff of that on election day is so. i was in são paulo and we were watching the election process there and within the city it was fine, but we were hearing reports from the rural areas and other parts of brazil, particularly the northeast which is a strongly the-supporting area, there were attempt to prevent people going to the polling stations to impede the progress.

we were very well aware of the strength of bolsonaro support and try to damage the democratic process. lula won the election and no complaints about the electoral process at all that i have heard. we can see now what the right in brazil are doing against lula. the death of those poor people who are defending their land against the illegal logging and rangers under the amazon region is just a whiff of the problems their government faces. i think we have to say thank you to lula for winning the election, thank you to the homeless people, the favela dwellers, and all of the people that have done so badly out of and -- because it inequality in brazil supporting lula. we need to support him to carry through that program of social and economic and environmental justice. amy: finally, peru. if you can respond to the

imprisonment and the ouster, the coup against the leftist president pedro castillo. >> he was elected the president of peru as somebody to help bring about proper equality of life and justice within peru. he has been removed by a coup and he should be freed from prison. ps don't business being -- he has no business being in prison and we should port those who are fighting for justice and equality. i have discussed this with many people. we need urgent observation delegations to go to peru to report as you are on your excellent channel the truth of what is happening there. the people of peru deserve democracy, not autocracy. amy: jeremy corbyn labour , party member of parliament for

islington north. he served as labour party leader from 2015-2020. he's taking part in today's belmarsh tribunal in washington, d.c. come along with noam chomsky, daniel assange, katrina vanyan who will, daniel ellsberg, and more. i will be cochairing that panel on democracynow.org. we will be livestreaming the tribunal from the national press club at 2:00 p.m. next up, we go to atlanta as police fatally shot a forest defender protesting plans to build what is known as cop city. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: david crosby has died at the age of 81. to see our interview with him, go to democracynow.org. this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in atlanta, georgia, calls are

growing for an independent investigation into the police killing of an activist wednesday during a violent raid on a encampment. law enforcement officers, including a swat team, were clearing protesters who had occupied a wooded area outside the center when police claim they were fired on and fired back. police say a georgia state trooper was wounded by gunfire. activists have now released the name of the victim of the police shooting, longtime activist manuel teran, who went by the name "tortuguita." in an audio statement sent to democracy now! thursday, an atlanta forest defender describes what happened and who tortuguita was. they asked to remain anonymous and for their voice to be distorted for security reasons. >> on wednesday, january 18, multiple police departments to send it upon our park in

unprecedented numbers and force. they blocked access to the park on both roads and bike trails. some people were arrested for attempting to document police actions that day at the park. gunfire was heard at 9:04 a.m. about a dozen shots fired in rapid succession followed by a loud boom about a minute later. for hours after the murder of tortuguita, please continue to hunt, salt, and arrest our brave forced defenders. those injuries were targeted with pepper bullets. one tree sitter heather treehouse, which stored food and water, cut from beneath them. they were left without food and water for over 12 hours of in the tree as police waited at the base of the tree to capture them.

this same tree sitter continue to sit in their tree until the next morning when they were arrested. other forest defenders were chased by police dogs. these defenders had to hide and flee for their lives all the while with the nauseating knowing their dear comrade had been murdered in the sacred land that we call home. tortuguita was a radiant, joyful, beloved community member. he fought tirelessly to honor and protect the sacred land of the forest. they took great joy in caring for each and every person they came across. tortuguita brought an indescribable jubilance to each and every moment of their life. there passing is a preventable tragedy. the murder of tortuguita is a gross violation of both humanity and of this precious earth which

they loved so fiercely. do not turn away from this violence. do not allow the callousness of the police state to numb your heart. honor tortuguita by bravely witnessing the ongoing injustices the police and corporations are and acting upon the forest. honor tortuguita's legacy by embodying their joys ray brady. tortuguita's presence on this birth is a gift that will keep on giving for generations to come. it is time for people to join this movement and say no to this pointless escalation by the police. amy: that was an anonymous statement by an atlanta forest defender sent to democracy now! his voice was disguised. vigils for the slain forest offender tortuguita have taken place from los angeles to minneapolis to charlotte to chicago and atlanta. there was a vigil the night of the shooting and there is a

march plan for saturday. for more, we go to atlanta to speak with kamau franklin, founder of the organization community movement builders. welcome back to democracy now! can you please tell us what you understood happened? >> we have very little information on what takes place besides what your earlier recording just said, that the only version of event that has really been released to the public has been the police version, the police narrative -- which we should say the corporate media has ran away with. to our knowledge so far we find it less than likely the police version of events is what really happened. the idea he was sitting in a tent and fired out of the tent at basically a swat team, dekalb county police come atlanta police, georgia state troopers who were there in great numbers to do the raid they conducted in the park and the idea is this person shot and they fired back.

the little until we have, resident said they heard a blast of gunshots all at once. also there's been no other information released. we don't know how many times this young person was hit with bullets. we don't know the areas in which this person was hit. we don't know if this is potentially effortless fire incident. all we know -- potentially frilly fire incident. all we know is the version of police. that is why we are calling for an independent investigation, not one done by the bureau of investigation, not one that is done by any federal authority but a complete independent investigation because that is the only way we're going to know what really happened. it right now based on what we do know, we cannot say anything except this is probably a political assassination. this is something that could've been prevented. there was no reason for them to take the tactics that they did

in terms of going into the forest with weapons in hand, with pepper spray, with live ammunition to go shoot forest defenders who were engaging in civil disobedience and direct action politics. amy: can we step back and talk about what cop city -- proposed cop city city is and why people are encamped there? >> it is an idea that came after the 2020 uprising by the city of atlanta, the atlanta police department a atlanta foundation -- police foundation. the idea, basically, they want to develop a militarized policing that is right next to a black and brown working class community. and by building this space, they want to content over 100 acres of forest, develop an area where there is room for explosives testing, over 12 firing ranges, place where there is a blackhawk

cleaning pad, a training center for them to plaque -- practice crowd control. they are also engaged in international training with the israeli police. we think this project is the beginning of a militarized police space here in atlanta, which would be the largest facility of its kind in the country. the reason for doing this coming out of the uprisings, we believe is to stop movement politics and movement building in atlanta to coordinate efforts across the country with other police departments and now internationally to stop movement building. we think this is going to be furthered so the terroristic action on black and brown communities by the police state which is out of control at this particular state. amy: you had a piece in truth out and i want -- it was headlined "mlk's vision lives on in atlanta's fight against new police training facility." interestingly in 2021, the city of atlanta announced plans for

cop city saint west to carry on the city's civil rights legacy of martin luther king and others. can you talk about this? >> we live in a dystopia where the legacy of dr. king is being used by city officials, the same city officials who say that love good trouble, they loved john lewis, they loved dr. king. when dr. king was alive, dr. king was working against police brutality and police militarization. he poignantly stated the police themselves harassed and are open to and conduct raids on communities -- obvious the, dr. king was surveilled by the fbi, local police task force along with federal police task force. they harassed dr. king and sent a letter to dr. king to kill himself. these tactics continue today. the task force, which is

developed between the fbi, the dakalb county police department, the atlanta police department, and several other agencies, homeland security, basically try to stop. they're getting the word out -- any survey has shown 70% of atlantans have been against the building of this facility but yet they went ahead and decided to build it anyway. now that there is a protest movement against it, they're using all actions, all -- everything in their capability and capacity to stop this movement. and now they have turned to the idea of murdering protesters as a way to stop people from going into the forest and to stop the defenders from defending the forest. amy: last december, tortuguita was featured in an article headlined "the forest for the

trees" written by david peisner and published on the bitter southerner. in the piece, tortuguita said -- "we get a lot of support from people who live here, and that's important because we win through nonviolence. we're not going to beat them at violence. but we can beat them in public opinion, in the courts even." they're also quoted, saying -- "this is my home now. we've built a nice community here. it's about reclaiming the parks and public space." the atlanta community press collective also wrote -- tortuguita spent their time between atlanta, defending the forest from destruction and coordinating mutual aid for the movement and, and florida where they helped build housing in low income communities hit hardest by the hurricane. they were a trained medic, a loving partner, a dear friend, a brave soul, and so much more. in tort's name, we continue to fight to protect the forest and stop cop city with love, rage, and a commitment to each other's safety and well-being."

finally, if you can talk about their this protest stands now? did the police succeed in a completely clearing the encampment or are people still there? >> to our knowledge, there are still people who have access to the forest or occasional will go in. we think this is a dangerous time because the police tactics have stepped up to the point where they are using live ammunition to shoot and kill protesters. even with that scent, we will continue to protest both in the forest, around the forest, in the larger city of atlanta. we are asking not only for national support but international solidarity on this issue, which we have gotten so far which we expect only to step up more in the coming days and months. this protest meant is not over. it is not defeated. in the memory of the young person who was killed, we will continue to fight. let's remember also there were over a dozen arrests yesterday.

four people were charged with domestic terrorism. amy: amy: domestic terrorism? >> the interesting thing, they charged the people from out of town who are not atlanta residents with domestic terrorism. they so far have not charged in this latest round, not charged people arrested who were from the city with a charge of domestic terrorism. we think these are scare tactics, tactics meant to criminalize the movement against cop city. it is really important we keep hammering home this task force, this idea about what is happening, this criminalization of movement politics is something that is being done with so-called moderate liberal democrats in atlanta and now a right-wing republican who is the governor of the state of georgia who is now somehow taking the lead in criminalizing and calling protesters names. but this is done together as a collaboration between the

atlanta political establishment and the governor of georgia and they are using all of their security forces -- the atlanta please, dakalb county please, state troopers in conjunction with the fbi and even homeland security -- to criminalize this movement and now to kill a young activist. amy: you're talking about governor brian kemp. kamau franklin, thank you for being with us, the founder of the organization community movement builders. we will link to your piece at democracynow.org and continue to follow this encampment and the series of protests. next up, we speak with black lives matter co-founder patrisse cullors about the death of her cousin keenan anderson who died after being repeatedly tased by police. stay with us. ♪♪ [music break]

amy: david crosby has died at the age of 81. to see our interview with him and graham nash, you can go to democracynow.org. this is democracy now! i'm amy goodman. a warning to our audience, this trait contains graphic footage and descriptions of police violence in los angeles,

california, where police officers killed three men within 48 hours. on january 2, officers gunned down a black and named takar smith. on january 3, officers shot and killed a latinx man named oscar sanchez who is also facing a mental health crisis after they said he stepped toward them with a threatening metal object. on the same day, a 31-year-old black 10th grade english teacher and father named keenan anderson died after being repeatedly tased. the los angeles police department has released video showing officers tackling anderson in the middle of an intersection after they responded to a traffic accident as he begged for his life saying "they're trying to george floyd , me." it showed the officer electrocuting anderson with a taser for nearly 30 straight

seconds as several others pin him to the ground face-first. he was then tased again. police say he died four hours later after suffering a cardiac arrest. los angeles new mayor is karen bass. she is called the footage of anderson and at two federal shootings deeply disturbing -- fatal shootings deeply disturbing. >> if you continue to blame the victims i not hold officers accountable, why would they ever stop killing us? amy: for more, we go to los angeles where we are joined by keenan anderson's cousin patrisse cullors. patrisse cullors, author, educator, artist and abolitionist. author of "when they call you a terrorist: a black lives matter memoir" and "an abolitionist's handbook: 12 steps to changing yourself and the world."

i want to start off with our deepest condolences to you and your family on the death of keenan. >> thank you. thank you very much. amy: can you tell us what you understood? >> on january 5, i am notified by one of my cousins that keenan has passed. but on january 6, another cousin sent me an nbc article naming keenan as a suspect, obsolete the lapd's press release that was offer to new stations and that my cousins had been tased and died four-and-a-half hours later. in that text message, my cousin said, patrisse, the cops killed our cousin. the last two wee have been a nightmare. it felt like all the gears of fighting police violence and officer-involved shooting's or officer involved killings had

not reached my doorstep. and many of us at the local level are calling on our elected officials to change the way they deal with traffic stops. we believe there should be no cops at traffic stops. but more importantly, my family is grieving our loved one, someone who was a giant to us, someone who is not just keenan anderson come he was my cousin, he was a sibling, he was a mentor to his students and so much more. amy: can you tell us about as you see it reconstructed -- i also want to ask what you think, patrisse, of the video being shown of keenan in tased repeatedly? >> well, you know, many of our family members saw the video before it went like to the public. it is heavily edited. one of the things we wanted, the

unedited footage. ere is no context in that video. my cousin had just gotten into a car accident. obviously, if you have ever been in a car accident, you are disoriented. so there's a lot of context missing. but the last few minutes of the video of him being tased, obviously to death, was probably the most disturbing for me to witness because it is like he knows they are trying to kill him and he yells out, "they are trying to george floyd me" and they did. and that imagery of him in ose last minutes of his life are very painful to hear and visualize. and think about, given that he

was such a beloved human being. no human being deserves to die in fear and without their dignity. amy: you have questioned why it was necessary for armed police to show up at a collision. the guardian newspaper sites national data that shows roughly 10% of killings by police each year start with a traffic encounter. patrisse? >> that is correct. i could not help but think about philando castile and how he would be alive right now if he was t stopped for a traffic stop by a cop. i think about so many other black people like sandra bland who would be alive right now. my cousin keenan anderson would be alive right now. we have to reevaluate the use of

police at traffi stops here in los angeles we are pushing our mayor and our city council to really identify a new source of professionals that are not armed , that are trained in crisis, to respond to traffic stops. amy: can you lay out all your five demands that you are making right now? and also the significance of the mayor being karen bass? >> yes, mayor bass has a long history in los aeles, california. she is from south.a. she started one of the largest south l.a.-based organizations, community coalition. i knocked for her as she ran for assembly and that eventually became congresswoman. she has worked alongside many of

us activists. she has always been accessible. she fought a hard campaign against rick caruso. we are grateful mayor bass is our mayor. i think now that she is the mayor, it is time for her and the rest of the city cncil to reduce the budget the police. we know lapd has received millions of dollars -- billions of dollars to the city. let's take this moment and not let keenan die in vain. we should not have another opportunity to say the police killed somebody at a traffic stop. we should be looking at where can the city find dollars to specifically mak sure that a cop is not the one responding to minor infractions that happen in the city of los angeles. that is a primary demand i want

to lift up to your audience because i think it is an important moment right now. and i think it could be a national demand that many of us call on our local elected to stop police officers -- to stop the use of police officers at traffic stops. but people can sign our petition. we have a color of change petition. you can find our five demands at the local level. we would love people to sign it nationally. the primary demand i want to lift up on this broadcast is the use of police at traffic stops. amy: in l.a., you have city council members filing a motion to create an office of unarmed response. another councilmember called for an expansion of the lapd's mental evaluation unit and domestic abuse response team.

finally, if you could leave us with a description of who keenan was? >> keenan was a mentor. he was more than a schoolteacher. he created programs for young people. he worked alongside his colleagues to make sure his students were taking care of, not just academically, but also emotionally. also physically. i have heard so many stories of if he saw young people that needed shoes, he would go and buy them shoes. he was always thinking about his young people. he was aather. my cousin was a father. he was a beloved family member. he will be missed is an understatement. amy: patrisse cullors, again, our deepest condolences, cousin of keenan anderson who died

after being tased by police in los angeles. patrisse cullors is cofounder of black lives matter and founder of reform l.a. jails. her books include "when they call you a terrorist: a black lives matter memoir" and "an abolitionist's handbook: 12 steps to changing yourself and the world." and again, today at 2:00 p.m. eastern time, democracy now! will be livestreaming the belmarsh tribunal that is being held as pressure is growing on president biden to drop charges against julian assange. he is being held in the belmarsh prison in london, has been held for almost four years. among those who will be testifying our noam chomsky as well as daniel ellsberg, ben wisner will also be there, the

aclu lawyer for ed snowden. katrina bannon hoover -- katrina bennett who will, the publisher of the nation magazine. i will be cochairing the tribunal. you can watch it at democracynow.org. at