thanks for watching the katie

phang show this morning. with all of our live tv grand lands, i'll see you tomorrow morning at 7 am eastern. velshi starts right now. >> good morning to you, particularly early morning here in arizona, it is saturday october the 29th. i'm ali velshi in phoenix, arizona for another edition of velshi across america. only ten days left in this midterm election, cycle this worst first nation -- since donald trump began spreading the big lie, following his lost of joe biden in 2020. that lie, of a stolen election that wasn't stolen, fueled the violent insurrection at the capitol on january 6th. it is still spinning off new lives today, creating an atmosphere in which the future of democracy itself remains in doubt. the threat of violence, and intimidation hangs in the air. particularly here in maricopa

county arizona. on the day that the mob swarmed the cat bottle, roz on january six, some carried rough vince assaulted wang forsman's officers, many of them were explicitly looking for the house speaker, nancy pelosi. yelling wears nancy? will they stormed the halls of congress. sources tell nbc news hut question was uttered once again by an assailant who broke in to speaker police seize home yesterday and assaulted her husband with a hammer. figure pelosi is in d.c. at the time, but is now back in san francisco to be with her husband paul who is expected to be recovering completely after going surgery for his injury. we still do not know for sure, what the attack on gore's motive what but the san francisco police department said last night quote, this is not a random act. this was intentional. this violent assault in the capitol and on january six may have been recalled that afternoon, but the insurrection did not and that day. donald trump's dangerous

rhetoric continues to poison our democracy, and it continues to cast doubt about our integrity of our elections. according to rolling stone magazine, the twice impeached insurrectionist and ex president has began telling his associates and supporters to watch out for the fraud that will happen in this year's elections and that his team should prepare to lodge legal challenges. one man by the way, who appears to have her trump's message is loud and clear, is a man name john eastman. the former lawyer who wasn't best known as the architect of the fake electors scheme. according to politico, eastman is already advising republicans to document complaints in order to quote, raise the challenge. if the result of this year's election do not go to their way. election imposes find that the majority of republicans candidates have questioned, or denying the results of the 2020 election. so it's not difficult for them to subscribe to whatever new

scheme's concert conjured up by the trump news team, they're clown car of lackeys. that is going to have lasting. damage that's the. problem -- everything that is at stake in this year's election like arizona does. some reports of already been filed here in -- keeping watch of ballot drop boxes, which has raised concerns about cook political intimidation. these could have really big impacts on the races here -- which is one of the hardest battleground states in the country. -- it is one of the most competitive races anywhere in the country this year. it's considered a toss-up, by the way, by both politico and the cook political report. it will help determine control of the senate. masters has emerged as one of the staunchest election deniers in the country, in the country. even in the state full of election deniers, full of the corn to the washington post,

all but one of the republican candidates running for office here in arizona this year is an election denier. that includes by the way, author of the republican parties nine nominees for -- care, like the attorney general nominee a., it and the secretary of state nominee, mark finchem. remember these names on going to be talking about them a lot in this show. even among this group, mark finchem stands out. he continues to deny the legacy of president biden's victory and the results of the 2020 election. earlier this, year mark finchem introduced a bill in the state legislator to decertify the results of the 2020 election, from three of arizona's largest counties. finchem, also by the way, attended the stop the steal rally in washington d.c. on january 6th. he was seen outside of the capital, as the insurrection was happening. now he is running a tight race for secretary of state. arizona's top election officials and the executive who's first in line for the

succession for governor. this is just important. we talked a lot -- we have talked more in the last couple of years about wreckage secretaries of state and why they are important in the administration of election but in arizona, there is no lieutenant governor. so the secretary of state, is actually even more important in the states. in the states as more important because it's close, and it is the beating heart of the insurrection and election denial. joining me right now is the man running against rock finchem, engine fontes is the democratic nominee for arizona secretary of state. thank you for joining us, sir i appreciate you being. >> thanks for being right here on this before. morning >> was beautiful, and we love the state. but there is a whole bunch of crazy in the state. i had a great panel yesterday of three republicans and three democrats in the states. the republicans talk about you more than a democrats did. the republicans all voted of michael -- they cannot abide by the election. denial sir, your very very, very, very tight.

race >> we are in a tight race, but that just reflects arizona's independent spirit. look, we are the home john mccain, we are the home of so many other firsts, like sandra day o'connor formoso seat justice on the supreme court. we do what we think is best. given that work recovery -- we talked about republicans and you see the craze here, yes it was an example of how most republicans really don't feel that way. in each of the races that you talked about earlier, there were multiple candidates in those primaries that -- trump non-trump republican and trump republican, just a math worked out that. way >> it just made with those nominations. >> yeah so, that's where we're at. look, my opponent he had 59% of republicans did not vote for him in that primary. we are looking at his fundraising, most of it coming in from -- mostly stop the steal database that he built, we on the other hand are getting all of the other support on the republicans from the big business. community from independents, of

course some democrats. we're looking to build something that is really going to help be able to heal things once the cell once is all over. we're gonna, has it's gonna do, well and arizona is going to be a place of opportunity and is going to open this place of son so soon. >> you do have mail-in voting in the state. so tell me what's going on the balance -- which we talk about -- we're gonna talk about through the course of the store show. it is something every arizonian can avoid, because they kind of vote in their home. -- one of the points, that a number of republicans on my panel made yesterday, said don't get up the next morning, after you didn't vote and say what's going on in my state? >> right. well the interesting thing is that we're having a little bit of a difference from 20. 18 2018 was record turnout in all parties across. aboard this, time democrats are actually tracking with 2018, republicans are down about 10%, independents are down a bit as well. what we're looking at is another new thing happening in arizona, but the dynamics are

very different. the last midterm was in the middle of donald trump's first election, this one, we have a new president, and i knew. congress things are changing. things are shifting. arizona is always at the tip of the spear when it comes to changes and things that happen. i'm very proud of my hudson's state, i hope we couldn't really, i'll get back to this come together. arizona has already been a place of new ideas, i have always been a place where folks can take their families, and just do the things that we need to do away from all of the nonsense of government. we just want to do our job. i just want to do my job, like i did when i ran in the 2020 election. we did a great job. i was the county according to time, i built up bipartisan system then made things happen. well we beat the -- even at their own game. i'm part of the team the. built most of them are still, there were still running great elections there in arizona, people can have good confidence if they get their ballots in early, that first result on 8 pm election night, that's gonna

be [inaudible] >> part of the issue here is that you've got the support of some republicans, but there is an enthusiasm issue in this states in that those people who are election deniers, have wild rallies, and a lot of support from people outside of state. you actually do have the support of liz cheney. she's been supporting democrats in the state. >> representative kissinger. >> and representative kinzinger as well. you are worried as well that some republicans in the state who are not elected, desires who are not trump supporters, are very concerned about who becomes the secretary of state in this state. you've expressed a concern that maybe there is some democrats who are not as worried. >> well, look it's not that we're not worried, it's a question of whether or not we're going to focus on the work at hand. you can worry and ring your hands, and kind of be concerned, or you can get out there and get the vote out. this actually. happening the numbers i talked about earlier, democrats are performing right at about 2018

numbers right now, republicans are about ten points behind. nobody knows exactly why. some people think it's because republicans are now moving towards just voting on election day, which is exactly the opposite of the way it used to be. >> voting by mail in the state was established by republicans. >> republican started. eight republicans built it and promote of. it that's one of the ways they sit in power for so long here. we have a 2070 election season. we don't have won election day in arizona, like so many western states do. it works really really while -- that the republicans used very very well for very long. time i think what we also have, though, is that sort of change of commerce version of a republican who wants stability in a government. they want to predict what happens, next but at least the things that are going to move forward so they are just dragging everything back to 2020, and constantly hand wringing about what happened in the past. nobody wants that, it's bad for business, it's bad for law, it's bad for medicine, it's bad

for education, across the board we have got to move forward and arizona is going to move forward under my administration and hopefully with democrats in charge. >> good to see, you thank you for joining us we appreciate. it is going a little warm here, i'm a little bit cold. >> the desert moves. >> the desert moves. i'm looking for to, it good seeing. we really appreciate. that he is a democratic trump nominee for arizona secretary of state. top of the hour i'm going to be joined for another -- here in arizona that's essential to safeguarding our democracy. the democratic nominee for state attorney general chris mei is joining me. but coming up next the latest on the attack on paul pelosi, the house speaker's husband who was assaulted with a hammer yesterday in his san francisco home. and loyal though she viewers know that my thing across america specials is not traveling, is having a different places, it's talking directly to americans and with just days of -- summer as one as i might have got some advice for you like this. >> look, you might be tired,

you might be busier even down trodden, but i promise you that if you vote this election, that will be something that you will be so proud of. it allows us to dwell impossibility. to study our past, but dream about our future. so join me, please vote. join me, please vote. ♪ music (“i swear”) plays ♪ jaycee tried gain flings for the first time the other day... and forgot where she was. [buzz] you can always spot a first timer. gain flings with oxi boost and febreze.

♪♪ hey dad, i'm almost out. i got you. any questions, chris? all good, thanks maura! healthier is managing all your family's prescriptions in one app. following a federal judge's

highly anticipated decision on friday ordering and allowing a vigilante group to stop harassing voters and monitoring dropbox in the phoenix area, phoenix area vigilante group had accused, was accused of

voter intimidation and modern-ing drop box in the phoenix area. arizona democrats are worried that far-right extremist groups are going to keep voters away from the polls. the vigilantes have been accused of following voters around and finn filming them. members associated with the far-right anti government group oath keepers are accused of intimidating voters at ballot box drop locations in arizona's county. in at least one case, two masked people carrying guns and wearing bulletproof vests showed up at a drop box in the phoenix suburb of mesa. meanwhile, maricopa county sheriff paul announced this week that his office has begun providing security around drop boxes. we're gonna take a quick break, we will be right back. a quick break we will be right back. with fidelity income planning, a dedicated advisor can help you grow and protect your wealth. they'll help you create a flexible strategy designed to balance growth and guaranteed income so you can enjoy the life you've created.

that's the planning effect. from fidelity. it's the subway series menu. 12 irresistible subs. the most epic sandwich roster ever created. ♪♪ it's subway's biggest refresh yet! i'd like to thank our sponsor liberty mutual. they customize your car insurance, so you only pay for what you need. contestants ready? go! only pay for what you need. jingle: liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. we're looking into sexual harassment in hollywood. only pay for what you need. you used to work for harvey weinstein? we have allegations of harassment and assault. i said no so many times. how close are they to going on the record? two weeks at most. weinstein knows what we're doing. every call you make is being recorded. hello. -and you're being followed. i don't know if i could do this. he kills the story every time. we're not gonna let that happen. i'll go on the record. this is all gonna come out.

the virus that causes shingles is sleeping... in 99% of people over 50. and it could strike at any time. think you're not at risk? wake up. because shingles could wake up in you. if you're over 50, talk to your doctor or pharmacist about shingles prevention. kids getting hooked on flavored tobacco, including e-cigarettes. big tobacco lures them in with flavors like lemon drop and bubble gum, candy flavors that get them addicted to tobacco products,

and can lead to serious health consequences, even harming their brain development. that's why pediatricians urge you to vote yes on prop 31. it stops the sale of dangerous flavored tobacco and helps protect kids from nicotine addiction. please vote yes on 31. vote yes on prop 31.

(vo) with verizon, you can now get a private 5g network. so you can do more than connect your business, you can make it even smarter. now ports can know where every piece of cargo is. and where it's going. (dock worker) right on time. (vo) robots can predict breakdowns and order their own replacement parts. (foreman) nice work. (vo) and retailers can get ahead of the fashion trend of the day with a new line tomorrow. with a verizon private 5g network, you can get more agility and security. giving you more control of your business. we call this enterprise intelligence. from the network america relies on. this, morning paul pelosi, has

been of the house speaker nancy pelosi is recovering from skull surgery after being attacked at their family home in san francisco. that is according to a spokesman for the speaker's office. after a briefing yesterday, a police chief said officers arriving at the pelosi home after a 9-1-1 call witness the suspect attacking paul pelosi with a hammer overnight and friday morning. how speak was not home, she was in washington. while a motive for the attack is still under investigation, sources tell nbc news that the suspect broke into pelosi's home and shouted, where is nancy multiple times as he moved around the house. if those chilling words sound familiar to you, that is because we have heard them being chanted by rioters as they move through the halls of the capitol on january 6th after they had breached the police lines and entered the building by force. >> [noise] we are coming in.

>> nancy. nancy, where are you nancy? >> for more on this horrific attack, i'm joined by jacob ward. jake, this is an unbelievable thing that is happened. although, not all that surprising giving the political mood around the country. what is the latest on this situation? >> well, at this hour as you mentioned, paul pelosi is recovering, he's expected to make a full recovery after surgery to repair damage to the skull and also to his right hand and arm, which we assumed to be defensive wounds sustained during this attack. over the course of the day,

yesterday, as the pieces of this account became clearer and clearer. our broad sense of this, the dred became more pronounced. i think what we all sort of experienced, the microcosm that we experience was a microcosm of essentially what we are all experiencing across the country as we begin to realize that this hateful rhetoric in all the ways that it flows to freely on social media is not just this imaginary other world, it is the real world. it is touching down in our lives. at the beginning of the day as don was breaking and we are getting on the scene, trying to figure out what happened, at that point we were just thinking maybe it isn't a random attack, maybe it is a intruder. solely overtime it became clear, this was a targeted attack. by the end of the night, you have the police chief here in san francisco, bill scott, bursting into tears, certainly becoming highly emotional on the podium as he says to all of us, the spouses of our civil servants, they don't sign up for this kind of violence.

he just said over and over again, this is wrong. we could feel it all deepening, that impact, that idea that all of this stuff that is going on in our virtual lives, in our political sphere is all going to touch down in real violence here. >> jake, it's playing out across the country, this is a stark example of what we are seeing. thank you my friend, i appreciate it. stay on the story for us, nbc's jake ward is live in san francisco. meanwhile, following a katic months long public saga, elon musk now owns or controls twitter. multiple twitter executives, including the ceo, have now left the country. the self styled free speech absolutist will open up the platform to misinformation and harassment, the kind that the social media giant has been trying to rein in. in a post entitled deer twitter advertisers, which is posted on thursday, musk wrote quote, twitter obviously cannot become a free for all hell-scape or

anything can be said with no consequences exclamation point and a quote. but musk has said he wants twitter to pull back on content moderation. adding in thursday's post that his vision is to have a quote, common digital town square, where a wide range of beliefs can be debated in a healthy manner, without resorting to violence. there is currently great danger that social media will splinter into far right -- into far right and far left wing echo chambers that generate more hate and divide our society. responding to musk's takeover, the former president trump, who famously did not tend to use twitter for healthy debate, but rather to spread lies about the election that arguably helped foment a violent attack. he wrote on his own social media platform that he is quote, very happy that twitter is now insane hands, and quote. trump's banned from twitter is still in effect as of now. moscow says that currently

banned attacks will not be allowed back and tell a content moderation panel is formed. joining me now is susan, she is the ceo of pan america, she is the author of dare to speak, defending free speech for all. she has a new opinion piece in the los angeles times titled, how elon musk's plans for twitter could threaten free speech. suzanne, good morning to you, thank you for being with us. >> hi, good morning. >> suzanne, elon musk's whole point it is tickled for twitter, at least his whole stated point has been about free speech, has been about how social media and corporate america stifle free speech. he wants to bring free speech to twitter, he calls it a digital town square. you are saying that in fact, the opposite might be achieved, why? >> free speech is not the tower of babel, it is not an environment where everyone just sounds off at will and no one is listening to each other and it is a cacophony. free speech is a --

there's a reason it is protected under international law under the first amendment, it is because it gives us the opportunity to persuade one another, to engage, a given take, to reach an audience, to find better policies, to sort between fact and falsehood. if you have a platform like twitter that is so overrun with this information that you cannot discern who to believe, that you are inundated with propaganda and people trying to pull one over a new, that kind of environment, the value of free speech is undercut. you can't learn about something new, you can't spread your idea around, you can't win new followers. so, i think that is the risk if he really goes through with what he originally said, which was that he was going to do away with all content guardrails. i think it would be that tower of babel environment. >> so lost talk a little bit about the distinction between free speech, the first amendment, and the power of disinformation. i want to quote from your l.a. times op-ed in which he said,

elon musk's had that in the name of upholding free speech he will dial back safeguards on the platform that are there to protect against disinformation. that would be a mistake, not just because disinformation has fueled a crisis of faith in democracy and impeded pandemic response at the cost of hundreds of thousands of lives. this information, the largely protected -- it can also imperil free speech itself. now, you just made that point but the distinction that a lot of people miss and i think sometimes elon musk himself misses is that the first amendment protects against government censorship. it does not mean that private enterprise like twitter cannot moderate, cannot have guardrails as you say, cannot have safeguards. >> that is right. the first amendment safeguards against government coming into ban and punish our speech, particularly on ideological grounds. i think it's a very good thing, we can see how that power could

be misused. if donald trump had had the power to punish and put journalists in jail, i think there's every reason to believe that he would have used that power. he had people thrown out of rallies. we don't want to afforded government with that power. when it comes to a social media platform that, as elon says, is trying to create an environment for public discourse, a place where people from different ideological persuasions can come together and can reason in order to talk. you need to create some parameters, we learned that. speech on twitter is not the same as a town square. it is algorithmically driven, we have seen the falsehoods travel faster than the truth on twitter. polarization can be stoked, it is a weaponization of human nature. that could be for good or for ill. we can celebrate something, we can go down a very dark path if that is where our nature draws us to. the algorithms fuel and supercharge that. i don't think the answer is a

first amendment approach. trying to adopt the constraints on government to a private platform like twitter. >> i think it's important remember when the first memos written, you can supercharge the spread of disinformation. life just wasn't like that. now, you can put garbage out there and within a millisecond it is everywhere with a whole bunch of people retweeting it faster than you even knew it went out. suzanne, good to see you as always, thank you for writing that article. thank you so much for all you do at pet america. obviously with the book club, we depend on a lot of the work that you do so we are grateful for you. suzanne is also the author of dare to speak, defending free speech for all. all right, which is ten days to go into the midterms, i'm here in phoenix, an arizona version of velshi across america. up next, you're gonna hear my conversation with a group of arizona's, republicans and democrats. one of the most enlightening moments was when we discuss the importance of voting in america. >> if you see problems in our

country and in your community, you have the power to make a difference. that is by voting. it doesn't matter if you feel like you are too busy, or overwhelmed, because if you could find the time to vote, you can time find the time to make an impact and make our community a little bit better based on your ability to get out there and cast your ballot. a person in this country who feels like things are devolving, if the conversation is making you frustrated, if you feel like things are moving in the right direction, you have the power to go out there and vote and make a difference. that is your duty and you should do it. that is your duty and yo should do it should do it bipolar depression. it made me feel trapped in a fog. this is art inspired by real stories of bipolar depression. i just couldn't find my way out of it. the lows of bipolar depression

can take you to a dark place. latuda could make a real difference in your symptoms. latuda was proven to significantly reduce bipolar depression symptoms. and in clinical studies, had no substantial impact on weight. this is where i want to be. call your doctor about sudden behavior changes or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants can increase these in children and young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements, which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. now i'm back where i belong. ask your doctor if latuda is right for you. pay as little as zero dollars for your first prescription. meet three sisters. the drummer, the dribbler, and the day-dreamer... the dribbler's getting hands-on practice with her chase first banking debit card... the drummer's making savings simple with a tap... ...round of applause. and this dreamer, well, she's still learning how to budget, so mom keeps her alerts on full volume. hey! what? it's true! and that's all thanks to chase first banking. freedom for kids. control for parents.

one bank with tools for both, all with no monthly service fee. chase. make more of what's yours. (vo) give your business an advantage right now, with nationwide 5g from t-mobile for business. all with no monthly service fee. unlock new insights and efficiency, with leading ultra-capacity 5g coverage. t-mobile for business has 5g that's ready right now. all right, in ten days millions of americans were head to the polls for what could be one of the most important midterm elections in recent memory. this state was critical to the preservation of democracy two years ago and it could prove critical once again. i bring u.s. special dish in a velshi across america, 2022, live from phoenix, arizona this weekend where election deniers have flooded the ballots this cycle. they are running for a u.s. senate seat in the governor's mansion, attorney general,

secretary of state. that directly overseas elections. not to mention a host of other positions in state and local government. to learn more about how the election is playing out on the ground in this crucial state, i travel to the wrestlers reese restaurant here in town. house joined by six voters from across the political spectrum to talk about what makes arizona tick, what makes a stand apart from the rest. it was a powerful and important conversation. here's what they wanted america to know about arizona. >> there are a lot of progressive individuals who reside in arizona. i think this was one of the things that was brought to light during the 2020 election when you saw a lot of individuals who were advocating for civil rights, for social justice, who took to the streets advocating for a more equitable society. that is indicative of there being a lot of progressives out here, not only in phoenix but in arizona as a whole. >> people need to know that we have a rich history of participating in local and

national politics. john mccain was a u.s. senator and that was a blessing for all of us. i think the world as well. with his absence i have seen the de-evolution of what is going on in politics here. i think things have gotten nastier, i think things have got more polarized. >> do you think things are nastier here in politics than they are across the nation? >> well, i have friends in texas, i don't know that we are the nastiest but i think that things here or more polarized. if you go to drop your ballot off today at a ballot location, there are guys there with weapons and masks on, they're taking pictures of your car. that is not normal. that is part of the lack of civil dialogue going on here. >> i think it depends on when you're looking at arizona politics. my inclination is to say we are the wild, wild west.

which we are, there's so much history here that people don't have an awareness of. the indigenous communities that are originally here, that were originally here, they are still here. we are on their secret site right now. there's also a history around this, we were one of the last states to recognize juneteenth. you have so many people moving into the state all at once, all the time. i'm not convinced that we are a swing state, to be really honest. we have so many people coming in, i think it's too hard to protect. i believe that what is making us a swing state is specific issues that are maybe turning a vote, specifically reproductive rights, specifically a really polarizing president. ap tricolor lee polarizing election. there's a lot of history that maybe people only have pieces of. if people don't understand it fully than you are going to misrepresent how arizona might vote. >> i think that we are trail

blazers, we are a meritocracy. if you are from here or from somewhere else, you can work really hard and have a lot of opportunities. i believe that most people that are coming contact from arizona are welcoming and inclusive. we are also a young state, and people don't realize that. in terms of our stated, we are very young. we have the amalgamation of a lot of people who are from someplace else. in 2021, we had over 100,000 people move here. they were from different philosophies, cultures, backgrounds, core values. we are still working that out because we don't really take the time to understand one another's history. that leads, i think, to some of this discourse because we are such a young state. people from all over the world, there are very few of us who are actually from arizona. we are trying to figure out how to meld all of these cultures and backgrounds together. it is not easy. >> i think that our history as

a populace, and this rugged individual-ism that comes both from the natives and from the invaders of that place. like she said, this amalgamation of all these different cultures creates this opportunity for populism. but the populism street is being preyed upon by a political party to try to utilize it one where the other. that's is, it can be scary. >> you make an interesting point, there is a popular street in the state. today, if he said that to someone in relation to american politics, they would tell you that is the poison, they tell you that is what wrong. you don't see populism as bad, you're just saying it is being manipulated by some political leaders right now. >> i think it's great, because we can change. i'm a republican, i voted republican almost all of my life.

today, not so much. i don't know whether it's because i'm maturing, or because there is more choices, and better choices. but i don't fear the populism. i'm from iowa, i grew up in iowa, my family was in iowa, my wife and i moved out here. it is hard to be away from your family, you don't have that infrastructure, you have to be independent. you get out here and you are all by yourself and you are lucky because you can do whatever you want. but it also freeze us to be jerks. [laughs] >> i think there is a narrative right now that is going around that arizona is turning blue. in 2020, we voted for joe biden. i don't think that is the case. i personally do identify as a democrat but i think we are more purple. we have a lot of issues that are shifting one way or the other. people think that arizona has

been this red state all along, i grew up learning that all along. that is the history of arizona, it's always going to be that way. it is the wild west, like you said. but it is so different because of the ever-changing population. it is very niche areas, they can shift in opinion very quickly. you go up north and to our older population, and tends to vote more right. you go towards the college towns and it's way more left. those two populations are the ones that are going, where there's people coming in here for college, or just coming in here to retire because they love the weather. you can see the shift is dynamic because these people have their ideas and they are very stuck on them. it is very hard to kind of shift one way or the other when someone is so ingrained in that idea. but i do you think that we may be shifting somewhere where those ideas can kind of live harmoniously. that might be the idealistic steve for me, but i honestly hope that is where we go towards. right now, it is no longer just, oh i lean this way and eileen

the other way, it is i have to be this or the other one or i would be in trouble. >> listen to that, people from across the political experience with different life experiences, more concerned about citizenship, about specific engagement, about democracy, then they were about particular political issues. that move did not agree on a whole bunch of basic political issues, but that is the sort of conversations that i had with them, just part one by the way of my conversation with that group of arizona voters. we are gonna air more of it next hour. and yet more of it tomorrow. there is a new extremist anti government movement brewing around the country with ground zero being right here in arizona. it is based off of donald trump's big lie. it is a danger to our democracy, i'm going to tell you about it on the other side. on the other side. the eat fresh® refresh just won't stop!

now, subway® is refreshing their catering with custom party platters and easy-to-order lunchboxes of all your favorites. hosting a tailgate is easier than getting gronk to take of his shir- easier than what?! yep, easier than that. subway keeps refreshing and refreshi- announcer: type 2 diabetes? discover the power of 3 in the ozempic® tri-zone. in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. announcer: ozempic® provides powerful a1c reduction. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults also with known heart disease. and you may lose weight. adults lost up to 14 pounds. ozempic® isn't for people with type 1 diabetes. don't share needles or pens, or reuse needles. don't take ozempic® if you or your family ever had medullary thyroid cancer, or have multiple endocrine neoplasia syndrome type 2, or if allergic to it. stop ozempic® and get medical help right away if you get a lump or swelling

in your neck, severe stomach pain, or an allergic reaction. serious side effects may include pancreatitis. gallbladder problems may occur. tell your provider about vision problems or changes. taking ozempic® with a sulfonylurea or insulin may increase low blood sugar risk. side effects like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may lead to dehydration, which may worsen kidney problems. join the millions already taking ozempic®. ask your health care provider about the ozempic® tri-zone. announcer: you may pay as little as $25 for a 3-month prescription. all right, the story starts with this guy, the tutoring sheriff of graham county, arizona. his name is richard mack. he gained prominence after he and another sheriff sued the federal government over a a background check provision of the brady bill back in 1994. the sheriffs brought their case all the way to the supreme court and eventually won. in doing so, sheriff max became

a pseudo-celebrity. he frequented right-wing tv shows talking about the second amendment, government overreach, which often goes and criticisms about the second amendment, and the vitally important role of the county sheriff in america. in 2011, sheriff mack founded this organization, cps oh a. i should mention that sheriff mack was a member of the oath keepers, he was on their board. he says he left the group in 2014, but he has continued to appear publicly close with the oath keepers founders. this is from cbs p o a's about page on the web quote, the lot forsman powers held by the sheriff supersede those of any agent, officer, elected official, or employee from any level of government when in the jurisdiction of the county.

the vertical separation of powers in the constitution makes clear that the power of the sheriff even supersedes the powers of the president, and quote. that should be the end of the segment, i don't need to read anything more. just read that over and over again and understand that that is what we call, i can actually say the word on tv, but it's bs. there is more of it, the power of the sheriff even supersedes the powers of the president. it's hard to stay with a straight face. it is a ridiculous assertion with zero basis in the constitution or law, or anywhere else in america. but, ridiculous sounding as it is, the implications of this sheriff supremacy ideology are anything but funny. it is derived from the white supremacist william -- or, power of the county movement of the 1970s. those who follow the theory believe that the county

sheriff's have the power and the duty to make their own determinations about which laws to enforce and how to enforce them. it is not just enforcing laws and following the constitution, it is also about resisting laws. nullifying, refusing to enforce laws that a sheriff has deemed somehow unconstitutional all by themselves. while not new, this ideology is, like so many other 90 things in america, getting traction. when the sandy hook elementary school massacre prompted a push for gun control measures in congress, sheriff mack compiled a list of nearly 500 sheriffs who said that they had a vowed to uphold and defend the constitution against quote, obamas unconstitutional gun control measures, unquote. one of the shares by the way it was joe arpaio, who four years later was then granted president donald trump's first presidential pardon for criminal contempt of court for stuff he did here in maricopa

county. more and more, the theory has been used by sheriffs across the country, most commonly to resist gun control and laws and to enforce party lines on immigration. but also to resist tax laws, marriage equality, land management, and environmental policies. in 2021, sheriffs across the nation use the same logic or illogical to divide covid-19 lockdowns and mask mandates. last, year the right-wing think tank, the clermont institute, launched a sheriff fellowship program, i'm sorry for laughing, i don't mean to laugh at this, this is actually quite serious. they launched a program that promises to teach people about constitutional law and political theory, if only that is what it did. if you talk to them about constitutional theory, they came away understanding that this doesn't make any sense at all. this year, the number of sheriffs who applied for a spot in that fellowship has nearly doubled. cs poa and a similar group called project america, protect

america, i love these nebulous names, have now teamed up with the right wing election denying group to the vote. a little plans to station poll watchers and ballot drop boxes and voting centers. they say they have launched a direct hotline that you connect poll watchers directly to their sheriff's office, the sheriff of course being the supreme law in all of the land apparently. arizona seems to be the epicenter of this movement. in an article published last week, isaac simon elliott, a fellow at the arizona center for investigative reporting said that, experts warn of extremist -- more than half of arizona's 15 county sheriff's have aligned themselves with at least some of the primary ideologies of the constitutional sheriffs. a month long investigation by the arizona center for investigative reporting found this. we know the big lie about rampant election fraud is more prominent than ever right now. but this movement of sheriffs, elected, gun carrying, law enforcement officials who

believe they have power to subvert the government and interpret the law anywhere they choose, is actually an incredibly dangerous prospect. you can see my smile is entirely gone at this point. joining me now is isaac simon elliott, he's an investigative reporter for the arizona center for investigative reporting. we love having you here. and almost sounds like a made-up story. it is like a cartoon, it is like a bugs bunny sheriff orson old western sheriff. i fully understand in parts of this country that there are some counties where the sheriff is the only law enforcement that you're going to see. you can interpret that they are the lawmaker, the law preserver. but this is not constitutionally sound. >> it absolutely isn't, 200 years ago they decided in supreme court what was constitutional what was not constitutional. it is not up to law enforcement people to decide whether or not something fits that. there are avenues to challenge anything as mack did with the

brady bill. >> he did take it up to the court system. he did succeed, but challenging it because you're the sheriff and doing that is fine. deciding on your own how you interpret laws is not. >> no matter what your political story stripe, the reality is that by supporting the constitutional sheriff movement, you are giving it a tool. whether or not you believe was the sheriff believes at the time, it might be comforting to have that cool in the sheriff's toe box, but the reality is that sheriff might change. suddenly, if you don't agree with it but you have already given them this permission. that is dangerous. >> what is going on between this group that believes this and right-wing movements at the moment. obviously, we know that mac had relationships to the oath keepers and there does seem to be some overlap. >> i think there is a lot of ideological overlap for sure. you see things, the

constitutional sheriffs movement comes the same from the same place as the -- and then you see crossed support, especially as we are moving into elections. you see constitutional sheriff movements being so focused, especially since july, on election integrity and really deciding that sheriffs are the ones who need to step into the space. that is what has really cause so much concern amongst experts, boast -- also experts in election integrity. >> domestic extremism experts have labeled the constitutional sheriffs association as an anti government organization. >> both cps away and protect america now have been labeled by the law center as anti government. other organizations use anti-democratic or far-right depending on the conversation. >> is this growing?

>> it is absolutely getting traction. as you mentioned, a lot of this comes from covid. people are looking for ways around health mandates, designed to keep him protected communities. and they turn to the sheriff's. the sheriffs have gained traction and really started to mobilize from that point, some sheriffs. >> good to see you, thanks for joining us. >> pleasure, thank you so much. >> he is investigative reporter for the arizona center for investigative reporting, we'll take a quick break. i want to continue this conversation with a sheriff of the county, arizona democrat. the county, arizona democrat. let's face it. pets are gonna shed. every minute of every day. which is why we made bounce pet hair and lint guard with three times the pet hair fighting ingredients. just toss one sheet in the dryer to help remove pet hair from your clothes! so go ahead keep cuddling these guys.

♪♪ looking good starts in the dryer with bounce pet. i love all types of dancing... salsa, and even belly dancing! i am a triathlete. i've always been into health, and wellness, and fitness... i tried everything with diet and exercise, and nothing worked. there was just kinda this stubborn area on my stomach. but coolsculpting worked for me! coolsculpting targets, freezes and eliminates treated fat for good. no needles, no incisions. discuss coolsculpting with your provider. some common side effects include temporary numbness, discomfort and swelling. you've come this far... coolsculpting takes you further. visit coolsculpting.com

this fall, xfinity rewards is thanking you coolsculpting takes you further. with spooky perks and surprises. enter for your chance to win a trip to universal's halloween horror nights for a terrifyingly good time you'll never forget. or bring the scares home with movies that will frighten up your night on us, and a host of other chilling halloween activities all on the xfinity app. explore your rewards today. i want to continue this xfinity rewards. our thanks, your rewards.

fascinating conversation that i started with you a few minutes ago but the role of sheriffs in our communities and the rise of the so-called constitutional sheriffs groups i'm. joined by chris, the county sheriff. he joined the sheriff's department in 1984 as a corrections officer. good to see you, thanks for being with us. i do want to explore this because we have viewers in some rural areas, small town, small counties in this country who do identify with the sheriff. you are in law enforcement, in some areas you are the obvious person for people to call. they don't see federal and state agents around a lot so the understanding that the sheriff might be the most important law enforcement officer in the county, i can get my head around it. >> i would team of young men

and women who are very important to our organization. i am blessed with the opportunity and less with the community who trust me to keep them safe, that is all i think about. >> where does it go wrong, it hasn't gone wrong for you, but where does go wrong in this constitutional sheriffs movement where people go from saying, i'm here to keep the community safe to, i'm here to interpret and enforce laws as i see fit, more so than anyone else. >> it's good to be king. no, that is not our role. i don't get some of the constitutional sheriffs, sometimes i think the rhetoric is just that, it is rhetoric and pandering to the constituents. as a cop, actually i go back to 1975, i started in -- as a cop, i've always been a cop first. we know that as cops, our job is to enforce the law, not to interpret, not to --

the maybe some interpretation, but we certainly don't -- we have a process in the country, it's called the court systems, legislature, and enforcement. that is really all we do. if i don't like a law, i may not like that, but it is the wall. we will uphold that and if i don't like it, i guess i can voice myself and maybe direct some attention to how we change that law. >> are you worried, characterize this movement within the world of sheriffs. it is a bigger thing, it's a growing thing, you both sheriffs look at this and say, guys that's not actually what we do? >> i'm hoping that most sheriffs are reasonable, have some common sense and understand the role, their job. i always tell people, i'm not an apologist, that is the truth now. i used to be a cop, i'm very much proud of that. i am a politician so i do that. my community expects me to

stand up for things that are right and wrong. but they also expect me to follow policies and procedures. if something is not the way we like it, we have a great country because we do have the ability to change things. it is change by vote, get the legislature, go to court, take those actions. i don't think anyone expects me to stand up as the sheriff and say, my god, i don't like that lawsuit, i'm going to enforce. it >> must be long as they come down that you don't like or you think are unjust. >> i have the counties attorney's office, we talk with those, we get lobbyists will go down to a state legislature and try to change those votes. we just did that this past summer at the state legislature with the de-the case. we did like the fact that the domestic violence victims were only given eight hours to get a emergency court order. that is just not right. i wish i was that bright, i had my young deputies and

detectives go with me to the state legislature and appeal to them that we need to change this. the change was made. >> but the understanding when you get that was that with the changes made, you will find other ways to try to figure it out. you never took into account the fact that you are the boss of all things. >> you know, i was tell my wife i am. she doesn't listen to me either. >> well said, good to see you sir, thank you for joining us. we appreciate that. chris is the sheriff of this county in arizona, who like most sheriffs across the country takes their positions and the responsibilities, and the mandate very seriously. but we, do have to keep an eye on this constitutional sheriffs movement. don't go anywhere just yet, coming up next, i'm joined by democratic nominee for arizona, chris mayes. and the latest on the condition of nick pelosi following the violent attack at his home. we will get another hour of velshi live in phoenix, arizona, right now. velshi live in phoenix, arizona, right now.

good morning to you, it is saturday october 29th. the sun is still not up, that is because i am in phoenix, arizona and remains the middle of the night here. i'm velshi on the road this week for another edition of velshi across america, this time as i say, in beautiful phoenix, arizona. one of the most hotly contested states by the way, arizona is, in this election cycle. i travel here this weekend to really understand what is happening here on the ground. yesterday, i had an amazing insightful conversation with a group of arizona voters from across the political spectrum. republicans, democrats, about the issues that they care about most as they prepare to head to the polls. we're gonna have more of that conversation to show you later in this hour and throughout the weekend. there are only ten days left before this year's midterms, the first nationwide election since donald trump began spreading the big lie following his loss to joe biden in 2020. it fueled the fire that led to the