Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2025-09-12 Friday

Episode Date: September 12, 2025

Democracy Now! Friday, September 12, 2025

From New York, this is Democracy Now. The FBI is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the identification and arrest of the person responsible for the murder of Charlie Kirk. The manhunt for the killer of conservative activist Charlie Kirk has entered a third day. Officials have released photos and video of the suspected gunman who shot Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University. On Thursday, President Trump escalated his attacks on the left. We'll speak to Zetao's Medi Hassan about. We'll speak to Zetao's Medi Hassan about. the killing of Charlie Kirk, as well as Israel's attack on Doha targeting Hamas leaders. Then to Brazil.

I set the final sentence for the defendant Jair Maseez Bolsonaro at 27 years and three months, being 24 years and nine months of imprisonment and two years and six months of detention. Brazil's Supreme Court has sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison. After being convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to President Luis Anasya Lula de Silva, we'll get the latest. And we go to Nepal, where 51 people have been killed in youth-led anti-corruption protests. Everything that has happened is not because of the social ban. We need a young leader now. We are looking for change.

Time is up for these old leaders. We don't need them. the youth. All that and more. Coming up. Welcome to Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Palestinian officials say Israel's ongoing attacks on Gaza City have left more than 50,000 people displaced and without shelter as Israeli bombs continue to fall on high-rise buildings, flattening the city's skyline. Medical sources. say Israeli attacks have killed at least 42 Palestinians so far today, including 14 members of a single family, three generations wiped out in a single airstrike. Thousands continue to flee Gaza's

city after Israel ordered the forced displacement of its one million inhabitants. This is Abu Tara Kaboub, whose family was forced to trek south along Gaza's coastline on foot. I have nothing. My ten children and I are walking in the street, heading south. We don't know where we're going. We don't have mattresses or blankets. We don't even have money or anything. Maybe death would be better than what we're living through.

I have children who slept in the street yesterday. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces rounded up over 1,500 Palestinians in Tulkaram Thursday, ordering a curfew for the city's residents. Footage shared by residents showed Israeli soldiers marching Palestinians, including children through the streets. Tukarum's governor urged the UN to take action, saying Israeli forces were, quote, arbitrarily and unjustly, unquote, carrying out mass arrest, destroying property, and, quote, terrorizing children and women, unquote. The crackdown came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu approved a plan to dramatically expand illegal West Bank settlements, greenlighting the construction of 3,400 new homes on land Palestinians want for a future state.

The expansion into what Israel calls the E1 area would link occupied East Jerusalem to the large Ma'Auban tettlement, dividing the West Bank and further isolating Palestinian communities. Netanyahu spoke at a signing ceremony Thursday. We said there would not be a Palestinian state, and we say, Again, there won't be a Palestinian state. This place is ours. We will take care of our country and our security and our heritage. Qatar has held a funeral for five Palestinians and a Qatari security official

killed in the Israeli attack targeting Hamas' diplomatic delegation in Doha Tuesday. Later today, Qatar's Prime Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdul-Rahman Altani, is set to meet with President Trump Vice President J.D. Van, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and U.S. Special Envoy, Steve Whitkoff, to discuss the Israeli attack on Qatar. On Thursday, the United Nations Security Council condemned Israel's actions in a rare joint statement after the United States criticize Israel's unilateral bombing. Israel's U.N. ambassador, Danny Danone, remained defiant, saying Israel had targeted terrorists rather than legitimate politicians, diplomats, or representatives. he said. Here in this council, some members chose to give Hamas legitimacy, even protection. Israel will not.

We will act against the leaders of terror wherever they are hiding. On Capitol Hill, Democratic senators Chris Van Hollen and Jeff Merkley released a report Thursday accusing the Israeli government of collective punishment and ethnic cleansing in Gaza. The senators recently returned from a humanitarian fact-fighting. mission to the Rafah and Karam Shalom border crossings in Gaza, they also visited the Occupied West Bank and Jordan. This is Senator Van Hollen. From our trip, from our observations, from our firsthand accounts, it's clear that the Netanyahu government has gone far beyond targeting Hamas to imposing collective punishment on all the people of Gaza. The title of our report is

the Netanyahu government is implementing a plan to ethnically clans Gaza of Palestinians. America is complicit. The world must stop it. The FBI is appealing to the public for help identifying a person of interest as it investigates the murder of the right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk at an event on the Utah Valley University campus Wednesday. Officials released images showing someone appearing to be a college. age white man in a baseball cap, dark sunglasses and a long-sleeved shirt with the U.S. flag and

eagle printed on it. Investigators also release surveillance footage showing a suspect running across a rooftop and jumping over the edge before entering a wooded area. Utah's Republican Governor Spencer Cox vowed to catch Kirk's killer and said the state will seek the death penalty. On Thursday, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landa warned immigrants against quote, praising, rationalizing, or making light of, unquote, Charlie Kirk's killing, writing on social media, quote, foreigners who glorify violence and hatred are not welcome visitors to our country, unquote. Charlie Kirk had a long history of demonizing immigrants and promoted the white supremacist conspiracy theory known as the Great Replacement, like these remarks in

2024. The Great Replacement Strategy, which is well underway every single day on our southern border, is a strategy to replace white rural America with something different. On Thursday, President Trump said he would honor Charlie Kirk with a posthumous presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Separately, Vice President J.D. Vance and his wife Ushah met with Kirk's family in Salt Lake City and accompanied them along with Kirk's casket to their home in Arizona aboard Air Force 2. At least two members of Congress canceled events Thursday, citing security concerns in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder.

Republican Congress member Nancy Mace and Democrat Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez. The New York Yankees tightened security ahead of a game with the Detroit Tigers last night, attended by President Trump, who watched through bulletproof glass. Trump was roundly booed. Several historically black colleges and universities canceled classes and ordered students to shelter in place Thursday after receiving threats in the wake of Charlie Kirk's murder. The affected schools are Alabama State University, Southern University, in Louisiana, Clark Atlanta University in Spellman College in Georgia, Virginia State University, and Hampton University in Virginia, and Bethune Cookman University in Florida. In a statement, the Congressional Black Caucus called the threats, quote,

a chilling reminder of the relentless racism and extremism that continues to target and terrorize black communities in this country, unquote. Brazil's Supreme Court, a sentence former president. Jayir Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election. It's the first time a former Brazilian head of state has faced trial for trying to overthrow the government. Bolsonaro and his co-conspirators who were also sentenced to prison hatched a plan that would have used armed forces personnel to assassinate then-president-elect Luisinacio Lula de Silva and Supreme Court Justice Alexandra de Moraesh. The court also detailed

attempts by Bolsonaro to cast doubt on Brazil's electoral system leading to the January 8th riots in 2003 when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attack government buildings. Here's Brazilian Supreme Court Justice, Carmen Lucia, explaining the verdict. The prosecutor's office provided conclusive evidence that a group, led by Jaira Maseas Bolsonaro, compromised of key figures from the government, the armed forces, and the intelligence services, implemented a progressive and systematic plan to attack democratic institutions with the aim of harming the legitimate transfer of power in the 2022 elections. President Trump said he was very unhappy with the verdict and called Bolsonaro,

a, quote, outstanding man. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, posted on social media, quote, the United States will respond accordingly to this witch hunt, unquote. In July, President Trump imposed 50 percent tariffs on Brazil and sanctioned the Brazilian Supreme Court Justice, Alejandra de Mareche, citing Bolsonaro's prosecution after headlines. We'll speak with Maria Luis and Mendoza, the director of the network for social justice and human rights in Brazil. In Michigan, 15 Republicans who tried to falsely certify President Trump as the winner of the 2020 election in the state will no long. longer faced trial after a judge dismissed their criminal charges. District court judge Kristen D. Simmons said, quote, I believe they were executing their constitutional right to seek redress.

Simmons ruling cast the group as simply following orders from more senior leaders like Rudy Giuliani and Kenneth Chesbrough, who were not on trial. After the 2020 election Republican activists in seven states tried to produce false electoral college certificates claiming Trump had won in their state. Senate Republicans voted Thursday to invoke the so-called nuclear option to speed confirmation of nearly 150 of President Trump's nominees awaiting floor votes. The change to Senate rules will allow the confirmation of multiple people at once by a simple majority rather than the usual 60 votes. A federal appeals court ruled Thursday in favor of the Trump administration, allowing it to block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood and its members. In a statement,

Planned Parenthood said the cuts put 200 Planned Parenthood health clinics at risk of closure with more than 1.1 million patients unable to use Medicaid to pay for reproductive health services. Planned Parenthood's president, Alexis McGill Johnson, said, quote, will continue to fight this unconstitutional law, even though this court has allowed it to impact patients, unquote. Meanwhile, in California, lawmakers have passed a bill allowing health care providers to omit the names of patients from a abortion pill bottles in an effort to protect people in states with abortion vans. Labels could also omit the name of the patient, prescriber, and pharmacist. California is a hub for dispensing and shipping abortion medication nationwide.

President Trump's calling Russia's drone incursion into Poland a mistake, while NATO members are calling it a deliberate provocation. France's president, Manuel Macron, said, quote, we will not yield to Russia's growing intimidation. Germany's chancellor Friedrich Mears called Russia's actions a, quote, serious threat to Europe. This is Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. We don't think Russia is behind this provocation. We know it. I hope that none of our allies will pretend that nothing happened because it did happen.

Several NATO members, including the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Germany and France, are sending troops, artillery, air defense systems to NATO's eastern flank. And the government of Belarus freed 52 political prisoners to Lithuania on Thursday in a deal brokered by the Trump administration. Among those released were 14 foreign nationals, journalists and bloggers, opposition politicians, and leaders of mass protests in 2020 against Belarus's authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko. Many of those release say they were starved and tortured. In return for their release, the United States is lifting sanctions on Belarus's national airline. The deal came after Trump, envoy Keith Kellogg, traveled to Minsk, where he presented the president, Lukashenko, with a pair of cufflinks,

and a letter from Trump that Kellogg described as a special sign of friendship. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now. Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. President Trump has just announced on Fox News. that the suspected gunman who shot the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, killing him, has been caught. Trump said, quote, I think with a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody, unquote. Trump's comments came a day after the FBI announced a $100,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Officials also released photos and video of the suspected gunman who shot Kirk during an outdoor event at Utah Valley University.

A bolt-action rifle was also recovered in a wooded area near the campus. In one video, the suspected gunman is seen jumping from a roof on campus and running away. On Thursday, President Trump said he'll honor Charlie Kirk with a posthumous presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. Trump also escalated his attacks on the political left, saying, quote, we just have to beat the hell out of them. We have radical left lunatics out there, and we just have to beat the hell out of it. On the floor of the House, Republican Representative Bob Under of Missouri described the political left as, quote, pure evil. Well, everything has changed.

If we didn't know it already, there is no longer any middle ground. Some of the American left are undoubtedly well-meaning people, but their ideology is pure evil. They hate the good, the truth, and the beautiful, and embrace the evil, the false, and the ugly. This call comes as some lawmakers, including Congress member Alexandra Casio-Cortez, are canceling or postponing public events out of safety concerns. To talk about all of this and more, we're joined by Medi Hassan, editor-in-chief and CEO of Zateo, where his new pieces headlined, hypocritical conservatives are using Charlie Kirk's horrific murder to cynically smear the left.

Medi, welcome back to Democracy Now. why don't you lay out what you're seeing in these last few days as we talk about this breaking news that the suspected gunman has been caught? Thanks, Amy, for having me. The problem with this administration, of course, is you can't trust anything they say. Cash Patel put out multiple statements over the last 48 hours, suggesting that somebody's been caught, somebody's in custody, they leaked to the Wall Street Journal that there was trans ideology on the weapon and then walked it back.

We have an administration of gasliders and serial liars, so unfortunately, in the old days, even if a president lied, you could try and take the bureaucracy or the law enforcement people. Maybe, maybe sometimes that they were, now you have to start from a position of pure skepticism. So I don't believe anything Trump says until I see more verification. I do hope they've caught the person. The problem is, Amy, that since from the moment Charlie Coat was horrifically murdered on camera, a horrific act, inexcusable act on Wednesday in Utah, from the moment. that happened. Republicans, conservatives, prominent figures in this country on the right went to work to blame this on the left, even though the killer was not in custody. Apparently is now, let's see, the alleged killer. They no killer in custody, no motive. And yet for the last 36, 48 hours,

we've been told again and again that the left did this. The left killed Kirk. The left has blood on its hands. And I wrote that piece for Ziteo because I was deeply frustrated at what I was seeing. It's not just frustrating. It's dangerous, right? your response to a political assassination to political violence cannot be to ratchet up, more political violence, more dehumanization and demonization. And the reality is, of course, as I say, we don't know the motive of the killer. Let's say the killer turns out to be someone on the left. Even then, that doesn't mean the right is somehow scot-free here.

And that's why I wrote my piece point here that the vast majority of right-wing political violence in this country comes from Trump supporters, comes from people on the far right, comes from all sorts of people who have horrific views about minorities and white supremacists. And I laid down the evidence in my piece, for example, this summer. Just a few weeks ago, I know the right wingers have been erasing her killing. But Melissa Hortman, the Speaker-Emmeritor of the Minnesota House, was murdered in her home with her husband. Another lawmaker was shot and almost killed with his partner. That was done by a Trump supporter this summer.

Trump didn't even bother to show up at the funeral. No one mentions Melissa Hortman's death on the right when they're talking about political violence. We've erased January 6th. We've erased the attack on Josh Shapiro's home earlier this year. We've erased multiple attacks over the years that have been attributed to or that the suspect turned out to be some kind of Trump supporter. And I think that is why I wrote that piece because there's a real rewriting of history going on it. It's what far right regimes do after tragedies like this. They try and weaponize them to go after their enemies.

And Trump's made that very clear. In all his statements, the radical left, this is a guy who has incited violence himself, including on January the 6th. I wanted to turn to Hunter Kozak. He's the Utah Valley University student who posed a question to Charlie Kirk about gun violence just before Kirk was shot and killed. Five is a lot, right? I'm going to give you some credit.

Do you know how many mass shooters there have been in America? over the last 10 years. Counting or not counting gang violence? Great. On Thursday, that young man, he was 29 years old. Hunter Kozak, the Utah Valley University, I think he was a student, posted his message response to what happened after he asked the question. And people have obviously pointed to the irony. That I was the point that I was trying to make is how peaceful the left was right before he got shot. And that only makes sense if we stay peaceful. And as much as I disagree with Charlie Kirk, I'm on the record for how much I disagree with Charlie Kirk.

But like, man, dude, he is still a human being. Have we forgotten that? That's Hunter Kozak, who posed. the question. He started by asking about how many trans mass shooters Charlie Kirk thought they were and then talked about that percentage as a number of mass shooters in this country. But as he says, was horrified. As here is Charlie Kirk answering a question about gun violence, then is shot dead. Your response to this young man who's in a lot of pain. He said, in fact, though, he disagrees with almost everything is known for opposing

Charlie Kirk himself, a TikToker. His wife just gave birth to their second child. He sees their families, you know, both of them having two children. And he said, but I'm absolutely against violence and for his freedom of expression. Amy, we all are. I mean, 99% of people in this country, I hope, are against politically motivated men. I mean, it's horrific. What happened, Charlie Kirk is horrific, on a human level, on a political level, on multiple levels. And, you know, people are going around and saying, well, you know, he didn't believe in empathy, so I don't care. Well, just the fact that he didn't believe in empathy is irrelevant. I believe in empathy. Most of us should believe, have empathy, and I do

have empathy for his wife and kids. Two kids are going to grow up without their father. The fact that their father had vile political views that I disagree with. The fact that their father said I should be deported from the U.S. is irrelevant. All right. You don't kill people for their speech, ever. And that young man gave a very eloquent statement there. The irony of him being killed after taking a question on gun violence and trying to make it about gangs, I mean, Amy, right now, everything in American politics just feels bizarre and ironic and unprecedented. You know, if you sat in a Netflix TV writer's room and said, hey, this is the script for a political drama about politics in the United States, and it was the script of the last

five or 10 years, the TV writers would throw you out of the room and say, this is ridiculous, we can't make this TV show. This is so unrealistic. The plot twists, the turns. But that's our daily life right now. I mean, we're all going crazy, seeing the, you know, what happens on a daily basis. You know, it's beyond anything we see on TV or in the movies these days. And I worry that everything's going to get worse. I was on the BBC just a couple nights back. And, you know, the question they asked was, is America going to come together after this? That's what other countries are wondering. That's what would happen in most normal countries after a tragedy like this. Unfortunately, the U.S. is not a normal country right now. And I suspect not only are we not going

to come together, we're going to go further apart, because the president is someone who takes this opportunity to incite more. I mean, everything Donald Trump has said since this murder has been unhelpful at best, dangerous and destructive at worst. He's not the right leader whenever there's a tragedy, whenever there is a murder or a terrorist. That's always been one of my great criticisms of Trump. I have many. He's not the right person to lead a nation when there is a tragedy or a crisis. Many, in 2023, Charlie Kirk called for you to be deported over your views on the COVID-19 pandemic while you were working at MSNBC. I just wanted to play a clip from the Charlie Kirk show.

So we need to reassert what the actual truth of the matter is, especially if we are to be prepared for the next pandemic when it inevitably comes. Wow, who is that neurotic? lunatic. Who is that guy? Send him back to the country he came from. Holy cow. Get him off TV. Revoke his visa. So that was Charlie Kirk. And again, the horror of his murder right now. Your response then, Medi, and as you reflect on this now. Yeah, I responded at the time pointing out how racist that statement was. Charlie Kurt was very anti-immigrant. He was very anti-Muslim. People forget this stuff. But again, you know, I've spent the last 48 hours condemning his killing.

I've been, I've found that post celebrating his death, very few of them. I know the Republicans are trying to exaggerate. There are deaths off. There are obviously posts online celebrating his death. I found them distasteful, inappropriate. It's not something I would do. And yet, I think to myself, had I been the one shot in the neck and passing away, I wonder what Kirk would have said about me.

This is the reality of where we live. I mean, we're in this weird situation, Amy, now, where some liberal, are going to another extreme, which is, we should all condemn the killing of Charlie Kirk, but we don't need to participate in the whitewashing of his record, or the kind of this suggestion that he is some kind of free speech martyr. He was not a supporter of free speech. You just saw that clip. I said something on MSNBC he did not like, I, an American citizen. He said I should be deported from the United States. Is that someone who sounds like they support free speech? He was super anti-Muslim. Just a couple of days ago, he was posting about Islam

being the sword with which the left slits the throat of America. He called Muslims conquerors, leaders. His rhetoric was horrific. He put targets on people's backs. But again, I don't measure my own views or my own responses to tragedies by the standard set by Charlie Kirk or Donald Trump or anyone else. The fact that he may have had a more gleeful response to my death than I do to his is irrelevant. As I say, none of us should celebrate the death of a human being. None of us should celebrate political violence because it's a threat to all of us and to this country. And I think it's interesting that so many people are now trying to suggest that this guy, I've seen people saying, oh, he never did anything. He just went and had good faith debate

to college students. Just not true. He supported the, you know, he supported the deportation of Mahmoud Khalil, a green card legal resident who was punished for his speech, nothing else, by the Trump administration. So look, even us having this conversation, Amy, will be clipped somewhere by a Republican and say, look, look, they're celebrating his death. They're criticizing him. No, criticizing someone's views is not celebrating the death. We can do two things at once. We can walk and chew gum. We can say it's absolutely outrageous that Charlie Coat was murdered for his views,

and we have absolute empathy for his wife and kids and friends and family. But we can also say those views were horrific. We're not going to suddenly say because he was murdered, his views are somehow good. No, bad people can be unjustly murdered. Bad people can be innocent when it comes to being killed, because even bad people shouldn't be killed for their views. I wanted to switch gears a bit, although, I mean, there are, of course, connections. You have the latest news where the Israeli prime minister also talked about Charlie Kirk, as I think he called him a lion-hearted friend of Israel,

who fought the lies and stood tall for Judeo-Christian civilization, he said. In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces rounded up over 1,500 Palestinians in Tolcarum Thursday, ordering a curfew for the city's residents. The crackdown came as Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu approved a plan to dramatically expand illegal West Bank settlements, greenlighting the construction of 3,400 new homes on land. Palestinians want for a future state. Netanyahu spoke at a signing ceremony Thursday. We said there would not be a Palestinian state, and we say again, there won't be a Palestinian state. This place is ours. We will take care of our country and our security and our heritage. So you have Netanyahu at the signing ceremony saying that he would, there is no place for a Palestinian state.

Your response, Medi Hassan. One of the only good things, Amy, about this Israeli government, which is the most far-right racist genocidal government in Israel's history, which is saying a lot. One of the only good things about this Israeli government is that they just, you know, they say the quiet part out loud. They do say what they're thinking. They do say what they mean and mean what they say. So when they say there will be no Palestinian state, that's the truth. They don't plan to have a Palestinian state. They are opposed to a Palestinian state, which is much more refreshingly honest than some of those Israelis in the past.

Oh, yeah, we support a two-state solution while carrying on building the same settlements than Netanyahu and Smotritch and co are doing. It just reminds us of how much gas-sliding, Amy, there is in this country, in our media, in our Congress, where Democrats in particular hide behind the two-state solution crutch. Oh, yes, my solution, a two-state solution. Well, there is no two-state solution. These are any government says there is no two-state solution. They are doing everything in their power to make sure that a two-state solution can never happen practically by, you know, cutting up the land, building Israeli settlements that will prevent. the establishment of any future Palestinian state. So in that sense, you know, thank you Netanyahu for saying what we already knew that you are someone who's opposed to Palestinian state who has

blocked a Palestinian state multiple times, including right now. By the way, Amy, I should also point out, Bazal of Smotrich is the one who announced those settlements in the West Bank, and Netanyahu is now echoing what Smotrich says. Again, there's a faction in this country that wants to say, oh, ignore Smotrich. He's just a fringe figure. No, Bazal of Smotry is the finance minister of Israel. He's in control of the West Bank. And what he's doing, Netanyahu is following. So this is the entire Israeli government. This is their worldview. By the way, you mentioned 1,500 people taken in the West Bank.

And there's a word for that. It's called hostages. There are Palestinian hostages being held by Israel without charge, disappeared. No one knows where they are. They've committed no crimes. They are hostages in the same way that the people Hamas took. We're hostages. I wanted to also switch to another issue.

Last week, the U.S. attack the bode in the Southern Caribbean, killing at least 11 people. President Trump claimed the boat was carrying drugs from Venezuela but offered no proof. The Pentagon recently sent warships to the region after Trump's secretly authorized use of military force in Latin America under the guise of the war on drugs. In response, Congressmember Alhan Omar has introduced a new war powers resolution seeking to block the Trump administration from conducting future military strikes in the Caribbean. This is Congress Member Omar speaking to you, Medi, Thursday, and is a Teo Town Hall. It is Congress that declares war, and we have not been given that authority by this president, and it's, I think, really important for us to insert our authority in declaring more. What we are seeing with multiple strikes throughout the world that the president has offered,

is that he does not have the authority to be able to do so. And specifically, this strike that was carried out in the Caribbean against the Venezuelan vessel, I think it's important for the people to recognize that we cannot just go out and terminate people. You know, this is this is not something that is allowed under international law and is certainly not allowed under U.S. law. So that's Ilhan Omar, speaking to you, Medi. AP is reporting the Venezuelan boat was heading back to shore when the Trump administration bombed it, and that might have been bombed twice, and the whole question being raised if it was a drug boat, why were there so many people on it? Were these, in fact, migrants, Medi Hassan, the significance of what's taken place?

And also the latest news that the House passed legislation to repeal the 1991 in 2000. and two Iraq authorizations for use of military force, the AUMF, and a bipartisan vote Wednesday moving against two pieces of legislation that have vastly expanded the president's ability to use military force in the U.S.'s forever wars in the Middle East. Well, let's start with the AUMFs that you mentioned. Yes, they have been used to expand power and force of the U.S. state. They have been abused by presence of both parties.

stretched beyond all imaginable use based on the original intent of those AUMS. I'm glad they were repeal, but look at how long it took. You know, over 20 years for the War on Terror one for the 2002 one for Iraq, over 30 years for the original Gulf War one. This is why I'm skeptical that Ilhan Omar's war powers resolution will go anywhere. She's much more optimistic than I am. I interviewed her yesterday as you showed. She thinks she'll get a lot of votes for it.

Unfortunately, our Congress loves endless war. Our Congress loves to hand over its war-making power to the president, both parties. And therefore, it is very worrying when you have a president like Donald Trump in the White House and the power he has. And, you know, Barack Obama, with his drone strike policy, laid the groundwork for Donald Trump's drone strike policy. Donald Trump, in his first term, actually carried out more drone strikes than Barack Obama did in his two terms. People don't know that. But, of course, all of that was set up for Trump. And you look at that boat attack, it does look more and more like an act of mass murder.

11 people killed. We don't know their names. We don't know who they were. We don't know what they are supposedly accused of. Just a generic, they are narco-terrorists. They are drug traffickers. Based on what? The whole point of the United States is that the president doesn't just get to kill people.

And we believe him on his say-so, especially this president, who lies about everything. We just learned recently, Amy, from the New York Times that in his first term, he sent the seals into North Korea to plant a listening device. And those Navy seals ended up killing a boat full of unarmed Koreans, North Koreans, and then coming out and not telling the world, not telling the United States, not telling Congress. So why would we believe anything Donald Trump says on the national security front? You trust Marco Rubio, you trust Peter Hexath, you trust Donald Trump? No. In fact, the New York Times is reporting this week that the boat was turning around and they still attacked it. This was a boat that was 2,000 miles away from the U.S. coastline.

There's no scenario in which you can say it was an imminent threat to the U.S. That's why we attacked it. It was thousands of miles away and it was heading in the other direction. And as you say, had 11 people on board, which is very strange. Most drug boats don't have that many people on board. So I hope there is some kind of investigation, an international one, if not a U.S. one, because it looks like Donald Trump may have just murdered 11 innocent people. Medi Hassan, I want to thank you for being with us, award-winning journalist, editor-in-chief, and CEO of Zateo.

We'll link to your new piece. Hippercritical conservatives are using Charlie Kirk's horrific murder to cynically smear the left. Again, this breaking news, President Trump says that the suspected shooter is, in custody. And also this breaking news, Trump says he'll send the National Guard to Memphis, Tennessee. Coming up, Brazil's Supreme Court, a sentence former President Jarear Bolsonaro, to 27 years in prison after being convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 elections. Stay with us. Drill, precious Lord, linger near, when my life is all, almost gone.

Hear my cry, hear my cold. The late great Odetta, performing in our Firehouse studio, September 11th, 2002, a year after the September 11th attacks, yesterday was the 24th anniversary of those attacks. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org. I'm Amy Goodman. We turn now to Brazil, where a panel of Supreme Court justices is sentenced former president Jair Bolsonaro to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a military coup and seeking to annihilate democracy in Brazil following Bolsonaro's election defeat in 2022. A panel of five Brazilian court justices handed down the sentence just hours after reaching

the historic verdict. which marks the first time a former head of state in Brazil is brought to trial and convicted of attempting to overthrow the government. Bolsonaro and his co-conspirators who were also sentenced to prison hatched a plan that would involve using armed forces personnel to assassinate the president-elect, Luis Anasio Lula de Silva, and Supreme Court Justice Alexander de Moresh. The court also detailed attempts by Bolsonaro to cast doubt on Brazil's electoral system leading to, to the January 8th riots back in 2023 when thousands of Bolsonaro supporters attack government buildings. This is the Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Carmen Lucia explaining the verdict. The prosecutor's office provided conclusive evidence that a group, led by Jair Maseyes Bolsonaro, compromised of key figures from the government, the armed forces, and the intelligence services,

implemented a progressive and systematic plan to attack democratic institutions with the aim of harming the legitimate transfer of power in the 2022 elections. That's Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Carmen Lucia. We now turn to Supreme Court Justice Alessandre de Mareche, who Bolsonaro planned to assassinate, he said while announcing the sentence that Bolsonaro had attempted to, quote, annihilate the essential pillars of the democratic rule of law state, the greatest consequence would have been the return of dictatorship to Brazil, Moresh said. Bolsonaro has been under house arrest in Brasilia since August and will not be required to report to prison until he's exhausted

all appeals to his conviction. Bolsonaro is a staunch ally of President Trump, who described the case against Bolsonaro as a witch hunt, imposing 50 percent tariffs on Brazil, and sanctioning the Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alessandre, the Mauritian retaliation. Trump said he's very unhappy with the verdict and called Bolsonaro an outstanding man. Meanwhile, Secretary of State Marco Rubio threatened the United States would, quote, respond accordingly to this witch hunt. Back in Brazil, opponents of Bolsonaro took to the streets in Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro, and other major cities celebrating the historic verdict.

For more, we're joined here in New York by Maria Luisa Mendonza, director of the network for social justice and human rights in Brazil, visiting scholar at City University of New York, Graduate Center. Welcome back to Democracy Now, the significance of this verdict and the sentence of more than 20 years for Bolsonaro. Yes, that's a very important moment. It's a historic moment in Brazil. As you know, Amy, Brazil had over 20 years of a military dictatorship. And the return to democracy democracy was only about 40 years ago. So it's a very young democracy.

So that's why it's so important that the Supreme Court in Brazil didn't leave this crime in impunity. So it's very important to set this record and the precedent in Brazil. So we defend our democracy and we defend our democratic institutions because The attempted coup was not only against the elections when President Lula was elected, but against all democratic institutions in the country, including the Supreme Court. Talk about exactly what happened back in 2023. Well, there was a whole – what the Supreme Court showed with the proofs and the evidence

was that that was a plot that took over a year. year. So they described step by step all the ways in which the Bolsonaro and his allies plot this attempted coup that culminated in a mob attacking institutions in Brazilian, the building of the Congress and the building of the Supreme Court and destroying property. So at the same time, there was this plot to assassinate President Lula and his vice president, Geraldo Alchemy, and Alexandre de Morais, the Supreme Court Justice. So it was a very broad, what they described, what the Supreme Court described was a criminal organization that took several steps to remain in power.

And the significance of the pressure the United States is trying to put on Brazil, the 50% tariffs, who knows what they'll do now. And it looks like very much the identification President Trump has with Bolsonaro. There, it was January 8th attempted coup. In the United States, it was January 6th. I wanted to go to Trump talking to reporters who was asked about the Bolsonaro a conviction. Well, I watched that trial. I know him pretty well, a foreign leader. I thought he was a good president of Brazil. And it's very surprising that that could happen. That's very much like

they tried to do with me, but they didn't get away with it at all. But I can only say this. I knew him as president of Brazil. He was a good man. So that's Donald Trump. But his opinion is his opinion, but what the U.S. policy is now in putting pressure on Brazil, what that means. Yes, the U.S. claimed that the 50% tariffs on Brazil was because of trade imbalance, but actually the U.S. has a trade surplus with Brazil. So it's definitely a political pressure against the judiciary in Brazil. So the Supreme Court didn't. take that. So at the same time, the Brazilian government took measures to, so the economy in Brazil would not suffer very much from the tariffs. So I think the response from the Brazilian

government and from the Supreme Court was to say that Brazil is an independent country and it's not a colony anymore. So the exact words that they use is that Brazil is not a banana republic. So they stood up, and that was a very important point. I wanted to go to Brazil's president, Luisa Nassia Lula de Silva, speaking during a televised address last weekend before the verdict in the sentence. We will resist any attempt to undermine it. The role of some Brazilian politicians who encourage attacks on Brazil is unacceptable.

They were elected to serve the Brazilian people, but they only defend their own interests. They are traitors to the nation. History will not forgive them. So that's Lula. Yes, I think it was very important that the Brazilian government took measures to protect the Brazilian economy and to protect the rule of law. And at the same time that the justices during the trial mentioned that they would not be intimidated, that a tweet from a foreign government would not change the course of a trial in Brazil

where they had vast evidence of the crimes that Bolsonaro is facing now. As director of the network for social justice, what does this verdict mean? for activists, for indigenous communities, for marginalized groups who were particularly targeted and threatened during Bolsonaro's presidency. Yeah, that's very important because Bolsonaro dismantled several important institutions, environmental institutions, human rights institutions. So that is reaffirming that Brazil is not going to. to accept, going back to a system of oppression and dictatorship. So social movements in Brazil

are celebrating, and everyone who defends human rights should be celebrating as well. And finally, the message to the world around the issue of democracies grappling with the rise of far-right leaders who refuse to accept electoral defeats. Exactly. I remember, Amy, in 2016, we had this conversation during the parliamentary coup against President Dilma. And at that time, the Supreme Court actually went along with the coup against Dilma. But Bolsonaro... We're talking about former Brazilian president who was impeached, Gilmer Rousseff. Exactly. So, and... But Bolsonaro was so extreme. His policies were so extreme that the Supreme Court, the main...

extreme media also felt that he went too far. So even those institutions now understand that it's very important to defend democracy. And so I think that all the events that took place since the attempted parliamentary coup in Brazil and when Dilma Rousseff, former president was impeached, now we feel that that is a conciliation with that history, the recent history, as well as with the two-decade old military dictatorship that we had in Brazil that imposed so much violence in the country. Finally, are you concerned about the U.S.'s actions right now towards Venezuela, towards Venezuela under the guise of the war on drugs, the blowing up of the ship?

the positioning of U.S. military warships. Do you think that could extend to Brazil? Well, I think that Latin America needs to be united. Latin American countries need to be united and have a very strong position to defend democracy and to defend our sovereignty and independence. And I think that it's very important also to build solidarity with human rights organizations. in the U.S. and people who defend democracy here in the U.S. and in Latin America. Maria Luisa Mendonso, we thank you so much for being with us, Director of the Network for Social Justice and Human Rights in Brazil, visiting scholar here in New York at City University of New York Graduate Center.

Coming up, we go to Nepal, where 51 people have been killed in youth-led anti-corruption protests. Back in 20 seconds. Venenos, your monologues, Your Discurses incolouros, No, you know we're not we're just Millions of polo, Al-on of a solo, chorus, marches with the tone, with the conviction

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shocked, potteros, decisions for very poxist, by the Chilean musician Anitiju, performing in our Democracy Now studio. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org. I'm Mimi Goodman. We end today's show in Nepal, where the country's former chief justice, Sushila

McCarthy, looks set to become the interim prime minister following massive youth-led anti-corruption demonstrations. Protesters set fire to the parliament, other government buildings Tuesday amidst a police crackdown. Officials said today at least 51 people have been killed, including 21 protesters. The protest continued even after the government lifted its ban on social media platforms and after Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Ali resigned. Everything that has happened is not because of the social ban. We need a young leader now. We are looking for change. Time is up for these old leaders.

We don't need them. We need the youth. For more, we go to the capital of Nepal, to Kathmandu, where we're joined by journalists Pernai Rana. Thank you so much for being with us. Can you describe the scene right now in the streets and the significance of what has happened in these youth-led protests, but also this terrible death toll of at least,

51 people. Hi, Amy, thank you for having me. So right now, I'm in Kathmandu. We are still under curfew and prohibitory orders. The Nepal army is out on the streets patrolling. And we are really in a state of confusion as we don't really know what is happening at the moment or where the country will go in since most of our state institutions. have been either destroyed or are non-functional. So we really are counting on the new generation, the Gen Z, who led the protests to take us forward.

Right now, negotiations are going on between former Chief Justice Sushila Karki and President Trump-Chandra-Portel. They are expected to hash out a deal by today for Madam Karki to become the interim prime minister and lead the country towards fresh elections within six months. And who is she? Who is this new interim prime minister? And how did the students feel, the youth feel about her? So, Madam Susiella Karki, she is a former Chief Justice. She is the only female Chief Justice in Nepal's history.

She resigned, I mean, not resigned. She retired in 2017 after facing an impeachment motion. by the political parties who have been kicked out of power right now. The impeachment motion did go through Parliament, but it was not by the Supreme Court for not being in line with the Constitution. So Madam Kharky has always, she has cultivated reputation for being very anti-corruption, and she also believes that the political parties should hand over leadership to the next generation. So that's why her stances resonate with the younger generation, the Gen Z, who have led

these protests. She was also one of the few senior leaders of the country who came to the streets to protest the 19, now 21 young protesters who were killed on September 8th. Can you talk about the government shutting down some 26 social media platforms? and how that intensified the protests and why they focused on social media? Well, the social media ban has been in the works for a number of years now. The successive Nepal governments have tried to get social media networks to register within Nepal and appoint a local representative here so that they can reach out easier when they need to take down.

offensive material. Most of the tech giants, meta, alphabet, and all the other ones, they've all refused. Either they've ignored the request or they've straight up refused saying that there is no law.

So the Nepal government has been trying to get them registered based on a directive that the executive issued. The directive is not an act passed by parliament. So a few social media companies have argued that if If there is no law in place, we can't register.

So most recently what happened was that the Nepal government gave the social media companies a seven-day ultimatum, a seven-day deadline to register if threatening to ban them if they did not. The seven-day deadline passed with no one registering, so the government moved ahead with the ban. The ban happened to coincide with a widely youth-led movement on social media. against corruption and against nepotism, especially of the children of the politicians who are currently in power. So the youth felt that the social media ban was one more attempt by the government to suppress their voices, take away their free speech, especially because they were criticizing the politician's families.

So that was the immediate trigger for the protests. For now, finally, can you talk about the economy? The economic despair felt by so many in Nepal today for most Nepalis, the main source of income is remittances from their relatives working abroad and then put it in a regional context. Over these years, these youth-led rebellions, particularly also around the economy. You have Sri Lanka in 2022, Bangladesh. It's July revolution throwing out Sheikh Hasina, most recently Indonesia, and the spot. being the killing of a 21-year-old delivery driver that led to so much protest. Talks first about Nepal.

Yes. So I said the Nepali economy basically depends completely on remittances that are sent back by migrant workers, most of whom are in the Gulf states or in Malaysia or in South Korea where they work labor jobs. Remittances equal about 25%. percent of our GD. So that's how important remittances are to this country. But sadly, most

youth feel that they have no future here. They cannot make the amount of money that they would make doing a manual labor job in, say, Qatar or Saudi Arabia. They cannot make the same amount of money working even a job or

a blue-collar job here in Nepal. So that resentment has been building. Even students feel that they cannot get a job here in Nepal, so they choose to migrate to foreign lands immediately upon graduating high school or graduating college. I want to thank you so much, Pernay. We're going to have to leave it there, but we'll continue these discussions because this regional context is so important. Pranai Rana is a writer and journalist based in Kathmandu, Nepal.

And as we wrap up our broadcast, the late breaking news on the murder of the conservative actress Charlie Kirk. CNN's confirmed law enforcement has a man in custody who confessed to his father about shooting Kirk. The father reportedly told authorities and said he had secured his son until he could be formally detained. This morning, President Trump said on Fox News, quote, somebody very close to him, turned him in. The person was involved with law enforcement, was a person of faith, a minister, and brought him to a U.S. Marshal who was fantastic. They drove into the police headquarters, and he's there now, Trump said. I'm Amy Goodman. Thanks for joining us.