Democracy Now! Audio - Democracy Now! 2025-10-03 Friday

Episode Date: October 3, 2025

Democracy Now! Friday, October 3, 2025

From New York, this is Democracy Now. Virtually everyone in the world is supportive of this plan that Jared Kushner offered his time to help put together alongside our special envoy Whitkoff. As Whitkoff pitched Mid-East peace, his son pitched Mid-East investors. That's the headline of a new investigation in the New York Times. We'll speak with its reporter Deborah Kamen about Wittkoff, his family, and his real estate empire. Then the award-winning journalist Mario Guevara faces deportation to El Salvador today after he was arrested in June while live-streaming a number. no King's demonstration in Georgia.

And Oscar and Oscar winning actress and activist Jane Fonda's relaunching her father's free speech organization committee for the First Amendment, which Henry Fonda established in 1947 to combat the rise of McCarthyism. We have an opportunity now to really, really make a difference because people are recognizing what's at stake. It's never been this clear. You know, oftentimes you have to go to another country to see what could happen. But this is actually our democracy is being threatened, and I think people are awoke. We'll speak with Jane Fonda about her new push to defend free speech. All that and more coming up.

Welcome to Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the Warren Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. Israeli forces continue to encircle Gaza City, issuing final evacuation orders to remaining residents. Across Gaza, Israeli attacks have killed 22 Palestinians, including 16 in Gaza City, since dawn. A newborn baby died in Gaza City. Al-Hello Hospital as infants were being evacuated to escape Israel's onslaught. Al Jazeera is reporting at least seven people were killed in southern Gaza's Amoasi area that Israel designated as a safe zone. It comes as Medicine-Saint-Frontierre, Doctors Without Borders, denounce the killing of its

14th staff member in Gaza, occupational therapist Omar Hayek. Meanwhile, UNICEF's spokesperson, James Elder, recounted harrowing conditions at Al-AXA hospital. This is just absolutely out of control. I promised myself the first story that being in Gaza would be just some of the incredible volunteers and the joy they're bringing to kids, even in hospitals, and I'm here. And the first room I'm in, there are four children, four children who have all been hit by quadcopters, four children, then we're in a makeshift, I see you, a makeshift intensive care because there are so many children. And all four of these children have been hit by quadcopters. Two minutes later in the

ICU sitting with this little girl, Aya, who is five years old, when she died. She died in front of us. It comes as Hamas is reportedly demanding key revisions to President Trump's ceasefire deal. Hamas source tells the guardian the condition to disarm would be difficult for the group to accept. Far-right Israeli national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gavir, taunted the global Samud flotilla activists taken into custody by Israel on Thursday, there were more than 400 of them, pointing at them and calling them terrorists. Reporters without borders said there were more than 20 foreign reporters on board the flotilla. Meanwhile, demonstrators took to the streets all over the world from Karachi, Pakistan, to Barcelona, Spain, in response to Israel

capturing more than 450 activists. Italian students, occupied universities and Italian unions, calling for a general strike for Friday with more than 100 marches expected across Italy. Protesters also took to the streets of Athens, Greece. We demand that all the participants who were there be freed now. We are here to shout again for freedom to Palestine,

and we demand that our country stop any cooperation with the murderous state of Israel, which has been intensifying the genocide of the Palestinian people with the support of the United States, NATO, and the European Union. We'll get an update on the global Samud flotilla later in the broadcast. Here in New York, more than a thousand rabbis, Jewish peace activists and their allies led a protest Thursday demanding a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to U.S. arms transfers to Israel. They gathered at Brooklyn Borough Hall for a mass public Memorial service, the Yitzkir service, Anyom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, known as the day of atonement. After the ceremony, nearly 60 people were arrested as they nonviolently block traffic to the Brooklyn Bridge.

This is New York City Controller, an ally of mayoral candidates or Han Mamdani, Brad Lander. We must today take collective responsibility for, what the Israeli government has been doing is doing today on Yom Kippur says makes clear it is going to keep doing to Palestinians in Gaza and in the West Bank also the bombs funded by our taxpayer dollars in the name of the Jewish state, but a desecration of Judaism. President Trump has embraced the government shutdown as an unprecedented opportunity to punish his political opponents while slashing the federal workforce and cutting off funding to whole government agencies. On Thursday, Trump said budget chief Russell vote will have the power to decide if cuts should be temporary or permanent. And he said he would continue to target projects and agencies favored by Democrats.

Well, there could be firings, and that's their fault, and it could also be other things. I mean, we could cut projects that they wanted, favorite projects, and they'd be permanently cut. Democrats are demanding the reversal of cuts to Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act that will result in some 15 million people losing their health insurance coverage over the next decade. This is House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries. This is day two of Donald Trump's shutdown, but it's day 256 of the chaos that the Trump presidency has unleashed on the American people. Republicans have shut the government down because they don't want to provide health care to working-class Americans. The Labor Department will delay publication of its monthly jobs report that was scheduled. for release today. It was expected to show a slowdown in hiring in September.

Economist Erica Groshen, who formerly led the Bureau of Labor Statistics, told the Washington Post, quote, it's a bad time to be missing data. We're flying blind right now as the economy could be turning. The Trump administration is cutting nearly $8 billion in clean energy projects in all 16 states that voted for Kamala Harris. and where both senators voted against the GOP funding bill. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Kutzel Impact Battery Plants, Hydrogen Technology Projects, and upgrades to the electric grid.

In California, a massive explosion tore through a Chevron oil refinery in the Los Angeles suburb of El Segundo Thursday evening, sparking a fire that burned through the night and could be seen miles away. The explosion occurred around 9.30 p.m. corrupted shelter and place orders till 2 a.m. No injuries have been reported. This comes as the Trump administration has moved to shut down the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, an independent federal agency tasked with uncovering the causes of industrial disasters.

The Trump administration is asking nine public and private universities to sign a deal to help promote conservative ideas on campus in exchange for federal funding. The administration is calling it a 10-point compact and promised, quote, substantial and meaningful federal grants if universities take action against academic departments that, quote, purposefully punish belittle and even spark violence against conservative ideas, unquote. The Trump administration's also demanding the universities ban the use of race or sex and hiring or admissions and cap foreign students to 15 percent of undergraduates. Walt Heineke, a faculty member University of Virginia, one of the universities targeted by the Trump administration,

Warren, the memo threatens academic freedom. It's a threat, and it's a threat that should be taken seriously and should be reacted to in a way in which I think all colleges and universities who this is meant to actually be applied later to all universities and colleges, not just to the nine or ten that have received the letter. So that means that we should all be thinking about how to resist this particular form of intrusion. In Baltimore, a federal immigration judge has denied a bid for asylum by Maryland father, Kilmar Obrigo Garcia, though he has 30 days to appeal the ruling. The judge dismissed Abrago Garcia's argument that he faced imminent removal to Uganda,

even though the Trump administration is repeatedly publicly threatened to send him to Uganda or Eswatini, countries he has no ties to. Abrago Garcia first made international headlines when he was wrongfully deported by the Trump administration to El Salvador, where he was held in the notorious Seqqa prison. An ICE official later admitted his deportation was an administrative error. He since faced relentless attacks on his character by President Trump and top administration officials who've accused him of being a human smuggler and a member of the MS-13 gang, even though he's not been convicted of any crimes. A federal court in Georgia has denied an emergency request by the award-winning Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevada to remain in the United States paving the way for his deportation to El Salvador

today. According to the ACLU, Guevada was not allowed to say goodbye to his wife and three children. He's lived in the United States for some 20 years and has built a large following for his reporting on anti-ice protests. He was jailed by ICE for more than 100 days, even though an immigration judge granted him bond. He was arrested in June while live streaming a no-king's demonstration, even though he clearly identified himself as a journalist. We'll have more on his case after headlines. President Trump is declaring the U.S. is in an armed conflict with drug cartels following recent strikes on boats in the Caribbean. That's according to a memo obtained by the Associated Press. The memo also states, quote, the United States has now reached a critical point where we must

use force and self-defense and defense of others against the ongoing attacks by these designated terrorist organizations, unquote. It comes after the U.S. attack three boats in the Caribbean last month, reportedly killing 17 people. Meanwhile, Venezuela's defense minister, Vladimir, Padrino, blasted the U.S. Thursday after detecting five F-35 fighter jets close to the Venezuelan coast. The presence of these aircraft flying near our area of influence nearby the Caribbean Sea and off the Venezuelan coast is a vulgarity and a threat to national security. It is a serious threat, so I denounce before the world the military harassment and the military threat from the United States government against the people of Venezuela who only want peace, work, and happiness.

The United Nations is calling for urgent action to prevent large-scale, ethnically driven atrocities in El Fasher, the besiege capital of Sudan's North Darfur state. On Thursday, the U.N.'s top human rights official warned at least 91 civilians were killed in Al Fasher last month as the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, carried out artillery shelling, drone strikes, and ground incursions. The UN also warned the RSF against starving civilians and al-Fashar as a method of warfare amidst credible reports of civilians being tortured and killed by RSF fighters for bringing food and essential supplies into the city.

British police have identified the suspect who drove a car at members of the public outside a Manchester synagogue on Thursday before attacking people with a knife. 35-year-old Jihad al-Shami was a British citizen of Syrian descent. He was shot dead by firearms officers just minutes after the rampage began. Manchester Police report one of the two victims killed in the attack was shot dead by police, and one of the three people hospitalized was struck by a police bullet. The Church of England's announced Sarah Mulali as the first female Archbishop of Canterbury. The 63-year-old former nurse served as the Bishop of Lyme, and is the fourth woman to be ordained in the church's history. The Anglican Church has more than

85 million members across 165 countries. And the FDA has approved a new generic version of the abortion pill, Mephipristone. Three American companies are now allowed to manufacture the drug. Nearly two-thirds of abortions in the U.S. are conducted by medication. And those are some of the headlines. This is Democracy Now.comocracy now.org, the war and peace report. I'm Amy Goodman. Officials with Hamas say they'll respond soon to President Trump's ceasefire proposal to end Israel's

nearly two-year war on Gaza. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, White House press secretary, Carolyn Levitt, reiterated President Trump's timeline of three to four days for Amos to agree to a deal and said any announcements would come from Trump and his Middle East envoy, Steve Whitkoff. During the briefing, Leavitt was asked why the administration believed it was appropriate for Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, to be involved in negotiations in the Middle East,

given his financial ties to the region. This was part of Leavitt's response. Virtually everyone in the world is supportive of this plan that Jared Kushner offered his time to help put together alongside our special envoy Whitkoff. Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Whitkoff, has said he's very optimistic the U.S. peace deal will succeed. Well, today we look at the many deals Steve Whitkoff and his family are involved with. In a New York Times investigation headlined, as Whitkoff pitched mid-east peace, his son pitched mid-east investors. It begins, quote, as Steve Whitkoff, President Trump's envoy to the Middle East, conducted delicate ceasefire

negotiations between Israel and Hamas this year. His son Alex was on another mission. He was quietly soliciting billions of dollars from some of the same governments whose representatives were involved in peace talks with his father, unquote. For more, we're joined by one of the lead reporters on the piece, Deborah Kamen, who covers the real estate industry for the New York Times. Deborah, thanks so much for being with us. I didn't expect exposés on the Middle East envoy, Steve Whitkoff, to come from the real estate reporter at the New York Times. But if you can start off by talking about how you got involved with a story and what you found. Yeah, thank you. Thank you for having me. So this story actually is part of a body

of reporting the Times has been focused on for several months with reporters from across the newsroom. At the beginning of the Trump administration, it became very clear to all of us in the newsroom and many people in America that we were facing a really unprecedented situation in terms of conflicts of interest in the administration. So the Times put together a team of reporters from all different departments to look into different officials in the administration. I was tapped for that team along with several of my very talented colleagues. And when it comes particularly to Steve Wickoff, the fact that he is a real estate developer, my real estate background was very helpful in that area. And I partnered with people in London and in New York and in Washington.

been working together to really try to figure out how we can report on a situation that is unlike anything we've ever seen. So explain what the Whitkoff real estate empire is and who it involves. If you can talk about Steve Whitkoff, his son Alex. So Steve Whitkoff has been working in real estate for many, many years in New York City. His friendship with Donald Trump goes back to the fact that they both were real estate developers here in New York. They became friends in the 80s. And in the late 90s, Steve Whitkoff formed his company, the Whitkoff Group, which is now a very successful, very well-known real estate development company. And their special sauce is that they build fantastically successful apartments and condos, often taking over buildings that have been

previously distressed and then turning them for profit. So he has projects in Florida. He has projects in New York. They also have several projects abroad. And when Steve Whitkoff was tapped late last year to be the special envoy to the Middle East, he turned the company over to his son. Alex, who is now running it. But as we learned in our reporting, Alex has been, for quite some time, been groomed to take over the company. And also, as we learned in our reporting, Steve Wickoff has not fully divested yet from the company, although he says he's in the process of making that happen. During a real estate forum in New York City in May, Steve Wickoff and his son Alex, were questioned on stage by Amir Karanji, founder of the Real Deal, an

organizer of the conference. He asked about how Whitkoff's role as Middle East envoy impacts the real estate business of the Whitkoff Group, which is now run, as you said, by Alex Whitkoff. When you call people, people recognize the name and they recognize Steve. Is it easier to make those phone calls when you're raising capital right now? I'd say, I mean, we're raising capital based on a 30-year career. We've been doing business with major private equity firms, pension funds, banks for 30, 40 years. So it's business as usual. So it hasn't changed at all. I mean, I know you guys, the

Park Lane Hotel recently sold to the Qataris. Like, that happened around the same time that you know, Steve was going there. And I know he got a lot of hard press about that, but it obviously was, did there appear like any conflict there? Because

people, it happened with the Kushners too. They were having a hard time with 666, and you know, Jared goes into office and then the Qataris come in and sort of purchase success? Well, first off, they're part of that deal for many years before. As you know, they have a big debt business. They do a lot of, you know, they're quite active. So they're part of that transaction for a long period of time. And part of the reason he was

able to be so successful in Israel in the Middle East is because we've been doing business in the Middle East for many, many years before. And those relationships allowed him to be successful in Israel. First of all, we were never partners with the Qatarian Investment Authority on the Park Lane. We were partners with Mubadla. The Qatarian Investment Authority foreclosed on a mezzanine loan against Mubadler and took it over. And so we were never partners with the Qatari Investment Authority. With that said, I have a friendship and a great relationship with the Prime Minister of Qatar. His name is Sheikh Mohammed.

I'm on record as saying that. So that's Middle East envoy, Steve Whitkoff, and of course, well-known developer. Debra came in. Can you explain what we just listened to? Yeah, so Steve Wittkopf and his son Alex were obviously asked some of the really hard questions about whether or not their real estate relationships in business with people in the Gulf, particularly in Qatar, have affected their relationships politically. Steve Witt Kopp's relationships specifically have affected them politically.

The line that they use is that they haven't, that these things are separate. But at the same time, whether things are illegal is not the same as whether they're unethical. And if you are Steve Whitkoff and you have a close relationship with the Prime Minister of Qatar, so close that he was at Alex Wittkoff's wedding in Palm Beach last year, and then you are sitting down with him, a friend of yours who you also are in business with because he is an investor in a company that supports several of your projects. And then you also are sitting down with him in a peace negotiation. There is no question that these relationships and these allegiances carry over between business and politics. That's not necessarily always a negative. In many, ways there's arguments being made that Steve Whitkoff was chosen for the role of Middle East envoy because he had these relationships. But it's our job as reporters at the New York Times to show our readers where these conflicts of interest exist and also show them where the Whitkoffs and other people in the administration may or may not be profiting personally from them while they are trying to do this work, as they say, of diplomacy. It's not as clean as I think

they want often to cut it. Well, you do point out that that Envoy Whitkoff remains a partial owner of the company after selling a portion of his stake this year. So Steve Witkoff, as well as the son, Alex, is profiting. Yeah, so Steve Wickoff has, I mean, we received his financial disclosures as part of this reporting, and he has announced that he is in the process of divesting from his company. It was difficult to get clear information from the White House about his current status, but what we know at this point is that he sold a stake in the company for 120, million when he became envoy. And we know the White House has confirmed that he has not

completed the process of divesting. These things can take time. But yes, at this moment, he is still not fully divested from his company. And Alex is running it, but Alex and Steve have relationships that overlap. They know many of the same people. They've traveled together. And as our reporting showed, they have been in relationship with the Qataris and other leaders in the Gulf for nearly a decade. And those relationships, at least from the Gulf side, there was a motivation in those relationships to encourage financial investment in Whitkoff properties in order to build relationships with this family that they deemed as very politically connected, which is true. So all that is important for us to report on because it is a conflict of interest. You write that Steve Whitkoff

and his other son, Zach, already face accusations of pushing ethical boundaries through their cryptocurrency venture with the Trump family, which also has been doing deals in the Middle East. If you can talk about what this cryptocurrency venture is, World Liberty Financial, and what you and your colleagues at the New York Times have been reporting? Yeah, sure. So, C. Whitkoff has two sons. He had three. One of his sons tragically died of an overdose many years ago.

But he has two sons, Zach Whitkoff and Alex Wittkoff. And at this moment, Alex runs the real estate business for the company. And Zach runs World Liberty Financial, which is a crypto company, which they partnered with the Trump family. and my colleagues who were part of this large reporting team that was created in January, some of them focused on the crypto business while I and other colleagues focused on the real estate business. And what they found in crypto is that Zach and the Wickhoffs and the Trumps have built relationships with many people, particularly in the UAE, which have led to billions of dollars of investment in this crypto company. So while Alex and his dad and their real estate company,

we can trace deals that have benefited them financially through these relationships in the Gulf. Zach and his dad and the Trumps have benefited financially on the crypto side. So you see a lot of enrichment in many different ways. And the question also comes, when are these things going to overlap? When are real estate and crypto going to be assets that you might purchase one with the other? There is definitely a plan here for more and more financial gain, without a doubt, from both Alex and Zach.

And it's clear that the relationships the family has have helped them make so much money in the first few months of this administration. Do you see parallels with the Trump family? We interviewed Eric Lipton, your colleague at the New York Times. I mean, we're talking about money made in the Trump family in the range of well, well over $3 billion. Billion with a B. Yes. Of course we do.

We also see parallels with Jared Kushner, with the Lutniks. What you're seeing now in Washington is a series of what we call sons profiting from their fathers and whether or not laws are being broken, we don't know or we haven't been able to really clarify that. But that's not really the point of our reporting. You see Zach and Alex Wittkoff. You see the Lutniks. You see the Trump's running their dad's business. You see Jared Kushner, who many of his real estate deals, have profited from relationships he has in the Gulf.

And now he's also back in the diplomacy seat. There's so much overlap and there's so much blurring of lines. These are things that really were quite unheard of and quite scandalous just a few years ago. And it's happening so frequently now that we're starting to see. see it as normal. And it's important as reporters that we continue to point out to our readers what this means for American negotiations, for our status in the global diplomacy. This is all very, very unheard of and potentially a slippery slope if we stop paying attention to it. Times of Israel is reporting that Steve Whitkoff is expected to step down at the end of the year.

Is that what you understand? I read that report as well. Well, let me ask you about another story that you've done, headline two HUD civil rights lawyers dismissed after raising concerns about Fair Housing Act enforcement, about two HUD civil rights lawyers who were fired after raising concerns to members of Congress about how their jobs to enforce the Fair Housing Act had become nearly impossible in this administration. Can you explain what their jobs were, what the Fair Housing Act is and what happened? Yeah, with pleasure, and I appreciate the opportunity to talk about it. Last week, just before our story on Steve Wickcoff and Alex Wickcoff was published, I had another investigation looking into the way that HUD, since the beginning of the Trump

administration, has made it difficult for people within the Office of Fair Housing to enforce the Fair Housing Act. And obviously, the Fair Housing Act is one of the key civil rights laws in our country, which makes it illegal to discriminate in housing, not just by virtue of race, but also if you need a wheelchair and you don't have a ramp or if you're a single mom with kids and your landlord, maybe they hate kids. These are all things that the Fair Housing Act protects all of us from to make sure that when we go to find housing in America, we're not discriminated against for any reason. But laws are only as good as their enforcement. You know, you can say murder is illegal, but if police say they're not going to go after murderers, that law stops really mattering.

It's the same for the Fair Housing Act. It has to be enforced for it to actually matter. and much of the enforcement happens in this Office of Fair Housing at HUD, which is staffed by lawyers and investigators who look into claims of discrimination. And if they find discrimination occurred, they hold those discriminators accountable. There's often lawsuits or there's charges of discrimination or there's other ways that people are deterred from discriminating. And since January, there have been a lot of changes at HUD brought down by the Trump administration that many people within the group say has made it nearly impossible for them to do their job. And they blew the whistle. They released several internal documents and text messages and emails to me at the New York

Times. They also wrote Senator Elizabeth Warren. And we had a big story on it. And lo and behold, a few days after our story, the two key whistleblowers who came forward to the Times were fired last week. And they were escorted out. One of them was put on administrative leave. The other one was fired. And they were escorted out of the office by staff and security was present as well. So that was a very tragic turn of events for these people who are trying to help Americans understand that their potential to be protected is at stake. Currently, the HUD website is down. And when you go to it, hudg.gov, the website blames the shutdown on the left, on the

radical left. Yes, the extreme radical left. That's correct. It's very clear that this is much of the work that was done by HUD. and fair housing, which is not partisan, which is meant to protect all Americans, has become tainted by partisanship in this administration. And what I found in my reporting is that much of the enforcement work for the Fair Housing Act was being conflated with this anti-DeI push that Trump and his administration have been putting forth. And so if you talk about DEI, you talk about

diversity, equity, and inclusion, those words, those are squishy words that can be applied to all sorts of things. And they're now being applied to ideas of discrimination and equal access to housing. That's not the same as DEI, but in this administration, things are getting diluted and mixed up. And clearly, at HUD, there is a desire to lean into this partisan politicking. And it's causing people to lose their jobs. And it's also making it so that people who have their housing complaints are having trouble getting those taken seriously and finding relief for discrimination, which is illegal. Deborah Kamen, we're going to thank you for being with us,

New York Times real estate reporter whose investigation is headlined where Mid-East envoy pitch peace. His son pitched investors will also link to your piece on the HUD workers who've been fired. Next up, the award-winning journalist

Mario Guevada faces deportation to El Salvador today after who was arrested in June while live streaming a no-can Hing's demonstration. He's lived in this country for over 20 years. Then we'll speak with the actress Jane Fonda. Stay with us. performed by the time that's a while in your chloe

that's after a minute of the sweltaire that in your peche a marauda in your pecho a llamada that all the yeah mhmando performed by makul in our Democracy Now studio. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org.

I'm Amy Goodman. We turn now to the Trump administration's escalating attacks on press freedom. Today, the award-winning Spanish-language journalist Mario Guevada is set to be deported to El Salvador after a federal court in Georgia denied an emergency request for a stay on his final removal order. Guevada has lived in the United States for 20 years, gained recognition for his coverage on immigration enforcement with the outlet he founded MG News. The ACLU said Guevada has been transferred to an ICE facility in Louisiana where he'll be put on a plane to El Salvador. He was not allowed to say goodbye to his wife and three children. The Trump administration refused to release him,

even though an immigration judge granted Guevada bond. He'd authorization to live and work in the United States had no criminal charges. Despite that, Mario Guevara spent more than 100 days in a Georgia ICE jail following his arrest in June while live streaming a no-kings demonstration near Atlanta. Police body camp footage shows the moment Mario was arrested. He's wearing a black press vest, his press pass as police in riot gear swarm toward him. And this is part of the media officer. Okay. Yeah, I'm good.

Thank you. Let me finish it. And this is part of a letter, Mario Guevara wrote, after 100 days in ICE detention. He wrote, quote, if I'm deported, I'll leave with my head held high because I'm convinced it'll be for doing my work as a journalist and not for committing crimes. That said, I will leave with a broken heart. My family, the thing I love most in life, will be set. although all my loved ones know it's all been because of my passion for my work, Mario Gavada wrote. In September, his 21-year-old son, Oscar, who is a U.S. citizen, spoke about his

father during a press briefing with the ACLU. We can surely say we are heartbroken every single day that he is apart from us. My father's absence has affected. our family in ways that are hard to put into words. In 2021 I was diagnosed with the brain tumor

and suffered a stroke during the surgery. Through all of this, my dad has been the person who keeps me going. He drives me to my medical

appointments helps me matters my care, and most importantly, lifts me up when I feel like giving in to the pain. For more, we go to Nashville, Tennessee, where we're joined by Nora Benevita, Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights at Free Press, which alongside the Committee to Protect Journalists, the ACLU and other groups, has been advocating for Mario Guevara's release. Now, Nora, it's great to have you with us. Explain what exactly is happening. Well, it's great to be here, Amy. Thank you so much. You know, this case is so chilling. It's

been over 100 days that Mario was in a facility largely in solitary confinement. His mental health declined. He had very little access to his lawyers, his family, the media, and all of it stems from the police and ICE targeting him for his work as a journalist. And so I think this case is meant to chill all of us. It's part of such a troubling, broad attack on free speech and journalism against the backdrop of seeing how militarized police and ICE are entering Chicago homes. We've seen the way journalists are on trial in Kentucky for trying to simply report on issues of the day. Mario's case is really the tip of the spear, and today's deportation is deeply troubling. So explain why it was he got arrested. He's lived in this country for almost

20 years. Talk about his point. He said, I wasn't committing a crime. Well, I mean, he was committing journalism. Yeah. When he was arrested, you know, he was covering a no king's rally, and it was in a suburb of Atlanta. He had his press badge on. It was very obvious, his, you know, press gear, and he was live streaming. But he was standing on a little grassy knoll. And as police approached him, video and body cam footage show that he was not in the street. He wasn't in the sidewalk.

He was just filming. He was just doing his job as a journalist. And as he was filming, he walked backwards, approached by multiple law enforcement officers. it really felt targeted because of that video. And they ultimately then walked him backwards into the street and said, you're in the sidewalk, you're in the street, you're obstructing traffic. And when he got arrested, it was by local authorities. But they dropped all charges against him.

And since that, it's now been 108 days of his having been detained by ICE. And they've said in their own legal pleadings, the government has exposed it is because of his journalistic work that they targeted him. They really do not want what he's doing to expose ice activities. He has permission to live and work in the United States? Yes, he was here on a work visa and he was on a path to a green card because his son, Oscar, has, of course, U.S. citizenship. So the government has tried to make this case an immigration case. And I always try to remind people, this is a free speech case. This is a press freedom case. This is about the government, not. wanting, reporting about what it is doing?

Does the decision made by the Boston federal judge, William Young, a Reagan appointee, this scathing case, this scathing decision, his deportation coming a day after he rebuked the Trump administration's targeting, in that case it was of pro-Palestine international students, saying they can't be deported for expressing their views. Could this in any way have bearing on his case? And is there anything that could stand in the way of him being deported? And what are his concerns about being deported to El Salvador? Oh, I mean, that's such a big question. You know, earlier this week, as you said, a Boston judge ruled that the Trump administration has essentially engaged in a campaign to censor students,

namely students promoting Palestinian rights. And that campaign has been incredibly chilling, going after students like Mahmoud Khalil, Rumaesa Ozturk, and others simply for voicing support for Palestinian freedom and rights. And so seeing the way that the Trump administration has cracked down on certain speech, it really mirrors the way that Mario has also been targeted, because the government very similarly simply went after him for his speech, for his First Amendment rights and for exercising those.

So I hope that we are not done with this fight. Just because he may be on a plane at any moment does not mean the legal fight is over. And it certainly doesn't mean that we are done fighting for his freedom and his ability to do his job. Nora, I want to end with the question about why Mario fled El Salvador 20 years ago around his work as a journalist and being persecuted? You know, I have goosebumps when you ask that question because I have to say it's so chilling now to see that he is returning to a country he fled under duress, worried about his safety. He left El Salvador over 21 years ago coming to the United States because

he wanted to do journalism. He wanted to expose what the government is doing. And he is now leaving this country shackled in handcuffs because the government doesn't want him to do just that. His only crime is doing his job. And so it is, it's a horrible thing. The jailing of journalists is the jurisdiction of dictatorships. It is a horrific circumstance that we are in. Nora Benavides, I want to thank you for being with us, Senior Counsel and Director of Digital Justice and Civil Rights at Free Press. Up next, Oscar-winning actress, Jane Fonda, relaunching her father's free speech organization, which Henry Fonda established in 1947 to combat the rise of McCarthyism. Back in 20 seconds.

I was dreaming in my dreaming, well, of an aspect, bright and fair. In my sleeping, it was broken, but my dream had lingered near. In the farm of shining valleys where the pure air rare fight and my senses are newly opened. I awaken into the cry that the people have the power to redeem the work of fools upon the me. People have the power performed by Patty Smith. This is Democracy Now, Democracy Now.org, the War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman. As we turn now to the Oscar-winning actress and activist Jane Fonda, relaunching her father's free speech organization committee for the First Amendment, which Henry Fonda established in 1947 to combat the rise of McCarthyism. In a statement, the committee said, quote, the federal governments once again engaged in a coordinated campaign to silence critics in the government,

the media, the judiciary, academia, and the entertainment industry, where he refused to stand by and let that happen, unquote. Before Jane joins us, I want to turn to part of a radio program produced by the original committee for the First Amendment for ABC in 1947. This is singer and actress Judy Garland. This is Judy Garland. Have you been to a movie this week? You're going to a movie tonight and maybe tomorrow?

Look around the room. Are there any newspapers lying on the floor? Any magazines on your table? Any books on your shows? It's always been your right to read or see anything you wanted to. But now it seems to be getting kind of complicated. For the past week in Washington, the House Committee on Un-American Activities has been investigating the film industry. Now, I have never been a member of any political organization, But I've been following this investigation, and I don't like it.

There are a lot of stars here to speak to you. We're show business, yes, but we're also American citizens. It's one thing if someone says we're not good actors, that hurts, but we can take that. There's something else again to say we're not good Americans. We resent that. That's Judy Garland, who together with Henry Fonda, helped to establish. the Committee for the First Amendment, established by Henry Fonda in 1947, to combat the rise of McCarthyism. Jane, it's great to have you back on Democracy Now. You're

relaunching your father's organization. Why now? And how do you think what we're going through now compares to what your father went through? Well, you know, people who have expertise in authoritarianism have expressed accessibility shortcuts don't know what that was but just keep going tap key to navigate and press pace to toggle an option uh-oh what anyway as i was saying people who have expertise in authoritarianism where that clip that sound made me cry um have said that they are really really concerned about what they see as one of the most rapid aggressive seizures of power in an industrial democracy. I mean, this is, authoritarians I'm learning take about 18 to 22 months to consolidate

power. This administration is moving fast, which means we have to move fast. We have to do everything we can to stop what's happening before it becomes the norm, before it becomes institutionalized. And, you know, a lot of sectors of our society are being. attacked. But as my father and Judy Garland and scores of other major stars in the 50s new, freedom is in our bones. Freedom of speech is essential to creatives, to storytellers, as we are. And we're going to fight. And we're going to show, we have the capacity because

we're so creative to come up with CNN, creative, nonviolent, nonviolent, non-violent, non-cooperation. against resistance and model that for the rest of the country. This is a time, you know, when I accepted my Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award, I said, we all watch documentaries of, you know, like the lunch counter sit-ins in Mississippi and Tennessee and people being beaten, dogs attacking them, et cetera, and wondered, what I have been as brave, this is our documentary moment right now. have to ask ourselves anymore. Are we going to be brave enough to stand up? Because the only thing that can stop this is this massive movement of people, nonviolent and unified. And that's what

we're trying to encourage and inspire. And we're starting with, well, we're doing it within the entertainment industry. And hopefully it will be inspiring. I wanted to go to this, Amy. We, you know, I think we had about 550 people signed on when we launched yesterday within hours, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds more people from the industry we're signing on. It's exciting and makes me really hopeful. I wanted to go back to May when we interviewed the esteemed historian as a historian on McCarthyism, Ellen Shrekker. And I asked her about the piece she wrote in the nation headlined worse than McCarthyism universities in the age of Trump. The main thing that happened then to universities was that about 100 faculty members, most of them with tenure, were fired and blacklisted. That happened in every major institution of civil society within the United States.

And although the universities pride themselves on academic freedom, whatever that means, they collaborated with the, forces of repression that were actively imposing a climate of fear and self-censorship throughout American society. Today, what's happening is worse, so much worse that we have to really find a new phrase for it. I don't know what it will be. But during the McCarthy period, It was attacking only individual professors and only about their sort of extracurricular political activities on the left in the past and in the present, then present. Today, the repression that's coming out of Washington, D.C., attacks everything that happens on American campuses. So that was Professor Alan Shrekker, the historian. She's talking about campuses.

What happened with your father in Hollywood? Can you talk about the blacklisting of the writers, of the actors, of the playwrights, of what happened to Hollywood during McCarthy and why you think this is worth now? Well, back then, And anybody that had joined any kind of organization was accused of being a communist, was fired from their work. A number of them went to jail, destroyed careers. That's what my dad and so many others were protesting against. I think that the woman expressed very well.

That was individual people that were being attacked and put in jail. We're seeing this happening now all across the country in mass. We can't allow this to happen. So from McCarthy, I wanted to turn to the Nixon tape, September 71, when he mentions you and your dad. What in the world is a matter with Jane Fond? I feel so sorry for Henry Fonda, who's a nice man. Yeah, yeah. Well, she really is.

She's a great actress, and she looks pretty, but, boy, she's often in the wrong track. So that was President Nixon. This is your dad, Henry Fonda, accepting the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award in 1978, when he kind of answers Richard Nixon. in the years since my dad has left us i've done some things i know that he wouldn't have approved i hope i've done some that he would have would defend i know he'd bust his buttons tonight he never met my children but i know he'd be proud i can hear dad answering somebody criticizing jane shut up she's perfect shut up she's perfect shut up she's perfect shut up she's

Perfect. Henry Fonda said. Jane, people are listening on the radio can't see you beginning to cry. But the significance of what your dad said and the faith he had in you. It moves me very much. Yeah. What can I say? Well, let me ask you about Jimmy Kimmel, an emotional Jimmy Kimmel, who, return to the airwaves after ABC indefinitely suspended his show, following the Federal Communications Commission Chair, Brendan Carr's threats to revoke the broadcast license of affiliates over comments Kimmel made. In his monologue, Kimmel spoke about how foreign comedians look to the United States. They know how lucky we are here. Our freedom to speak is what they admire most about this country. And that's something I'm embarrassed to say I took for granted until they pulled my friend Stephen off the air and tried to coerce the affiliates who run our

show in the cities that you live in to take my show off the air. That's not legal. That's not American. That is un-American. So that was all turned around. Sinclair broadcasting and Neckstar owned many affiliates. They refused to put him back on the air even when Walt is. ABC did, but then because of tremendous pushback, which is why Walt Disney did also, Jimmy Kimmel's back, and he was referring to his friend Stephen, of course, who's Stephen Colbert. He is being let go in May. What's important to know is that 1.7 million Americans cancel their subscription to Disney. That's where it matters.

That is called non-cooperation. And when it hits them in their pocketbooks, this is when it really matters. You know, when Trump was first elected and he issued a Muslim ban, Sarah Nelson, the brave head of the flight attendants union, she called for a general strike. It's one of the main things that got the Muslim ban stopped. Would have brought air transportation in the country to a halt. When we hit them in their pocketbooks,

when we like with the with the lunch counter sit-ins in the south during the civil rights movement it hurt business in downtowns in the south so badly that it was the business people that then pressured local and state elected officials to to lift the ban and and open up the lunch counters to all people that's what we have to do and we're going to do it I feel very confident. We have never experienced this in this country, ever. Not in the 20s and 30s when the U.S. flirted with fascism, not what they did to the Panthers, the violence that was mitted down on the Panthers

and not what happened in the 50s. This is different. And I don't think we're going to take it sitting down. We have to be informed and we have to be united, strength and numbers. You know, the ethos, every person for himself, we're not going to survive as a a democracy if we operate that way. We have to unify across sectors. You know, this regime is held up by pillars, military, media, professions, and so forth. If each pillar organizes to remove support, we can do it, and we have to do it fast. Jane Fonda, we have to leave it there.

I want to thank you for being with us, the Oscar-winning actress and activist, also climate activist, now at 87 years old, relaunching her father's free speech organization, Committee for the First Amendment, which Henry Fonda established in 1947 to combat McCarthyism. This is Democracy Now. We end today's show with an update on the global Samud Flotilla, massive protests of unfolded worldwide as the Israeli military has captured the final sailing vote on the flotilla, halting efforts by international activists to break Israel's siege and starvation campaign in Gaza. Israeli forces arrested over 400 flotilla activists from dozens of countries Thursday. For more, we go to Rome, where we're joined by Maria Elena Delia,

a spokesperson for the global Samud Fottila. Italian students have occupied universities. Italian unions have called for a general strike with more than 100 marches expected across Italy. Maria, thanks so much for being with us. Explain what happened in this last hours when the global activists from more than close to 50 boats were taken into custody? Yeah. Thank you for having me. What happened in the last hours is that more than 400 activists, journalists, normal people have been illegally taken in international waters by military Israeli Navy.

So I repeat, in international waters, and they are now detained in a high-security prison in Israel. What happened in Italy is that we have been working a lot in trying to make people aware about the fact that issues. turn your head on the other side and I want to look what has been happening and still happens in Gaza, you are basically giving your support to the violation of international law and violation of human rights for all the people. And in Italy, we have been, we witnessing something that, in my opinion, is a political miracle because we had today the launch of a national strike, and we had hundreds of thousands of people who, in a nonviolent, totally nonviolent way, has been marching in Rome. I am in Rome now, but in Milan. Maria Leina Delia, we're going to have to leave it there, but I thank you for that episode. We'll continue to update on Monday, spokesperson for the Global Samud Flotilla.

That does it for our show. I'm Amy Goodman. Thanks so much for joining us.