#RolandMartinUnfiltered - Diddy Stays In Jail, Texas Voter Suppression, D.C. Cops Kill Justin Robinson, Vigilantes, Inc. Film

Episode Date: September 19, 2024

9.18.2024 #RolandMartinUnfiltered: Diddy Stays In Jail, Texas Voter Suppression, D.C. Cops Kill Justin Robinson, Vigilantes, Inc. Film Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain behind bars after his bond appeal ...gets denied.  These MAGA fools are trying everything to win in November. In Tarrant County, Texas, Republicans tried to block early voting sites on college campuses. We'll talk to a Tarrant County Commissioner about the backlash two Republicans are getting for keeping college campuses as an option. We'll tell you why Teamsters have declined to endorse any presidential candidate for the first time in almost 30 years. The family of a Black man shot and killed by D.C. police is urging the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into his death.  We'll talk to Justin Robinson's sister and the family attorneys about their demands to have the DOJ look into the shooting.   Investigative reporter Greg Palast released his documentary Vigilantes Inc.: America's New Vote Suppression Hitmen. He'll be here to discuss what he learned from making it.  Download the #BlackStarNetwork app on iOS, AppleTV, Android, Android TV, Roku, FireTV, SamsungTV and XBox  http://www.blackstarnetwork.com The #BlackStarNetwork is a news reporting platforms covered under Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Starting point is 00:00:00 This is an iHeart Podcast. to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun?
Starting point is 00:00:41 Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before.
Starting point is 00:01:15 I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports.
Starting point is 00:01:46 This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two
Starting point is 00:02:00 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. so folks black star Network is here. Hold no punches. I'm real revolutionary right now. Black power. Support this man, Black Media. He makes sure that our stories are told. Thank you for being the voice of Black America, Roland. I love y'all.
Starting point is 00:03:00 All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scary. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig? We'll be right back. Thank you. Thank you. Today's Wednesday, September 18th, 2024, coming up on Roller Martin Unfiltered, streaming live on the Black Star Network,
Starting point is 00:05:25 Sean Diddy comes will stay behind bars after a second judge denied his bond. Will tell you exactly what that judge said. These maggots are trying to trying everything to win in November in Tarrant County, TX, where Fort Worth is. Public is literally tried to block early voting sites on college campuses.
Starting point is 00:05:46 Yeah, not expand, but block and then they admit it it was about trying to help them win will talk to a Tarrant County Commissioner who fought that effort also will tell you why the Teamsters have declined to endorse any presidential candidate for the first time in almost 30 years.
Starting point is 00:06:04 Basically, it's white man not wanting to support a black woman. have declined to endorse any presidential candidate for the first time in almost 30 years. Basically, it's white men not wanting to support a black woman. The family of a black man shot and killed by D.C. police is urging the Department of Justice to open a civil rights investigation into his death. We'll talk with the family and the attorneys for Justin Robinson. Also, folks, investigative reporter Greg Pall Palace released his documentary Vigilantes, Inc. America's New Vote Suppression hit by hit men will talk about that.
Starting point is 00:06:30 He'll be here to discuss that will also tell you what is happening again in Georgia when it comes to suppressing the vote and how racist can JD Vance be? Well, will show you even though he now knows that Haitians in Springfield, Ohio are there legally, he says, oh, I'm going to still call them illegal
Starting point is 00:06:51 aliens. It's time to bring the funk. I'm Roland Martin on the Fulcher on the Black Star Network. Let's go. Whatever the piss, he's on it Whatever it is, he's got the scoop, the fact, the fine And when it breaks, he's right on time And it's rolling Best belief he's knowing Putting it down from sports to news to politics With entertainment just for kicks He's rolling
Starting point is 00:07:19 It's on go-go-go, y'all It's rolling, Martin, yeah It's Uncle Roro, yo Yeah, yeah It's Rollin' Martin Yeah, yeah Rollin' with Rollin' now Yeah, yeah He's funky, he's fresh, he's real the best You know he's Rollin' Martin
Starting point is 00:07:39 Now Martin Republicans in Texas continue their efforts to try to steal elections in Tarrant County, Texas, where Fort Worth is. Republicans on the county commissionerers Court literally tried to eliminate early voting sites on college campuses. Republican Judge Tim O'Hare questioned the county's proposed early voting location, saying it's not the county's job to make voting
Starting point is 00:08:18 easier for specific groups. Like students. The two Republicans, Manny Ramirez and Gary Fickers, now they voted against O'Hare's proposal. They now are being criticized by the county GOP claiming that blocking the proposal undermines the ability of Republicans
Starting point is 00:08:38 to win the general election in Tarrant County. I thought you win by trying to get as many votes as possible. Really? Uh-huh. Right. Okay. Tarrant County Commissioner Ulysses Simmons joins us right now. And Commissioner Simmons, this is just, it's crazy that these folks are literally,
Starting point is 00:09:03 Republicans in Tarrant County are attacking two of their own because they dare to want more people to vote and expand access. And also, these early voting sites on college campuses, it's not just students who vote. It's not just students who vote. You've got faculty. You've got faculty, you've got staff, you've got residents that live in and around the campuses that use college campuses to vote. These campuses have been early polling sites for seven years or so. So this is voter suppression efforts in your face. And they're telling us why they don't want early polling places on college campuses, because they're students, students are voting more, they tend to be
Starting point is 00:10:06 liberal, and they're telling us we've got to stop them from voting. They're saying their inside voice is outside. They're telling us. Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And so they actually put forth this resolution, which is just sort of baffling, because you would think that county Republicans there would say, okay, this is kind of stupid. Go to my iPad. It says, Tarrant County GOP resolution expressing disapproval of Tarrant County Commissioners Manny Ramirez and Gary Fix voting against Republican interests.
Starting point is 00:10:51 Voting against Republican interests. Now first, they say they're committed to advancing conservative principles and supporting Republican candidates. Then they said that Ramirez and Fix voted with Democrats on a key election vote that undermines the ability of Republicans to win the general election in Tarrant County. They said their decision to vote with Democrats would make it more difficult for Republicans, for Republican voters to engage in the upcoming general election, jeopardizing the party's ability to maintain robust conservative leadership in local government. Then they say, by siding with Democrats on measures that weaken the Republican position,
Starting point is 00:11:31 Commissioner Ramirez has signaled a disregard for the interests of the party and its constituents. I'm confused. How is this going to, quote, make it more difficult for Republican voters to engage in the upcoming general election? Are they assuming that there are no Republican voters on these campuses? Are they assuming that there are no Republican students, no Republican faculty, no Republican staff? I don't understand how having more early voting locations somehow hurts Republicans from engaging in the political process? So voter suppression is key to keeping Republicans in power here.
Starting point is 00:12:16 They know it. Democrats to vote, the fewer people that vote, that votes more favorably for Republicans. You know, Republicans vote. You don't have to convince them. You don't have to do all of the things that Democrats have to do to try to drag people out of their homes and remind them to go vote. Republicans vote. They know that with Madam Vice President at the top of the ticket now, there is this renewed excitement. There is interest from young folks, and they are terrified. They may as well say, we're scared to death.
Starting point is 00:13:18 And that's what they are saying. You know, they, in the meeting prior to the one in which the early polling list was approved four to one, they were trying to get TCU off the list, Texas Christian University, in addition to the University of Texas at Arlington. And so when we came back, TCU was back on the list. So I guess the assumption is that the students at TCU are likely more conservative than those at UTA. You got me, Roland. And now they are upset at two of the Republican county commissioners, and I don't feel sorry for them. I've got my popcorn and watching them implode. But this is classic voter suppression tactics, and they're telling them, when you go on your social media or their social medias and you read the comments, the comments are blasting Commissioners Ramirez and Commissioner Fickus for voting to do the right thing.
Starting point is 00:14:38 Our elections administrator stood up there and said, we've only got 50, 51 early polling sites. I need 60 to 75. But Tim O'Hare, the county judge, insisted on trying to convince his colleague, his Republican colleagues on the court to vote against this. Well, this is the Texas Tribune. It said during the emergency commissioners court meeting last week, county staff presented three lists of early voting locations, all of which included fewer colleges and total sites than in the past.
Starting point is 00:15:15 About 10 percent of the ballots in Tarrant County during early voting in 2020 presidential election were cast on college campuses, according to the county's data. Days before, Tarrant County Chair Beau French wrote in a newsletter that reducing polling sites would be, quote, a serious win for Republicans in Tarrant County. If, unquote, anybody out there who is confused as to where Republicans are, they want to shut down locations. All across the South in this country, they want to curtail early voting
Starting point is 00:15:45 in North Carolina. They specifically targeted early voting because the data showed 70% of black people voted during early voting. They flat out are targeting Democrats, black people, young voters. And I keep telling, I keep telling young white folks, voter suppression ain't just about Black and Latinos. It's about y'all, too. It is. But let me go back to the targeting. So they also targeted. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways.
Starting point is 00:16:28 Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives.
Starting point is 00:16:50 But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.
Starting point is 00:17:34 Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser
Starting point is 00:17:54 Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st,
Starting point is 00:18:15 and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Dr Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.
Starting point is 00:18:31 In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.
Starting point is 00:18:46 Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.
Starting point is 00:19:02 Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,
Starting point is 00:19:26 subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care.
Starting point is 00:19:57 Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Community college campuses, all right? And they targeted, so they put TCU back on the list. So they were safe. I guess they went and did their, you know, some research and determined, or called the university president or something and realized there are likely more conservative students over there. But I represent precinct one, and I couldn't have gotten elected if it was not leaning Democrat. Now, you know, it is becoming more and more of a Democratic animal.
Starting point is 00:20:50 Got it. Commissioner Roy Brooks, who has been on the court for 20 years, he represents Precinct 1, and that is, you know, black Tarrant County. And so we, the two of us represent the portion of the county, we represent half the county and the portion of the county that has more minorities. And so the schools they targeted, University of Texas at Arlington, TCC South Campus in Commissioner Brooks Precinct, Southwest Theological Seminary in Commissioner Brooks Precinct, and High School Stadium in my precinct in Mansfield, Texas, where a tremendous amount of minorities vote. So they targeted precincts one and two.
Starting point is 00:21:47 They didn't go targeting precincts three and four, the other half of the county. Well, that's exactly how they roll. Commissioner Simmons, we appreciate it. Thank you so very much. I'm glad to see Republican colleagues standing up for what's right. In fact, you had a couple of people, a couple of Republicans, Mayor Matty Parker and go to my iPad, Representative Charlie Guerin. They defended Ramirez.
Starting point is 00:22:14 The mayor said democracy is meant to be an arena for ideas. When we resort to winning at the expense of voter turnout, we've all lost. Manny Ramirez should be commended, not vilified, for doing his job in protecting our fundamental right to vote. Commissioner Simmons, thanks a lot. COMMISSIONER SIMMONS, Yes, thank you. Bye-bye. I want to go to our panel here.
Starting point is 00:22:33 A. Scott Bolden, he, of course, chair of National Bar Association Political Action Committee, former D.C. Democratic Party chair, attorney out of D.C. Candace Kelly, legal analyst and host Not All Hood, South Orange, New Jersey. Kwame Jackson, political strategist, joins us as well. I'm trying to think, is this the first time I've ever had two Kappa panelists?
Starting point is 00:22:57 You're better because of it. You're better for it. And I hear you had a whole lot to say about me on Saturday, by the way, after I left. Say it to my face. That's right. Say it to my face.
Starting point is 00:23:09 What I said is, why did y'all give him the microphone? So anyway, let me go ahead and start with the sanest, smartest person on this panel, Candace. Let me go first. No, you're not going first. You're not going first. You're not going first. Candace is going first. Got it? Alright, Candace. Got it? Yeah. I'll let you go first, Candace. No, no, no. Ain't no
Starting point is 00:23:36 letting go first. She is going first. See, Candace, this is a thing that, again, that people need to understand. When Republicans have power, when they have a majority, in this case, when Republicans have power, when they have a majority, in this case, two Republicans joined the two Democrats on the commissioner's court, and they got voted down four to one. And they wanted them to vote along party lines.
Starting point is 00:23:55 But the bottom line is that when we start looking at all across the country, in the state capitol, in Texas, in Austin, in Florida, in Alabama, in Mississippi, in Arkansas, in Tennessee, in Georgia, we Mississippi, in Arkansas, in Tennessee, in Georgia. We see this all the time, how they use their power, wield their power to shut down early voting locations, to go after voters. They do not want to see expanded voting rights. Pure and simple. This is a Republican strategy. It is not only a Republican strategy, but it's a racist strategy. And these are really rights that have been afforded to us by the Civil Rights Act, by the Voting Rights Act.
Starting point is 00:24:34 There are things already on paper that should afford us the right not to be interfered with during this process. But as you said with the guest, not only are they trying to make sure that those who are voting mostly Democrat are suppressed, but they don't care if they kind of get a few Republicans in there along the way, because the goal is very myopic. Let's get rid of those people who want to vote, even if it means that we're going to also lose a few of our Republican votes. But it absolutely makes no sense because of the fact that their laws are already on the books that protect us. But what are they continuing to do? They're continuing to break the laws and make sure that we don't have any rights,
Starting point is 00:25:14 especially when you're talking about college kids who are also disenfranchised to a certain level when it comes to being able to get to the polls, having the ability to maybe leave a job, the same way that any adult would have to do. So it's a voting block that they're scared of because these younger people, the younger generation are more liberal and they are working on these numbers earlier. We saw this strategy. We've seen this strategy before. And it's something that they're just playing out again, but now on college campuses. The thing here that folks have to realize is that, and this is where people, I think, get confused, Scott.
Starting point is 00:25:53 So you have Chief Justice John Roberts, when they gutted Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, touted, oh, the high voting percentages in the country. And it was like, because black people were leaping over all these problems. And the moment they invalidated Section 4, what happened? These Republicans began to close thousands of polling locations all across the country. They began to change the voting laws. They began to target and undo a lot of that progress. And that's what we see.
Starting point is 00:26:22 And so the last four or five election cycles, you've seen a drop in black voter turnout because they have made it harder to vote. And that is exactly their goal. Oh, no question about it. And it's all public information. And Republicans still keep supporting it. I mean, when they gutted Section 5, that meant that the state could control it. The feds couldn't come in to enforce voting rights laws. You know, 10, 20 years ago, Roland, I think you said this before, that, you know, reenacting or reupping on the Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act was perfunctory on the House and Senate side. Everybody voted for it because everybody believed in democracy. But the Republicans have figured out that their ideas are not popular. Democracy is a place for ideas.
Starting point is 00:27:09 They know their ideas are not popular, that they are the minority in regard to support for abortion or rather pro-life, anti-abortion positions. And so now all they can do to hold on to power as we move towards 2043 is to suppress the Democratic vote, suppress the black vote, and energize their voters and hope that at the state level and federal level, their market supporters, their Republican voters turn out in high numbers to outvote Democrats and independents and voters of color and even women voters now so that they can win these elections. It's the only way they can do it.
Starting point is 00:27:50 So they're not trying to expand their base, right? The Democrats want to expand their base, expand their coalition. The Republicans have conceded they don't have enough votes to win. So now they've got to do this, suppress the black vote and Democratic vote, energize their base with lies and divisiveness and fear. And that's the only way they can win, whether it's the presidency or whether it's the state election or state judgeship. Brother Bolden, I want to say thank you for that introduction. And I want to tell Roland that there are actually three Kappas on this panel because I invited a special guest. Throw him up.
Starting point is 00:28:24 That's right. Throw him up. Throw them up. Special guest. That's right, Tom. Throw them up. Throw it up. I am live at the University of North Carolina, Sonia Hainstone, Black Cultural Center. This is my alumni. Speak on. Speak on. I actually marched for this freestanding Black Cultural Center when I was an undergraduate here from 1992 to 96.
Starting point is 00:28:46 And we now have this illustrious facility and this program. But North Carolina is under threat. We all know that. And so I wanted to broadcast live from my alma mater to tell people about the state of North Carolina. Right now, a lot of people don't know that 41 million people turn 18 years of age this year, and those people are all eligible to vote for the first time. Now, we're talking about the youth vote. Forty-seven percent of those eight—of those millions of people are actually people of
Starting point is 00:29:18 color. So not only do you have this huge demographic shift in terms of people of color within the Gen Z voter base, but you also have all these people turning 18 this year. They are trying to shut those people out of the polls. Let's look at North Carolina specifically. In the last election, this election was lost—this state was lost to Donald Trump by 75,000 votes. This is a state of 10.8 million people. We are the ninth largest state. We have 19 electoral college votes. And this university in particular, the University of North Carolina,
Starting point is 00:29:53 North Carolina Central, the HBCU, North Carolina A&T, the HBCU, all these great institutions here in North Carolina, the highest concentration of HBCUs in any state in America, those voters are all egging. They are itching. They are determined to go to the polls and show up and show out. And the state legislature here in North Carolina is also making it difficult for them to achieve victory at the polls, for them to be able to step into the ballot and cast on behalf of their future.
Starting point is 00:30:21 So, this whole issue comes down to a microcosm right here in North Carolina. We have the Mark Robinson issue and all of his crazy train mess that he's out here spewing. So this state will be pivotal. If North Carolina pathway opens up and Vice President Harris is able to win this state, you're going to see a whole different path to the electorate that doesn't have to include the blue wall of the Northeast state. So we're very excited about this. And I'm proud to represent the University of North Carolina and the Sonia Haynes Stone Black Cultural Center and all we're going to do to help bring this election home. And just in case the two of you get confused.
Starting point is 00:31:00 Just in case y'all get confused. Anthony, go to camera three. Just in case y'all get confused. Oh, God. Just in case y'all are confused. Is this still big enough? This is an alpha house. And that's why there's an image of Dr. King right in this same studio. So y'all can have Kaepernick, but guess what?
Starting point is 00:31:36 He ain't got no statue on the Mall in Washington. Oh, here we go. And matter of fact, before I go to break, before I go to break, before I go to break, let me remind you that after you leave the King Memorial, I want you to then go to Capitol Hill. And when you go to Supreme Court, bow down to that monument to Thurgood Marshall at the Supreme Court. And then when you leave, then when you leave the Supreme Court. No, no, no. Then when you leave. No, no, no. Then when you leave the Supreme Court. No, no, no. Then when you leave the Supreme Court. No, no, no. Then when you leave the Supreme Court. Scott,
Starting point is 00:32:11 stop talking. See? See? Y'all wrote checks. Your ass can't cash. And see, then when you leave, then when you leave the Supreme Court, I want you to then go to Washington, D.C. and look at that monument to Mary and Barry. Another alpha man. So do understand, do understand, do understand, do understand,
Starting point is 00:32:34 y'all are a youth group. Youth group, okay. There's only one fraternity. There's only one fraternity. The rest of you are youth groups. I'll be right back. I'll be right back on Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Alpha Black Star Network. He told us who he was. Should abortion be punished?
Starting point is 00:33:03 There has to be some form of punishment. Then he showed us. For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it. And I'm proud to have done it. Now Donald Trump wants to go further with plans to restrict birth control, ban abortion nationwide, even monitor women's pregnancies.
Starting point is 00:33:22 We know who Donald Trump is. He'll take control. We'll pay the price. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House. Now those people have a warning for America. Trump is not fit to be president again. Here's his vice president.
Starting point is 00:33:42 Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. His defense secretary. Do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again? No. I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk. His national security advisor. Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump. And the nation's highest ranking military officer. We don't take an oath to a king or queen or a tyrant or a dictator. And we don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator. Take it from the people who knew him best. Donald Trump is a danger to
Starting point is 00:34:22 our troops and our democracy. We can't let him lead our country again. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. IVF is a miracle for us, because it allowed us to have our family. After having my daughter, I wanted more children, but my embryo transfer was canceled eight days before the procedure. Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade stopped us from growing the family that we wanted.
Starting point is 00:34:49 I don't want politicians telling me how or when I can have a baby. We need a president that will protect our rights. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek.
Starting point is 00:35:19 I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 00:35:56 I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley
Starting point is 00:36:24 comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glod.
Starting point is 00:37:07 And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.
Starting point is 00:37:26 Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug ban is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.
Starting point is 00:37:46 What we're doing now isn't working and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts are wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content,
Starting point is 00:38:06 subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care.
Starting point is 00:38:38 Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. And that's Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. Here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems. Oh, she had a big crowd. Oh, the crowd. This weird obsession with crowd sizes. It just goes on and on and on. America's ready for a new chapter. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris.
Starting point is 00:39:19 I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this message. The overturning of Roe almost killed me. I had a blood clot in my uterus that caused my labor to have to be induced because of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. I wasn't able to get life-saving treatment sooner. I almost died. And that's because of the decision that Donald Trump made. I was able to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I'm proud to have done it.
Starting point is 00:39:47 The doctors and nurses were afraid that if they treated me in the incorrect way, that they would be prosecuted for that. And that's appalling. Donald Trump says that women should be punished. Do you believe in punishment for abortion? There has to be some form of punishment. For the woman? Yeah.
Starting point is 00:40:04 I believe that women should have reproductive freedom to make the choices about their own bodies. Four more years of Donald Trump means that women's rights will continue to be taken away one by one by one by one. This has to stop because women are dying. I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this message. Hi, I'm Jo Marie Payton, voice of Sugar Mama on Disney's Louder and Prouder Disney Plus, and I'm with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. You know, in 2016, a lot of people talked about economic anxiety and that's what was going on with so many people in this country. No, it was also race.
Starting point is 00:40:50 It was absolutely race. And we see this now. The team says for the first time in 30 years, we'll not be endorsing a presidential candidate. Hmm. Why is that? Check this out. General President Sean O'Brien, who spoke at the Republican National Convention but was not offered a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention, said in a statement that neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests
Starting point is 00:41:21 of working people are always put before big business. This decision comes two days after senior leaders met with Harris as they weighed whom to endorse last month. Now first of all, before I even get to what happened last month, let me remind y'all of something. President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, saved the pensions of 350,000 Teamsters workers. Let me say that again. Some nearly 40 million dollars. That actually happened. Do you know who cast the tying vote?
Starting point is 00:42:00 Vice President Kamala Harris. So explain this to me. Explain this to me when the Teamsters took a poll of their members. Took a poll of their members. This was April through July. Go to my iPad. Let's go. Biden got 44.3%. Trump got 36.3%. RFK got 5.6%.
Starting point is 00:42:29 Cornel West got 1.7%. Then all of a sudden, Biden drops out. Harris gets 34%. Trump gets 59.6%. The other candidates get 6.4%. What changed? Oh, the black woman. The black woman.
Starting point is 00:42:59 It's now at the top of the ticket. The reality is the team is just full of a bunch of white men, white conservative men. What this also tells you is that this notion of when you provide an economic reason for them to vote for you, they still are not going to vote for you. Yes, Biden-Harris saved their asses. And this is how the Teamsters reward them.
Starting point is 00:43:28 Now, last month, the Teamsters National have been endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris. Since this decision came down, a number of various Teamsters groups have come out in support. In California, 300,000 Teamsters across California, Nevada, Hawaii, and Guam endorse Harris-Walls. In addition to that, let's see here. There was another tweet that came forward.
Starting point is 00:44:15 Give me one second so I can find it. This has literally been happening in the last 25, 30 minutes. Oh, so in Michigan, let's see. Give me one second. In Michigan, the Michigan Teamsters Joint Council, 245,000 active and retired members. And the Teamsters Joint Council, 42, 300,000 members in Nevada actually endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. And so what you're seeing is you're seeing individual states making this move as a result of what happened on the national level.
Starting point is 00:44:54 It is idiotic for the team's president to say they were unsure. Let's be real clear. Donald Trump doesn't give a damn about the unions. Let me remind people when President Joe Biden walked, walked the picket line. Guess who created a fake, a fake group of union workers? Donald Trump who hired actors. Donald Trump. He doesn't give a damn about these unions. And so these white men are doing what they've always done, vote against their own economic interests. So you're voting for a man who doesn't give a damn about unions, a man who said, oh, fire them.
Starting point is 00:45:35 But you oppose the woman who is the vice president of the president who saved your asses. This goes to show you in this country, Scott, where white men and white folks will gladly vote against their economic interest for other reasons. This is clear and undeniable. For racial reasons. What is it about the melanin in my skin or yours, man? I'll tell you, it drives white folks crazy.
Starting point is 00:46:10 Our blood is the same. Why do you think my book is called White Fear? How the Browning of America is making white folks lose their minds? I agree. Where the Democrats saved their butts financially. Literally, she cast a deciding vote because the Republicans don't care.
Starting point is 00:46:27 And, you know, I used to think that money in America trumped everything, even race. You can make money. They don't care who they make money with. And then you get stories like this that challenges the very foundation of that supposition. That is that race still matters in 2024. 2043, when we're going to be a country of color, still matters. White fear still matters. And therefore, because he's a black woman, and a part of the Biden-Harris team that has saved them, that walked the picket line for them, that it doesn't matter about how Donald Trump doesn't care. The only thing that matters is race. You got generational racism, where we're teaching
Starting point is 00:47:11 young people to hate black and brown people, because that's the only way you can have generational racism. Like nobody's born with a racist gene, right, as Jeanette O'Connell once said. And so we're teaching them to hate us every generation. And in the end, this is an example of what you just described with the union, that it's the melanin in your skin. It's got nothing to do with money or righteousness or justice or freedom. It's just got to do with the color of your skin, period. Kwame, here's a reality. 2022, $36 billion was passed by Congress, supported by Biden-Harris, to shore up troubled pensions.
Starting point is 00:47:52 Go to my iPad. 600,000 Teamster pensions were shored up. 600,000. This is their statement from July 29th. Today's action protects the pensions of 70,000 workers and retirees in New England, including 6,000 in New Hampshire. We protected more than 40,000 teachers in Ohio and Michigan, more than 30,000 in Illinois and Missouri, more than 20,000 in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Pennsylvania. Hmm. So this is actually right here. And it says, look at this here.
Starting point is 00:48:26 Because of the American Rescue Plan and the support of congressional Democrats who passed it without a single Republican vote, over one million union workers and retirees have already been protected from brutal cuts of up to 75 percent to the pensions they sacrificed so much to secure it. But 59% of these Teamsters will happily go along and support Trump, who doesn't give a damn about unions at all. Roland, let me share a few stats with you that I actually just recently looked up. The Teamsters' gender ratio is 81 percent male, 19 percent female. The Teamsters are 61.4 percent white and 17 percent Hispanic or Latino. And their average age is 47 years old. The Teamsters
Starting point is 00:49:16 represent the old white male patriarchy of the working class. And they are afraid of the new America that is the browning of the America, the blackening of America that we all know is not just the trend, but is actually here and arrived. I always say, look, everything is not racism, but race is involved in everything. And so this is an example of actually race being involved in everything. They said when we had the launching of the Tea Party way back when that, you know, it was all about economic anxiety and economic dislocation and people feeling like they're being displaced. That was fundamentally about race. And we see that same Tea Party energy carrying over to MAGA, carrying over from MAGA now to this same vote with the
Starting point is 00:50:00 Teamsters. This is a core tenant of the American populace. It's a core tenant of the American voter. And it's something that they're really scared about. You can't save people's houses and mortgages and their jobs and their cars and the ability to pay for their kids to go to college. And then at the same time, people turn around and vote against their own economic security and their own economic futures. This is a disgrace. And this is something that, you know, this is something we always have to deal with as a legacy of the American experience. And, Candace, the reality is when you look at the UAW, the AFL-CIO, the NEA, AFSCME, Communication Workers of America, numerous unions are supporting Harris-Walls.
Starting point is 00:50:41 Absolutely. In this one, you have what? What about 1.5 million members who are thinking otherwise and, as the panel has discussed, has been saved over and over again. Their livelihoods have been restored. This reminds me of something that somebody said the other day, that, yes, Kamala is ahead in the polls. She's doing well. She's raising money. But what will kind of the human being do when they go behind doors? And this is what we're talking about. What is the nature of who they are and who they think about themselves
Starting point is 00:51:10 inside of the context of America? These are people who historically have always been at the top, the privileged ones, the middle class ones, the ones that have had jobs. And now that they see sometimes the tide is turning and they're not at the top, they are scared. And that is a problem. To further that, we are talking about people who are also making hiring decisions, who are making decisions in what they're doing within their own jobs. And it's this type of racism that comes into play when they're making those decisions representing their union. Their natural humanity is speaking loud volumes. It's not something that we should be surprised about, but it is something to really kind of look at and examine because of the fact that the Biden-Harris administration has done so much for
Starting point is 00:51:58 them. But it says something about the core of who we think we are as America, but who we really are when we have to show up and represent what we believe in. Often it goes against the grain of what anybody ever thought it would have been. And that's what's happening here. Well, again, also, Roland, let me also add that what I think is at the core of a lot of this fear is the ability of someone to just show up and be average. Let me talk about that, that there's a sense of entitlement that's always been part of America, that if you just went to high school, did average work, that you would be entitled to a house. You'd be entitled to two kids and a garage and a minivan and sending your kids to college. And that ability to just show up and be average is being taken away,
Starting point is 00:52:45 that you now have to show up and be excellent the way Black people have always had to do. And that ability has been taken away and it scares people. So we have to realize that, you know, you've got this comfort with people in terms of their ability to just be average, their ability to slide through. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up. So now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Business
Starting point is 00:53:23 Week. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we'll be covering on everybody's business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that
Starting point is 00:53:53 they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes, but there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always
Starting point is 00:54:16 be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a
Starting point is 00:54:32 multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad.
Starting point is 00:54:49 Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. We are back.
Starting point is 00:55:16 In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for
Starting point is 00:55:31 themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote.
Starting point is 00:55:48 Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Caramouch. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two
Starting point is 00:56:03 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives.
Starting point is 00:56:40 Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Now the bar has been shifted and changed and that's a very, very... Well, I'm glad to see the various states make their own decision, California, Michigan, Nevada, Wisconsin, in supporting them because, again, their butts were saved by Biden-Harris, and now they're trying to have it both ways. And remember, O'Brien spoke at the Republican National Convention.
Starting point is 00:57:20 They were hoping to get an invitation at the Democratic National Convention. They were not offered one. And, hell, I don't think they should have been offered one. They should have been offered one. Bottom line is, you want to play that game? Nah. I'm not giving you a prime speaking spot if you don't want to sit here. And when you purposely
Starting point is 00:57:36 spoke at a convention where those folks are against workers and routinely vote against unions? Nah. Hell no. Hell no. I'm with that 100%. Alright folks, let's go to a break. We come back. We're going to talk about a shooting that took place here in Washington, D.C.
Starting point is 00:57:53 The family there demanding the Department of Justice step in. Also, how racist can J.D. Vance be? Still continues to say, calling Haitians illegal aliens even though they're in the country legally. Lots we're going to be talking about as well. Plus, Diddy, he ain't getting out of jail.
Starting point is 00:58:13 We'll tell you what happened today in court. It is time, of course, the time for us to go to a break. Be sure to support Roland Martin Unfiltered and the Black Star Network. There are multiple ways you can do so. Remember, Cash App is really out there tripping. They're like capping the daily transactions. And so there are three Cash Apps if you want to support us. First Cash App is Dollar Sign RM Unfiltered.
Starting point is 00:58:34 If you have a problem with that one, go to Dollar Sign Uncle Roland Martin. Third one, go to Dollar Sign Black Star Network, BLK Star Network. Those are the three Cash Apps that are our only cash apps that we have, so please support us that way. Then, of course, you also can support us via PayPal, R. Martin Unfiltered, Venmo is RM Unfiltered, Zale, Roland at RolandSMartin.com,
Starting point is 00:58:56 Roland at RolandMartinUnfiltered.com. Be sure to download the Blackstar Network app, Apple Phone, Android Phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV. And of course, be sure to get a copy of my book, White Fear, How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds Available. Bookstores nationwide. Get the audio version on Audible. We'll be right back. He told us who he was.
Starting point is 00:59:23 Should abortion be punished? There has to be some form of punishment. Then he showed us. For 54 years they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it. And I'm proud to have done it. Now Donald Trump wants to go further with plans to restrict birth control, ban abortion nationwide, even monitor women's pregnancies. We know who Donald Trump is.
Starting point is 00:59:45 He'll take control. We'll pay the price. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House. Now those people have a warning for America. Trump is not fit to be president again. Here's his vice president. Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. It should
Starting point is 01:00:07 come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. His defense secretary. Do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again? No, I mean it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk. His national security adviser. Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump. And the nation's highest-ranking military officer. We don't take an oath to a king or a queen
Starting point is 01:00:35 or to a tyrant or a dictator. And we don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator. Take it from the people who knew him best. Donald Trump is a danger to our troops and our democracy. We can't let him lead our country again. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. IVF is a miracle for us because it allowed us to have our family. After having my daughter, I wanted more children.
Starting point is 01:01:01 But my embryo transfer was canceled eight days before the procedure. Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade stopped us from growing the family that we wanted. I don't want politicians telling me how or when I can have a baby. We need a president that will protect our rights, and that's Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. Here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems. Oh, she had a big crowd. Oh, the crowd. This weird obsession with crowd sizes. It just goes on and on and on. America's ready for a new chapter we are ready for a president pamela harris i'm pamela harris and i approve this message the overturning of roe almost killed me i had a blood clot in my
Starting point is 01:01:58 uterus that caused my labor to have to be induced because of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. I wasn't able to get life-saving treatment sooner. I almost died. And that's because of the decision that Donald Trump made. I was able to get Roe v. Wade terminated and I'm proud to have done it. The doctors and nurses were afraid that if they treated me in the incorrect way that they would be prosecuted for that. And that's appalling. Donald Trump says that women should be punished. Do you believe in punishment for abortion? There has to be some form of punishment.
Starting point is 01:02:33 For the woman? Yeah. I believe that women should have reproductive freedom to make the choices about their own bodies. Four more years of Donald Trump means that women's rights will continue to be taken away one by one by one by one. This has to stop because women are dying. I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this message. Hi, I'm Isaac Hayes III, founder and CEO of Fanbase. Fanbase is a free to download,
Starting point is 01:03:00 free to use next generation social media platform that allows anyone to have followers and subscribers on the same page. Fanbase was built through investment dollars from equity crowdfunding from the JOBS Act. People just like you help build Fanbase, and we're looking for more people to help build Fanbase. We are currently raising $17 million in a Regulation 8 crowdfund on Start Engine. We've already crossed $2.1 million, but we're looking to raise more capital from people just like you that deserve the opportunity to invest in early stage startups without having to be accredited investors. So right now I'd like you to go to start engine.com slash fan base and invest. The minimum to invest is $399. That gets you 60 shares of stock in Fanbase right now, today.
Starting point is 01:03:48 And then use Fanbase to connect with friends, grow your audience, and be you without limits. When you talk about blackness and what happens in black culture. We're about covering these things that matter to us, speaking to our issues and concerns. This is a genuine people powered movement. A lot of stuff that we're not getting. You get it and you spread the word. We wish to plead our own cause to long have others spoken for us.
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Starting point is 01:04:43 Weigh it to $100,000. We're behind $100,000, so we want to hit that. Your money makes this possible. Checks and money orders go to P.O. Box 57196, Washington, D.C., 20037-0196. The Cash App is $RM Unfiltered. PayPal is RMartin Unfiltered. Venmo is RM Unfiltered.
Starting point is 01:05:02 Zelle is Roland at Roland S Martin dot com. This is Essence Atkins. Mr. Love King of R&B, Raheem Duvall. Me, Sherri Shebron. And you know what you're watching. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered. The family of a D.C. man who was killed by police, they want the Department of Justice to investigate the shooting. Two police officers fatally shot 26-year-old Justin Robinson in the early morning of September 1st after police responded to a vehicle that had crashed into a McDonald's.
Starting point is 01:05:52 When officers arrived at the scene, Robinson lay unresponsive in the car with what appeared to be a gun in his lap. The nearly 30-minute body cam video has been released. We're going to show you about four minutes of it before you play it. We certainly want to warn you what we're about to play.
Starting point is 01:06:12 Some of you, if you want to step away or turn, we understand that. So now it's time for you to leave the room to turn away. This is something we often do with many of these videos, and unfortunately we show a number of them but of course it's important to highlight what all too happens to African Americans in their interaction with police officers. So here's the video. I got movement.
Starting point is 01:06:38 Sir, keep your hand off the gun! Sir! Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Sir, don't touch the gun! Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Hey! Hey! Drop up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Hands up! Hands up! Hey, we have eye on the firearm. Got the firearm?
Starting point is 01:07:09 Firearm recovered. Move back. Move back. Back, back, back, back, back! Hey, start the board! No, no, back to the car! Back to the car! No!
Starting point is 01:07:17 Back to the car! No, we gotta treat him, bro. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. I'm telling you, the Spanish Pro 1 is gonna kill you. back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back
Starting point is 01:07:27 back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back
Starting point is 01:07:35 back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back back Hey, somebody grab a kit, grab a ticket, grab a kit, grab a kit. I don't know. Yeah, at least once here. Is anyone? Anybody got shoes? We got.
Starting point is 01:08:17 Stop that. You got somebody? He's talking about. He cut. No, I don't know, sir. Sir. Germany in studio is Tralecia Robinson. She is Justin Robinson, the sister and two of the Robinson family attorneys, Andrew Clark and Jade Mappas. Glad to have all three of you here.
Starting point is 01:09:07 Unfortunately, under these circumstances, never, never good to do so. Andrew and Jade, I want to start with you first. First of all, in watching this video, how many shots were fired? Ten. Ten shots were fired. Okay. Ten shots were fired. Did his vehicle run into the McDonald's? So what
Starting point is 01:09:25 happened? How did we arrive at this situation? So that's the thing, Roland, is once we see the body-worn camera, the car had already been in an accident at the McDonald's and Mr. Robinson was already unresponsive. And when the officers arrived on scene, they were there for about 30 minutes prior to the shooting taking place, and they were looking at an unresponsive man. So, hold up, hold up. So they were on the scene for 30 minutes?
Starting point is 01:10:00 Correct, trying to devise a plan, yes. Had anyone approached the car during that time? There were officers surrounding the vehicle and they kind of peeked in and could tell that he was still out of it or asleep. So they did that a few times. They did that for about, what, about 15 minutes? About seven to eight officers. They continued to circle the car and make plans themselves of how they would approach the car but none of them were logical plans obviously okay so 15 some odd minutes go by and they approach the car he's unresponsive uh and then what he wakes up so that's still uh something that we're investigating
Starting point is 01:10:41 because the video that they've released is blurred out and it's hard to see if mr robinson is coming to and then passes back out so they haven't provided a unredacted video that's absolutely correct okay yes all right so so he's he's unconscious and then he maybe wakes up did he have a? So there was a gun that was recovered and that was what the officer states when they come on the scene that they do see a firearm. That's correct. Okay. In the video that we showed, and it was hard to tell, at any point, did he raise the gun? Did he point it at any officer? And that's part of the investigation. And based off of what we've seen on the video, it's not clear that there was ever a gun raised.
Starting point is 01:11:32 We do see later on that there is a gun recovered. But based on I was going forward and backwards on this video several times, and I see empty hand. I guess where I'm confused and guys if you can go back to the beginning of it where I'm confused you've got multiple police officers surrounding a car there's been an accident unresponsive you don't know this person is unconscious obviously an individual is I mean they are not necessarily in their right mind because
Starting point is 01:12:05 you have an accident you you come to or whatever the heck and so what I'm trying to understand is again if that many officers are surrounding a car go back to the beginning of the video that I want you to freeze it because I'm just trying to understand I'm trying to understand how they approach this. All right, so guys, come on. So I see... Sir, keep your hand off the gun! Sir!
Starting point is 01:12:40 Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! Hands up! So this, right, freeze it right here. Freeze it right here. Freeze it right here. Now, this is what I don't understand. There's at least four officers on the left side of the vehicle. It appears as if there are more cops on the right side of the vehicle. Okay, so this body cam right here.
Starting point is 01:13:03 What I don't understand is, if you see a weapon, why are you standing in that position as opposed to where the other officers are, where you're sort of behind the individual to understand. And then the other piece is, it back roll it back just scroll back no no no don't play it okay so you hear them saying you've got movement we got four cops right here sir we've got stop stop looks like you've got— Hands up! Hands up! Hands up!
Starting point is 01:13:45 Stop. Stop. Looks like you've got two to three cops on the right side. You literally have a situation—I understand they say they see a gun, but you have a situation contained. You've got seven to eight cops surrounding a car that's been immobilized. It's been an accident. He's unconscious.
Starting point is 01:14:09 And so I don't understand why in this situation, Traleisha, that they needed to fire when he's not going anywhere. Like literally if the officers sort of stay back and all of a sudden and talk and talk to him or whatever, he's not in a position to fire anyone. Yeah, that's just me. Just for you, it's got to be just insane to have to have to have to see that. I've watched it plenty of times. It's got to be just insane to have to see that. I've watched it plenty of times. It doesn't get easier each time I watch it.
Starting point is 01:14:53 I just don't understand why didn't they try to get him to come alert? Why didn't they announce themselves prior to, why weren't other tactics thought of? I just don't understand. And in this video where they blurt his face out, he appears to go back out. So I just don't get it. I mean, Jane, I understand, listen, when someone has a weapon, I get that.
Starting point is 01:15:32 But what I also understand is that if you're a police officer, you should be putting yourself in a defensive position as opposed to literally putting yourself in the line of fire, if you will. Yes, tactical. I think everything from when they arrived on scene, you can't see it here,
Starting point is 01:15:53 but there was a fire truck off to the side. There was the EMS off to the side. He couldn't, if he decided to wake up and drive off, he couldn't have done that anyway. So I think just tactically for it to be almost approximately 10 officers out there and not one of those officers could have made a common sense or a trained decision, I think that says a lot. And I'm going to be very honest with you, Roland, because I don't sugarcoat things. If this was a different scenario, i.e. McDonald's in Georgetown, and there was a Prius with someone of a much lighter skin hue and blonde hair and blue eyes sitting behind her with the Georgetown hoodie on with Virginia license plates,
Starting point is 01:16:28 they would have mediated. They would have handled this completely different. They would have called his parents. They would have called and shut the McDonald's down as long as they needed to. They would have made sure he made it to where he had to be. They would have took every precaution. Play the video because when they approach,
Starting point is 01:16:43 I want to see when they approach the car, they try to open the door and it looks like it's locked. So play that because I want to. Movement. I got movement. Keep your hand off the gun. Sir. Put your hands up.
Starting point is 01:17:02 Hands up. Hands up. Hands up. Hands up. Hands up. Sir, don't, hands up, hands up, hands up, hands up. Sir, don't touch the gun. Hands up, hands up, hands up. Okay, stop right there. Okay, so again, this is just where I'm still confused here.
Starting point is 01:17:19 Y'all said they're on the scene for 30 minutes. So this is not like they just arrived, they're on the scene. Absolutely minutes mm-hmm so this is not like they just arrived they're on the scene absolutely so frankly he's been unconscious the entire time all this time what I don't understand is and again if if you approach a vehicle you see someone unconscious and you see let's say and you say there's a gun in the lab, okay, they're unconscious. What I don't understand is fire departments have tools to unlock cars. They could have used a bullhorn to wake them up. The fire department was there. Well, no, no, no, but follow me here.
Starting point is 01:17:53 If this takes place almost 30 minutes after they arrive there, he's unconscious for 30 minutes. Yes. I don't understand how you don't come to another solution because he's not conscious. Do you try to jimmy the car, unlock it, and then, again, he may still be unconscious. Obviously, you want to be careful because you don't want to get shot. You're watching him. You could have someone, you know, a cop on the other side.
Starting point is 01:18:23 The thing that I always get at is death is death. Yes. And you don't come back from death. And all the decisions leading up to that plays a role in this. What is the police department's response? So, so far the police department has not really responded to this action, which is normal. We've done several of these cases in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, and also in Virginia, and they usually don't respond.
Starting point is 01:18:53 What's further troubling about the response that they did have is they have no answer, Roland, to whether or not putting a gun in someone's car as they're waking up from being unconscious, for we don't know how long, whether or not that's protocol for MPD. There was a case a few years ago for Antoine Gilmore. He was a young man who, in a similar situation, he was sleeping. The police noticed that there was a gun in his waistband. When he came to, unlike Mr. Robinson, Mr. Gilmore drove off, and they shot him, and they killed him because he was driving off. When is this going to stop, Roland?
Starting point is 01:19:35 We have been experiencing this kind of policing since 1700, since slavery. When are the cops going to become woke? When are they going to stop treating us all like we're someone's property? Have you, the request to DOJ, is it in a letter, phone call? How have you made that request? So we had a press conference outside two days ago, the DOJ, and I believe we're following up on that request. Yes, yes, yes.
Starting point is 01:20:10 So what normally happens with this process is we file a letter of intent with the District of Columbia. And independently, DOJ has to make a decision on whether or not they are planning to further investigate this issue. Now, the lens that they look at is a little bit different than the lens that we're looking at it. They will not bring a case unless they feel that they have beyond a reasonable doubt. That's the right. Correct. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up. So now I only buy one.
Starting point is 01:20:58 The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on everybody's business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Businessweek editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time,
Starting point is 01:21:46 have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that Taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley
Starting point is 01:22:10 comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1. Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated,
Starting point is 01:22:34 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Add free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back.
Starting point is 01:22:57 In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice
Starting point is 01:23:08 to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this
Starting point is 01:23:19 quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corps vet. MMA fighter Liz Karamush.
Starting point is 01:23:32 What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app,
Starting point is 01:23:45 Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family.
Starting point is 01:24:09 They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like, he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. They won't even bring it. Now against one of us, if we were to do something
Starting point is 01:24:37 like that officer did, we don't need beyond a reasonable doubt to be charged. We need probable cause. But for officers, it's a different standard. Traleisha, who was your brother? What did he do? He worked for the Office of Attorney General. He worked for Cure the Streets. What's that? That's like a, I want to say a program that's in the District of Columbia to help combat the violence in the District of Columbia. How old was he?
Starting point is 01:25:06 You said how old was he? He was 25 years old. Wow. Yep. That is just beyond sad there. Well, we appreciate y'all being with us. Keep us updated. Let us know what happens.
Starting point is 01:25:20 Before I do that, let me go to my panel. I'm going to go to Scott Bolden first. Scott, you saw the video. Your assessment of what you saw. Yeah, you know, you and I have broken these videos down quite a bit. So the first thing is this, right? Dangerous situation. He's asleep.
Starting point is 01:25:38 Car's locked. But you've got the police officers there for 30 minutes. Did you notice the one police officer, he had a riot shield, a riot gear shield, right? Two, they did not have the police dogs there, but he had a shield, right? So why wasn't the police officer with the riot shield, or two or three of them, approached the car? The car wasn't going anywhere. Secondly, because he has a gun, doesn't automatically mean he's a threat to the police. Right. They're yelling at him. They're yelling at him. He might have a license to carry that gun.
Starting point is 01:26:11 Think about it, Roland. But also they're yelling at him. There was an accident. If you've been there 30 minutes, he's unconscious. So if I'm unconscious, you yo yelling at me don't really mean anything because my ass unconscious. Okay, but then he wakes up, right? And when you wake up, your natural movement is to put your hands on the steering wheel. Or you're startled. He doesn't know what's going on. He knows he has the weapon, but he's never, at least based on the video, has never picked a weapon up and been a threat. You know, you can have a gun in your car.
Starting point is 01:26:47 It can be illegal. But I don't need to be shot and killed because until I become a threat to the police and then what happens, then I shouldn't, deadly force shouldn't be used against me on a Tennessee Vigar. Then lastly, what started them shooting was that someone yelled, we got a shooter, we got a shooter. Now, I didn't hear any gunshots, but apparently one of the police officers believed that they saw him pick up the gun or touch the gun. Touching the gun is not a shooter. And as soon as they announced, we got a shooter, we got a shooter, everybody's relying on that
Starting point is 01:27:23 statement, and then they unload 10 rounds and they're killing, right? Now, how many of those police officers were threatened? How many third parties were threatened by this violence disruptor? Your brother was a violence disruptor who worked for the government, okay? I mean, that's what the press is saying. That's what the cats on the street say. He was a good dude.
Starting point is 01:27:43 I know a little bit about this case indirectly. And so now you've killed him and you still really don't know what you got because there's no way he could have been a threat to those 10 police officers. And so here we go again. We got another dead man at the hands of police. I tell you when they're going to stop. They're not going to stop until they see your brother and other black men and women like you and me as human beings because they don't see us as human beings they don't whether they see us as property or below you they don't see us because they saw me as a human being they give me every benefit of the doubt no matter what the situation is in order to preserve my life right to preserve my life right
Starting point is 01:28:22 and yet they did candace that Roland, that's what I see. I'm tired of talking about these because you're going to have more coming forward. Yep. We've done a whole lot in the past. This is Philander. This is almost worse than Philander Castile in Minnesota. Well, remember Philander Castile, he told the cop, I have a gun. I got a license for this gun.
Starting point is 01:28:42 He literally said it and he still got shot. Candace, your assessment. Candace, your assessment. And let me just piggyback off of what he said. The benefit of the doubt is key here, because, again, she already said it on the panel, had he been in another neighborhood, he would have been approached as if he had had
Starting point is 01:28:59 maybe a heart attack, or some type of brain hemorrhage, or something that knocked him out. That's generally what the police would do if you were in another neighborhood and you looked a different way. Obviously, excessive force. Too long to wait if you are trying to save someone and he appears unconscious. This is a person that needs medical help, probably. Nobody moved on the basic understanding of what it means to protect and serve. And finally, what I want to say is that even when they did bark orders at him,
Starting point is 01:29:32 you couldn't even understand what they were saying. And I'm sitting here on the outside. I know he could not have understood what they were all barking at him at the same time on the inside of that car. You literally audibly just couldn't make sense of what was going on. And that is a problem, which is why the Department of Justice has to get involved, because this was so many officers that were congregated, and they all had the same wrong baseline idea about how to carry out their job. Patterns and practices has to be established here the same way that they did in Baltimore and Ferguson and Cleveland and Chicago to figure out what is going on here. Why do police officers keep acting in a way that is so inhumane?
Starting point is 01:30:14 I mean, we know the answer because they don't know us and they fear us. But what does it take to correct that? The Department of Justice has to get involved. Kwame, what was the rush? They had been there 30 minutes. What was the rush? Right. Police seem like they're rushing. I had a case, real quick, I had a case of a Haitian mentally ill patient who would lock himself in the bathroom with a hammer and a knife. This was about 10 years ago. The police were in his apartment. They had no translator. They had him cornered in a little bathroom.
Starting point is 01:30:46 And instead of waiting, they opened the door, bum-rushed him, and shot him. He didn't even have a weapon. And shot him dead because there was some rush, some built-in rush in their head. Makes no sense. So there is a pattern in practice that they're making really bad decisions in D.C. on this. Call me real quick. Go ahead. We have all seen videos of white males and white females armed with weapons where the police have taken their time to not rush to judgment, to de-escalate the situation and not result in a fatality. I just recently came back from the
Starting point is 01:31:23 Democratic National Convention with Roland Martin. I had the chance to meet Trayvon Martin's mother. I had the chance to meet Eric Garner's mother and talk with them about their feelings. But we see this pattern continuing over and over again. We have to ask ourselves, why is there a humanity gap? Why is there a humanity gap in terms of how they see us, how they perceive us, and why they fear us? Why did Terrell Davis have this same situation? It didn't result in a death, but it resulted in him being removed and thrown to the ground and manhandled all because of that humanity gap? So this humanity gap continues to be amplified, and oftentimes it results in tragic incidents and fatalities like this. So I want to offer my condolences to the sister of Mrs. Robinson, and hopefully the Department of Justice will be involved in this case.
Starting point is 01:32:25 Final comment, Jake. One last thing. I don't know if you were able to identify it on the video, but one of the officers said, probably about five or six minutes before they approached the car, that I need deadly coverage and I need extradition. And I'm not understanding why.
Starting point is 01:32:39 Where are you going? Are you in Afghanistan? Are you in Iran? Are you going to war? But he did have the intention of going to war and needing deadly coverage because he probably already knew that what was going to devise and he was going to kill him. So, so Roland, they, they needed deadly coverage because they knew they had a gun. So that's not necessarily wrong, but then they said extradition and that's key because extradition means go in the car, grab him.
Starting point is 01:33:05 That means bust the window and grab him through the window before he can get to the gun. It's going to take two of them to do it or somehow open that door and drag him out without using deadly force. They didn't do that. They didn't do extradition. They just went with he's a shooter. We got a shooter. Once they make that command, everybody opens fires. Completely unreasonable. Indeed. Again, Jay, Trulisha, Andrew, we appreciate it.
Starting point is 01:33:32 Keep us abreast of what happens next. Thank you for having us. Folks, so we come back. We'll talk about the continued attack on voting rights with Greg Pallis, who has a new documentary out showing what's happening in this country and showing why we must be vigilant, especially when it comes to protecting our right to vote against Republicans nationwide. You're watching Roland Martin Unfiltered on the Blackstone Network. Back in a moment.
Starting point is 01:33:59 He told us who he was. Should abortion be punished? There has to be some form of punishment. Then, he showed us. For 54 years, they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I'm proud to have done it. Now Donald Trump wants to go further with plans to restrict birth control, ban abortion nationwide, even monitor women's pregnancies.
Starting point is 01:34:22 We know who Donald Trump is. He'll take control. We'll pay the price. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House. Now those people have a warning for America. Trump is not fit to be president again.
Starting point is 01:34:40 Here's his vice president. Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year. His defense secretary. Do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again? No. I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk.
Starting point is 01:35:01 His national security advisor. Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump. And the nation's highest ranking military officer. We don't take an oath to a king or queen or a tyrant or a dictator. We don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator. Take it from the people who knew him best. Donald Trump is a danger to our troops and our democracy. We can't let him lead our country again. I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this message. IVF is a miracle for us because it allowed us to have our family. After having my daughter, I wanted more children, but my embryo
Starting point is 01:35:40 transfer was canceled eight days before the procedure. Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade stopped us from growing the family that we wanted. I don't want politicians telling me how or when I can have a baby. We need a president that will protect our rights, and that's Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. Here's a 78-year-old billionaire who has not stopped whining about his problems. Oh, she had a big crowd. Oh, the crowd. This weird obsession with crowd sizes. It just goes on and on and on.
Starting point is 01:36:17 Hmm. America's ready for a new chapter. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. The overturning of Roe almost killed me. I had a blood clot in my uterus that caused my labor to have to be induced because of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. I wasn't able to get life-saving treatment sooner.
Starting point is 01:36:47 I almost died. And that's because of the decision that Donald Trump made. I was able to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I'm proud to have done it. The doctors and nurses were afraid that if they treated me in the incorrect way, that they would be prosecuted for that. And that's appalling. Donald Trump says that women would be prosecuted for that. And that's appalling. Donald Trump says that women should be punished. Do you believe in punishment for abortion? There has to be some form of punishment. For the woman? Yeah. I believe that women should have reproductive freedom to make the choices about their own bodies. Four more years of Donald Trump means that women's rights
Starting point is 01:37:21 will continue to be taken away one by one by one by one. This has to stop because women are dying. I'm Kamala Harris and I approve this message. Carl Payne pretended to be Roland Martin. Holla! You ain't got to wear black and gold every damn place, okay? Ooh, I'm an alpha, yay. All right, you're 58 years old. It's over.
Starting point is 01:37:40 And you are now watching... Roland Martin, unfiltered, uncut, unplugged, and undamn believable. Folks, earlier we talked about how Republicans are doing all they can to suppress the vote. We talked about what happened in Texas, but we see what's happening in Georgia. Greg Palast, investigative reporter, has a new documentary. It is called Vigilantes, Inc., America's New Vote Suppression Hitmen. It's narrated by Rosario Dawson and produced by Martin Sheen. It's about the latest attacks on the want to vote, all I have to do is show up and prove as an American citizen that I have the right to vote again. Is this an attempt to remove a lot of Democrats, black people from voting to win the election?
Starting point is 01:39:22 I am far from that, sir. And you have crossed the line. And today to come out and not be able to vote and no one can give you an explanation, like, it's extremely emotional and it bothers me. It bothers me to my core. We'll be right back. Greg, join us now from Los Angeles. Greg, glad to have you here. So, I mean, you really spent a lot of time in Georgia looking at what's going on in that particular state and all of the ways that they are doing all they can to, frankly, steal the 2024 election.
Starting point is 01:40:28 They are scared to death of losing Georgia again. And Republicans are hell-bent in that state and others to ensure they do not lose. Oh, yeah. So here's the new deal. The reason it's called Vigilantes Inc. is that's the name that the Ku Klux Klan incorporated under. But now, and they came up with these vigilante attacks in 1946, where individuals are challenging voters, black voters, saying they shouldn't be allowed to vote. That was considered illegal in 46, but they brought it back. Donald Trump brought it back with his cronies in 2020,
Starting point is 01:41:07 but they only had 88 vigilantes and only in one state, Georgia. But those 88 vigilantes, you heard that woman throwing me out. You heard when I asked her, is this an attempt to remove black voters, Democrats from the voter rolls? And that woman personally, are you ready for this, Roland? She personally challenged 32,000 voters. She's a Republican Party official, and she challenged 32,000 voters in Cobb County, Georgia, alone. So what they did was, by changing the law, they allowed one individual to literally challenge thousands of people. No standing, no requirement. They allowed one individual to literally challenge thousands of people. No standing, no requirement. They could just come up and make an allegation, and all of a sudden, you're screwed. Yes, and one of the people that was screwed, as you say, you heard, and those of you watching,
Starting point is 01:42:02 that was Major Gamaliel Turner. He's America's expert on warfare of the future. He was from he's from Columbus, Fort Benning, Georgia. He was assigned by the military to Fort Hueneme, California. And the Republican Party chairman in southern Georgia challenged his right to vote because he said, well, he doesn't live in Georgia anymore. He's in California. This vigilante Republican official—remember, this is not a government official.
Starting point is 01:42:34 This is a Republican party official. And this Republican party official challenged Major Turner and 4,000 other black soldiers. Can you imagine? Black soldiers assigned to Afghanistan. Black soldiers assigned to Germany and California. But I thought they loved the military. Oh, they love the military if you're white military, if you're Republican military. But remember, the military
Starting point is 01:43:07 has an awful lot of African-Americans and people of color. So they challenge these people because they know that the military doesn't love Trump. You know, this is the guy who said, you know, the guys in the military graveyard are just a bunch of losers. No, they don't like him. And so they took away Major Turner's vote. And you heard him say so he calls up now again, this is not government. It's as if Greg Palast said, oh, Roland Martin doesn't live wherever you live're sending in emails with lists of thousands of voters. So this guy sent in a list of 4,000 black soldiers, blocked them from getting their vote. The major calls from California, says, where's my vote? Where's my ballot? My absentee ballot? He said, oh, no, you've been challenged, Mr. Turner. So if you want to get your ballot, all you have to do, all you have to do is fly 2,600 miles to our office and prove you're an American citizen.
Starting point is 01:44:07 What? White voters didn't have to do this. And it was 180,000 voters. He, and by the way, Major Turner, as you'll see in my film, Major Turner does go to Georgia and he brings, and he brings it. So he flies 5,000 miles round trip. And he also brings in a voting rights attorney, Mark Elias, who is now Kamala Harris's voting rights specialist. And he got his vote back. He had to go to federal court. Imagine it. Wow. Go 5000 miles round trip, go to federal court. His vote was restored. But, you know, the judge would not allow the other 4,000 black men to get their votes. The 32,000 votes, we were able to block that lady because people saw my film, Vigilante's Inc., and the elections board, even the Republicans said we're not going to accept this stuff. But now it's getting worse.
Starting point is 01:45:00 So this was here's the danger, Roland. Now, again, my film is called Vigilante'sinc. And I want to mention something very, very quickly. You can actually stream the film starting today for free if you go to saveyourvote.org. And thank you very much to Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio and George DiCaprio, my producer, one of my producers who is saying, you can go to gregpalast.com, g-r-e-g-p-a-l-a-s-t.com and download the film for free or saveyourvote.org. And they've made it available for free streaming. Send around the link. And by the way, if you go to saveyourvote.org, we show you how to check your registration. We give you the phone numbers in case you need lawyers when you're at the polling station and you find that you've been challenged. We're going to help you get through this. We got to
Starting point is 01:45:51 fight it back. I'm working. A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business,
Starting point is 01:46:22 taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. But guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is that they're doing. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no.
Starting point is 01:47:08 Across the country, cops called this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated, on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 01:47:49 Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir. We are back. In a big way.
Starting point is 01:48:08 In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding
Starting point is 01:48:28 of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher. Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working,
Starting point is 01:48:44 and we need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes
Starting point is 01:49:00 one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it.
Starting point is 01:49:29 I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. With Black Voters Matter, with the Reverend Jesse Jackson, who I spoke to this morning, Martin Sheen, NAACP, we're not standing here letting these vigilantes pick our president rather than the voters. Question for the panelists.
Starting point is 01:49:59 Kwame, you're first. You know, when I look at this incident, one, I want to give you a lot of commendation for making this movie come together. But I've also looked at some of the stats where they say they're basically the people of color represent around 30 percent of the electorate, but we only cast about 22 percent of the actual ballots. So if we have that gap of about eight percent, what do you think that's driven by? Is this driven by all the things you highlighted in your movie, or do you see more? Yes, yes, absolutely. When we say that there was a lower turnout amongst minority voters, especially black
Starting point is 01:50:34 voters, it's not that they're not trying to vote. Did you know that you go in, you've been challenged, or you've been purged, and they hand you something called a provisional ballot? I call it a placebo ballot. They make you think you voted, but you haven't. According to the United States government, 2.7 million provisional ballots were thrown out, rejected in the last presidential election. 2.7 million ballots. And dig this.
Starting point is 01:51:02 If you're black, the chance your provisional ballot won't be counted is 700 percent higher than if you're white. 500 percent higher if you're Hispanic than if you're white. So and basically this. So black people are trying to vote, but they show up and like Major Turner, you don't get your ballot because someone's challenged you. You've been purged. And, you know, at the end of that little clip, we had a woman, an African-American young woman in tears. You know why? Because her grandmother had been voting in the same polling station for 50 years, shows up and they say, you can't vote here. You're not on the voter rolls anymore because you don't live in Georgia anymore.
Starting point is 01:51:44 I went to her house if you had to offer one solution to that what do you think we can focus on like a laser between now and the election what do you think that one thing that we can work on if you want to make a recommendation to the audience absolutely we have to stop the vigil like uh kamala harris's voter protection person says the number one threat in this year, brand new, is this massive vigilante voter attack in Georgia. They took it. They took it out for a test drive in Georgia in 2020. And they had 88 vigilantes. The group that the Trump group that's behind this true the vote. They've gone from 88 vigilantes. Are you ready for this?—they've signed up 40,000
Starting point is 01:52:25 vigilantes. They've already mounted—they've already, as of five weeks ago, they challenged 832,000 voters. This story is not being covered. And that's why Harris and Elias are losing their minds. Actually, Reverend Jackson was talking with Kamala Harris about this on Saturday and talking about our film. So we're using the film as a weapon.
Starting point is 01:52:47 It's not a movie. It's a movement. I just got a message from the head of the NAACP in Georgia, Gerald Griggs, that we have to have—we're going to be showing the movie and using that as a basis for a planning discussion of the voting rights leadership, not only in Georgia, but I'm going to Houston. I'm going to be in other cities. But most important is to get this thing out for people to see the film, pass it around, and learn how to protect yourself. There's going to be a million challenges. Candace? I understand that this is a film that takes a look at two families. Who are these two families that you explore in the film, and how does it unfold? Well, you saw Major Gamaliel Turner, the military expert. They picked on the wrong guy, because his father, Harold Turner, with Ralph Abernathy
Starting point is 01:53:36 and Martin Luther King, founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. They picked a major voting rights, civil rights family of Georgia when they picked on Major Turner. So we follow him versus the guys who really set him up. That is Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia. And Kemp is behind all this vote suppression trickery. And in fact, now his family, they call themselves Kemp now, but they used to be called Habersham. He doesn't like to use that name. You know why? Because it was his family, it was the current governor's family, who first brought enslaved Africans to Georgia. Slavery was against the law in Georgia until just before the American
Starting point is 01:54:20 Revolution. And Kemp's family got a special dispensation to bring in slaves from King George III. And that started the whole plantation enslavement system in the South, was started by his family. And the source of this guy's many millions, many millions, is from, is literally taken off the backs of black people. Scott? Hey, thank you so much for your movie. I'm going to put my law hat on, my legal hat. I know Mark Elias, he does great work.
Starting point is 01:54:56 But if I'm in Georgia and I've been taken off the voter rolls, don't I have some due process rights? Doesn't the state have to give me notice of that and give me an opportunity to respond and to be heard and to cross-examine whoever's challenging my ballot? And wherever I am, I understand California, but let's say I'm in Georgia. I mean, they don't just throw me off the ballot because of a challenge. Am I just being naive here with this? Well, I wouldn't say you're naive.
Starting point is 01:55:31 You just have to know Georgia, Hawaii, and some of these other states. And so they're supposed to send you a postcard, but it looks like junk mail. You've been challenged. But listen, unlike if you got challenged by the government, all you have to do is send back a postcard or call them up and make a contact and you're back on the rolls. But when you're challenged by a vigilante under Georgia state law and other southern state laws, especially in Arizona and other places, you have to physically go into the to the office and prove you are an American citizen and you live where you live. So you have all these absent black students. You have black soldiers. You have all these people who are temporarily moved, especially this was during COVID the last time.
Starting point is 01:56:15 And you have to actually go into that office and prove you are— So what do I have to show them? What do I have to show them? Birth certificate, voting and registration card, what? You have to show them that you're a citizen and that you live where you live. But the problem is people don't even know about these cards. A lot of people never get the cards or never see them, and they don't know they've been challenged, so they don't get their ballots, or even worse, most Georgians who were challenged got their ballots, but when they mailed in their
Starting point is 01:56:44 ballots, they weren't counted, and those people don't even know it. It's really horrific, and it's spread to 43 states, but mostly the battleground states. Trump is working on the battleground states. Well, real quick, real quick. The certification of the vote after November 5th in Georgia is now discretionary.
Starting point is 01:57:03 It's not ministerial. Can you comment on that change in the law and how you believe the Republicans are going to try to undermine the elections now that it's discretionary? Well, in Vigilantes, Inc., which, again, you get for free at SaveYourVote.org, Vigilantes, Inc., I actually have Helen Butler, who was on the elections board, and she talked about the need to certify the vote. They try to pressure her not to certify the vote. And she said, I won't go along with it. So the governor used his new authority to simply remove her from her elections board. And she said, this is a real danger. People, if you don't know what
Starting point is 01:57:42 certification means, it's a fancy legal term. But what it means is, is that once you have the vote, someone has to say, yes, this is the correct vote, the county elections board. And then it goes to the state elections board. And that's and they certified it. Now, the current Republican, not just Republican, the MAGA controlled elections board has already said that they may not certify the vote in Fulton County. Understand, Fulton County is Atlanta. Last time, Joe Biden won Fulton County by a quarter million votes. If they don't certify Fulton, Georgia's gone. Georgia's gone. Well, those are the games that they're playing. And so, listen, lawyers are going to be very busy because Republicans are going to continue to do this all across the country.
Starting point is 01:58:35 Folks, if you want to check the film out, Vigilantes, Inc., go to gregpalast.com, G-R-E-G-P-A-L-A-S-T.com. You can also go check it out on the other site. Go ahead. Tell us what it is, Greg. Yeah. Save your vote. Not save my vote. Not save Roland's vote. But save your vote dot org. And you can not only download or stream the film, but you can check your registration there and get other help and advice. All right. Thank you, Roland. Great. We're doing God's work here, man. We appreciate it.
Starting point is 01:59:06 Keep up the good work. Thanks a lot. Thanks. Folks, going to a break. We come back. We'll tell you what happened today in a New York City courtroom when it came to Diddy's attempt to get out of jail, plus the racist attacks by Senator J.D. Vance. Donald Trump's running mate continues against Haitian immigrants.
Starting point is 01:59:24 We'll show you what this idiot said today. You're watching Roller Mark Dunn Filtered on the Black Star Network. Support our work. Join our Bring the Funk fan club. Our goal is to get 20,000 of our fans contributing on average 50 bucks each a year. That's $4.19 a month, $0.13 today. Look, you're paying for this show, of course the other shows on the Black Star Network, our travels around the country, and we're covering the stories that matter.
Starting point is 01:59:47 The work that we're doing, nobody else in Black-owned media is doing. Nobody in Black-owned media is doing what we're doing every single day. Not Urban One, not Black Enterprise, not Essence, not Blavity, not the Griot, none of these folks. The work that we're doing every single day with this show and the other shows is giving you the information that you're not getting anywhere else. This is about covering our issues that matter. So support us via Cash App.
Starting point is 02:00:14 And I told you what Cash App is doing. They've changed their rules. They're capping the number of daily transactions, weekly transactions, and monthly transactions. We have no idea why. It makes no sense whatsoever. And so what I want y'all to do is tweet them, comment on Instagram, tell them, change this because this is impacting churches, nonprofits, and so it needs to be changed. They will only do so if you put the pressure on them to do so. So please hit Cash App on LinkedIn,
Starting point is 02:00:43 hit them on Twitter, hit them on Twitter, hit them on Instagram, hit them on every single platform and tell them they need to go back to the way the things used to be. As a result, we had to create additional Cash App accounts because many of you were trying to contribute, but they were rejecting your contributions because of this daily cap. So our normal main account is dollar sign RM unfiltered. The other backup is dollar sign Uncle Roro Martin. The other one is dollar sign BLK Star Network. BLK Star Network. Those are the only three.
Starting point is 02:01:18 The other ways for you to support us, of course, where we have no issues, PayPal, which is paypal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered. Venmo.com forward slash rmunfiltered. And Zale, use the emails roland at rolandsmartin.com. Roland at rolandmartinunfiltered.com. We'll be right back. He told us who he was. Should abortion be punished?
Starting point is 02:01:44 There has to be some form of punishment. Then he showed us. For 54 years they were trying to get Roe v. Wade terminated, and I did it, and I'm proud to have done it. Now Donald Trump wants to go further with plans to restrict birth control, ban abortion nationwide, even monitor women's pregnancies.
Starting point is 02:02:03 We know who Donald Trump is. He'll take control. We'll pay the price. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. In 2016, Donald Trump said he would choose only the best people to work in his White House. Now those people have a warning for America. Trump is not fit to be president again. Here's his vice president. Anyone who puts himself over the Constitution should never be president of the United States. It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year.
Starting point is 02:02:31 His defense secretary. Do you think Trump can be trusted with the nation's secrets ever again? No. I mean, it's just irresponsible action that places our service members at risk, places our nation's security at risk. His national security advisor.
Starting point is 02:02:43 Donald Trump will cause a lot of damage. The only thing he cares about is Donald Trump. And the nation's highest ranking military officer. We don't take an oath to a king or a queen or a tyrant or a dictator. We don't take an oath to a wannabe dictator.
Starting point is 02:03:00 Take it from the people who knew him best. Donald Trump is a danger to our troops and our democracy. We can't let him lead our country again. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. IVF is a miracle for us because it allowed us to have our family. After having my daughter, I wanted more children. But my embryo transfer was canceled eight days before the procedure.
Starting point is 02:03:24 Donald Trump overturning Roe v. Wade stopped us from growing the family that we wanted. I don't want politicians telling me how or when I can have a baby. We need a president that will protect our rights, and that's Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. Here's a 78-year-old billionaire
Starting point is 02:03:44 who has not stopped whining about his problems. Oh, she had a big crowd. Oh, the crowd. This weird obsession with crowd sizes. It just goes on and on and on. Hmm. America's ready for a new chapter. We are ready for a President Kamala Harris. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message.
Starting point is 02:04:12 The overturning of Roe almost killed me. I had a blood clot in my uterus that caused my labor to have to be induced because of the overturn of Roe v. Wade. I wasn't able to get life-saving treatment sooner. I almost died. And that's because of the decision that Donald Trump made. I was able to get Roe v. Wade terminated,
Starting point is 02:04:35 and I'm proud to have done it. The doctors and nurses were afraid that if they treated me in the incorrect way, that they would be prosecuted for that. And that's appalling. Donald Trump says that women should be punished. Do you believe in punishment for abortion? There has to be some form of punishment.
Starting point is 02:04:53 For the woman? Yeah. I believe that women should have reproductive freedom to make the choices about their own bodies. Four more years of Donald Trump means that women's rights will continue to be taken away one by one by one by one. This has to stop because women are dying. I'm Kamala Harris, and I approve this message. Hi, I am Tommy Davidson.
Starting point is 02:05:14 I play Oscar on Proud Family, Louder and Prouder. I don't play Sammy, but I could. Or I don't play Obama, but I could. I don't do Stallone, but I could do all that. And I am here with Roland Martin on Unfiltered. Sean Diddy Combs remains in a New York City jail after a second judge denied an effort for him to get bail. His attorneys said that he would pay, he would do a $50 million bond.
Starting point is 02:05:48 They said that he would take drug tests, be on a 24-hour surveillance, no women would be at his residence. But Judge Andrew Carter said no, said the government provided sufficient evidence that Combs was a danger to the community and a danger to obstruct justice and intimidate witnesses. He also called the defense's bail package insufficient. And so that's what took place today. His attorney, Mark Agnew-Fellow, said he planned to appeal that judge's ruling. Of course, this is the second judge that has denied bail for Sean Combs.
Starting point is 02:06:30 The judge also talked about were they waiving the right to a speedy trial and looking at setting a trial date. And so he continues to sit in a jail. They also wanted him to get moved to a facility in Essex County, but the government said that's up to the Bureau of Prisons' decision as to where they move him. Candace, I want to go to you first. Again, this is the second judge who said he will threaten witnesses, and that's why they're not going to give him bail.
Starting point is 02:07:02 And so the government has clearly persuaded these judges that Sean Combs is an absolute threat to any potential witness in this case. Same judge, different, I'm sorry, different judge, same result and for the same reason. And that, like you said, he is going to be a threat to the community. They said there's actually no circumstance that his attorney could provide that would be sufficient enough to say that he wouldn't be a threat to the community because you can easily threaten a witness when you are home. You can send text, you can call, you can have somebody else do your dirty deeds. In fact, this is what he was doing already according to the indictment. Who's to say he's going to stop?
Starting point is 02:07:45 And that was the biggest thing that was said out here. It didn't matter what he put out there. The judge was not having it. And I think that it's very interesting that he would want to move to another court, move to another center to be held. Right now, he's in a Brooklyn facility. He wants to be moved to Essex County. I'm not sure of the reason behind it.
Starting point is 02:08:07 I don't care if you get another judge to decide on this. They are going to decide the same thing. These are extreme circumstances, unlike we have seen somebody before in this type of celebrity status, and they're not going to change their mind. This here is from ABC News. Prosecutor Emily Johnson, in pushing for Combs to remain in custody, accused him of a longstanding pattern of abuse and said his victims have an extreme fear of Combs because of his influence in the entertainment industry.
Starting point is 02:08:38 Johnson said Combs called a victim in November 2023 after Cassie Ventura's civil lawsuit was filed, seeking to maintain this victim's public support. According to prosecutors, the victim told Combs that when she read Ventura's lawsuit, quote, I feel like I'm reading my own sexual trauma. Combs allegedly tried to convince her she willingly participated in the acts, but the woman pushed back saying that was not how she saw things. Diddy told the woman, whom prosecutors said he supports financially, that she ain't got nothing to worry about if she kept up her support of him.
Starting point is 02:09:15 Prosecutors said it made clear Combs would use financial coercion to keep victims close. Mindful of the judge's stated concerns about potential witness tampering, Agnavilo offered to place one or two retired police officers at Combs' house at all times to control who enters and keep a visitor's log. He said, what I'm trying to fashion is a situation where any witness intimidation will be virtually impossible. Scott, the judge is like, nope, ain't gonna happen. Yeah, it's a pretty strong case. This is a... A lot of times the big economic forces we hear about on the news show up in our lives in small ways. Three or four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding, but the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. The demand curve in action. And that's just one of the things we'll be covering on Everybody's
Starting point is 02:10:09 Business from Bloomberg Businessweek. I'm Max Chavkin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith. Every Friday, we will be diving into the biggest stories in business, taking a look at what's going on, why it matters, and how it shows up in our everyday lives. With guests like Business Week editor Brad Stone, sports reporter Randall Williams, and consumer spending expert Amanda Mull will take you inside the boardrooms, the backrooms, even the signal chats that make our economy tick. Hey, I want to learn about VeChain. I want to buy some blockchain or whatever it is. So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Starting point is 02:10:48 I know a lot of cops, and they get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. Across the country, cops call this taser the revolution. But not everyone was convinced it was that simple. Cops believed everything that taser told them. From Lava for Good and the team that brought you Bone Valley comes a story about what happened when a multi-billion dollar company dedicated itself to one visionary mission.
Starting point is 02:11:24 This is Absolute Season One, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. It's really, really, really bad. Listen to new episodes of Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Binge episodes 1, 2, and 3 on May 21st, and episodes 4, 5, and 6 on June 4th. Ad-free at Lava
Starting point is 02:11:51 for Good Plus on Drugs podcast. We are back. In a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This is kind of star-studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner. It's just a compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves. Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne from Brothers Osborne. We have this misunderstanding of what this quote-unquote drug thing is. Benny the Butcher.
Starting point is 02:12:29 Brent Smith from Shinedown. We got B-Real from Cypress Hill. NHL enforcer Riley Cote. Marine Corvette. MMA fighter Liz Karamush. What we're doing now isn't working, and we need to change things. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real.
Starting point is 02:12:44 It really does. It makes it real. It really does. It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to hear episodes one week early and ad-free with exclusive content, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.
Starting point is 02:13:11 We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. Speaking indictment, and it's got witness intimidation and paying off witnesses.
Starting point is 02:13:46 The government has really laid this out in a really powerful way, much like they did with Weinstein, much like they've done with R. Kelly. Both are in jail. And this defense that this was consensual, that factual scenario the prosecutor gave, which you just read, that's troubling to any judge because now he's demonstrated in a civil case that he will try to persuade witnesses to support him. There's no reason for him not to do that in a criminal case when he's facing up to life imprisonment for racketeering or minimum 15 years for sexual trafficking. This case is not going to be hard. Sexual trafficking is so broad that it's not a hard case for the government to seek a conviction.
Starting point is 02:14:34 So not only is it a danger to the community, they've also got a strong case in regard to defiling the serial numbers of these weapons, which is per se a criminal violation. And I think you can get up to five years. So it's not looking good. He wants to move to Essex because he thinks that Essex County will have less violent people and they'll treat him better. It's a better facility. But jail is hard.
Starting point is 02:14:58 And you can't do the crime if you can't do the time. So don't do the crime if you can't do the time. We'll see. But this doesn't look good. Kwame, this is what federal prosecutors actually said today. Go back to my iPad. The defendant also poses a significant risk of obstructing justice. During the course of the charge conduct, the defendant has attempted to bribe security staff and threatened and interfered with witnesses to his criminal conduct.
Starting point is 02:15:25 He has already tried to obstruct the government's investigation of this case, repeatedly contacting victims and witnesses and feeding them false narratives of events. There are simply no conditions that would ensure that the defendant's efforts to obstruct and tamper with witnesses will stop. I'm sure his lawyer was like, dude, put the phone down, don't call folks, don't text folks. But Kwame is way too late for that. He did it, daddy. He did it.
Starting point is 02:15:56 Roland, I feel like we need to draw a hard line in the sand. And I want to try this case for me personally in the court of public opinion. I think it is time for black men to stand with women of color, to stand up for them. I know after I saw that video with Cassie, and I know that's not the charge, directly being charged right now, but I saw that and I said, the only thing that for me is justice in that case is a reciprocal ass whooping for Puffy in the same way. And I think for me, I think this case is all about making sure that karma and justice is done. I have no sympathy for Puffy in this case. I have no sympathy for other black men who are saying, you know, that they're
Starting point is 02:16:37 trying to take down another black man and all this stuff about the media and Puffy was trying to buy CBS. So they're trying to do this case to stop him from doing, forget all that. This is a case of domestic violence. It's a case of repeated violence against women. And I hate to see that. And I want to make sure that he suffers and that all justice is done. So no sympathy for me, no safe harbor for Puffy here. And I hope the full course of the law is taken care of and done on our behalf. Rolling, can I jump in and say one? Candid, Candid. No. The prosecutors read a number of other text messages in court.
Starting point is 02:17:11 First of all, the previous woman I read, they actually have, that was recorded, there were recordings of that. They also read text messages that he sent to Ventura after that video, after that famous fight that was caught on video, the attack in Los Angeles. He said to her, give me one second, he said to her about calling the cops, call me, the cops are here, I got six kids, I got six kids, you please call, I'm surrounded, you're gonna abandon me, I'm alone.
Starting point is 02:17:41 She replied, I have a black eye and a fat lip. You're sick for thinking it's okay to do what you've done. I still have crazy bruising. They have that in text messages, and that's what the judge cited as saying, nah, he can't be let out. That's right. The digital footprint in this is so big. Between the phones and the computers, there's no way around it. We don't even know what's on the tapes yet,
Starting point is 02:18:04 but we know it's enough that they were able to make this case and have this indictment be very solid to have him move to New York in order to turn himself in. Ultimately, he was arrested before that could happen. But I think what's very important also to remember is that when we look at all of these people who were saying that he tried to bribe them or that he tried to call them and say, hey, this isn't actually what happened. This is what happened according to you. And this is what you should believe, is that people are talking. Every witness who he tried to pay, every witness who he tried to coerce, every witness who he gave money to, they are making deals. They are already talking,
Starting point is 02:18:41 and more will be coming. And that's the takeaway that I get when I look at all this evidence that the judge cited, that people are already out there and they're continuing to build their case day by day. They are adding. And hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on. And they also, the prosecutors ran in court a statement from another unnamed victim who said, you always want to show me that you have the power and you knock me around. I'm not a rag doll. I'm someone's child. Yeah, you know, Roman, as a former sex crimes prosecutor, let me say this,
Starting point is 02:19:21 that sexual trafficking, sexual abuse, rape is all about power, right? The sex piece and the domination is the vehicle, but the root of all of this is power. And he fits that model as a mogul, controlling their lives with these videos and drugs and what have you. I mean, this shit was insane, man. Well, in fact, the attorney tried to say that it was a toxic but loving relationship, and the judge's side of the video said, what does love have to do with that?
Starting point is 02:19:59 Exactly. Because he had his security people and his housekeepers and body men. And the indictment says they had to carry bags or satchels or fanny packs that had drugs in them of his choice, cocaine, amphetamines, you name it, so that at any point in time, his drug of choice or the people that he was having these freakouts with, that they would be readily available. And then they recovered those drugs, many of them, thousands of pills, a lot of pills, when they did the search for them.
Starting point is 02:20:34 And let me just leave you with this. The only reason the police, when they're investigating, they have to raid your house is because they think you're either going to get rid of evidence or you're not cooperating with their investigation. That's a big part of the judge's thinking as well. Kwame, go ahead. Yeah, one of the unique pieces of data that I wanted to leave everybody with is that the Southern District of New York, the SDNY, the famous sovereign district, has a 95 percent conviction rate. They would not have brought this case if there are ducks worn in a row. So 95% conviction rate does not speak well for Puffy. And I think it speaks very well for justice.
Starting point is 02:21:15 Well, and I will say really quickly that he's trying to get credit for saying, I will not have drugs when I, if you let me out, he shouldn't have drugs anyway. So he can't get credit for that and expect the judge to act just because he said he won't have drugs if he is placed on home detention. I asked the question yesterday, and so he's going to remain behind bars. There was also a back and forth, Scott, in court about waiving a speedy trial with next court date, things along those lines. Potentially, when could this go to trial? Probably in 2025. Both sides will waive speedy trial of the defense will because the defense wants to delay it as long as it can so they can gather all the evidence in their own internal investigation, but also digest the evidence and the documents and the witness statements from the FBI to put a defense together.
Starting point is 02:22:06 Now, they foreshadowed his defense to be that all of these things he's accused of were all consensual. Well, that's going to be a hard lift because with drugs involved and the intimidation and controlling their careers based on the videos that were taken and based on the videos that were taken, and based on the acts, and then him running the videos and showing them, paying them less, and physically and mentally abusing them, again, rooting them in power, that's going to be a powerful rebuttal to consent. He's got to find people to get on the stand to say it was consensual. Those sex workers are out of the country now, or they're gone. You don't even know where those sex workers are
Starting point is 02:22:44 because of their lifestyle generally and how transient they are. So it'll be interesting. In the end, taking a plea and perhaps getting a 50 percent of what the max would be would seem to be a goal and objective of the defense attorney if he can't really find those witnesses and he can't put forth a very, very strong defense that all of these people consented to being drugged and having sex, and whether they were male or female. They've got to get a lot to consent to raise reasonable doubt. That's a tall order, in my opinion, at least preliminarily. Folks, real quick, we covered what's happening with the Haitian immigrants in the country,
Starting point is 02:23:23 and we know for a fact those folks are not in the country illegally. Yet J.D. Vance, Donald Trump's Republican running mate, continues to insist that they are. And if you want to see racism on display, watch this. Hi, Senator. Mia McCarthy with Politico. Question for you about the Haitian migrants in Springfield. So I know you've talked a lot about how we need to deport illegal aliens, but I wanted to ask you, the majority of the Haitians in Springfield came under TPS, so they are here legally.
Starting point is 02:23:57 And I know you've expressed a lot of your issues with the TPS program and wanting to change that under a Trump-Vance administration. But I guess my question for you is, if you become the vice president under a Trump administration, what will you guys do about the migrants that are already there since they did arrive legally? And a follow-up to that, if you plan to deport them, how would you do that legally? Well, look, this is a media and Kamala Harris fact check that I want to clarify and clear up right now. And here's... Now, the media loves to say that the Haitian migrants, hundreds of thousands of them, by the way, 20,000 in Springfield, but hundreds of thousands of them all across our country, they are000 in Springfield, but hundreds of thousands of them all across our country. They are here legally. And what they mean is that Kamala Harris used two separate programs, mass parole and temporary protective status.
Starting point is 02:24:54 She used two programs to wave a wand and to say, we're not going to deport those people here. Well, if Kamala Harris waves the wand illegally and says these people are now here legally, I'm still going to call him an illegal alien. An illegal action from Kamala Harris does not make an alien legal. That is not how this works. So he's lying. The reality is her action, the action of the Biden administration wasn't illegal. They are here legally and Senator J.D. Vance knows it and he is pushing
Starting point is 02:25:27 this racist trope to stoke white fear in Ohio and other places. Candace? All making it up as you go along. This is what we're seeing now. They did it with the Haitians when HIV AIDS was rampant. And they said that Haitians were the hotbed of where AIDS was happening. Hitler did it with the Jews, saying that they were carrying certain diseases and bringing it to the masses. This is a man that's following a playbook that we have already seen. And he's making it up as it goes along because this is the only scapegoat that he has. He's playing with the journalists and the
Starting point is 02:26:10 media saying, go check out this story. And when journalists check out the story, they make it a bigger story where people's homes have to be evacuated and schools and festivals have to be evacuated. And then blaming that on the Haitians when this is a problem that he created. It's a distraction. It's a part of their strategy. They do it pretty well, because we always end up at the same point kind of talking about this nonsense, but it all looks the same.
Starting point is 02:26:39 It's just different words, same tune. People need to really fact-check. They need to do their homework to understand what all of this means. And when they don't, that is the problem. The other problem is that we are a community and a world and the United States of America where we just don't know our neighbors. We don't have people that look like him that actually know patients on a large scale personally in order to displace the fear that you have. If that happened, if we didn't live in this systematic racial society, we would know our neighbors a little better and we wouldn't be scared.
Starting point is 02:27:17 But that's not how we have America set up. We have it so that we live separate lives, separate ways, so that they can invoke and instill fear. And that is what's going on. Kwame, here's what the Wall Street Journal reported today. A Vance spokesperson on Tuesday provided the Wall Street Journal with a police report in which a resident had claimed the pet might have been taken by Haitian neighbors. But when a reporter went to Anna Kilgore's house Tuesday evening,
Starting point is 02:27:43 she said her cat, Miss Sassy, which went missing in late August, had actually returned a few days later, found safe in her own basement. We all know that he is telling a bold-faced lie to stoke fears and resentment in Ohio voters, which he actually represents. The people he is persecuting right now, he represents that state. That includes the Haitian immigrants. That includes the longtime Ohio residents. Vice President Harris was interviewed by the National Association of Black Journalists just a few days ago and told a very powerful, humanizing story. She talked about how one of the young kids at one of these schools
Starting point is 02:28:26 where a bomb threat was called in, in Springfield, Ohio, was on their way to picture day at school. A young kid, we all know the pride that you have in picture day. You're going to line up with all your friends. They're all going to be part of the team. We're all going to be in this class together. That student was not allowed to go to school along with hundreds and thousands of others because of the 30 or more bomb threats that had been called in to the Springfield, Ohio schools. So we are at mission critical right now in terms of this fear. And we are one inch away from this turning into an act of violence against this community that we all will regret. So this just boils me beyond, because this is a story that has always been part of the American stories.
Starting point is 02:29:10 When the Italians showed up, when the Irish showed up, when the Germans showed up, all those ways of immigrants who've gone through this. And there's always going to be some bumps in the road. But this is a situation where, for one reason, because of race, because of that being a differentiating point for the Haitian community, that we continue to be stuck. And J.D. Vance thinks that he's winning on this particular issue. It is disgusting. Indeed, indeed. Folks, on Friday, I'll be participating in an invest-a-thon with Isaac Hayes III, founder of Fanbase. He joins us right now to talk about this here. So, Isaac, you're trying to raise $17 million.
Starting point is 02:29:49 Walk us through what is going to be happening on Friday. Man, Invest-A-Thon is this Friday. I'm so excited, happy to be here, and happy to have it on your network. It's going to be a conversation, a multitude of conversations about investing in black tech and especially fan base. The goal is to raise $17 million. We're already at $2.1 million. Well, we have a huge lineup of people speaking, guest speakers, information about equity crowdfunding. Nothing like this has ever been done.
Starting point is 02:30:19 But we need to collectively drive our economic power towards technology and owning social media platforms. And so Investathon is something that I came up with probably about a week ago, but it was really awesome to get all these people together. We got a couple new additions, too, if you guys don't know. Milton Jones, the chairman of 100 Black Men of America, is going to be here on the Investathon. And also Dr. Lisa Nicole Herring of Propel. That's Apple and Southern Company's nonprofit for HBCU students will also be speaking. So really the goal is between now and Friday night at 10 o'clock to raise $15 million. That's 25,000 people right now investing $600. And so this is going to be streamed on a lot of networks.
Starting point is 02:31:07 We're going to collectively put our economic power together so that we can finally, you know, take control of the infrastructure and not necessarily just be the sauce to the system. You know what I mean? With the $17 million, if successfully raised, then what does that mean for Fanbase? Well, number one, it gives us a large runway to actually accomplish a lot of things that we want to do. Number one, marketing, expanding our marketing team, expanding our development team. We're going to add RTMP streaming, advanced audio, e-commerce tools, so many things that we want to go ahead and scale and expand. Fanbase has 800,000 users already, right? And our monthly active users range between
Starting point is 02:31:50 about 150,000 to 200,000 a month. But that pales in comparison to a lot of these super giant apps. And what we need to do is have capital to be able to scale. This is no longer really a startup. This is a scale-up. And the opportunity for people to actually own equity in a company into a tech startup, and you'll hear a lot about that, how rare this is. You'll hear about the JOBS Act, what the JOBS Act means, what is that, why people were not allowed to invest in Apple and Google and Microsoft and Facebook, why that was illegal, and now the opportunity to do so. And especially when Black culture actually fuels these platforms, it fuels these infrastructures, why it's important that we take advantage of this platform especially and invest and own it,
Starting point is 02:32:30 because we've never been able to do that before. Absolutely. And so the Fanbase Investathon taking place 8 to 10 p.m. Eastern on Friday. We'll be, of course, streaming it right here on the Black Star Network as well. Folks, you don't have to actually wait to do that. If you want to invest, you can actually go to startengine.com forward slash fan base. All right, Isaac, look forward to seeing you on Friday. Yeah, man. Thank you.
Starting point is 02:32:54 All right. That is it for us, folks. Let me thank Candace. Let me thank Kwame, Scott as well. Appreciate y'all being on today's panel. Thank you so very much. Folks, do not forget, support the work that we do. It is critically important because we are about speaking to the interests of African-Americans, covering the stories that other people ignore, and again, providing platforms to folks who
Starting point is 02:33:15 otherwise would not have an opportunity to be able to speak. And so we want you to support us. Again, I told you what's happening with Cash App. I don't know what the hell they're doing with their caps. So we have three different Cash Apps. You can use dollar sign RM Unfiltered. You can also use dollar sign Uncle Ro Ro Martin. Dollar sign
Starting point is 02:33:33 BLK Start Network for Black Star Network. BLK Start Network. Also folks, you can support us via other platforms including PayPal, rmartin.com. First of all paypal.me forward slash rmartinunfiltered. Venmo is venmo.com forward slash rmunfiltered. Zale, rolling at rollingsmartin.com,
Starting point is 02:33:51 rolling at rollingmartinunfiltered.com. Don't forget to also download the Blackstone Network app. We're close to 100,000 downloads. Let's hurry up, y'all. Let's get there. Keenan, let me know where we at now. But you can download the Blackstone Network app, Apple phone, Android phone, Apple TV, Android TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Xbox One, Samsung Smart TV.
Starting point is 02:34:10 Also, be sure to get a copy of my book. All proceeds from the book go right back into the show. And so the book is Why Fear? How the Browning of America is Making White Folks Lose Their Minds. Available at bookstores nationwide. You can also, of course, download the audio version on Audible. Folks, that's it. I'll see you all tomorrow right here on Rolling Martin Unfiltered
Starting point is 02:34:30 on the Black Star Network. And also shout out to the folks at General Motors. I was there today for the General Motors Media Summit doing one of their panels, and so had a great time there. And so I'll be back on the road on Saturday because I'll be in Atlanta and I'll be inducted to the National Black Radio Hall of Fame. And so look forward to that on Saturday. And then Monday, I'll be teaching the master class at Clark Atlanta University. Folks, that's it. I'll see you tomorrow.
Starting point is 02:34:56 How Black Star Network. A real revolution right now. Thank you for being the voice of Black America. All momentum we have now, we have to keep this going. The video looks phenomenal. See, there's a difference between Black Star Network and Black-owned media and something like CNN. You can't be Black-owned media and be scared. It's time to be smart. Bring your eyeballs home. You dig?
Starting point is 02:35:35 A lot of times, big economic forces show up in our lives in small ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. Four days a week, I would buy two cups of banana pudding. But the price has gone up, so now I only buy one. Small but important ways. From tech billionaires to the bond market to, yeah, banana pudding. If it's happening in business, our new podcast is on it. I'm Max Chastin. And I'm Stacey Vanek-Smith.
Starting point is 02:35:59 So listen to Everybody's Business on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I know a lot of cops. They get asked all the time, have you ever had to shoot your gun? Sometimes the answer is yes. But there's a company dedicated to a future where the answer will always be no. This is Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad. Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated. I get right back there and it's bad.
Starting point is 02:36:26 Listen to Absolute Season 1, Taser Incorporated on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. We asked parents who adopted teens to share their journey. We just kind of knew from the beginning that we were family. They showcased a sense of love that I never had before. I mean, he's not only my parent, like he's like my best friend. At the end of the day, it's all been worth it. I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. Learn about adopting a teen from foster care.
Starting point is 02:36:58 Visit AdoptUSKids.org to learn more. Brought to you by AdoptUSKids, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ad Council. I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Glott. And this is Season 2 of the War on Drugs podcast. Yes, sir.
Starting point is 02:37:11 Last year, a lot of the problems of the drug war. This year, a lot of the biggest names in music and sports. This kind of starts that a little bit, man. We met them at their homes. We met them at their recording studios. Stories matter, and it brings a face to them. It makes it real. It really does.
Starting point is 02:37:27 It makes it real. Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an iHeart Podcast.

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