Up First from NPR - Montgomery Brawl Arrests, Pakistan Elections, Parkland Survivor Launches PAC

Episode Date: August 9, 2023

Three people charged with assault after a waterside brawl in Montgomery, Ala. Pakistan is ramping up for elections while Imran Khan sits in jail. And Parkland shooting survivor David Hogg launches a PAC.Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.Today's episode of Up First was edited by Larry Kaplow, Megan Pratz, Ally Schweitzer, Michael Sullivan, and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Lilly Quiroz, Mansee Khurana, Claire Murashima, and Kaity Kline. Our technical director is Zac Coleman, with engineering support from Stacey Abbott.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

A Riverside brawl inspired a cascade of internet memes and three arrests. Why has it captured so much attention? Folks, I know in the Black community, sometimes we just want to see somebody win. I'm Steve Inskeep with Sarah McCammon, and this is Up First from NPR News. Pakistan's parliament is set to be dissolved soon with an interim government stepping in. It signals that elections will take place this fall, but without the involvement of the popular ex-prime minister Imran Khan. He's now sitting in jail on charges that he disputes. Also, more people between the ages of 18-24 are voting in the U.S.

And now a young Democratic activist is launching a political action committee to get more young people elected. Can it work? Stay with us. We've got the news you need to start your day. Now Our Change will honour 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force and their dedicated service to communities at home and abroad. From the skies to Our Change, this $2 commemorative circulation coin marks their storied past and promising future. Find the limited edition Royal Canadian Air Force $2 coin today. We know more today about a brawl over the weekend in Montgomery, Alabama, that's been viewed online by millions of people. For those who have not seen it, this started at a dockside. Police describe a dispute over which boat should dock where.

The videos showed men from a pontoon boat attacking the co-captain of a riverboat. Police have made three arrests. Because the men in the pontoon boat were white and the riverboat captain was black, and there's video, this triggered a lot of conversation. Troy Public Radio's Kyle Gassett joins us now from Montgomery. Good morning, Kyle. Hey, Sarah. So a lot of people have seen these videos online, but just tell us about what happened. What do we know about what led up to these moments? Well, the police chief said at a press conference yesterday that the

men in the pontoon boat had refused to move their vessel after the captain repeatedly asked them over a loudspeaker to move. At that point, the co-captain, who was black, came to the dock in a smaller boat to ask them to move. And that's when a man from the pontoon boat lunged and hit him, Sarah. And people on the riverboat and nearby started to tape the event, and it sounded like this. Other people from the pontoon boat joined in, overwhelming and beating the co-captain, and that prompted onlookers to jump in and start fighting with each other. So in short order, Sarah, not only were fists being thrown, but people began to hit each other with folding chairs and even to fall in the water. And it mostly broke down

along racial lines, but not entirely. And Kyle, you said the fight fell largely along racial lines. Is there any indication that the white men seen beating the black boat captain could face hate crime charges? Well, police say they're facing charges of misdemeanor assault. They consulted with the FBI and the district attorney about charges such as inciting a riot, but the evidence just wasn't there to charge them for that or a hate crime. Race was just not a determining factor in the charges, according to the police chief. Now, I will say, so far, it's only been white men that have been charged. These individuals are 48-year-old Richard Roberts, 23-year-old Alan Todd, and 25-year-old Zachary Shipman. One of them has turned himself in, and as of last night,

it wasn't clear about the others. Police say more charges, though, Sarah, could be coming against other individuals. Now Montgomery, of course, has a very long history, both in the slave trade and the civil rights movement. How is this fight being talked about there in that context? Well, okay, so here are two perspectives. Right after the incident, Stephen Reed, who is the city's first Black mayor, called the events intolerable. But he doesn't believe that it's going to have lasting negative effects. You know, no one incident, you know, defines it, the city, or not, in particular, when it's an isolated one like this was. From our standpoint, we believe that if we're going to be a different city, we have to put that in practice. We have to put that

in policy. Now, I did hear a different reaction from Michelle Browder, who is also Black and gives tours of civil rights landmarks, including the same riverfront dock where enslaved people were brought in the 19th century. She says this incident speaks to a larger issue she sees in Montgomery and elsewhere where Black people are tired of being attacked. Folks, I know in the Black community, sometimes we just want to see somebody win. You know, we are living in an age now where you can't mistakenly knock on a door for the fear of being shot through the door. We're normalizing violence against Black bodies once again. But having said that, she also knows from history that Montgomery has been a place of healing, being shot through the door. We're normalizing violence against Black bodies once again.

But having said that, she also knows from history that Montgomery has been a place of healing, and she hopes that it can be again going forward. Kyle Gassett with Troy Public Radio in Alabama. Thanks, Kyle. Thank you, Sarah. The Pakistani Prime Minister is expected to announce the dissolution of the National Assembly. In theory, this is a normal move. Parliamentary democracies dissolve parliament in preparation for new elections, which is supposed to come this fall. But as we're about to hear, nothing is normal about politics in Pakistan right now. On the line with us is NPR's Dia Hadid. She covers Pakistan. Hi, Dia.

Hi there. So in theory, elections are usually good news, right? Right. On the face of it, a country that's been ruled by army generals for nearly half of its existence has now seen multiple governments transfer power to each other through the ballot box. But Pakistan's a fragile democracy. And critics say the military still holds sway behind the scenes. And they point to the fate of the man who was arguably Pakistan's most popular leader, the former Prime Minister Imran Khan. On Sunday, he was imprisoned on corruption charges, and yesterday he was disqualified from running for office. And that's a culmination of tensions that have long brewed

between Khan and the army, the same army that's accused of helping him get elected in the first place, but soured on him when he started challenging their authority. So given all of that, how much concern is there, Dia, that these upcoming elections will not be free and fair? Well, certainly that's something that analysts and opposition figures are telling us, like a spokesman for Imran Khan who called his imprisonment and disqualification pre-poll rigging. Still, that spokesman Zulfi Bukhari says the party will contest elections. He says they've got a strong chance. You can leave Imran in prison, you can disqualify him, as long as he can get it out to

the people that my party is standing in elections, these are the people you have to give the vote to. And him sitting in jail is probably our best election campaign. Our best election campaign. On the other hand, there's been meek protests against Khan's detention and there's been droves of defection since the crackdown sharpened against Khan's party in recent months. So we're not quite sure how much support they'll command. It's worth adding, though, that the government says Khan's imprisonment is simply because he broke the law, and elections may well be delayed until March or April. And two ministers say that's to adjust electorates based on new census figures. You know, Dia, it seems that Pakistan is so often in the throes of a political crisis.

Is this one different from the others that the country has experienced? It does feel familiar to many. Pakistani media reported this week that eight former prime ministers and two presidents shared a similar fate after they fell out with the army. Still, Samin Mohsen, a political analyst, says this time feels different. She says the army is asserting control in increasingly blatant ways. It's cracked down more harshly on perceived opponents. It's broadened its vast business interests.

Legislation favourable to the army, she says, was rushed through parliament. Those kinds of things which have been legislated for are extremely, extremely, extremely dangerous and will have far-reaching consequences. And the military is entrenched to a level that I think we haven't seen in a long time outside of martial law. And right now, Pakistan, which let's remember is a nuclear-armed country, is grappling with multiple crises. Hunger, devastating floods

last year, militants wreaking havoc, and analysts say it's unlikely these tough issues can be tackled if elections bring in a government that's seen as having come to power unfairly. NPR's Zidia Hadid, thank you for your reporting. Thank you. More and more Americans between the ages of 18 and 30 are voting. Yeah, the last couple of midterm elections broke records for youth turnout. And now a 23-year-old activist is starting a political action committee focused on getting more young people into elected office. Gun control advocate David Hawk. For every year of Trump's presidency, I think there was a new chapter of a social movement that

was born, whether it was the Women's March, March for Our Lives, the environmental movement, or the movement for Black Lives. And Hawk was part of that because he survived the 2018 school shooting in Parkland, Florida, and became an activist. His new PAC is called Leaders We Deserve. Our colleague Elena Moore covers youth politics for NPR and joins us now. Good morning, Elena. Good morning, Sarah. So this group isn't about getting more young people to vote, per se. It's about getting them elected, right? Right. So the goal here, Hogg says, is to turn more young organizers into politicians. And when we sat down for a recent interview, it was clear that Hogg's background as a gun control activist

really continues to shape his outlook. He used the term with me, run, hide, fight, which is a tactic that students are taught in active shooter drills. He reframed it as sort of a rallying cry. We need to run for office. We need to stop hiding from the responsibility that previous generations often did to protect young people and the future of this country and the future of this planet. And we need to fight for a better future where that never happens in a better system. And, you know, Sarah, I've spoken to a lot of Gen Z voters in the last few months and gun violence in their communities remains a top of mind issue. So it was really no surprise to hear it's still a driving force. This is a generation that grew up afraid of school shootings, right, Elena? I mean,

how influential could this group of voters be, especially in 2024? Right. They're kind of a bit of a political wildcard. Voters under 30 really don't conform to a party, despite the voting bloc overwhelmingly voting for Democrats in recent major elections. Plus, you know, Gen Z and millennial voters make up a really big portion of the electorate already, nearly half, according to Brookings, and they're not even done growing. So both parties are kind of keeping tabs on these voters. And what exactly will Hogg's new group, Leaders We Deserve, be doing? So the group is planning on supporting about two dozen-ish candidates under the age of 35.

And a big part of their work will actually be on the state level where, you know, right now Republicans hold majorities in a lot of places and have more influence over issues liberals care a lot about, like guns, access to abortion, LGBTQ rights. group's goal is to stack the deck for young Democrats to hold a majority by focusing on open, safe Democratic seats, not flipping Republican-held legislatures. That just isn't the priority right now for them. And the group wants to mobilize young people early, even though, you know, some are skeptical of the difference they can make. I fear that those young people may lose faith in democracy. That's why this project matters, because it's showing young people that, yes, our system is broken, but it's not unfixable. The work that we're doing will compound over time by showing young people that when you're involved in politics, when you're involved in these movements, you don't just have to work on the outside. We need good people on the inside because I've seen the difference that that can make. And Sarah, you know, as for Hogg himself, he's 23, which is too

young to run for Congress. But, you know, he says he hasn't ruled out running for office one day, but he told me that is a last resort. A last resort. We'll see in a few years. Exactly. That's NPR's Elena Moore. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Ohio voters rejected a measure Tuesday that would have made it harder to amend the state's constitution. The initiative, called Issue 1, was widely seen as an attempt by Republicans to prevent abortion access from being solidified in the state. It failed, with 61 percent of voters choosing no. And that's Up First for Wednesday, August 9th. I'm Sarah McCammon. And I'm Steve Inskeep.

Up First is produced by Mansi Khurana, Claire Murashima, and Lily Quiroz. Our editors are Larry Kaplow, Megan Pratt, Ali Schweitzer, Michael Sullivan, and Alice Wolfley. Our technical director is Zach Coleman with engineering support from Stacey Evans. Join us here tomorrow. And if you like your news on demand,

and who doesn't? We like everything on demand. Check out the NPR One app. Get a mix of local, national, and international news wherever you go and whenever you want it. And hear podcasts based on what you like. Download NPR One at the App Store.

I demand my news. I demand it too.