January, 28 2020, 11:00pm EDT
For Immediate Release
Contact:
L.A. Kauffman, lakauffman9@gmail.com, 347-693-1511
Trisa Taro, ttaro@populardemocracy.org, 909-720-0324
40+ Arrested, Thousands Swarm Capitol
Demanding Witnesses and Evidence in Senate
WASHINGTON
Today, thousands of activists and concerned Americans from across the country converged on Capitol Hill to demand that the Senate see all documentary evidence and hear from all potential witnesses in the Senate impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump.
The day began with a large-scale silent protest inside the Hart Senate Building, where demonstrators "silently swarmed" in the center atrium to make their presence known.
"Every single Senator took an oath to render impartial justice in Trump's removal trial. How dare they block witnesses and documentary evidence from consideration?" said L.A. Kauffman, an organizer with Remove Trump, a grassroots group that has been staging daily actions on Capitol Hill since January 6. "We will not accept this coverup."
"The American people deserve to hear all available witnesses and evidence be presented. We won't stand for this GOP cover-up!" said Jennifer Epps Addison, Co-Executive Director and Network President of the Center for Popular Democracy Action (CPD Action). "Senators must act decisively to protect our country, and lean into the political power harnessed by Black and Brown communities. Together we can demonstrate how powerful our popular democracy can be and how committed we are to protecting it."
Led by Rev. Dr. William Barber, Co-Chair of the Poor People's Campaign, the group marched to the Capitol building where the action continued with civil disobedience on the steps outside. Dozens of protesters were arrested before the group moved inside to the Capitol visitor center for more silent demonstrations.
"Trump is guilty and a fair trial with witnesses and documents would make clear that Trump deserves to be removed from office" said Anthony Torres, Political Director, By the People. "We already have enough evidence to convict this dangerous President and every day that he remains in office is another day he tramples our rights, endangers our lives, and betrays our country. Our Senators can either be complicit in covering up Trump's crimes or uphold their oath to defend the Constitution and the people."
"The omission of witnesses and evidence in Trump's removal trial must be met with public outcry by every individual who believes in government for the people and by the people. Women will not stand idly by as our senators turn a blind eye to one of our most dangerous Presidents. The very fabric of American Democracy is being ripped at the seams but we will be here to mend it. We will hold them accountable on January 29th when we swarm the capitol and we will remember which side of history they were on when we reach election day," said Rachel O'Leary Carmona, Chief Operating Officer for Women's March.
"By overwhelming margins, the American people support the common-sense notion that the U.S. Senate should hear from the fact witnesses who can shed light on President Trump's utterly implausible claim of innocent intent in withholding aid from Ukraine," said Robert Weissman, president of Public Citizen. "Now it's on the Senate to refuse complicity in Trump's attempted cover up."
The action also called out Chief Justice John Roberts to step up in his role as presiding officer and ensure a fair trial. The group specifically called for Roberts to subpoena John Bolton.
"Roberts has a responsibility to preside over a fair trial, and that means a trial where jurors actually listen to evidence and relevant witnesses are heard from. It's time for him to do his job instead of enabling McConnell's coverup operation," said Demand Justice Executive Director Brian Fallon.
Solidarity events took place in 19 states across the country, focused on those with key Republican senators including events in Maine, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Utah, North Carolina and Kentucky.
By the People is a movement fighting for an America that prioritizes the freedom and dignity of all of its people and fighting for a democracy that reflects the beauty of who we've become as a nation--starting first with removing the Trump administration.
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UN Food Chief Says Northern Gaza Suffering 'Full-Blown Famine'
"And it's moving its way south," warned World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain.
May 04, 2024
United Nations World Food Program Executive Director Cindy McCain said Friday that Palestinians in the northern Gaza Strip are experiencing "full-blown famine" after more than six months of Israeli bombardment and invasion—and that deadly malnutrition is "moving its way south" through the embattled enclave.
While U.N. agencies have warned since March that famine was imminent in Gaza, McCain's remarks—which came during an interview with Kristen Welker that is scheduled to air on Sunday's edition of NBC News' "Meet the Press"—make her the most high-profile international official to date to publicly acknowledge a state of famine in parts of the Palestinian territory.
"It's horror," said McCain, who is American. "There is famine—full-blown famine—in the north, and it's moving its way south."
UN World Food Program @WFPChief: “There is famine — full-blown famine — in the north of Gaza, and it’s moving its way south.”
pic.twitter.com/eyk0OeOEzr
— Waleed Shahid 🪬 (@_waleedshahid) May 4, 2024
McCain's remarks come as hundreds of thousands of Gazans are on the brink of starvation. Dozens of Palestinians—the vast majority of them children and infants—have already died of malnutrition and dehydration in northern Gaza.
According to Palestinian and international officials, Israel's 211-day assault on Gaza—which many experts including Israelis call genocidal—has killed or maimed more than 123,000 Palestinians since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, including an estimated 11,000 people who are believed to be dead and buried beneath the ruins of the hundreds of thousands of destroyed or damaged homes and other buildings.
In addition to not allowing adequate humanitarian aid into Gaza, Israeli forces have also repeatedly attacked both aid workers and desperate civilians trying to access the lifesaving provisions.
"What we are asking for and what we continually ask for is a cease-fire and the ability to have unfettered access, to get in safe through the various ports and gate crossings," McCain said during the interview.
On Saturday, Hamas spokesperson Osman Hamdan said there have been "some forward steps" toward a cease-fire agreement during negotiations in Egypt. Egyptian mediators proposed to Hamas a plan for a six-week cessation of hostilities, the release of an unspecified number of Israeli and international hostages, and a partial withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
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The negotiations come as Israeli forces prepare for an expected ground invasion of Rafah, Gaza's southernmost city, where more than a million refugees forcibly displaced from other parts of the strip are sheltering alongside around 280,000 local residents. On Friday, the U.N.'s humanitarian agency
warned that an Israeli ground invasion of Rafah would put hundreds of thousands of Palestinians "at imminent risk of death."
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"This is not about Israel, Palestine, or Gaza. This is old-fashioned American racism and misogyny," said one observer. "These are the types of young white men who will grow up to be Republican governors, senators, and members of Congress."
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Republican Georgia Congressman Mike Collins came under fire Friday over a social media post applauding video of white University of Mississippi students racially abusing a Black woman participating in a campus protest for Palestine.
Collins posted the video—in which numerous people can be heard grunting like apes and one young man is seen jumping up and down like a monkey in front of the Black woman—with the caption, "Ole Miss taking care of business."
Collins—or whoever's in charge of his social media accounts—sparred with Black leaders who called out his racism. When former Democratic Ohio state senator Nina Turner said the video showed "anti-Blackness," the congressman shot back, "*Anti-terroristness."
When Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) accused Collins of "fueling white supremacy," the Republican retorted, "Don't take down any more signs at our workplace, please" along with a photo of the Democrat triggering a fire alarm in a House of Representatives office building last year.
Around 30 protesters were rallying in support of Palestine in the Ole Miss Quad when counter-protesters gathered near the demonstrators. Some booed and chanted, "We want Trump!" Others singled out the Black woman—who NBC Newssaid is a graduate student at the school—chanting "Lizzo, Lizzo, Lizzo," "take a shower," "your nose is huge," "fuck you, fat bitch," and "lock her up!"
The counter-protesters also sang the "Star-Spangled Banner." Republican Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves shared a separate video of the singing students on social media, captioning his post, "Warms my heart" and "I love Mississippi."
No racist language can be heard in the video shared by Reeves.
The Daily Mississippianreports the demonstrators were escorted off the Quad after counter-protesters threw water bottles at them.
Collins is no stranger to accusations of racism. Earlier this year, he suggested murdering migrants by throwing them from helicopters into the sea, in the manner of U.S.-backed South American dictators in the 1970s.
He also
introduced the Restricting Administration Zealots from Obliging Raiders (RAZOR) Act, which would ban the federal government from removing or altering "any state-constructed barriers installed to mitigate illegal immigration," such as the razor buoys installed in the Rio Grande by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Collins was also
accused of antisemitism after he amplified a social media post by an avowed neo-Nazi targeting a Washington Post reporter for being Jewish.
Ole Miss said Friday that "statements were made at the demonstration on our campus Thursday that were offensive and inappropriate."
"We cannot comment specifically about that video, but the university is looking into reports about specific actions," the school added. "Any actions that violate university policy will be met with appropriate action."
The Ole Miss incident comes amid rapidly spreading campus protests across the U.S. and around the world in response to Israel's genocidal assault on Gaza, which has killed, maimed, or left missing around 5% of the embattled strip's 2.3 million people, most of them civilians, while forcibly displacing nearly 9 in 10 people and driving hundreds of thousands to the brink of starvation.
While numerous Ole Miss students said they did not understand what the pro-Palestine protesters hoped to accomplish, others voiced support for the demonstrators—and for Palestine.
"As we've seen throughout history, time and time again, the student movement is never wrong. Time and time again, anytime there's a student protest, and you're against it, you're on the wrong side of history," Xavier Black, a junior majoring in international studies, told
The Daily Mississippian. "So I would like to be on the right side."
One Palestinian American Ole Miss student was teary-eyed as she thanked the protesters.
"Hey guys, I know that what just happened was really intimidating, and it was a little scary, but I just want to say I'm so proud of you guys," the student—who gave only her first name, Jana—said,
according toMississippi Today. "This wasn't going to happen... without all of you guys. Palestine was being heard. And I just want to thank you guys so much."
"I know that was such a big risk, but this is the most that people have ever thought for us, so don't give up," she added. "I know that was really hard, but we need to keep fighting. This was just the start of it, okay?"
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Nearly two weeks after the British Conservative Party pushed through a proposal to deport asylum-seekers to Rwanda in what one lawyer called "performative cruelty" in the name of winning the general election expected later this year, the local election results announced throughout the day Friday made increasingly clear the ploy hadn't worked.
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The Conservatives have lost around half of the seats they are defending Curtice told BBC Radio.
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Labour leader Keir Starmer said the results represented a decisive call for "change" from British voters, particularly applauding the results of a special election in Blackpool South, where Labour candidate Chris Webb won nearly 11,000 votes while Conservative David Jones came in a distant second with just over 3,200.
Webb's victory represented a 26% swing in favor of Labour.
"That's the fifth swing of over 20% to the Labour party in by elections in recent months and years. It is a fantastic result, a really first class result," Starmer said. "And here in Blackpool, a message has been sent directly to the prime minister, because this was a parliamentary vote, to say we're fed up with your decline, your chaos... your division and we want change. We want to go forward with Labour."
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