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Today marks the 30th anniversary of a massive police operation in Philadelphia that culminated in the helicopter bombing of the headquarters of a radical group known as MOVE. The fire from the attack incinerated six adults and five children, and destroyed 65 homes. Despite two grand jury investigations and a commission finding that top officials were grossly negligent, no one from city government was criminally charged. MOVE was a Philadelphia-based radical movement dedicated to black liberation and a back-to-nature lifestyle. It was founded by John Africa, and all its members took on the surname Africa. We are joined in Philadelphia by Linn Washington, an award-winning journalist, professor and former columnist for The Philadelphia Tribune who has covered MOVE since 1975.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Today marks the 30th anniversary of a massive police operation in Philadelphia that culminated in the helicopter bombing of the headquarters of a radical group known as MOVE. The fire from the attack incinerated six adults and five children, and destroyed 65 homes. Despite two grand jury investigations and a commission finding that top officials were grossly negligent, no one from city government was criminally charged. Here is how the bombing was initially reported in Philadelphia on WCAU [TV].
WCAU ANCHOR: I’ve just been advised that we have new videotape of the episode that apparently ended—we think ended—the MOVE situation tonight: the dropping of an incendiary device. And let’s take a careful look at this. 5:27 p.m., state police helicopter drops it. There is the explosion. As you can see, a very dramatic explosion that occurs 30 seconds and really rips into the MOVE compound. There you see the bunker, which soon will go up in flames. And that was the explosion close-up. Now, if there’s anybody there standing there, it’s obvious they couldn’t survive that explosion.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: That was WCAU TV, actually. We saw some video there. MOVE was a Philadelphia-based radical movement dedicated to black liberation and a back-to-nature lifestyle. It was founded by John Africa, and all its members took on the surname Africa. In 2010, Ramona Africa, the sole adult survivor of the attack, told Democracy Now! what happened as the bomb was dropped on her house.
RAMONA AFRICA: In terms of the bombing, after being attacked the way we were, first with four deluge hoses by the fire department and then tons of tear gas, and then being shot at—the police admit to shooting over 10,000 rounds of bullets at us in the first 90 minutes—there was a lull. You know, it was quiet for a little bit. And then, without any warning at all, two members of the Philadelphia Police Department’s bomb squad got in a Pennsylvania state police helicopter and flew over our home and dropped a satchel containing C4, a powerful military explosive that no municipal police department has. They had to get it from the federal government, from the FBI. And without any announcement or warning or anything, they dropped that bomb on the roof of our home.
AMY GOODMAN: That was Ramona Africa, the sole adult survivor of the attack on MOVE 30 years ago today. Today, a memorial will take place at the site of the bombing on Osage Avenue.
Well, for more, we’re joined in Philadelphia by Linn Washington, award-winning journalist, former columnist for The Philadelphia Tribune who has covered MOVE since 1975. He teaches journalism at Temple University. Both he and Juan were there that day covering MOVE, the MOVE bombing, for the Philadelphia Daily News.
We welcome you back to Democracy Now!, Linn. Talk about that day, and Juan, too, your memories.
LINN WASHINGTON: Good morning, Amy. Good morning, Juan. The one word that I would use to describe that day is "surreal," to have witnessed a police firing 10,000 bullets within a 90-minute period—the bullets were so intense that they were raining from the sky like hail—and then, later in the afternoon, to see a bomb dropped on a house occupied by children. And then the very callous decision of the authorities to let the fire burn was just unreal. It’s a sight and a memory that I can’t get out of my mind.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Linn, I remember it was on Mother’s Day, 1985, and we were out there most of the day and saw that helicopter suddenly hover over the house and drop something. And I remember saying to you at the time, "What’s going on?" until the explosion occurred. But the most fascinating thing, as you said, and most people are not aware, is how long before—after the bomb dropped before the firefighters even attempted to douse the flames that erupted.
LINN WASHINGTON: It was almost an hour, because we were sitting there on Cobbs Creek Parkway, and you and I were both talking, and actually talking to some of the firefighters as to why they weren’t doing it, and the firefighters didn’t know. What they didn’t—what they were told was to not fight the fire, which is unbelievable. And we could watch—or, actually, we saw the fire go from what looked like the beginning of a backyard barbecue grill fire to a blazing inferno. And we just literally watched it jump across the rooflines and also across the street. So by the time that the decision was finally made to fight the fire, it was a blazing inferno, and it was totally out of control.
AMY GOODMAN: And talk about who was in government, Juan, at the time. Who was the police commissioner? Who was the mayor? How did this bombing take place? The police bombed not just the MOVE house; it ended up burning down two blocks, city blocks, in Philadelphia.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, yeah, since the—because they didn’t fight the fire, and it spread and destroyed the entire, you know, square block area. But, obviously, the mayor at the time, Linn, was Wilson Goode, the first African-American mayor of the city, and the commission report later indicated that Goode really wasn’t in control of the situation, was he? It was the police commissioner and the fire commissioner.
AMY GOODMAN: So, it was Rizzo entirely?
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: No, it wasn’t Rizzo. It was the—who was the police commissioner? It’s been so long ago, I’ve forgotten.
LINN WASHINGTON: The police commissioner at the—yes, I’m sorry, the police commissioner at the time was a guy named Gregore Sambor. And he—Mayor Goode appointed him because they were trying to purge the department, in some way, of the influence of Frank Rizzo, who had been the police commissioner and then the mayor during the '70s, when police brutality reached epidemic levels in Philadelphia. One of the things that gets lost in all of this is that, yes, there was this horrific bombing in the middle of May, May 13th, the day after Mother's Day in 1985, but weeks—actually, a few days before the bombing, Sambor had ordered a anti-drug sweep that ended up arresting hundreds of people who were innocent, had nothing to do with drugs. The city ended up paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to settle that. And two weeks later, there was a dragnet in a Hispanic neighborhood where they were arresting people from six to 65 years old in an investigation involving the death of a police officer. And that death was initially reported as a domestic dispute between a police officer, another police officer and a policewoman who was married to one of the police officers.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to go back to Ramona Africa, the sole adult survivor of the attack, describing what happened after the bomb was dropped on her house.
RAMONA AFRICA: And without any announcement or warning or anything, they dropped that bomb on the roof of our home. Now, at that point, we didn’t know exactly what they had done. We heard the loud explosion. The house kind of shook. But it never entered my mind that they dropped a bomb on us. But the bomb did in fact ignite a fire. And not long after that, it got very, very hot in the house, and the smoke was getting thicker. At first we thought it was tear gas. But as it got thicker, it became clear that this wasn’t tear gas, that this was something else. And then we could hear the trees outside of our house crackling and realized that our home was on fire. And we immediately tried to get our children, our animals, our dogs and cats, and ourselves out of that blazing inferno.
AMY GOODMAN: Ramona Africa, sole adult survivor of the attack. So talk about who died, Linn, how people tried to escape, and what happened.
LINN WASHINGTON: Yes, the—inside the house were, at that point, five children aged seven to 13 years old. They perished, along with six adults. One of the six adults was the founder of the MOVE organization, John Africa. A number of MOVE members tried to escape, and as you’ve indicated, Ramona was the sole surviving adult. There was a child named Birdie Africa, who later became Michael Ward. They were able to escape. When they were coming out, we heard gunfire. And it was later determined that the police fired on the escaping MOVE members, driving some of them back into the house. But in the convoluted logic that many of us have seen over the last year from grand juries in St. Louis County and in New York and in southern Ohio, where the guy was shot in a Wal-Mart, the grand jury, under the control of Philadelphia prosecutors, determined that MOVE members ran back into the house not because police were firing at them, but because they mistakenly believed that police were firing at them and/or they ran back to intentionally commit suicide.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Linn, what did the—what were the main conclusions of the MOVE Commission that was established subsequent to that tragedy?
LINN WASHINGTON: Well, the MOVE Commission, which was a panel that the—Mayor Goode had set up to investigate it, but had no power to do anything other than make recommendations, found monumental incompetence on the part of all city officials, from the mayor through the managing director to the police director—or, should I say, the police commissioner. One of the findings, though—I think one of the most prominent findings was that the deaths of those children were unjustified homicides, and they recommended a criminal investigation and also charges to be brought. The grand jury determined that they were not unjustified homicides, that the deaths were as a result of this proposed or presumed suicide. And they came to many startling conclusions, one of which was the bomb that was dropped on the children, there was no illegality there because the force of the bomb only applied to the adults in the house, as if the bomb could blow up and the fire could burn, and it wouldn’t impact the children. It was absolutely ridiculous, but it’s the kind of convoluted reasoning we see too often with grand juries involving issues of police abuse.
AMY GOODMAN: I wanted to turn to imprisoned journalist Mumia Abu-Jamal, who’s being held at SCI Mahanoy. He reported extensively on MOVE before he was convicted of killing a police officer, a crime he says he did not commit. Last month, he recorded a new essay for the 30th anniversary of the MOVE bombing from prison.
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL: May 13th at 30, why should we care what happened on May 13th, 1985? I mean, seriously, that was 30 years ago, a long time ago, way back when. Know what I mean? Most people won’t say that, but they think that. Why, indeed? I’ll tell you why. Because what happened then is a harbinger of what’s happening now all across America. I don’t mean bombing people—not yet, that is. I mean the visceral hatreds and violent contempt once held for MOVE is now visited upon average people, not just radicals and revolutionaries like MOVE. In May 1985, police officials justified the vicious attacks on MOVE children by saying they, too, were combatants. In Ferguson, Missouri, as police and National Guard confronted citizens, guess how cops described them in their own files. "Enemies." Enemy combatants, anyone? Then look at 12-year-old Tamir Rice of Cleveland. Boys, men, girls, women—it doesn’t matter. When many people stood in silence, or worse, in bitter acquiescence, to the bombing, shooting and carnage of May 13, 1985, upon MOVE, they opened the door to the ugliness of today’s police terrorism from coast to coast. There is a direct line from then to now. May 13, 1985, led to the eerie robocop present. If it had been justly and widely condemned then, there would be no now, no Ferguson, no South Carolina, no Los Angeles, no Baltimore. The barbaric police bombing of May 13, 1985, and the whitewash of the murders of 11 MOVE men, women and children opened a door that still has not been closed. We are today living with those consequences. From imprisoned nation, this is Mumia Abu-Jamal.
AMY GOODMAN: Mumia Abu-Jamal recorded that commentary in prison. Last night, a prison nurse called Abu-Jamal’s wife and told her he had been moved to the hospital for a second time this year. His supporters say they’re concerned he had a fever, and open wounds and sores on his leg. That does it for our show on this 30th anniversary of the MOVE bombing. Thanks so much to Linn Washington in Philadelphia.
In a surprising setback for President Obama, Senators from his own party have blocked debate on a bill that would have given the president fast-track authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. The vote marked a victory for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, Elizabeth Warren and other critics of the TPP, a 12-nation trade pact that would encompass 40 percent of the global economy and is being negotiated in secret between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries. Critics say the deal would hurt workers, undermine regulations and expand corporate power. Fast track would grant the president authority to negotiate the TPP and then present it to Congress for a yes-or-no vote, with no amendments allowed. We are joined by Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch and author of "The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: In a surprising setback for President Obama, senators from his own party blocked debate on a bill that would have given the president fast-track authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. The Senate voted 52 to 45, short of the 60 votes needed. The vote marked a victory for Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, Elizabeth Warren and other critics of the TPP.
Fast track would grant the president authority to negotiate the TPP and then present it to Congress for a yes-or-no vote, with no amendments allowed. The failure to win the necessary votes came after pro-trade Democrats, including Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, insisted that fast track be bundled together with three other trade bills. This is Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell speaking after the vote.
MAJORITY LEADER MITCH McCONNELL: What we’ve just witnessed here is the Democratic Senate shut down the opportunity to debate the top economic priority of the Democratic president of the United States.
AMY GOODMAN: The TPP is a 12-nation trade pact that would encompass 40 percent of the global economy, and is being negotiated in secret between the United States and 11 [other Pacific Rim] countries. Critics say the deal would hurt workers, undermine regulations and expand corporate power.
To talk more about the significance of the Senate vote, we go to Washington, D.C., where we’re joined by Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, author of The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority.
Welcome back to Democracy Now!, Lori. So, what happened? The president’s own party said no to him in the Senate?
LORI WALLACH: Well, in the big picture, it’s a sign of how broad the opposition to fast track is that there’s even a close vote on trade, much less a defeat of a trade bill in the Senate. The Senate is normally a very comfortable place for a bad trade vote.
What happened yesterday was a fight over two things related to the trade bill, but not exactly the trade bill. First, on June 1, the highway and infrastructure bill sunsets, so if the Senate doesn’t bring those up and reauthorize them, in the middle of prime construction season tens of thousands of construction workers are going to get laid off because a bill was allowed to expire. There are other things that end June 1 that Senator Reid said, "Why the rush on fast track? Let’s do the things that are expiring. We can debate fast track when we come back in June."
Second thing had to do with what pieces of trade legislation. There are four separate bills. And what Senator Reid said is, "We’re not going to let you just vote on fast track and leave all the other pieces, some of which have to do with the enforcement of trade agreements, some of which have to do with benefits for the people who are—who lose their jobs to trade agreements. We’re not going to let you leave those at the curb." And basically, Majority Leader McConnell said, "I’m in charge. You’re not anymore. I’m doing it my way." And so, in the face of my way or the highway, they sent him to the highway.
But it’s not over. It’s going to come back up for another repackaging. It was a very important signal, because the whole point in going to the Senate was to show, oh, fast track has momentum, because in the House it’s in real, honest-to-God trouble. In the Senate, it’s more like skirmishes, that show how extremely well the public has done in making their senators, as well as their House members, wary of doing this trade vote. But in the Senate, eventually they will get the vote. In the House, different piece of business. And so, folks who don’t want to see fast track, the House is the place to focus. But for the next couple of weeks, call your senators, because it’s an interesting food fight.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, Lori, but the president expended quite a bit of capital on this, calling out some senators by name, saying they were stuck in the past, in past debates. What do you make of the almost universal turn against him on this issue, at least at this point?
LORI WALLACH: I think the attacks that he’s waged, particularly on Senator Warren, Senator Elizabeth Warren, but on others, that all the critics are uninformed—seeing the president, who wouldn’t get angry and attack the pharmaceutical companies that wanted to kill his healthcare bill, the Wall Street giants who tried to derail reregulation—he’s really just not been ever willing to go out after folks. And then to see him go in such a disdainful and personal way after someone like Elizabeth Warren as, of all things, uninformed and unintelligent, that really—all that’s done is put starch in the shorts of a lot of her colleagues. So I do believe that there were a variety of senators who, on some level, were sort of teetering on the fence, and the president conducting himself in that way seems to have created a sense of solidarity amongst the Democratic senators—
AMY GOODMAN: Lori, we—
LORI WALLACH: —including those who are not with us on trade.
AMY GOODMAN: We wanted to go to a clip of President Obama on MSNBC responding to criticism from Democratic Senator Warren, who says the TPP would undermine U.S. sovereignty and help the rich get richer.
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: I love Elizabeth. We’re allies on a whole host of issues. But she’s wrong on this. Everything I do has been focused on how do we make sure the middle class is getting a fair deal. Now, I would not be doing this trade deal if I did not think it was good for the middle class. And when you hear folks make a lot of suggestions about how bad this trade deal is, when you dig into the facts, they are wrong.
AMY GOODMAN: So they are wrong, he says. If you can explain why you’re so concerned about this, Lori?
LORI WALLACH: Well, first of all, if he’s so confident that we’re all wrong and he’s got it right, he should release the darn text of the TPP, under negotiation for six years, almost completed. Let the public read it and come to their own point of view. Given that some of the chapters have leaked, in fact, on the merits, Senator Warren is right, the president is wrong.
We know that the TPP will make it easier to offshore our jobs. Why? Because thanks to WikiLeaks, we know it includes an expanded version of the same incentives to offshore jobs in its investment chapter that were found in the North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA. Those are rules that the Cato Institute, a free trade libertarian think tank, calls a subsidy on offshoring, on lowering the risk premium of offshoring. Specific rules, we’ve all seen them with our own eyes. It’s the old NAFTA rules for offshoring.
Or, the Obama administration has admitted the labor and environmental standards they’re now saying are new, improved, amazing, are what Bush had in his last four agreements. And those are standards, as well as not being beloved by a single environmental or labor group—i.e. the groups that have a specialty in workers’ rights and the environment oppose the agreement and say the standards aren’t sufficient. In addition, the Bush standards are in the TPP, are explicitly reviewed in the end of last year by the GAO, the Government Accountability Office, and found to totally fail to change conditions on the ground in the countries where they’re applied.
These are things we actually know about the agreement on the financial issue that Senator Warren has raised. Why do we know that’s true? In addition to the fact that most of the other TPP countries are complaining about that issue and worried about what it would mean for them to have these limits on financial regulation, in addition, parts of that chapter have leaked. We can see, for instance, that the TPP would ban the use of capital controls, the very policies now the IMF is telling countries to use to avoid speculative swishes of money in and out or the growth of speculative bubbles that turn into crises. This, we have seen. So, on the merits, she is right, the president is wrong.
But the notion that the attack from the president is on the messenger versus defending the agreement, making it public, is particularly aggrieving. It’s a choice. It’s a situation they put themselves in by deciding to side with the 500 corporate trade advisers over the last six years, instead of implementing the trade reform promises President Obama made in 2008. The labor movement, the environmental groups, everyone has just worked incredibly hard through the TPP negotiations to try and get the administration to adopt the vision that the president had as a candidate. And instead, they doubled down on the same old, same old. So, of course, the entire Democratic base is on the warpath against fast track for the TPP. It’s a future we will not tolerate for ourselves, for our families, for our country.
AMY GOODMAN: Very quickly, who are the people who are negotiating the TPP?
LORI WALLACH: The TPP is negotiated in the United States by a office that’s a part of the executive office of the presidency. It’s called the Office of the United States Trade Representative. And they are advised by over 500 corporate advisers. The advisers are official advisers. They have security clearance, so they can see the texts. Of that whole bunch, mixed in with 500 corporate advisers—for instance, some committees are only corporate. The one on medicine patents and pricing is just pharmaceutical companies, not a single health or consumer or elders group. But mixed in there are about 20 labor unions, three environmental groups, one consumer group and one family farm group. So you’ve had basically an insular set of government attorneys, many of whom have rotated from the private-sector interests into the office and back out. So, the guy who was the lead negotiator on pharmaceuticals used to work for the pharmaceutical industry. The guy doing the food stuff worked for the GMO industry. The guy who’s the number three guy at USTR is a guy who comes from the Hollywood IT world. All of those guys—the trade representative is a guy from Citibank. All of those guys are then officially advised by corporate advisers. I couldn’t make this up.
AMY GOODMAN: Lori Wallach, we want to thank you for being with us and updating us on this major backlash against President Obama around stopping fast-track authority for the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen’s Global Trade Watch, author of The Rise and Fall of Fast Track Trade Authority, as we turn now to Burlington, Vermont. Juan?
A new report confirms for the first time that the FBI spied on activists in Texas who tried to stop the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. Documents from the FBI reveal it failed to get approval before it cultivated informants and opened its investigation, which was run from its Houston field office. The files document "substantial non-compliance" with Department of Justice rules. The Tar Sands Blockade mentioned in that report was one of the main groups targeted by the FBI. Agents in Houston office also told TransCanada they would share "pertinent intelligence regarding any threats" to the company in advance of protests. We are joined by Adam Federman, contributing editor to Earth Island Journal and co-author of the new investigation published by The Guardian, "Revealed: FBI violated its own rules while spying on Keystone XL opponents." In February, he also revealed how the FBI has recently pursued environmental activists in Texas, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Washington and Idaho for "little more than taking photographs of oil and gas industry installations."
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: A new report confirms for the first time that the FBI spied on activists in Texas who tried to stop the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline. The report is based on FBI documents obtained by The Guardian and the Earth Island Journal. The documents also reveal that the FBI failed to get approval before it cultivated informants and opened its investigation, which was run from its Houston field office. The files document, quote, "substantial non-compliance" with Department of Justice rules. Much of the FBI’s surveillance took place between November of 2012 and June 2014.
AMY GOODMAN: The Tar Sands Blockade mentioned in the report was one of the main groups targeted by the FBI. Agents in Houston also told TransCanada they would share, quote, "pertinent intelligence regarding any threats" to the company in advance of protests.
For more, we are joined by Adam Federman, contributing editor to Earth Island Journal, co-author of this new investigation that was published by The Guardian. It’s headlined "Revealed: FBI Violated Its Own Rules While Spying on Keystone XL Opponents." In February, he also revealed how the FBI has recently pursued environmental activists in Texas, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Washington and Idaho for, quote, "little more than taking photographs of oil and gas industry installations."
Adam Federman, thank you so much for joining us from Burlington, Vermont. Talk about this most recent exposé. How do you know the FBI was spying on those who are opposed to the Keystone XL?
ADAM FEDERMAN: Yeah, the recent investigation is based on more than 80 pages of documents that we obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. And the most striking thing about them is that they demonstrated for the first time that the FBI opened an investigation into anti-Keystone pipeline campaigners in Texas in 2012, late 2012, and that investigation continued through 2013, despite the fact that it was opened without proper approval from within the FBI. And what’s interesting about them is that they show extensive interest in Tar Sands Blockade and activists organizing in Houston, particularly in, yeah, neighborhoods in East Houston, where tar sands oil would eventually end up at the refineries that are based there.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And in terms of the most surprising revelations that you found in these documents, could you talk about that?
ADAM FEDERMAN: Yeah, there are several. I mean, the fact that the investigation was opened without proper approval is probably most noteworthy. The FBI requires approval from legal counsel and a senior agent for investigations that are described as sensitive, and those include investigations into political or religious organizations, media institutions, academic institutions, and basically they set a higher threshold for opening an investigation. So, the fact that the Houston domain failed to do that obviously violates agency protocol.
But I think, more broadly, the documents also sort of illuminate the FBI’s characterization of environmental organizations and activism in the country. You know, the sort of opening salvo in the investigation is a synopsis of what they call environmental extremism, and that sort of undergirds the entire investigation and has also—you know, we’ve seen the same sort of language used in other contexts, not just surrounding Keystone pipeline.
AMY GOODMAN: Adam, many of the—looking at the quotes in the FBI documents, they talk about, as you said, the environmental extremists and say, quote, "Many of these extremists believe the debates over pollution, protection of wildlife, safety, and property rights have been overshadowed by the promise of jobs and cheaper oil prices. The Keystone pipeline, as part of the oil and natural gas industry, is vital to the security and economy of the United States." Can you explain these documents?
ADAM FEDERMAN: Yeah, I mean, that quote is really quite amazing for a number of reasons. Mike German, a former FBI agent who’s now at the Brennan Center and who we worked with on this story, you know, said that that characterization would include just about anyone who watches the evening news. I mean, it’s such a broad brush to tar—to describe environmental activists as extremists simply for being concerned about things like pollution, wildlife and property rights.
And then the FBI also goes on to claim that the Keystone pipeline is vital to the national security and economy of the United States, which of course is highly controversial and contested. And as I’m sure your viewers know, the State Department is still deliberating over whether to approve the northern leg of the pipeline itself. So that question remains open; however, it seems that the FBI has taken it upon its own to suggest that the pipeline is crucial to U.S. national security and financial security.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: I wanted to ask you about the 2010 intelligence bulletin from the FBI Domestic Terrorism Analysis Unit that you obtained. It warned that, even though the industry had encountered only low-level vandalism and trespassing, recent "criminal incidents" suggested environmental extremism was on the rise. The FBI concluded, quote, "Environmental extremism will become a greater threat to the energy industry owing to our historical understanding that some environmental extremists have progressed from committing low-level crimes against targets to more significant crimes over time in an effort to further the environmental extremism cause."
ADAM FEDERMAN: Yeah, it’s a fascinating document. And the story behind how I obtained it is because of the fact that that very document was used by the Pennsylvania Department of Homeland Security to justify surveillance of anti-fracking groups in the state. And it essentially captures the FBI’s thinking on, you know, the threat of environmental extremism to—specifically to the energy industry. And this is laid out, as you say, in 2010, so I think that this is sort of the foundation for the FBI’s approach to the environmental movement more broadly. And I think, with these more recent documents, we’re seeing that sort of carried out in real time. And we also know that the FBI has had high-level meetings with TransCanada and that local and state law enforcement along the pipeline route and in Pennsylvania and elsewhere has actively investigated and spied on environmental activists of, you know, all stripes. And it’s quite systematic, and I do think that the FBI is in many ways leading the charge.
AMY GOODMAN: You report the FBI’s monitoring of Tar Sands Blockade activists failed to follow proper protocols for more than eight months. I want to read the FBI’s response: quote, "While the FBI approval levels required by internal policy were not initially obtained, once discovered, corrective action was taken, non-compliance was remedied, and the oversight was properly reported through the FBI’s internal oversight mechanism." That’s what the FBI said, acknowledging they didn’t initially get approval. Adam, as we wrap up right now, if you can talk about what—the legality of what the FBI did, in what you released today in the Earth Island Journal and The Guardian, and also in your past reporting on FBI spying on activists?
ADAM FEDERMAN: Well, I think, unfortunately, it’s perhaps not the exception that the FBI has opened an investigation without proper approval. In 2011, the inspector general issued a report showing widespread cheating on a test that was designed to prevent this very kind of thing from happening. So it essentially demonstrates a lack of internal control. But more broadly speaking, the question that I think we need to be asking is whether the investigation, opened properly or not, should have been conducted to begin with. I mean, Tar Sands Blockade is committed to nonviolent civil disobedience. They’ve been very open and transparent about their activism and work. And I think the question is whether this investigation should have been opened to begin with, and, quite frankly, if the FBI is actively investigating other anti-Keystone pipeline activists or anti-fracking activists in other states.
AMY GOODMAN: Adam Federman, we want to thank you for being with us, contributing editor to Earth Island Journal, where he covers the intersection between law enforcement and the environment. He co-authored the new investigation published by The Guardian, "Revealed: FBI Violated Its Own Rules While Spying on Keystone XL Opponents." We’ll link to that story at democracynow.org. When we come back, it’s the 30th anniversary of the MOVE bombing, when the Philadelphia police bombed a neighborhood. Stay with us.
A Madison, Wisconsin, police officer will not face criminal charges for fatally shooting an unarmed African-American teenager. Tony Robinson was shot dead in March after Officer Matt Kenny forced his way into an apartment following a "disturbance." Kenny says Robinson attacked him upon his entry. On Tuesday, the Dane County district attorney said an investigation found Kenny was lawful in firing the fatal shots. Robinson’s family members say they have been denied justice. Hundreds of people marched to the state Capitol on Tuesday in protest of the decision, and more actions are underway today. We are joined by M Adams, a Madison-based activist and organizer with the Young Gifted & Black Coalition.
TRANSCRIPT
This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: A prosecutor in Madison, Wisconsin, has announced no criminal charges will be filed against the Madison police officer who fatally shot an unarmed African-American teenager earlier this year. Tony Robinson was shot dead in March after Officer Matt Kenny forced his way into an apartment following a "disturbance." Police say they had responded to reports of a man running in and out of traffic. On Tuesday, Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne announced the decision.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY ISMAEL OZANNE: I conclude that this tragic and unfortunate death was the result of a lawful use of deadly police force and that no charges should be brought against Officer Kenny in the death of Tony Robinson Jr. I am concerned that recent violence around our nation is giving some in our communities a justification for fear, hatred and violence.
AMY GOODMAN: Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne. In 2010, he became Wisconsin’s first African-American DA. After the announcement was made, authorities released black-and-white dash cam footage showing Officer Matt Kenny stepping alone into the house. Seconds later, he backs out of the front door while firing seven shots into the home.
MATT KENNY: [shots fired] Stop right there! Don’t move!
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Tony Robinson’s family members held a press conference on Tuesday. Speakers included Robinson’s grandmother, Sharon Irwin.
SHARON IRWIN: I will miss him the rest of my life, when you guys go home and you don’t deal with this anymore. This is a forever thing with me. And I just want to say this is politics and not justice.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: In a show of support for Tony Robinson’s family, hundreds of people marched peacefully to the state Capitol Tuesday. The protesters vowed to continue demanding justice for Robinson. One of the groups that organized the demonstrations has been the Young Gifted & Black Coalition. The group announced they’ll rally this morning in front of the apartment house where Robinson was shot and killed. They’re calling for a "Black-Out Wednesday," where people stop business as usual and come out on the streets to demand police accountability. Activists are also calling on Madison to address racial disparities in incarceration rates. A 2013 Race to Equity report found African Americans in Madison’s Dane County made up less than 9 percent of the youth population, but nearly 80 percent of those incarcerated in juvenile prison.
AMY GOODMAN: For more, we go now to Madison, Wisconsin, where we’re joined by M Adams, a Madison-based activist and organizer with the Young Gifted & Black Coalition and Freedom Inc.
M Adams, welcome to Democracy Now! Can you talk about the announcement yesterday, the DA saying he will not bring charges against Officer Kenny?
M ADAMS: So, none of us were surprised that the DA decided to not bring criminal charges against Matt Kenny for murdering Tony Robinson. We do know this is part of an historical pattern, an historical use of structural racism within police departments that justify the murdering of young black people, and particularly unarmed black people. And we, as a result, understand that deep transformational change needs to happen within the existing system in order to ultimately create justice and prevent police murders from happening in the future.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And what do you say to those who claim that Tony Robinson was violent and posed a risk?
M ADAMS: We know that the violence was the seven shots that killed him. So, one, we don’t know what happened in the house. We have one side of the story. And, two, if it was you or I or any other person who went into somebody’s house, and we said maybe there was a fight, and as a result, we had shot that person seven times, we, as untrained people, as unarmed people, we, as people without the law on our side, people without an entire police force and culture that would back us, we would be told that that was excessive and that the level of violence that we used did not match for what the actual threat was. And so, police actually have far more training, far more weapons, far more resource, an entire force that backs them up, and the law has so many other things on their side. So they’re actually far more trained than us, so we expect for them to behave far better, to a higher standard than you and I would be held to. So if you and I would be told that that was murder, then it definitely is murder from a police officer.
AMY GOODMAN: I want to go back to Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne’s press conference. Before announcing he would not bring charges against Officer Kenny, the DA spoke about his own identity as the first African-American district attorney in Wisconsin’s history.
DISTRICT ATTORNEY ISMAEL OZANNE: I am a man who understands the pain of unjustified profiling, and I am the first district attorney of color not only in Dane County, but in the state of Wisconsin. I make note of this because it is through this lens that I approach and accept my leadership responsibilities. Those responsibilities involve an oath I took to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America and the Constitution of the state of Wisconsin. In this matter, my role and obligation is to weigh the facts and determine if Officer Kenny should be criminally charged. I am cognizant of the very real racial disparities and equity issues which exist in this county.
AMY GOODMAN: That’s Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne. M, can you talk about your response to what the district attorney said? And also, M Adams, if you could talk about what happened—what you understand happened on March 6, the day that Tony Robinson was killed?
M ADAMS: On March 6, Tony Robinson’s friends called the police to get help for Tony Robinson, because they thought he was behaving in a way that warranted help from an outside source. So the police were called and were notified that, "Look, my friend’s here having a hard time. Maybe he took something." The police show up, and within seconds or within minutes of the police showing up, Tony Robinson was murdered, or Tony Robinson was, rather, assassinated by the police department. And so, our reaction to hearing the DA talk about this as not legally being a murder, we are absolutely opposed to. This is absolutely murder.
There are two things that we should understand, is that, one, if the police are being called for help because someone is experiencing a mental wellness issue, we should expect that the people who are called for help would not show up and kill the person who is experiencing the mental wellness challenge. And, two, I understand that the DA is talking about particular laws, but the laws here are actually immoral. And what we also know to be true is that when white—when white people, when white unarmed people are killed once every 28 hours, which is the rate in which black people are killed by the police or vigilantes who are acting as the police, we know that the laws will be interpreted different, and moreover, we would see a change in laws and legislation. So this just shows us that not only are the police unjust, and not only is the DA’s Office biased and unfair, but also the legal system as a whole, which includes the laws, are a part of the system of structural racism and biased and unfair.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: Well, M Adams, you’re wearing a Free the 350 T-shirt. What is the Free the 350 campaign?
M ADAMS: So, if there was no structural racism within the jail system or the criminal justice system, then you could expect that the jail population would mirror or match the population of the county or the city or wherever that jail is based. And so, in Dane County, there’s roughly a 5 percent black population, and so we should expect that county jail should be roughly 5 percent black. But instead, the county’s jail population is roughly 50 percent black. And so, at any given time there’s about 800 folks incarcerated, and close to 400 are black. The only way we’re going to end the racial disparity or the only way we’re going to end the disproportionate amount of black people incarcerated is to immediately release 350 black people, who we know are incarcerated due to crimes of poverty, to bring the jail population of black folks down to 50 instead of keeping it at 400. You either have to free the 350 to end the racial disparities or you have to lock up close to 6,000 white people, which we are not advocating for, but 6,000 feels like a really big number to the city, but that’s how big of an impact 350 are to our community. And we are advocating for the release.
AMY GOODMAN: A report from nonprofit initiative Race to Equity found African-American youth in Dane County, where Madison is located, are more than six times as likely to be arrested as white youth in 2010, a far higher black-white disparity than the entire state and country. The report also found local African-American youth make up nearly 80 percent of children sentenced to Wisconsin’s juvenile correctional facility, even though they comprise only 9 percent of the county’s youth population. And according to a preliminary analysis of the Madison Police Department’s 2013 annual report, African-American adults are nearly 11 times more likely than white adults to be arrested in the city. M Adams, your plans today in Madison, Wisconsin?
M ADAMS: Today we are meeting at the intersection of Few and Williamson Street, which is the intersection near where Tony Robinson was murdered. And we are going to rally and demonstrate our power, and we are going to march up to the county—or, yes, the city courthouse, where we are going to conduct a people’s court, where we are going to review the facts as we understand it, as the community, relating to the Tony Robinson murder. And then the community is going to deliberate as to whether or not this is actually murder. And there, we’re going to demonstrate our power and demand transformative justice, such as community control over the police, calling for a completely independent investigation led by the U.N. and the immediate release of the 350.
AMY GOODMAN: M Adams, we want to thank you for being with us, speaking to us from Madison, Wisconsin, activist and organizer with the Young Gifted & Black Coalition, as well as Freedom Inc. This is Democracy Now! When we come back, we go directly to Washington, D.C. Democrats in the Senate went against the president of the United States on giving fast-track authority to negotiate the TPP. Stay with us.
Headlines:
6 Killed, Dozens Wounded in "Disastrous" Amtrak Train Crash
At least six people have been killed and dozens wounded after an Amtrak train bound for New York City derailed in Philadelphia. Eight people remain in critical condition, and not everyone on board has been accounted for. The train had departed from Washington, D.C., carrying more than 240 people. Six cars overturned, with sections of the train so mangled people had to be rescued with the aid of hydraulic tools. Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter called it "an absolute disastrous mess," saying "I have never seen anything like this in my life." The cause remains unknown.
Senate Dems Block Debate on Secretive TPP Trade Deal
The Senate has rejected a measure to give President Obama fast-track authority to negotiate the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP. On Tuesday, the Senate fell eight votes shy of the 60 needed to advance it. Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley said the TPP would hurt workers.
Sen. Jeff Merkley: "Why would you pave a path to put the workers in your state directly in competition with workers earning 60 cents an hour. Tell me that that’s advantageous to making things in your nation, and I will tell you, you are wrong."
The failure to win the necessary votes came after pro-trade Democrats, including Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon, insisted that fast track be bundled together with three other trade bills. It’s seen as a major setback for the White House, which has pushed back against progressive critics of the TPP in recent days.
No Charges for Madison Officer in Fatal Shooting of Tony Robinson
A Madison, Wisconsin, police officer will not face criminal charges for fatally shooting an unarmed African-American teenager. Tony Robinson was shot dead in March after Officer Matt Kenny forced his way into an apartment following a "disturbance." Kenny says Robinson attacked him upon his entry. On Tuesday, the Dane County district attorney said an investigation found Kenny was lawful in firing the fatal shots. Robinson’s family members say they have been denied justice.
Sharon Irwin, Tony Robinson’s grandmother: "I will miss him the rest of my life, when you guys go home and you don’t deal with this anymore. This is a forever thing with me. And I just want to say this is politics and not justice."
In a show of support for Tony Robinson’s family, hundreds of people marched to the state Capitol on Tuesday. More actions are underway today.
Dozens Killed in Armed Attack on Shiites in Pakistan
At least 43 people have been killed and dozens wounded in an armed attack on a bus carrying Ismaili Shiite Muslims in the Pakistani city of Karachi. A group of gunmen stopped the bus and opened fire. There are no claims of responsibility so far.
Rescue Effort Continues in Nepal After Deadly Second Quake; U.S. Helicopter Missing
The rescue effort continues in Nepal for survivors of the country’s second earthquake in less than three weeks. At least 66 people have been confirmed dead, adding to the more than 8,000 who died last month. Rescuers are also searching for a U.S. military helicopter that went missing while delivering aid. A U.N. spokesperson said a high death toll is feared.
Jens Laerke: "The first one came out as a red alert. Red alert is like the first one we had in April. That means that it’s very severe earthquake, it’s in a highly populated area. So, honestly, right now we fear the worst."
U.S., Russia Hold Highest-Level Talks Since Start of Ukraine Crisis
Secretary of State John Kerry has met with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and President Vladimir Putin in a trip to Moscow. It’s the highest-level Russia visit by a U.S. official since the Ukraine crisis began just over a year ago. Kerry said the meeting was frank and constructive.
Secretary of State John Kerry: "I am grateful to President Putin for the significant amount of time that he made available to this discussion, for his directness and for his very detailed explanations of Russia’s position with respect to some of these challenges and of the ways that he believed that we have an ability to be able to work constructively together in order to resolve these problems."
North Korea Reportedly Executes Defense Minister
North Korea has reportedly executed its defense minister. The South Korean intelligence service says Hyon Yong-chol was killed after dozing off at a military event, which the regime saw as an act of disrespect to leader Kim Jong-un. Kim is said to have ordered the executions of more than a dozen senior officials this year for challenging his authority.
Mumia Abu-Jamal Transferred to Hospital for 2nd Time
The imprisoned journalist and former Black Panther Mumia Abu-Jamal has been moved to the hospital for a second time this year. Supporters say they are concerned Abu-Jamal has a fever, as well as open wounds and sores on his legs.
Stephen Kim, Contractor Jailed in Leak Case, Freed from Prison
A former government contractor whose case ignited a controversy over the Obama administration’s targeting of journalists has been freed after 10 months in prison. Stephen Kim was convicted of leaking documents on North Korea to Fox News. Kim was charged under the Espionage Act, the nearly century-old law which was also used to classify Fox News reporter James Rosen a "co-conspirator" in the case. Kim has always maintained his innocence.
U.S., Pakistani Sources Back Hersh Claim on bin Laden Informant
More sources are confirming a key claim in an explosive story challenging the Obama administration’s account of the killing of Osama bin Laden. Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported this weekend a former Pakistani intelligence officer disclosed bin Laden’s location to the CIA. Hersh said U.S. claims it found bin Laden by tracking his personal courier were false. NBC News confirmed Hersh’s claim of the informant through three different intelligence sources. Now the Pakistani newspaper The News reports Pakistani officials are also acknowledging the story and have identified the officer as Usman Khalid. Hersh’s story says the officer received a $25 million bounty and is now living under U.S. protection near Washington. Carlotta Gall, a New York Times reporter who spent years in Afghanistan and Pakistan, is also now claiming she heard from a high-level Pakistani source that Pakistan was hiding bin Laden and later that an officer had told the CIA. Gall says she didn’t publish the story because she couldn’t corroborate it in the United States. Meanwhile, national security blogger R.J. Hillhouse is pointing out she reported some of Hersh’s key claims four years ago. In August 2011, Hillhouse wrote on her blog that the informant who led the CIA to bin Laden was a walk-in seeking financial compensation and that Pakistani officials were keeping bin Laden under house arrest with Saudi financial support.
Juan González Wins Opinion Writing Award from Deadline Club
And Democracy Now! co-host and New York Daily News columnist Juan González has won an award for opinion writing from the Deadline Club, New York City’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The awards were presented last night in New York.
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