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- [00:00]
A
They seem to be, you know, throwing their arms around. My instinct is telling me something's going on here, but I don't want to be the issue. I don't really want to, you know, cause a problem here. Tell somebody. It's always better to tell somebody than to not tell somebody. And then, of course, when we're de escalating, make sure you're communicating clearly. But sometimes everyone here has. Has been angry enough, especially with this administration, everybody here has been angry enough in the moment where we kind of lose sight of ourselves and we lose grip of reality and we just lose ourselves in the rage. If you see that, whether in yourself or your body or your buddy, grab your buddy. Hey, are you okay? Doing all right? Hey, where are you at right now? What's going on? Right. Of course, the other side, it's a lot harder when. When MAGA people are walking around here and they're yelling at you. Right. Sometimes it's as easy as a little distraction. They're yelling at you that they're praising Trump and they think you're whatever. Yeah, I really like your shoes, man. That kind of. You'd be surprised of what A little distraction will pull somebody out of that anger and out of that moment, hey, you know what tomit is right now? Distractions pull them back into reality because we're here, we're in person. We aren't people. So make sure you're prioritizing your safety and make sure you're always de escalating. Remember, if somebody, it doesn't matter how much they escalate with you, whether that be verbal, physical, whatever, you're always de escalating. You're always walking back, hey, I don't want to fight. I'm here to voice my opinion. I'm not here to escalate or be violent. And I would like no violence put towards me.
- [01:50]
B
Right.
- [01:55]
A
Thank you so much.
- [01:56]
B
That's.
- [01:56]
A
That's all I've got for de escalation.
- [02:04]
C
I'm going to reintroduce. Jermaine.
- [02:09]
A
Sorry, we're going to break it up a little bit because with that de escalation, I have a little something to say. Well, after that de escalation, I have a little something to say, and this is going to be a little bit more sobering. And I know we just talked about being calm and everything, but I'm a little pissed.
- [02:28]
D
The hell off.
- [02:32]
A
I'm a little pissed off. And you know what? I'm also a little bit confused because the last few days I've been thinking about the Conditions in which Renee Goode was killed, was murdered. I was thinking about these conditions because I'm a veteran. I served nearly 10 years in the Ohio Army National Guard. I served both here in the United States and one tour in Afghanistan. And I can't help but think about what was the ROE for ICE and for my fellow veterans out there, you know what ROE is. But for the. For the people who's never heard that term before, ROE means rules of engagement. So rules of engagement are rules. They're guidelines for a potential hostile or dangerous situation. Something you would see in a combat zone. Right, but we're not in a combat zone. Last I checked, Minnesota, Minneapolis is not a war zone. Chicago is not a war zone. D.C. is not a war zone. So why the hell is ICE rolling around with weapons of war, with tactics you would only see in Iraq or Afghanistan? Why is ICE acting the way they act? They seem to keep meeting us with violence. And I thought about that. Because that coward that killed Renee Goode wasn't a soldier. He wasn't a police officer, he wasn't a SWAT team, he wasn't none of those things. He was an ICE agent. And last I checked, ICE is Immigration Enforcement. Take a second to think about that. ICE's immigration enforcement. This person would be better served walking around with a clipboard than with a rifle. Last I checked, overstaying your visa wasn't a violent crime. Last I checked, crossing the border and seeking asylum. We're not violent crimes. Are we being met every single day with violence in our communities? I'll tell you why. The fear is the point. The aggression is the point. The violence, that is the point. That is their point. It is talent. How many people has ice shot this year?
- [06:08]
E
We don't know people.
- [06:09]
A
Did ICE shoot last year? How many people does ICE shoot? How many people die in ICE custody? What are the conditions in these detention setups? Again, just to set this. These are not violent crimes that are being committed against our neighbors. These are our neighbors. There's. There's a veteran out there right now, one of my brothers in arms, Marlon Paris. We're going to be quote, unquote, banner self deported last year. That man served this nation. He joined the army, he fought in Iraq, and he lived in this country for 30 years. He was forced to self deport because the conditions in ICE detainment, because the conditions that they put him in, not what he volunteered for. He didn't commit any heinous crime. He didn't commit any violence against his neighbors, but the conditions that they Put him in paramount to torture. The conditions were so bad that he and his family decided it was better for him to continue his fight for his own citizenship outside of the United States, outside of his home. We all remember Alligator Alcatraz, when they tried to sell that. We all have heard about the conditions and how bad they are and what ICE is doing and all of this violence that they're doing. We've heard that they were taking pleasure in knowing what the temperatures were going to be in detainment. We know that they take pleasure in pulling things away from. From folks in those detainment centers, from the lack of sleep, from the lack of actual care, from the lack of medical care. Torture. But that's the thing. The cruelty is the point. The inhumanity is the point. And we're sick of it. Yeah. Where they come out and they meet us six with guns and tanks and helicopters. We'll meet them in the streets with people. We'll meet them with people. Because now's the time. Now is more important than ever to stand in solidarity, to stand with the communities, whether you belong to that community or not. Now's the time for us all to stand together, not to be defined. Stand together with your brothers and sisters and non binary kin against this violence, against this fascism. Against what they say, Guys, one tree may fall down in a storm, but the forest will all remain. One stone may not be able to stop a river, but a mighty dam can stop the craziest of water. Together we can push back against them. Together we can do this. We can push them back until ice is gone. Until they abolish ice. Until they take this occupation out of our city.
- [10:10]
B
With it anymore.
- [10:12]
A
Abolish us.
- [10:23]
B
Powerful, powerful words.
- [10:26]
C
I'm reminded they trained us in the military that smooth is fast, slow is smooth, smooth is fast. That includes your thinking and how you react to people. People down the street there wanted a riot here in D.C. and they got a throne sandwich. I know that you guys are having.
- [10:45]
B
Difficulty hearing us in the back.
- [10:46]
A
Let's solve some of our own problems.
- [10:48]
C
Everybody take like five steps forward. And to get close, let's get friendly. We apologize. It's the best we can work with. I want to introduce yet another veteran brother of mine, Randy is one of the many original founders of Flare, has been working here day in and day out. Give it up for Randy.
- [11:09]
B
Hi, everyone.
- [11:09]
F
Thank you for being here with us today. My name is Randy and I'm one of the many founding members of flair. For those that don't know, Flare stands for liberation and Resistance everywhere.
- [11:24]
E
Yeah.
- [11:26]
F
Everywhere. From D.C. to Tehran, from LA to Gaza, from Minneapolis to Cleveland, from Chicago to Caracas. We see you and we are with you. We won't stop till every last dictator left or right, every supreme leader, every dear leader, every Zionist, every American fascist to account for their crimes against the people. Today we're here to mourn the deaths of Renee Good, Keith Porter, 32 others who have been killed by ICE. These are the first 34 that we know about. I say first because there's going to be more and it's going to happen again and again until we bring this administration to justice. Today we demand the release of all the evidence in the ICE martyrs. We demand they be held accountable for their actions.
- [12:51]
E
Yeah.
- [12:51]
F
We demand that ice, dhs, CBB and the rest leave our cities. And we demand to see these fascist fucking faces. Fascists and culture, personality like Pol Pot, Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Trump, they always demand mass graves. I want to be very clear when I say this. If we do not act, if Congress does not act, if the courts keep letting Trump and the administration tear apart the remnants of our republic, we are going to be dealing with another American genocide. We are going to be dealing with more mass graves. We see this happening in our trans communities with taking a basic human rights, medical care.
- [13:52]
A
Yeah.
- [13:52]
F
We see them demonizing trans, non binary folks, LGBTQ folks, black and brown folks. This is a way to categorize, to separate us. And that's what they want. They want us to be separated. They want us to be fractured.
- [14:13]
E
Nice.
- [14:18]
A
Exactly.
- [14:22]
F
These fascists are polarizing our again, us against each other. They're organizing and preparing. ICE is building concentration camps.
- [14:37]
B
All over.
- [14:37]
F
The US while they are ramping up the rest of black and brown folks. What do you think happens when these concentration camps become overburdened? What do you think happens when they stop providing vaccines and life saving medical care in these overcrowded camps? People will die, death.
- [15:07]
A
We've seen what happens.
- [15:08]
F
We know what happens because it's happened in Germany and Poland, in Russia, in China and Cambodia, the United States and in Palestine. Right? Disease, starvation, torture, abuse and extinction. This is not new. We've read the books that they refuse to read and they banned. What is new is us. Our movements, our connectedness, our resolve, our bravery and our love. Look around you right now, like Rep. Oyea said, who do you see? It's not our elected representatives, it's not our senators, it's not the mayors, It's you. We're the ones that are going to make a difference and we're the ones that are going to make history.
- [16:09]
A
At.
- [16:09]
F
A critical point in our history right now, today. In this time, it's either a whimper and the death of democracy or the spark of a new America. God damn it. I'm not done fighting.
- [16:37]
B
Keep it up. You need to fire it up.
- [16:42]
A
Huh?
- [16:43]
B
Nobody's bald.
- [16:45]
C
Outstanding. Only you guys. Stay warmed up for Donnie from 5051 DC.
- [16:57]
B
I look out and I see you guys. It is my therapy. It is my security. And one thought comes to my mind and it's, I have friends everywhere. Repeat that for me. I have friends everywhere. I have friends everywhere. I'm Donnie. I have a national security background, worked on Capitol Hill. I sadly helped write the Homeland Security act that they have used to turn the government against the American people. And I am deeply sorry for that. I was an Obama appointee, and now I work in public. I'm a public defender.
- [17:46]
A
Renee.
- [17:47]
B
Nicole. Good. George Floyd. Renee. Go.
- [17:52]
A
Good.
- [17:52]
B
George Floyd. I want you to sit and think about the link between these two people, these two murders. After the George Floyd murder, I was on a long planned family vacation and I was up in Maine, and people were really detached from what was happening in D.C. and I finally said, you know what? I have to get back to D.C. to protest. And then my family members were like, well, you know, why do you feel so strongly?
- [18:20]
C
You got to go do that.
- [18:20]
B
And I said, because for the first time in my lifetime, white people are listening. They hear us. So I returned to D.C. and I was among the crowd that Trump set the military loose on. I already knew what the ultimate goal of Trumpism was. I knew that it was nothing more than a movement of white male supremacists seeking not only to reestablish a racial caste system and the subjugation of women, but to recodify it, to make it the law of the land again. Networking. Because, you see, when black and brown people celebrated Brown v. Board of Education decision, and the assertion that separate and equal was separate was inherently unequal. A different group of people, white male supremacists and their tokens like Clarence Thomas.
- [19:17]
D
Yeah.
- [19:21]
B
They saw as the destruction of their birthright. And so they set upon a mission to re establish white supremacy by law and misogyny by law. And at the same time, the same people saw the sexual liberation of women, our sisters, as a threat to their ability and their power. That women could choose when they were going to reproduce and women could choose if they were going to reproduce was a threat to them. And so they began a long plan to snatch that freedom from women. Half a century later, the Voting Rights act is about to be eliminated. Affirmative action is a footnote in history, and Roe v. Wade is a memory. And today in Trump, those white male supremacists have found a bold and unflinching racist and a sick and demented predator. I've recited this history to point out the natural allegiance between people of color, particularly white women, based upon our shared experience as second and lower class citizens. So I say Renee Nicole Goode. And I say George Floyd. And so at the desperately dark aftermath of Floyd, I wanted to be on the streets because I believe we could finally hear one another. White people, mostly white women, who are my friends and family, they began to call me and they asked and they said, what can I read? What can I do? How can we change this? And what I saw was an unparalleled opportunity to change the society. So I marched. I marched on this street. I marched on this street with a young white girl who attended the notoriously racist Liberty University. And she was honest with me. She said I had never even been opening to listen to people explain what the black experience was until I saw that man take George Ford's life on the street in Minnesota. White America's ears were open in a way that they had not been in my lifetime. So what did the white male supremacist do to respond? Instead of pointing to information to counter the facts contained in books like the 1619 Project or the Color of Law or the New Jim Pro or How to Become an Anti Racist, instead of making good faith arguments on their policy, they banned the books. That's right, instead of making.
- [21:50]
A
They banned.
- [21:51]
B
Books on gender, they banned books on race, on LGBTQ liberation, any literature designed to tell us the truth about the evil nature of white supremacy and how it has held this country back from reaching its full potential. And I realized at that moment how powerful a threat the uniting of the people is to the white male supremacists. And while white supremacists began begging, began to ban books was not a surprise to me. What was surprising was that almost as soon as the white people began to listen, I began to hear so called influencers in the black liberation space critique these new white allies, potential allies, they began to critique the quality and honesty of their efforts. And we began to turn away allies almost as soon as they began to listen. And so years later, I was equally surprised that after Vice President Harris lost 24 election, I heard the same influencers tell black Americas Americans rest is resistance. And I thought, what the hell? How dare Any of us. Although we are experiencing the darkest days of racial terror and misogyny in our lifetimes, how dare any of us who stand on the blood sacrifice of countless black freedom fighters claim that rest is resistance. I remember how Trump famously thanked black people for saying for staying home the day after he won in 2016. And then I watched as he made segregation and government contracting legal. And I watched as him, he fired all tons of my black and brown friends over dei. And I watched as he fired black generals and he demeaned black professionals. And I remember the fury that came over me when I realized that my 3 year old daughter lost control over her own body when Roe fell. And it dawned on me that white supremacists know more than most of us the power of the union between black people and. And people of color, White people and people of color. I realized that white supremacists like Donald Trump would rather see the Constitution burned into a pile of ashes than to commit themselves to the foundational principle that we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men and women are created equal. And for that reason, I am not surprised that there are black and brown families being torn apart. I am not surprised that there are functional concentration camps on American soil. That is why there are armed masked men snatching children from mothers. That is why over 107American citizens and counting have been arrested by the Gestapo. And that is why the Gestapo feels at liberty to murder an unarmed white American mother in cold blood on the streets, on camera, just like they do unarmed black people. And if they feel comfortable murdering a white American woman in broad daylight, what do they have in store for people of color? But let me say this to my fellow black men and women who are fearful and who have been told foolishly that rest is resistance. Rest is not resistance. Rest is a recipe designed to put you and and your children back in chains. Literally. Stand up and fight. To all the groups out here who believe in democracy and who are committed to destroying fascism in this country once and forever, there are no differences between your groups. Whether it's indivisible or free DC or refuse fascism, or Black Lives Matter or National Action Network or Harry's Dream, or any of you, there's nothing more, no difference between you that is worth jeopardizing this alliance to destroy that evil man and his movement down the street. Nothing that has transpired between any of you amounts to anything next to what we face. The enemy we face is far too evil and deadly to let the differences between us hinder our union. This fascist regime seeks to kill or imprison any person or group that opposes its Nazi wet dream. If you learn nothing, Sister Renee Nicole Goode, I hope you learn this. None of us are safe from the monster at 1600 Pennsylvania Abbey.
- [26:51]
A
There are no more mysteries.
- [26:52]
B
We are living in a fascist government. And I am proud of the few governors who are fighting. And. And I hope that our presence here and our numbers gives them the courage to be bold.
- [27:02]
A
That's right.
- [27:03]
B
Honestly, I don't want to discuss the congressional opposition because the wizard needs to give them some courage. A lot of my brothers and sisters here organize from sun up to sundown because they believe that peaceful resistance is the only way. I don't. I'm not here to tell anyone that peace is the only way. To be honest, I don't believe there is any possibility of restoring this democracy peacefully. Donald Trump is a lunatic. He is profoundly and he is profoundly incapable of caring about anyone other than himself. But I am here because I believe we have to exhaust our constitutional means before whatever comes next. So I commend the American people. I commend all of you for your restraint. But it is time to get uncomfortable. It is time to offend some people. It is time to act like your life and your freedom depends on your things endured over this past year. I'm reminded of a quote by Thomas Jefferson when discussing the evils of slavery of which. When discussing the evils of slavery of which he was a notorious and heinous participant in 1781, Thomas Jefferson wrote, quote, indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just and that his justice cannot sleep forever. Today I want to issue a warning to the fascist regime. Indeed, you should tremble for your existence when you reflect that the people are just and that the people's justice will not sleep forever. So let us exhaust the constitutional knees, but let us prepare for whatever comes. Thank you, Donnie.
- [29:00]
C
You know, listening to Trump nasty speakers seems to be together united in fuck Ice together.
- [29:07]
F
Fuck.
- [29:08]
C
Thank you. Decades and decades we've had established rich old heads tell us that socialism is an entrenched evil. I've got a friend here who wants to talk to us from the Democratic Socialist of America, Emma.
- [29:26]
E
Good afternoon, friends and neighbors. I'm going to keep things short. My name is Emma and I am a proud member of the Metro DC Democratic Socialist of America. To be part of the families and operational almost every day. Drink or shine, own or hot. Bankers and community watch on streets and street neighbors.
- [30:03]
D
All right. Lost my glasses there. Hey, guys, I don't know if you can hear me. If any of the viewers are out there listening, can you tell me if you can hear me? Pretty windy out here. Can any of you hear me? You can hear me. Okay, Great. Okay. All right.
- [30:35]
A
Yes.
- [30:35]
D
Everybody tell me if they can hear me now. All right. So, hey, this is Jim. I'm down at the protest here in, I guess right by the capitol downtown Washington, D.C. and we just heard a number of speakers down here. I'm trying to move as far away from my, from the speakers as I can so people don't get mad at me. But, you know, I've heard a number of questions about what's going on down here. This is one of the ice out for good protests that are taking place all around the country. This one is right down by the Capitol, and I would say there's probably about a thousand people down here right now. We've heard from a number of speakers all speaking, I think, very beautifully about the loss of Renee Goode, but also very passionately about what we're up against right now, everybody, and that is a rogue administration that is absolutely prepared to violate all of our constitutional rights to hang on to power. And, you know, I think what we're seeing down here in Washington, D.C. what we saw over the weekend in Minneapolis, a lot of other places, is really just the beginning. Remember, folks, it's just early January and the November midterms are coming up in about 10 months from now. And as I said on my show on Friday, and I'm going to say it again down here in Washington, D.C. obviously, what happened to Renee Good was a horrendous crime. She was murdered in cold blood by an employee of the federal government, somebody who is paid with our tax dollars. But this is not a moment to be afraid. This is not a moment to show fear. This is a moment, and I said this the other day, for everybody to stiffen their spine. You have to have steel in your spine in moments like this.
- [32:27]
B
And.
- [32:30]
D
What we're seeing take place in these ice protests across the country, I think is a reflection of that. I think people are getting the message that I'm getting it from me. They're getting it from, from one another. You are hearing from one another and from groups like Indivisible who organized the no Kings protests. Lots of great folks who are in the pro democracy community. And what people need to understand is, and I know this from covering Donald Trump, is that he is not a big fan of people power. He's not a big fan of people power. Remember what happened after the 2020 election. He lost. And he incited an instruction to overthrow a free and fair election. He may attempt to do that again. I think the great likelihood is that he will try to do that again because he understands that these policies, like the one that he has right now, where ICE can just go into any community across the country, is completely toxic, politically speaking. And so he's going to try to do what he can to stop the American people from making their voice heard, from going to the polls and changing out the Congress. And so you just have to understand this is a long struggle. This is a long battle. And it is all about what our leaders have talked about. There's a little dog that said hello to me. Remember John Lewis? Remember his, his call for good trouble in this country? Good trouble means showing up to a protest just like this one down here. Good trouble means if you have to, if you're observing an ICE officer who is violating somebody's constitutional rights, you have the God given American right to pull out your cell phone and record that. Absolutely, 100%. And so that is what this, I think, this year of 2026 is all about. I was talking about this the other day. Yeah. Donald Trump likes to talk about how this is the 250th anniversary of our country and. Yeah, sure it is. Yeah, okay, you got that one right. Good for you. But it is also the 250th anniversary of rejecting tyranny. It is also the 250th anniversary of rejecting here in this country, of rejecting a monarch, rejecting a king in this country. And so people need to understand what this is all about. And so I'm going to do my best when I can to get out here to these protests and show these protests to you. I think they're highly important. And I'm going to say it one more time. I said it on my show the other day. I'm going to say it one more time. I am, I'm with all of you. I am with all of you in this, in this struggle for our democracy. And I think we all need to, I think, carry the message with us that you are Renee Goode. I am Renee Goode. We are Renee Goode. All of us are Renee Good. And we, we're all going to be mourning her passing for, for so long, her murder, really completely unjustified murder for so long. But I also think it, it should instill. It should instill in all of us, Excuse me, should it still in all of us, some courage. Some courage for the long haul, folks. And just remember we are in it for the long haul. This is, this is, this is about our country. This is about our future. This is for our children's future, for future generations. So I'm willing to stand out here in the cold. Might not be as cold as it is on the streets of Minneapolis. And I'll try to bring as many of these to you as I can here in the coming weeks and months, because I have a feeling this is maybe an old news guy's news judgment here. I got a feeling we're going to have a lot of these between now and this November, folks, a lot of these. And it's going to take all of us and take all of us coming together to make sure that this, this democracy holds, that we reclaim this democracy, this, this way of life that we've had for so long, the way of life that I grew up with, that it, it endures and it go, it keeps going on. So you keep on keeping on. I'll keep on keeping on and I'll talk to you next time. But still. Reporting from Washington, I'm Jim Acosta. Hope you enjoyed this coverage. Hope you got something out of it. I'll keep doing it as much as I can, as often as I can, even on the weekends. You know, I used to do the weekends and I'm happy to do it from time to time, especially to be with all of you. Thanks for tuning in. Really appreciate it, guys.
- [37:25]
A
Take care. Sa.