theguardian--2020-06-20--John Bolton: judge declines to block tell-all Trump book

A federal judge has declined to block the publication of a tell-all book by John Bolton , Donald Trump ’ s third national security adviser .
As Judge Royce C Lamberth noted , hundreds of thousands of copies of The Room Where It Happened have been shipped and excerpts have been published widely .
The book is due to be released on Tuesday .
But the judge did have harsh words for Bolton , who he said failed to complete a national security review and “ likely published classified materials ” .
Bolton , the judge said , had “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States ” and “ exposed … himself to civil ( and potentially criminal ) liability ” .
On Twitter , Trump said Bolton “ must pay a very big price for this , as others have before him ” .
The president also praised the judge , contrived to claim “ a big court win ” and wrote of his former aide , a foreign policy hawk : “ He likes dropping bombs on people , and killing them .
Now he will have bombs dropped on him !
” A pending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government the right to all profits from the book .
Leaving the White House for a rally in Oklahoma , Trump told reporters “ the country will get the money – any money he makes .
So I hope a lot of books – uh , well , I probably shouldn ’ t hope that , but whatever he makes , he ’ s going to be giving back.
” Trump has sought to crack down on national security leakers and repeatedly advocated jail sentences for reporters who use such material .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tobias , a University of Richmond law professor , said : “ The government could criminally prosecute Bolton for violating the [ non-disclosure agreement ] and jeopardising national security.
” Bolton ’ s lawyers said he had not violated federal law .
An ambassador to the United Nations under George W Bush , Bolton was national security adviser between April 2018 and September 2019 , when he resigned .
Trump claimed to have fired him .
Excerpts from his book have proved highly embarrassing to Trump , revelations including what Bolton says is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foreign countries , China among them , and an ignorance of basic geopolitical realities .
Critics of Bolton have pointed to his refusal to comply with a House subpoena in impeachment proceedings , which concerned Trump ’ s attempts to have Ukraine find dirt on political rivals which Bolton now discusses in his book .
Bolton said he would be willing to testify in Trump ’ s Senate trial but Republicans there did not call witnesses before acquitting the president .
Lamberth , a US district court judge in Washington , wrote that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raises grave national security concerns , the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy ” .
He added : “ As noted at the hearing , a CBS News reporter clutched a copy of the book while questioning the White House press secretary .
By the looks of it , the horse is not just out of the barn – it is out of the country.
” Lamberth rejected the argument that “ an injunction today would at least prevent any further spread of the book , such as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities , ” he wrote , “ Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm .
“ But in the internet age , even a handful of copies in circulation could irrevocably destroy confidentiality .
A single dedicated individual with a book in hand could publish its contents far and wide from his local coffee shop .
With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe – many in newsrooms – the damage is done.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Republican critic , who he said “ called Wacko John Bolton ‘ a despicable man who failed in his duty to protect America ’ .
“ …Plain and simple , John Bolton , who was all washed up until I brought him back and gave him a chance , broke the law by releasing classified information ( in massive amounts ) .
He must pay a very big price for this , as others have before him .
This should never happen again !
!
!
” Schmidt responded : “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America from you .
The most failed president in American history .
You are incompetent and inept .
You are amoral and indecent .
You are losing this election .
You will be defeated and repudiated .
Your legacy is death , weakness and economic collapse.
” Few observers expected Trump to succeed in blocking Bolton ’ s book , a reality the president seemed to admit .
“ Obviously , ” Trump tweeted , “ with the book already given out and leaked to many people and the media , nothing the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ stopping it.
” Those who predicted failure cited first amendment rights and prior cases including that in which Richard Nixon failed to stop the publication of the Pentagon Papers , leaked material about the conduct of the Vietnam war .
Daniel Ellsberg , who leaked the Pentagon Papers , faced trial under the 1917 Espionage Act .
All charges were dropped .
More recently , Barack Obama ’ s use of the Espionage Act to go after leakers and whistleblowers attracted considerable scrutiny .
In January 2018 , Trump responded to the publication @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Fury by Michael Wolff , the first Trump tell-all , by threatening to sue its publisher .
Henry Holt & Co simply rushed the book to sale .
Bolton ’ s publisher , Simon & Schuster , may clash with the president again .
On 28 July it is set to release Too Much and Never Enough : How My Family Created the World ’ s Most Dangerous Man , a book by Trump ’ s niece .
The publisher says Mary L Trump , a clinical psychologist , will describe “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse ” .
According to the Daily Beast , nearly 20 years ago Mary Trump signed an NDA regarding litigation over a will and her relationship with her uncle and his siblings .
Trump has reportedly mused about suing to stop the book .

A federal judge has declined to block the publication of a tell-all book by John Bolton, Donald Trump’s third national security adviser.
As Judge Royce C Lamberth noted, hundreds of thousands of copies of The Room Where It Happened have been shipped and excerpts have been published widely. The book is due to be released on Tuesday.
But the judge did have harsh words for Bolton, who he said failed to complete a national security review and “likely published classified materials”. Bolton, the judge said, had “gambled with the national security of the United States” and “exposed … himself to civil (and potentially criminal) liability”.
On Twitter, Trump said Bolton “must pay a very big price for this, as others have before him”. The president also praised the judge, contrived to claim “a big court win” and wrote of his former aide, a foreign policy hawk: “He likes dropping bombs on people, and killing them. Now he will have bombs dropped on him!”
A pending civil suit against Bolton would give the government the right to all profits from the book. Leaving the White House for a rally in Oklahoma, Trump told reporters “the country will get the money – any money he makes. So I hope a lot of books – uh, well, I probably shouldn’t hope that, but whatever he makes, he’s going to be giving back.”
By the looks of it, the horse is not just out of the barn – it is out of the country Judge Royce C Lamberth
Trump has sought to crack down on national security leakers and repeatedly advocated jail sentences for reporters who use such material. In an email to the Guardian, Carl Tobias, a University of Richmond law professor, said: “The government could criminally prosecute Bolton for violating the [non-disclosure agreement] and jeopardising national security.”
Bolton’s lawyers said he had not violated federal law.
An ambassador to the United Nations under George W Bush, Bolton was national security adviser between April 2018 and September 2019, when he resigned. Trump claimed to have fired him.
Excerpts from his book have proved highly embarrassing to Trump, revelations including what Bolton says is impeachable conduct in seeking re-election help from foreign countries, China among them, and an ignorance of basic geopolitical realities.
Critics of Bolton have pointed to his refusal to comply with a House subpoena in impeachment proceedings, which concerned Trump’s attempts to have Ukraine find dirt on political rivals which Bolton now discusses in his book.
Bolton said he would be willing to testify in Trump’s Senate trial but Republicans there did not call witnesses before acquitting the president.
Lamberth, a US district court judge in Washington, wrote that though Bolton’s “unilateral conduct raises grave national security concerns, the government has not established that an injunction is an appropriate remedy”.
He added: “As noted at the hearing, a CBS News reporter clutched a copy of the book while questioning the White House press secretary. By the looks of it, the horse is not just out of the barn – it is out of the country.”
Lamberth rejected the argument that “an injunction today would at least prevent any further spread of the book, such as limiting its audiobook release”.
“In taking it upon himself to publish his book without securing final approval from national intelligence authorities,” he wrote, “Bolton may indeed have caused the country irreparable harm.
“But in the internet age, even a handful of copies in circulation could irrevocably destroy confidentiality. A single dedicated individual with a book in hand could publish its contents far and wide from his local coffee shop. With hundreds of thousands of copies around the globe – many in newsrooms – the damage is done.”
On Twitter, Trump cited Steve Schmidt, a Republican critic, who he said “called Wacko John Bolton ‘a despicable man who failed in his duty to protect America’.
“…Plain and simple, John Bolton, who was all washed up until I brought him back and gave him a chance, broke the law by releasing classified information (in massive amounts). He must pay a very big price for this, as others have before him. This should never happen again!!!”
Schmidt responded: “He failed in his duty to protect America from you. The most failed president in American history. You are incompetent and inept. You are amoral and indecent. You are losing this election. You will be defeated and repudiated. Your legacy is death, weakness and economic collapse.”
Few observers expected Trump to succeed in blocking Bolton’s book, a reality the president seemed to admit.
“Obviously,” Trump tweeted, “with the book already given out and leaked to many people and the media, nothing the highly respected Judge could have done about stopping it.”
CBS White House correspondent Paula Reid holds a copy of John Bolton’s book as she asks a question of Donald Trump at the White House. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP
Those who predicted failure cited first amendment rights and prior cases including that in which Richard Nixon failed to stop the publication of the Pentagon Papers, leaked material about the conduct of the Vietnam war.
Daniel Ellsberg, who leaked the Pentagon Papers, faced trial under the 1917 Espionage Act. All charges were dropped. More recently, Barack Obama’s use of the Espionage Act to go after leakers and whistleblowers attracted considerable scrutiny.
In January 2018, Trump responded to the publication by the Guardian of excerpts from Fire and Fury by Michael Wolff, the first Trump tell-all, by threatening to sue its publisher. Henry Holt & Co simply rushed the book to sale.
Bolton’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, may clash with the president again. On 28 July it is set to release Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man, a book by Trump’s niece.
The publisher says Mary L Trump, a clinical psychologist, will describe “a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse”.
According to the Daily Beast, nearly 20 years ago Mary Trump signed an NDA regarding litigation over a will and her relationship with her uncle and his siblings. Trump has reportedly mused about suing to stop the book.


theguardian--2020-06-21--Family business: Trump fears latest damning memoir – this time by his liberal niece

It was election night 2016 and Donald Trump , having stunned the world by winning the American presidency , paraded beaming family members in the ballroom of a New York hotel .
But at least one relative was not celebrating .
“ This is one of the worst nights of my life , ” the president-elect ’ s niece , Mary Lea Trump , wrote on Twitter .
“ What is wrong with this country ?
I fear the American experiment has failed.
” She has presumably had many more bad nights since .
It emerged this week that Mary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , is to publish an unflattering memoir about her uncle entitled Too Much And Never Enough : How My Family Created the World ’ s Most Dangerous Man .
There have been many damning insider accounts about Trump , most recently by his former national security adviser John Bolton , but perhaps no perceived betrayal will sting like the one that springs from his own flesh and blood .
“ I think he ’ s freaking out , ” said Michael D ’ Antonio , author of Never Enough : Donald Trump and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will treat her savagely.
” For Trump , life has always been a family business , and it is impossible to tell where family ends and business begins .
Framed photos of his late parents loom over his shoulder in the Oval Office ; the death of his elder brother casts a long shadow ; his children , perhaps the only people beyond suspicion of disloyalty , work for his company or his campaign or in the White House .
Mary , 55 , is the daughter of Fred Trump Jr , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ died in 1981 at the age of 42 from a heart attack linked to alcoholism .
She has bachelor ’ s and master ’ s degrees in English literature , as well as a PhD in clinical psychology from Adelphi University in New York , according to Forbes .
D ’ Antonio commented : “ It makes her someone that Donald would fear on a very elemental level .
She thinks for herself , she ’ s analytical when it comes to humans and she can express herself , so this is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a certified professional life coach , joined Twitter in December 2012 – her bio currently states , “ # blacklivesmatter , 🏳🌈 , she/her/hers ” – and is following accounts that would do any New York liberal proud : Planned Parenthood , Greenpeace USA , the National Center for Transgender Equality .
She also follows Democratic politicians such as congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and liberal actors including Stephen Fry , Mark Ruffalo and Kerry Washington .
Her antipathy towards her uncle long predates his foray into populist rightwing politics .
When Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , his will distributed his estate among his children and their offspring with the exception of his son Fred Trump Jr .
The children of Fred Jr objected that they had been included an earlier will , written before Fred Sr was diagnosed with dementia , and took legal action .
Mary told the New York Daily News that her aunt and uncles “ should be ashamed of themselves ” .
And soon after the lawsuit was filed , Trump changed a health insurance policy so that Fred Jr ’ s grandson , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Eventually the lawsuit was settled and the child regained health insurance .
The president is now reportedly considering suing Mary over the memoir , due to be published on 28 July by Simon & Schuster .
It is expected to disclose Mary was a key source of confidential documents for a Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times investigation into Trump ’ s personal finances .
Publicity material states : “ She recounts in unsparing detail everything from her uncle Donald ’ s place in the family spotlight and Ivanka ’ s penchant for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ injuries and illnesses and the appalling way Donald , Fred Trump ’ s favorite son , dismissed and derided him when he began to succumb to Alzheimer ’ s. ” Trump ’ s relationship with his father , a tough man who preached that winning is everything , has always been a source of endless fascination .
In a rare moment of self-reflection , Trump wrote in his 2007 book , Think Big : “ That ’ s why I ’ m so screwed up , because I had a father that pushed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Scotland-born Mary Trump , is understood to have been somewhat distanced and detached but no less consequential .
D ’ Antonio said : “ They are more of a psychologically profound presence than a reality-based influence .
The idea of his father ’ s demanding expectations got into his head and his mother ’ s many absences when he was a boy left him with a yearning , and it ’ s probably one of the injuries that has never healed in him .
“ This is something that I know Mary L @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her book and it ’ s accurate : his mother was sick a lot and not very attentive .
The insatiable drive for attention , I think , comes from that absence and then this concurrent desire to live up to his father ’ s expectations , ” he added .
As a patriarch himself , Trump has been compared to a mob boss , regarding family as a means to enforcing his will and expanding his power .
His daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner – known as “ Javanka ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ House .
His sons Don Jr and Eric stepped in to run the Trump Organization , the family business , when Trump was elected and are prominent surrogates for his reelection campaign .
D ’ Antonio added : “ It also reminds me of organisations where everybody in it has committed something ethically , morally or legally wrong , and so everyone has the goods on everyone and no one breaks away because everyone is vulnerable .
He likes the family to pose , but where are his brother and two sisters ?
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t recall ever seeing a photograph of them with him .
He ’ s not capable of the kind of close attachments that you would expect .
”

It was election night 2016 and Donald Trump, having stunned the world by winning the American presidency, paraded beaming family members in the ballroom of a New York hotel.
But at least one relative was not celebrating.
“This is one of the worst nights of my life,” the president-elect’s niece, Mary Lea Trump, wrote on Twitter. “What is wrong with this country? I fear the American experiment has failed.”
She has presumably had many more bad nights since. It emerged this week that Mary, a clinical psychologist from Long Island, is to publish an unflattering memoir about her uncle entitled Too Much And Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man.
There have been many damning insider accounts about Trump, most recently by his former national security adviser John Bolton, but perhaps no perceived betrayal will sting like the one that springs from his own flesh and blood.
“I think he’s freaking out,” said Michael D’Antonio, author of Never Enough: Donald Trump and the Pursuit of Success. “He will treat her savagely.”
On Sunday, Axios reported that Trump insists Mary Trump is “not allowed” to write her book, because doing so would violate a non-disclosure agreement she signed.
Trump told Axios: “She’s not allowed to write a book. When we settled with her and her brother, who I do have a good relationship with – she’s got a brother, Fred, who I do have a good relationship with, but when we settled, she has a total ... signed a nondisclosure.”
He also spoke warmly of his younger brother, saying: “I have a brother, Robert, very good guy, and he’s – he’s very angry about it.” Trump said the NDA was a “very powerful one. It covers everything.”
For Trump, life has always been a family business, and it is impossible to tell where family ends and business begins. Framed photos of his late parents loom over his shoulder in the Oval Office; the death of his elder brother casts a long shadow; his children, perhaps the only people beyond suspicion of disloyalty, work for his company or his campaign or in the White House.
Mary, 55, is the daughter of Fred Trump Jr, the president’s older brother, who died in 1981 at the age of 42 from a heart attack linked to alcoholism. She has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English literature, as well as a PhD in clinical psychology from Adelphi University in New York, according to Forbes.
D’Antonio commented: “It makes her someone that Donald would fear on a very elemental level. She thinks for herself, she’s analytical when it comes to humans and she can express herself, so this is a nightmare for him.”
I think he’s freaking out. He will treat her savagely Michael D'Antonio
Mary, also a certified professional life coach, joined Twitter in December 2012 – her bio currently states, “#blacklivesmatter, 🏳🌈,she/her/hers” – and is following accounts that would do any New York liberal proud: Planned Parenthood, Greenpeace USA, the National Center for Transgender Equality. She also follows Democratic politicians such as congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and liberal actors including Stephen Fry, Mark Ruffalo and Kerry Washington.
Her antipathy towards her uncle long predates his foray into populist rightwing politics. When Trump’s father, Fred Trump Sr, died, his will distributed his estate among his children and their offspring with the exception of his son Fred Trump Jr. The children of Fred Jr objected that they had been included an earlier will, written before Fred Sr was diagnosed with dementia, and took legal action.
Mary told the New York Daily News that her aunt and uncles “should be ashamed of themselves”. And soon after the lawsuit was filed, Trump changed a health insurance policy so that Fred Jr’s grandson, who had cerebral palsy, lost coverage. Eventually the lawsuit was settled and the child regained health insurance.
Mary Lea Trump’s book is due shortly. Photograph: MaryLTrump/Twitter
The president is now reportedly considering suing Mary over the memoir, due to be published on 28 July by Simon & Schuster. It is expected to disclose Mary was a key source of confidential documents for a Pulitzer prize-winning New York Times investigation into Trump’s personal finances.
Publicity material states: “She recounts in unsparing detail everything from her uncle Donald’s place in the family spotlight and Ivanka’s penchant for regifting to her grandmother’s frequent injuries and illnesses and the appalling way Donald, Fred Trump’s favorite son, dismissed and derided him when he began to succumb to Alzheimer’s.”
Trump’s relationship with his father, a tough man who preached that winning is everything, has always been a source of endless fascination. In a rare moment of self-reflection, Trump wrote in his 2007 book, Think Big: “That’s why I’m so screwed up, because I had a father that pushed me pretty hard.”
His mother, Scotland-born Mary Trump, is understood to have been somewhat distanced and detached but no less consequential. D’Antonio said: “They are more of a psychologically profound presence than a reality-based influence. The idea of his father’s demanding expectations got into his head and his mother’s many absences when he was a boy left him with a yearning, and it’s probably one of the injuries that has never healed in him.
“This is something that I know Mary L Trump is going to be addressing in her book and it’s accurate: his mother was sick a lot and not very attentive. The insatiable drive for attention, I think, comes from that absence and then this concurrent desire to live up to his father’s expectations,” he added.
As a patriarch himself, Trump has been compared to a mob boss, regarding family as a means to enforcing his will and expanding his power.
His daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner – known as “Javanka” – are senior advisers at the White House. His sons Don Jr and Eric stepped in to run the Trump Organization, the family business, when Trump was elected and are prominent surrogates for his reelection campaign.
D’Antonio added: “It also reminds me of organisations where everybody in it has committed something ethically, morally or legally wrong, and so everyone has the goods on everyone and no one breaks away because everyone is vulnerable. He likes the family to pose, but where are his brother and two sisters?
“Throughout his presidency, I don’t recall ever seeing a photograph of them with him. He’s not capable of the kind of close attachments that you would expect.”


theguardian--2020-06-21--Meet Samelys López, the ex-homeless candidate running for New York's most contested seat

The first time Samelys López stood up for an adult she was eight years old .
She and her mother were waiting in the welfare office for food stamps when López overheard the case officer speaking down to her mother .
Their lives before they got there hadn ’ t been easy .
López and her mother moved from Puerto Rico when López was a baby , relocating to Williamsburg in New York .
Back then , Williamsburg was the most densely populated city in the US : a by-word for poverty rather than trendy coffee shops and vintage boutiques @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also host to a fierce sweatshop trade , and López ’ s family were privy to its harsh hours and low pay .
So López did not like the assumption that her mother was poor because she had not worked hard enough .
“ I said , you can ’ t speak to her like that – she is hard-working , she paid into this system , ” says Lopez .
It was an early lesson to her , that services for poor people can humiliate , rather than help .
That story @ @ @ @ @ @ @ López to where she is today – aged 40 , pressed up slightly too close on a Zoom call , from her living room that now doubles up as a campaign office .
She is running for Congress in the south Bronx and under usual circumstances , the numbers might be in her favor .
The seat is a Democratic stronghold – securing a 94 % vote for Hilary Clinton in 2016 – it is the most left-leaning seat in the country .
And while López ’ s humble background might be out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she had to give up her own health insurance just to run for office ) it is reflective of many lives in the south Bronx , the poorest congressional district in the country .
With 98 % of its residents being people of color and more than half are 35 – it is fertile ground for a progressive contender .
There ’ s just one problem : she is running against nine other contenders , many of them former elected officials .
Growing up in New York ’ s homeless shelter system , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ how to dodge the bullies after school , who would follow her back to the shelter she lived in and laugh at her .
She learned how to sit quietly in the back of the sweatshop while she did her homework – and as a byproduct of that , that her mother could work incredibly hard and still not be paid enough to afford a babysitter .
She learned not to go to the communal bathrooms in her shelter without shoes on – in case there was blood or broken glass on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that people like her deserved better .
After graduating from Columbia University , López worked for the current incumbent in the south Bronx , congressman José E Serrano .
She worked largely on housing cases , but tinkering around the edges while people continuously came back with the same problems frustrated her .
She wanted to get involved at an earlier stage – long before people needed bailing out from evictions or were placed in another unaffordable home .
“ I wanted to be part of the creative process of building affordable housing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learning about housing finance .
I wanted to be able to say : ‘ OK , we need housing – now how do we build it ?
’ ” says López .
So López studied for a masters in urban planning – a passion which is made clear when she talks about how buildings , parks or highways can oppress or influence people .
López points to the history of the Bronx as an example of how planning decisions can affect a community forever .
Robert Moses ’ infamous Cross Bronx Expressway , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and the north Bronx , ripping up communities and homes in its path .
It brought opportunity for some New Yorkers , but only at the expense of the working-class communities that it destroyed : low house prices as well as poorer life outcomes around that crossway have been blamed on its development .
She talks about the red lines drawn around communities of color in New York , in a time when coveted areas were color coded and graded through a mapping system .
The green areas were marked with an “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of “ a single foreigner or Negro ” .
Almost all of the south Bronx was coded red .
Eventually , federal government lost interest in those areas , and banks deemed them too risky to lend to .
Unable to make them profitable again , Landlords disowned their properties in the Bronx .
Some even burned down people ’ s homes for the insurance money .
“ The built environment influences your perception of the world and how you see yourself in it .
When you see certain things around you , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I was growing up .
You see cracked bottles and wonder : does this mean I ’ m not worth it ?
Am I not deserving of being in this world ?
” she says .
So when López was in grad school , she and two colleagues – all women of color who loved cycling – created a program that would take kids from the Bronx on biking trips to educate them about their local surroundings .
“ In communities of color that are underserved , we needed to create an avenue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially for young people , ” says López about the project .
They would cycle over to an affordable housing development , to learn about the housing development process , or to a community garden to learn how many local treasures existed there , waiting to be found .
To López ’ s mind , this was an exercise in redistribution .
Planning , architecture , real estate – all are pivotal in deciding what a local area looks like , but they are dominated by white men .
Changing the makeup of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in transforming a community .
“ [ We want ] young people [ to ] acquire the language of urban planning , understand about the real estate development process , or about advocacy and how to fight for the changes they want to see in their community , on their own terms , ” she says .
López is unafraid of her contenders , regardless of their money and clout .
Her contenders – who , among others , include Michael Blake , vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee , and New York @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have already established themselves politically .
But according to López , that ’ s all the more reason for her to win .
“ There are a lot of formerly elected officials running in this race that have taken positions for things like rezoning , that have pushed jail-building , that have a habit of taking lobbyist money and real estate developer money and a history of putting those interests first , before the people , ” she tells me .
“ What is [ their ] experience rooted in ?
Is it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destination ?
Or was it rooted in transformational justice that is [ guided by ] your lived experiences and that of your community ?
” she says .
López has pledged not to take any corporate Pac money during her race , and hopes her platform , which includes fighting for housing as a human right , universal healthcare for all and backing a Green New Deal , will be enough to win over the people of the South Bronx .
If that sounds like a familiar platform it is because it is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , as well as having the official backing of Democratic Socialists of America , the group responsible for propelling firebrands such as Rashida Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez into power .
Lopez ’ s endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez is no small feat : her endorsement was much coveted for the Democratic presidential candidates this year .
Meanwhile , one candidate in the race , Díaz , has branded himself as the “ opposite of AOC ” – a shot at appealing to voters he believes are tired of increasingly liberal policies in New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ With a political career in the Bronx stretching back decades , he even has buildings named after him in the area .
His homophobia runs back to the 90s , too – as do his extreme stances on abortion .
In 2012 , in a 1,000-word document he stated : “ Hitler was pro-choice .
He chose to send the Jews to Auschwitz .
That was not their choice that was Hitler ’ s choice.
” López hopes candidates like Díaz ( alongside those she calls “ the corporate Democrats ” ) will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them – leaving her with a good chance at winning the remaining progressive votes .
That might be a long shot : at present , Díaz is the frontrunner in the race .
In June , an independently commissioned poll put him at 22 % of the vote , with López trailing behind on 2 % , above three other candidates .
The poll surveyed just 347 voters – most of which ( 34 % ) were still undecided on their vote .
López ’ s campaign claims the poll was conducted by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the head of the company that conducted it , claimed the results meant progressives should back Ritchie Torres , which the poll suggested had the best chance of stopping Diaz Sr. “ We must remember that three weeks out from AOC ’ s 2018 election , Joe Crowley ’ s polling had him leading by 36 percentage points , ” López ’ s team said .
Galvanizing Bronx voters under the current circumstances could prove tricky .
The Bronx has been hit hard by the coronavirus .
It leads New York City in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ deaths .
Locally , it has been referred to as the “ death towers ” .
New York ’ s shutdown , which remains firmly in place as select industries reopened , stripped door-knocking , leafletting and local events from López ’ s campaigning arsenal .
That ’ s a tough sell when you ’ re trying to build a grassroots movement from the ground up .
But López ’ s team are quietly assured .
She says door-knocking efforts before the pandemic gave her tens of thousands of resident ’ s details @ @ @ @ @ @ @ establish a mutual aid network , checking in on residents , running errands for them and delivering hot meals and groceries .
“ We are really proud of [ the network we have built ] - every time someone needs groceries we put them on a list and we try to get them as quickly as we can - that ’ s the biggest need right now in the South Bronx , ” says López .
She also has hundreds of volunteers at her disposal , phone-banking every week , in shifts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ claim to be reaching tens of thousands of voters each week , over half of whom are supportive López ’ s campaign .
So what will she do if she wins it ?
“ We are experiencing a lot of challenges and I can not promise that all these things will change overnight .
But what I can promise is that the representation [ people have ] experienced in this community will change , ” she says .

The first time Samelys López stood up for an adult she was eight years old. She and her mother were waiting in the welfare office for food stamps when López overheard the case officer speaking down to her mother.
Their lives before they got there hadn’t been easy. López and her mother moved from Puerto Rico when López was a baby, relocating to Williamsburg in New York. Back then, Williamsburg was the most densely populated urban neighbourhood in the US: a by-word for poverty rather than trendy coffee shops and vintage boutiques as it is today. It was also host to a fierce sweatshop trade, and López’s family were privy to its harsh hours and low pay.
So López did not like the assumption that her mother was poor because she had not worked hard enough. “I said, you can’t speak to her like that – she is hard-working, she paid into this system,” says Lopez. It was an early lesson to her, that services for poor people can humiliate, rather than help.
That story was one of many that would lead López to where she is today – aged 40, pressed up slightly too close on a Zoom call, from her living room that now doubles up as a campaign office. She is running for Congress in the south Bronx and under usual circumstances, the numbers might be in her favor. The seat is a Democratic stronghold – securing a 94% vote for Hilary Clinton in 2016 – it is the most left-leaning seat in the country. And while López’s humble background might be out of step with many in Congress (she had to give up her own health insurance just to run for office) it is reflective of many lives in the south Bronx, the poorest congressional district in the country. With 98% of its residents being people of color and more than half under 35 – it is fertile ground for a progressive contender.
There’s just one problem: she is running against nine other contenders, many of them former elected officials.
Growing up in New York’s homeless shelter system, López learned a lot. She learned how to dodge the bullies after school, who would follow her back to the shelter she lived in and laugh at her. She learned how to sit quietly in the back of the sweatshop while she did her homework – and as a byproduct of that, that her mother could work incredibly hard and still not be paid enough to afford a babysitter. She learned not to go to the communal bathrooms in her shelter without shoes on – in case there was blood or broken glass on the floor. Ultimately, she was learning that people like her deserved better.
Samelys López . Photograph: Gabriela Bhaskar/The Guardian
After graduating from Columbia University, López worked for the current incumbent in the south Bronx, congressman José E Serrano. She worked largely on housing cases, but tinkering around the edges while people continuously came back with the same problems frustrated her. She wanted to get involved at an earlier stage – long before people needed bailing out from evictions or were placed in another unaffordable home.
“I wanted to be part of the creative process of building affordable housing, learning about the development process, learning about housing finance. I wanted to be able to say: ‘OK, we need housing – now how do we build it?’” says López.
So López studied for a masters in urban planning – a passion which is made clear when she talks about how buildings, parks or highways can oppress or influence people.
López points to the history of the Bronx as an example of how planning decisions can affect a community forever. Robert Moses’ infamous Cross Bronx Expressway, for example, physically separated the south and the north Bronx, ripping up communities and homes in its path. It brought opportunity for some New Yorkers, but only at the expense of the working-class communities that it destroyed: low house prices as well as poorer life outcomes around that crossway have been blamed on its development.
She talks about the red lines drawn around communities of color in New York, in a time when coveted areas were color coded and graded through a mapping system. The green areas were marked with an “A” if they were were devoid of “a single foreigner or Negro”. Almost all of the south Bronx was coded red. Eventually, federal government lost interest in those areas, and banks deemed them too risky to lend to. Unable to make them profitable again, Landlords disowned their properties in the Bronx. Some even burned down people’s homes for the insurance money.
“The built environment influences your perception of the world and how you see yourself in it. When you see certain things around you, you internalize them – I did when I was growing up. You see cracked bottles and wonder: does this mean I’m not worth it? Am I not deserving of being in this world?” she says.
As a first-generation formerly homeless Latina, I remember the rent being due & the uncertainty it brought to my life.
That's why America needs a #HomesGuarantee & why I'm running for Congress.
Watch & RT our video & help bring our movement from BX➡DC https://t.co/7IDNBaA1oW! pic.twitter.com/IfWEDoKahA — #CancelRent Samelys López for NY-15🌹 (Bronx) (@SamelysLopez) April 1, 2020
So when López was in grad school, she and two colleagues – all women of color who loved cycling – created a program that would take kids from the Bronx on biking trips to educate them about their local surroundings.
“In communities of color that are underserved, we needed to create an avenue for those voices in the community, especially for young people,” says López about the project. They would cycle over to an affordable housing development, to learn about the housing development process, or to a community garden to learn how many local treasures existed there, waiting to be found.
To López’s mind, this was an exercise in redistribution. Planning, architecture, real estate – all are pivotal in deciding what a local area looks like, but they are dominated by white men. Changing the makeup of those professions could play a pivotal role in transforming a community.
“[We want] young people [to] acquire the language of urban planning, understand about the real estate development process, or about advocacy and how to fight for the changes they want to see in their community, on their own terms,” she says.
Samelys López and her team pack groceries into a box during a mutual aid run in the Bronx to help families who are food insecure during the Covid-19 crisis. Photograph: Gabriela Bhaskar/The Guardian
López is unafraid of her contenders, regardless of their money and clout. Her contenders – who, among others, include Michael Blake, vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, and New York state senator Rubén Díaz Sr – may have already established themselves politically. But according to López, that’s all the more reason for her to win.
“There are a lot of formerly elected officials running in this race that have taken positions for things like rezoning, that have pushed jail-building, that have a habit of taking lobbyist money and real estate developer money and a history of putting those interests first, before the people,” she tells me.
“What is [their] experience rooted in? Is it rooted in getting you to your career destination? Or was it rooted in transformational justice that is [guided by] your lived experiences and that of your community?” she says.
López has pledged not to take any corporate Pac money during her race, and hopes her platform, which includes fighting for housing as a human right, universal healthcare for all and backing a Green New Deal, will be enough to win over the people of the South Bronx.
If that sounds like a familiar platform it is because it is. López is backed by Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, as well as having the official backing of Democratic Socialists of America, the group responsible for propelling firebrands such as Rashida Tlaib and Ocasio-Cortez into power. Lopez’s endorsement from Ocasio-Cortez is no small feat: her endorsement was much coveted for the Democratic presidential candidates this year.
Meanwhile, one candidate in the race, Díaz, has branded himself as the “opposite of AOC” – a shot at appealing to voters he believes are tired of increasingly liberal policies in New York. Díaz has name recognition. With a political career in the Bronx stretching back decades, he even has buildings named after him in the area. His homophobia runs back to the 90s, too – as do his extreme stances on abortion. In 2012, in a 1,000-word document he stated: “Hitler was pro-choice. He chose to send the Jews to Auschwitz. That was not their choice that was Hitler’s choice.”
López hopes candidates like Díaz (alongside those she calls “the corporate Democrats”) will split the votes for the centre-ground between them – leaving her with a good chance at winning the remaining progressive votes. That might be a long shot: at present, Díaz is the frontrunner in the race. In June, an independently commissioned poll put him at 22% of the vote, with López trailing behind on 2%, above three other candidates. The poll surveyed just 347 voters – most of which (34%) were still undecided on their vote.
López’s campaign claims the poll was conducted by a Torres ally. Sean McElwee, the head of the company that conducted it, claimed the results meant progressives should back Ritchie Torres, which the poll suggested had the best chance of stopping Diaz Sr. “We must remember that three weeks out from AOC’s 2018 election, Joe Crowley’s polling had him leading by 36 percentage points,” López’s team said.
Galvanizing Bronx voters under the current circumstances could prove tricky. The Bronx has been hit hard by the coronavirus. It leads New York City in terms of Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Locally, it has been referred to as the “death towers”.
New York’s shutdown, which remains firmly in place as select industries reopen, stripped door-knocking, leafletting and local events from López’s campaigning arsenal. That’s a tough sell when you’re trying to build a grassroots movement from the ground up.
But López’s team are quietly assured. She says door-knocking efforts before the pandemic gave her tens of thousands of resident’s details. López has used them to help establish a mutual aid network, checking in on residents, running errands for them and delivering hot meals and groceries.
Samelys López and her team drop off a box of groceries on a mutual aid run in the Bronx. Photograph: Gabriela Bhaskar/The Guardian
“We are really proud of [the network we have built] - every time someone needs groceries we put them on a list and we try to get them as quickly as we can - that’s the biggest need right now in the South Bronx,” says López.
She also has hundreds of volunteers at her disposal, phone-banking every week, in shifts of 60-70 volunteers at a time. They claim to be reaching tens of thousands of voters each week, over half of whom are supportive López’s campaign.
So what will she do if she wins it?
“We are experiencing a lot of challenges and I cannot promise that all these things will change overnight. But what I can promise is that the representation [people have] experienced in this community will change,” she says.


theguardian--2020-06-21--A 2000 repeat in 2020? Concerns mount over ‘integrity’ of US election

Ron Klein survived the trench warfare of one disputed presidential election .
As co-chair of the Al Gore campaign in Florida two decades ago , he watched lawyers brutally slug it out for weeks over vote recounts .
“ Republicans were very aggressive , ” he recalls , “ and they beat the Democrats in court.
” Twenty years later , America is now staring down the barrel of an election that could make the shenanigans of Bush v Gore in 2000 look like child ’ s play .
Many voting systems across the US are still rickety and unprepared @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Cyberhacking , disinformation and the coronavirus are new threats .
Most ominously , this time there is an incumbent in the White House many fear will sow doubt , thrive on chaos and simply refuse to accept defeat .
“ The business community is really getting concerned about the integrity of this election , ” Klein added .
“ They ’ re concerned that it is being set up in a way that if it doesn ’ t go a certain person ’ s way , that person may claim that he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t leave .
They just feel in terms of the stability of the United States and likelihood of disruption , it ’ s very , very dangerous.
” The race to succeed Bill Clinton in 2000 came to hinge on swing state Florida .
Katherine Harris , the Florida secretary of state and co-chair of George W Bush ’ s statewide campaign , announced that Bush had won the state .
Gore called his opponent to concede but , as the margin narrowed , phoned back to withdraw his concession .
Democrats demanded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no .
Lawyers joined the battle on both sides , wrangling for five weeks over what voters had intended with poorly designed punch-card ballots ( “ hanging chads ” and “ dimpled chads ” ) and why likely Democrats appeared to have voted for Pat Buchanan , a conservative Christian running as a third-party candidate .
Republicans , future Donald Trump ally Roger Stone among them , seized the narrative with hardball tactics that included rowdy protests outside meetings of election officials .
The battle went all the way to the supreme court @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ruled that no alternative method of recount could be established in a timely manner .
Bush would be the 43rd president ; Gore said he disagreed with the verdict but accepted it .
Two decades on , both sides are already hiring lawyers for a bitter struggle that might go way beyond a handful of counties in a single state .
A preview was offered by a recent primary election in Georgia , where voters waited up to five hours to cast ballots at some polling places due to equipment problems , workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pandemic-related physical distancing measures .
Many voters showed up to vote in person because absentee ballots they requested never arrived by mail .
Officials said thousands of mailed-in ballots may not have been counted because of faulty software or badly calibrated vote-tabulation scanners .
To avoid similar setbacks in November , Democrats and voting rights activists are pushing for a massive expansion of mail-in voting .
Ron Wyden , Democratic senator for Oregon , which already votes by mail , warned in a Medium post this week : “ If Congress and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our country could face an electoral Chernobyl this fall.
” In a phone interview , Wyden added : “ We already know that Donald Trump is going to say the election has been stolen from him , no matter what , so we ’ re trying all the things to take away those kinds of arguments from him .
For example , our focus on having the state and federal governments do everything to prepare for expanded voting right now is absolutely key to minimizing the questions.
” But Trump has threatened to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to get absentee ballots to all voters .
The president has frequently asserted , without evidence , that mail-in voting leads to “ total election fraud ” and his Republican allies in Congress have repeatedly opposed funding to expand it .
It is a claim Trump is likely to make loudly if he is polling badly in November .
There are also concerns that he may seek to exploit any hiccups or irregularities ; Florida , for instance , is a crucial swing state with a long history of glitches .
Election experts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in many places , maybe by days , so that the winner is not known on election night – might Trump use that time to spread conspiracy theories and declare victory ?
Amplified by conservative media , he could establish a momentum that would be hard to stop , reminiscent of Bush in 2000 .
Klein , who went on to serve in Congress and is now a lawyer based in Fort Lauderdale , said : “ President Trump is splashing water on this notion that we ’ re not gon na have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fraud , unproven , like he did last time .
It ’ s very troubling to have the person who has the biggest microphone put out those kinds of thoughts and intimidate and scare people into thinking that no matter what the outcome , they ’ re not going to believe it ’ s fair .
That ’ s a threat to democracy itself.
” Trump ’ s challenger , Democrat Joe Biden , told Comedy Central ’ s Daily Show recently : “ This president is going to try to steal this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said that all mail-in ballots are fraudulent , voting by mail , while he sits behind the desk in the Oval Office and writes his mail-in ballot to vote in a primary ” – referring to Trump himself voting by mail in Florida .
But noting that military leaders have recently been willing to speak out against the president , Biden added : “ You have so many rank-and-file military personnel saying , ‘ Well , we ’ re not a military state , this is not who we are.
’ I promise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , they will escort him from the White House in a dispatch.
” There has never been such a scenario in a country that prides itself on the peaceful transfer of power at each inauguration .
Klein remarked : “ It ’ s pretty amazing to think that we ’ re even having this conversation : that a president wouldn ’ t leave if he or she was not successful and Biden ’ s comments that the military will have to intervene and take him out of the White House .
That is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t sound like the United States .
But I think at this stage , people have come to expect Donald Trump is capable of doing anything , so who knows ?
” Grassroots activists are mobilizing to prevent such a constitutional crisis .
Last week the groups Indivisible and Stand Up America launched Protect the Results , a joint effort to mobilize millions of Americans should Trump seek to undermine the outcome of the election .
The plans include protests and potential work strikes , calls to state and local election officials to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , and applying pressure on officials to defend democracy .
Ezra Levin , co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible , said : “ You ’ d have to be living under a rock for the last three and a half years to think that Donald Trump is going to go willingly .
The Trump campaign gives short shrift to the concerns .
Courtney Parella , deputy press secretary , said : “ The Democrats are the only ones trying to create chaos in our election system by pressuring states to switch to universal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warned that states can not and should not attempt to do by November .
“ The media and Democrats , like Senator Wyden , continue to spread fear to keep voters away from the polls while enthusiasm for the president is at a record high .
Preventing Americans from voting in-person is voter suppression and pretending that fraud doesn ’ t exist in mail voting is both dangerous and irresponsible .
Make no mistake , if Democrats in Washington take control of elections , we will never see another free and fair election.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ there appears to be one guaranteed winner of the 2020 election : the legal profession .
The looming dispute offers rich pickings .
Laurence Tribe , a constitutional law professor at Harvard University , observed : “ Both sides are lawyering up to the eyebrows .
There are lawyers in every state , both for the Democrats and for the Republicans , trying , depending on how you view it , either to protect the integrity of the vote or to subvert it .
“ The worst part of that is people are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They know it ’ s easily manipulated and that makes people more prone to listen to Trump and his minions when they say that the vote was stolen from them .
”

Ron Klein survived the trench warfare of one disputed presidential election. As co-chair of the Al Gore campaign in Florida two decades ago, he watched lawyers brutally slug it out for weeks over vote recounts. “Republicans were very aggressive,” he recalls, “and they beat the Democrats in court.”
Twenty years later, America is now staring down the barrel of an election that could make the shenanigans of Bush v Gore in 2000 look like child’s play.
Many voting systems across the US are still rickety and unprepared for a massive surge of mail-in ballots. Cyberhacking, disinformation and the coronavirus are new threats. Most ominously, this time there is an incumbent in the White House many fear will sow doubt, thrive on chaos and simply refuse to accept defeat.
“The business community is really getting concerned about the integrity of this election,” Klein added. “They’re concerned that it is being set up in a way that if it doesn’t go a certain person’s way, that person may claim that he still has the office and won’t leave. They just feel in terms of the stability of the United States and likelihood of disruption, it’s very, very dangerous.”
The race to succeed Bill Clinton in 2000 came to hinge on swing state Florida. Katherine Harris, the Florida secretary of state and co-chair of George W Bush’s statewide campaign, announced that Bush had won the state. Gore called his opponent to concede but, as the margin narrowed, phoned back to withdraw his concession.
Democrats demanded a recount in Florida but Republicans said no. Lawyers joined the battle on both sides, wrangling for five weeks over what voters had intended with poorly designed punch-card ballots (“hanging chads” and “dimpled chads”) and why likely Democrats appeared to have voted for Pat Buchanan, a conservative Christian running as a third-party candidate.
They’re concerned that it is being set up in a way that if it doesn’t go a certain person’s way, that person may claim that he still has the office Ron Klein
Republicans, future Donald Trump ally Roger Stone among them, seized the narrative with hardball tactics that included rowdy protests outside meetings of election officials. The battle went all the way to the supreme court which, in a 5-4 vote, ruled that no alternative method of recount could be established in a timely manner. Bush would be the 43rd president; Gore said he disagreed with the verdict but accepted it.
Two decades on, both sides are already hiring lawyers for a bitter struggle that might go way beyond a handful of counties in a single state. A preview was offered by a recent primary election in Georgia, where voters waited up to five hours to cast ballots at some polling places due to equipment problems, workers being unfamiliar with a new voting system and pandemic-related physical distancing measures.
Many voters showed up to vote in person because absentee ballots they requested never arrived by mail. Officials said thousands of mailed-in ballots may not have been counted because of faulty software or badly calibrated vote-tabulation scanners. To avoid similar setbacks in November, Democrats and voting rights activists are pushing for a massive expansion of mail-in voting.
People organize absentee ballots in Madison, Wisconsin, on 7 April. Photograph: Steve Apps/AP
Ron Wyden, Democratic senator for Oregon, which already votes by mail, warned in a Medium post this week: “If Congress and states don’t act immediately, our country could face an electoral Chernobyl this fall.”
In a phone interview, Wyden added: “We already know that Donald Trump is going to say the election has been stolen from him, no matter what, so we’re trying all the things to take away those kinds of arguments from him. For example, our focus on having the state and federal governments do everything to prepare for expanded voting right now is absolutely key to minimizing the questions.”
But Trump has threatened to pull funding from states that have tried to get absentee ballots to all voters. The president has frequently asserted, without evidence, that mail-in voting leads to “total election fraud” and his Republican allies in Congress have repeatedly opposed funding to expand it.
It is a claim Trump is likely to make loudly if he is polling badly in November. There are also concerns that he may seek to exploit any hiccups or irregularities; Florida, for instance, is a crucial swing state with a long history of glitches. Election experts have warned that results could be delayed in many places, maybe by days, so that the winner is not known on election night – might Trump use that time to spread conspiracy theories and declare victory? Amplified by conservative media, he could establish a momentum that would be hard to stop, reminiscent of Bush in 2000.
Klein, who went on to serve in Congress and is now a lawyer based in Fort Lauderdale, said: “President Trump is splashing water on this notion that we’re not gonna have a fair election because there’s fraud, unproven, like he did last time. It’s very troubling to have the person who has the biggest microphone put out those kinds of thoughts and intimidate and scare people into thinking that no matter what the outcome, they’re not going to believe it’s fair. That’s a threat to democracy itself.”
Trump’s challenger, Democrat Joe Biden, told Comedy Central’s Daily Show recently: “This president is going to try to steal this election. This is a guy who said that all mail-in ballots are fraudulent, voting by mail, while he sits behind the desk in the Oval Office and writes his mail-in ballot to vote in a primary” – referring to Trump himself voting by mail in Florida.
But noting that military leaders have recently been willing to speak out against the president, Biden added: “You have so many rank-and-file military personnel saying, ‘Well, we’re not a military state, this is not who we are.’ I promise you, I’m absolutely convinced, they will escort him from the White House in a dispatch.”
There has never been such a scenario in a country that prides itself on the peaceful transfer of power at each inauguration.
Klein remarked: “It’s pretty amazing to think that we’re even having this conversation: that a president wouldn’t leave if he or she was not successful and Biden’s comments that the military will have to intervene and take him out of the White House. That is just like Venezuela; it doesn’t sound like the United States. But I think at this stage, people have come to expect Donald Trump is capable of doing anything, so who knows?”
Grassroots activists are mobilizing to prevent such a constitutional crisis.
Last week the groups Indivisible and Stand Up America launched Protect the Results, a joint effort to mobilize millions of Americans should Trump seek to undermine the outcome of the election. The plans include protests and potential work strikes, calls to state and local election officials to ensure that every vote is counted accurately, and applying pressure on officials to defend democracy.
You’d have to be living under a rock for the last three and a half years to think that Donald Trump is going to go willingly Ezra Levin
Ezra Levin, co-founder and co-executive director of Indivisible, said: “You’d have to be living under a rock for the last three and a half years to think that Donald Trump is going to go willingly.
The Trump campaign gives short shrift to the concerns. Courtney Parella, deputy press secretary, said: “The Democrats are the only ones trying to create chaos in our election system by pressuring states to switch to universal vote-by-mail, something election experts have already warned that states cannot and should not attempt to do by November.
“The media and Democrats, like Senator Wyden, continue to spread fear to keep voters away from the polls while enthusiasm for the president is at a record high. Preventing Americans from voting in-person is voter suppression and pretending that fraud doesn’t exist in mail voting is both dangerous and irresponsible. Make no mistake, if Democrats in Washington take control of elections, we will never see another free and fair election.”
But just as in 2000, there appears to be one guaranteed winner of the 2020 election: the legal profession.
The looming dispute offers rich pickings. Laurence Tribe, a constitutional law professor at Harvard University, observed: “Both sides are lawyering up to the eyebrows. There are lawyers in every state, both for the Democrats and for the Republicans, trying, depending on how you view it, either to protect the integrity of the vote or to subvert it.
“The worst part of that is people are essentially primed not to trust the process. They know it’s easily manipulated and that makes people more prone to listen to Trump and his minions when they say that the vote was stolen from them.”


theguardian--2020-06-21--The Room Where It Happened review: John Bolton fires broadside that could sink Trump

The ex-national security adviser is no hero or martyr and certainly no prose stylist either .
What counts is how damaging his memoir will be The Room Where It Happened review : John Bolton fires broadside that could sink Trump The Room Where It Happened review : John Bolton fires broadside that could sink Trump John Bolton ’ s near-600-page tome is the most damning written account by a Trump administration alumnus , the one that stands to haunt the president come November .
In the author ’ s judgment , “ I don ’ t think he ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ t think he has the competence to carry out the job.
” Joe Biden couldn ’ t say it better himself .
Finally , Donald Trump ’ s third national security adviser is spilling his guts .
Trump begging for China ’ s assistance in 2019 makes his waltz in 2016 with WikiLeaks almost comical .
“ Make sure I win … Buy a lot of soybeans and wheat and make sure we win , ” said the MAGA King , abasing himself before Xi Jinping , successor to the Dragon Throne , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s narrative .
The president ’ s loyalists know they are staring at a problem that isn ’ t disappearing .
Insult is the only available weapon .
Mike Pompeo , the secretary of state , called Bolton a traitor .
Peter Navarro , the White House trade hawk , labeled The Room Where It Happened “ deep swamp revenge porn ” .
On Saturday , a federal judge declined to block the book ’ s publication .
Make that three big losses in one week for Bill Barr ’ s justice department @ @ @ @ @ @ @ then Daca and the Dreamers , now this .
And that ’ s not including the standoff with the US attorney for the Southern District of New York that didn ’ t got quite as planned for Trump and Roy Cohn 2.0 .
Trump trails Biden by double digits .
His consigliere , Rudy Giuliani , is begging for more than three debates in the fall .
Tulsa was a bust .
The president ’ s tailspin is pronounced , showing no sign of let-up .
The Room Where It Happened is laden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it a book to be believed .
Putting things into perspective , Trump ’ s justice department never went after A Warning , an insider-wannabe ’ s account of Trumpian bedlam penned by “ Anonymous ” .
Likewise , no one will confuse Bolton with Omarosa or Sean Spicer .
There is no reality TV in Bolton ’ s past or future .
Just the public ’ s verdict .
Not surprisingly , Trump bashes Bolton as a liar and threatens him with criminal prosecution .
But Bolton retains his famed notepads .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ public persona is little different from the man behind the Resolute Desk .
The Room Where It Happened chronicles , for example , Trump ’ s animus toward the late Senator John McCain .
Bolton describes the president ’ s “ vindictiveness , as evidenced by the constant eruptions against John McCain , even after McCain died and could do Trump no more harm ” .
Back in the day , Bolton was recruited by James A Baker III , like McCain a Republican lion , Ronald Reagan ’ s chief of staff @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of state .
To quote Baker , “ John ’ s an extraordinarily bright guy.
” In 2018 , when the president was looking to offload HR McMaster , his second national security adviser , Bolton was on Fox News auditioning .
Trump liked what he saw and heard .
The rest is spectacle .
Bolton is neither hero nor martyr .
It ’ s not in his DNA .
A staunch proponent of the Iraq war and an implacable Iran foe , he sees death as something for others .
In his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wrote : “ I confess I had no desire to die in a south-east Asian rice paddy .
I considered the war in Vietnam already lost.
” Think of Dick Cheney saying the quiet part loud – in Dolby sound .
Late last year , during impeachment proceedings against Trump , the nation focused on the congressional testimony of Fiona Hill and Lt Col Alexander Vindman , members of Bolton ’ s own National Security Council .
Bolton himself sat mum , despite the fact he had already left the White House .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ got hot .
During the impeachment trial , Bolton said he would respect a Senate subpoena demanding his testimony – knowing that writ would never arrive .
Even as The Room Where It Happened is published , Senate Republicans persist in claiming Bolton ’ s revelations would not have changed a thing .
Bolton witnessed the president trading national security for dirt on Biden , bartering the US justice system for Turkey ’ s benefit , turning into Xi ’ s lapdog .
But when it counted , Bolton elected to hold his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ limited rewards .
For the price of a publisher ’ s advance , Bolton now opines that the House Democrats committed “ impeachment malpractice ” by not broadening their investigation .
He may have come to loathe the president , but “ owning the libs ” took precedence .
In case anyone forgot , once upon a time Bolton was a client of Cambridge Analytica , the now defunct Breitbart affiliate and Robert Mercer-owned company that hoovered up personal data and illicitly interfered in the Brexit vote .
In 2014 , Bolton ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for “ behavioral microtargeting with psychographic messaging ” .
That meant plundering Facebook users ’ data .
According to whistleblower Christopher Wylie : “ Bolton Pac was obsessed with how America was becoming limp-wristed and spineless and it wanted research and messaging for national security issues.
” In his book , Bolton ’ s description is more modest : “ In late 2013 , I formed a Pac and a Super Pac to aid House and Senate candidates who believed in a strong US national security policy.
” He also shares world leaders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ policy chops .
The Room Where It Happened records the doubts of Benjamin Netanyahu , Israel ’ s prime minister , about Jared Kushner ’ s ability to deliver Middle East peace .
Says Bolton , Netanyahu was “ enough of a politician not to oppose the idea publicly , but like much of the world , he wondered why Kushner thought he would succeed where the likes of Kissinger had failed.
” Delusion ?
Hubris ?
Either will do .
On that score , the author observes the relationship between the Israeli @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had spanned decades .
In a non-denial denial , Netanyahu has said he “ has complete faith ” in “ Kushner ’ s abilities and rejects any description to the contrary ” .
Bolton ’ s prose is lackluster .
But that ’ s a relatively minor shortcoming .
More egregious is the book ’ s title , which is lazy and self-aggrandizing .
Bolton has ripped-off Lin-Manuel Miranda and compared himself to Alexander Hamilton , founding father and first treasury secretary .
Talk about overreach .
In Miranda ’ s Broadway smash @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lack of nexus to power , as opposed to the play ’ s protagonist , who is negotiating a grand compromise on the federal government ’ s assumption of the states ’ debt .
In song , Burr complains : “ I wan na be in the room where it happens.
” When an American president is caught giving a thumbs-up to concentration camps for Muslims – an allegation the White House has not denied – and his son-in-law is the grandson of Holocaust survivors , that ’ s one heckuva story .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steve Bannon , another Cambridge Analytica partner , predicted China would be the “ centerpiece ” of this year ’ s campaign .
How right he is .
Except it will be Trump , not Biden , who will be catching grief for being the Middle Kingdom ’ s poodle .
Vladimir Putin , move over .
The Room Where It Happened is the best opposition research dump .
Ever .

John Bolton’s near-600-page tome is the most damning written account by a Trump administration alumnus, the one that stands to haunt the president come November. In the author’s judgment, “I don’t think he’s fit for office. I don’t think he has the competence to carry out the job.” Joe Biden couldn’t say it better himself.
Finally, Donald Trump’s third national security adviser is spilling his guts. Trump begging for China’s assistance in 2019 makes his waltz in 2016 with WikiLeaks almost comical. “Make sure I win … Buy a lot of soybeans and wheat and make sure we win,” said the Maga King, abasing himself before Xi Jinping, successor to the Dragon Throne, in the uncut version of Bolton’s narrative.
The president’s loyalists know they are staring at a problem that isn’t disappearing. Insult is the only available weapon. Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, called Bolton a traitor. Peter Navarro, the White House trade hawk, labeled The Room Where It Happened “deep swamp revenge porn”.
On Saturday, a federal judge declined to block the book’s publication. Make that three big losses in one week for Bill Barr’s justice department. First, LGBTQ workforce rights, then Daca and the Dreamers, now this. And that’s not including the standoff with the US attorney for the southern district of New York that didn’t got quite as planned for Trump and Roy Cohn 2.0.
Trump trails Biden by double digits. His consigliere, Rudy Giuliani, is begging for more than three debates in the fall. Tulsa was a bust. The president’s tailspin is pronounced, showing no sign of let-up.
To quote James Baker, 'John’s an extraordinarily bright guy.' Baker didn’t say wise
The Room Where It Happened is laden with proximity and credibility, which makes it a book to be believed. Putting things into perspective, Trump’s justice department never went after A Warning, an insider-wannabe’s account of Trumpian bedlam penned by “Anonymous”. Likewise, no one will confuse Bolton with Omarosa or Sean Spicer. There is no reality TV in Bolton’s past or future. Just the public’s verdict.
Not surprisingly, Trump bashes Bolton as a liar and threatens him with criminal prosecution. But Bolton retains his famed notepads. Trump beware.
The president’s public persona is little different from the man behind the Resolute Desk. The Room Where It Happened chronicles, for example, Trump’s animus toward the late John McCain. Bolton describes the president’s “vindictiveness, as evidenced by the constant eruptions against McCain, even after McCain died and could do Trump no more harm”.
Back in the day, Bolton was recruited by James A Baker III, like McCain a Republican lion, Ronald Reagan’s chief of staff and George HW Bush’s secretary of state. To quote Baker, “John’s an extraordinarily bright guy.”
Baker didn’t say wise.
In 2018, when the president was looking to offload HR McMaster, his second national security adviser, Bolton was on Fox News auditioning. Trump liked what he saw and heard. The rest is spectacle.
Bolton is neither hero nor martyr. It’s not in his DNA. A staunch proponent of the Iraq war and an implacable Iran foe, he sees death as something for others. In his Yale University 25th reunion yearbook, he wrote: “I confess I had no desire to die in a south-east Asian rice paddy. I considered the war in Vietnam already lost.” Think of Dick Cheney saying the quiet part loud – in Dolby sound.
Late last year, during impeachment proceedings against Trump, the nation focused on the congressional testimony of Fiona Hill and Lt Col Alexander Vindman, members of Bolton’s own National Security Council. Bolton himself sat mum, despite the fact he had already left the White House. Like Nero, he fiddled when things got hot.
During the impeachment trial, Bolton said he would respect a Senate subpoena demanding his testimony – knowing that writ would never arrive. Even as The Room Where It Happened is published, Senate Republicans persist in claiming Bolton’s revelations would not have changed a thing.
He may have come to loathe the president, but 'owning the libs' took precedence
Bolton witnessed the president trading national security for dirt on Biden, bartering the US justice system for Turkey’s benefit, turning into Xi’s lapdog. But when it counted, Bolton elected to hold his peace. Belatedly posing as virtuous brings limited rewards.
For the price of a publisher’s advance, Bolton now opines that the House Democrats committed “impeachment malpractice” by not broadening their investigation. He may have come to loathe the president, but “owning the libs” took precedence.
In case anyone forgot, once upon a time Bolton was a client of Cambridge Analytica, the now defunct Breitbart affiliate and Robert Mercer-owned company that hoovered up personal data and illicitly interfered in the Brexit vote.
In 2014, Bolton’s Super Pac contracted with the company for “behavioral microtargeting with psychographic messaging”. That meant plundering Facebook users’ data.
According to whistleblower Christopher Wylie: “Bolton Pac was obsessed with how America was becoming limp-wristed and spineless and it wanted research and messaging for national security issues.” In his book, Bolton’s description is more modest: “In late 2013, I formed a Pac and a Super Pac to aid House and Senate candidates who believed in a strong US national security policy.”
Jared Kushner, Steven Mnuchin, Trump and Bolton, in the cabinet room at the White House in September 2018. Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
He also shares world leaders’ impressions of Trump Inc’s policy chops. The Room Where It Happened records the doubts of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, about Jared Kushner’s ability to deliver Middle East peace.
Says Bolton, Netanyahu was “enough of a politician not to oppose the idea publicly, but like much of the world, he wondered why Kushner thought he would succeed where the likes of Kissinger had failed.” Delusion? Hubris? Either will do.
On that score, the author observes the relationship between the Israeli prime minister and Kushner’s family had spanned decades. In a non-denial denial, Netanyahu has said he “has complete faith” in “Kushner’s abilities and rejects any description to the contrary”.
Bolton’s prose is lackluster. But that’s a relatively minor shortcoming. More egregious is the book’s title, which is lazy and self-aggrandizing. Bolton has ripped-off Lin-Manuel Miranda and compared himself to Alexander Hamilton, founding father and first treasury secretary. Talk about overreach.
In Miranda’s Broadway smash, Hamilton, Aaron Burr laments his lack of nexus to power, as opposed to the play’s protagonist, who is negotiating a grand compromise on the federal government’s assumption of the states’ debt. In song, Burr complains: “I wanna be in the room where it happens.”
When an American president is caught giving a thumbs-up to concentration camps for Muslims – an allegation the White House has not denied – and his son-in-law is the grandson of Holocaust survivors, that’s one heckuva story.
Just before the book oozed out, Steve Bannon, another Cambridge Analytica partner, predicted China would be the “centerpiece” of this year’s campaign. How right he is.
Except it will be Trump, not Biden, who will be catching grief for being the Middle Kingdom’s poodle. Vladimir Putin, move over. The Room Where It Happened is the best opposition research dump. Ever.


theguardian--2020-06-21--'Saving our country': Trump's most loyal supporters turn out at Tulsa rally

The arena may have only been half full .
The queues relatively small .
But Donald Trump ’ s return rally , held in the midst of a pandemic and against local public health advice , still drew thousands of the president ’ s most loyal followers .
Unperturbed by the spread of a virus that has no cure , mostly uninterested by gentle guidance to wear protective face masks , and unfazed by the complete lack of social distancing inside the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa , Oklahoma – many Trump supporters drew their faith in protection from the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we charged the beaches in Normandy it was dangerous also , ” said Christopher Miller , 50 .
“ And right now I believe we ’ re trying to save our country for my children.
” Miller , who was not wearing a face mask as he walked towards the center , was accompanied by his wife and young son .
Asked if he was concerned about local health officials cautioning the event could lead to unmitigated spread of the virus , which has so far claimed 119,000 lives , he said he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lord Jesus Christ .
He gives us not fear but the spirit of power and love.
” For Sherrill Sellman , a naturopathic doctor and self-described health writer , it was faith in her own immune system and a belief that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had inflated the number of Covid-19 deaths in the country .
“ We ’ re not getting the full story , so I don ’ t buy these statistics .
And I ’ m educated , ” she said , confirming she would not wear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mandated ” .
Outside the BOK center a mixture of armed militia groups , conspiracy theorists and vendors – one selling a four volume collection that was simply reprints of Donald Trump ’ s tweets – meant that journalists were occasionally confronted for wearing masks and other protective gear and trying to social distance .
The InfoWars host and internet troll Owen Shroyer , declined to speak to the Guardian unless face masks were removed during the interview .
“ Enjoy your slavery , ” he said , when his request was refused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ member of the Bikers For Trump group , had arrived on a motorcycle with his wife , Cupid , and around 50 other members of the group .
Most were armed and Cupps and his wife both displayed their holstered Glock pistols as they spoke .
None had plans to go inside the arena .
“ I ’ m here to keep the protesters at bay , ” he said .
“ If they start destroying and raising hell , we ’ re going to go and stop them.
” Although counter protests @ @ @ @ @ @ @ night after the president spoke a small group were pepper balled by police who also fired bean bag rounds , according to witnesses .
Large swathes of police in riot gear and armored vehicles patrolled throughout the day .
National guard troops holding long rifles were situated at perimeter lines around the arena .
Inside the half packed arena , many people queued for popcorn and hotdogs , none observing social distancing .
Despite the fact the venue was nowhere near capacity , attendees still sat next to each other .
Outwardly , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inner circle had been saying on Saturday morning that they hoped attendees would socially distance and wear masks .
Trump ’ s former lawyer , Pam Bondi , who represented the president during his impeachment trial in the senate , told the Guardian in a brief exchange at a nearby hotel .
“ We hope that people are going to stay socially distanced , are going to wear a mask , [ use ] hand sanitiser and be respectful of each other , ” Bondi said but conceded : “ It ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s people ’ s own free choice .
But we hope everyone will be peaceful and happy and have a great rally and social distance ” Less than a mile away at the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation park , the site of a memorial to the 1921 Tulsa race massacre , one of the worst episodes of racist violence in American history , a group of around 250 Black Lives Matter protesters held quiet vigil .
“ The real Tulsa is right here , ” said Mark Whited , a leader of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ Tulsa is a city of love… Tulsa is a community that comes together , a lot of us stand up for what is right.
” He pointed towards the arena : “ Our event today was about nothing other than unity and inclusion .
Not of separation and division over there .
”

The arena may have only been half full. The queues relatively small. But Donald Trump’s return rally, held in the midst of a pandemic and against local public health advice, still drew thousands of the president’s most loyal followers.
Unperturbed by the spread of a virus that has no cure, mostly uninterested by gentle guidance to wear protective face masks, and unfazed by the complete lack of social distancing inside the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa, Oklahoma – many Trump supporters drew their faith in protection from the virus from other forces.
“When we charged the beaches in Normandy it was dangerous also,” said Christopher Miller, 50. “And right now I believe we’re trying to save our country for my children.”
Miller, who was not wearing a face mask as he walked towards the center, was accompanied by his wife and young son. Asked if he was concerned about local health officials cautioning the event could lead to unmitigated spread of the virus, which has so far claimed 119,000 lives, he said he was not. Why?
“The Lord Jesus Christ. He gives us not fear but the spirit of power and love.”
For Sherrill Sellman, a naturopathic doctor and self-described health writer, it was faith in her own immune system and a belief that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had inflated the number of Covid-19 deaths in the country.
“We’re not getting the full story, so I don’t buy these statistics. And I’m educated,” she said, confirming she would not wear a mask unless it was “absolutely mandated”.
Outside the BOK center a mixture of armed militia groups, conspiracy theorists and vendors – one selling a four volume collection that was simply reprints of Donald Trump’s tweets – meant that journalists were occasionally confronted for wearing masks and other protective gear and trying to social distance.
Supporters of Donald J Trump hold placards during a rally inside the Bank of Oklahoma Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Photograph: Albert Halim/EPA
The InfoWars host and internet troll Owen Shroyer, declined to speak to the Guardian unless face masks were removed during the interview. “Enjoy your slavery,” he said, when his request was refused.
Josh Cupps, 34 and a member of the Bikers For Trump group, had arrived on a motorcycle with his wife, Cupid, and around 50 other members of the group. Most were armed and Cupps and his wife both displayed their holstered Glock pistols as they spoke. None had plans to go inside the arena.
“I’m here to keep the protesters at bay,” he said. “If they start destroying and raising hell, we’re going to go and stop them.”
Although counter protests remained almost entirely peaceful, on Saturday night after the president spoke a small group were pepper balled by police who also fired bean bag rounds, according to witnesses.
Large swathes of police in riot gear and armored vehicles patrolled throughout the day. National guard troops holding long rifles were situated at perimeter lines around the arena.
Inside the half packed arena, many people queued for popcorn and hotdogs, none observing social distancing. Despite the fact the venue was nowhere near capacity, attendees still sat next to each other.
Outwardly, however, members of Trump’s inner circle had been saying on Saturday morning that they hoped attendees would socially distance and wear masks. Trump’s former lawyer, Pam Bondi, who represented the president during his impeachment trial in the senate, told the Guardian in a brief exchange at a nearby hotel.
“We hope that people are going to stay socially distanced, are going to wear a mask, [use] hand sanitiser and be respectful of each other,” Bondi said but conceded: “It’s not a legal requirement, it’s people’s own free choice. But we hope everyone will be peaceful and happy and have a great rally and social distance”
Less than a mile away at the John Hope Franklin Reconciliation park, the site of a memorial to the 1921 Tulsa race massacre, one of the worst episodes of racist violence in American history, a group of around 250 Black Lives Matter protesters held quiet vigil.
“The real Tulsa is right here,” said Mark Whited, a leader of the Black Lives Matter chapter of Tulsa. “Tulsa is a city of love… Tulsa is a community that comes together, a lot of us stand up for what is right.”
He pointed towards the arena: “Our event today was about nothing other than unity and inclusion. Not of separation and division over there.”


theguardian--2020-06-21--US president says 'silent majority is stronger than ever before' – as it happened

Donald Trump declared “ the silent majority is stronger than ever before ” at his comeback rally on Saturday , @ @ @ @ @ appeared to tell a different story .
The US president ’ s much hyped return @ @ @ @ @ to humiliation when he failed to fill a 19,000-capacity arena in the Republican stronghold of @ @ @ @ @ about his chances of winning re-election .
“ The Emperor has no crowd , ” @ @ @ @ @ former senior adviser to Barack Obama .
The overwhelmingly white gathering at Trump ’ s @ @ @ @ @ dwarfed by the huge multiracial crowds that have marched for Black Lives Matter across the @ @ @ @ @ reinforcing criticism that the president is badly out of step with the national mood .
@ @ @ @ @ an unexpected anticlimax for an event that seemed to offer a combustible mix of Trump @ @ @ @ @ and a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 120,000 Americans and put more than @ @ @ @ @ You can read the full report below :

Tom Lutz, Bryan Armen Graham and Martin Pengelly  in New York

21 Jun 2020 04.40 BST Oliver Laughland is on the ground for us in Tulsa and says scenes on the streets are peaceful at the moment: Protesters have converged at an underpass in Greenwood, site of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, there are 100s if not over 1k people.
It’s become a dance party, also with very little social distancing and limited use of masks: pic.twitter.com/YoSND72SF2 — Oliver Laughland (@oliverlaughland) June 21, 2020
21 Jun 2020 04.30 BST David Smith Donald Trump declared “the silent majority is stronger than ever before” at his comeback rally on Saturday, but thousands of empty seats appeared to tell a different story. The US president’s much hyped return to the campaign trail turned to humiliation when he failed to fill a 19,000-capacity arena in the Republican stronghold of Oklahoma, raising fresh doubts about his chances of winning re-election. “The Emperor has no crowd,” tweeted Dan Pfeiffer, a former senior adviser to Barack Obama. The overwhelmingly white gathering at Trump’s first rally since March was dwarfed by the huge multiracial crowds that have marched for Black Lives Matter across the country in recent weeks, reinforcing criticism that the president is badly out of step with the national mood. The flop in Tulsa was an unexpected anticlimax for an event that seemed to offer a combustible mix of Trump, protests over racial injustice and a coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 120,000 Americans and put more than 40m out of work. You can read the full report below: Donald Trump sows division and promises 'greatness' at Tulsa rally flop Read more
Updated at 04.30 BST
21 Jun 2020 04.16 BST Lois Beckett More on the protests in Tulsa. Mason Haynes, 21, an Oklahoma film student who has been photographing and filming the protest, told the Guardian over the phone that law enforcement had used pepper-ball chemical irritant and shot bean bags at protesters near the corner of Fifth St and Boulder Avenue about half an hour ago.
The protesters in that area included both Black Lives Matter and pro-Trump protesters, Haynes said.
Various law enforcement vehicles had been trying to get through the intersection, he said, and a bus full of the national guard had “got stuck in front of the protesters, and the cops kind of had to take control,” he said, “by shooting peaceful protesters with chemical irritant.” had to transition to the gas mask. a look at the area while some of the chemical irritant was still in the air. 4th and Boulder, Tulsa. pic.twitter.com/6MHoZvliTf — sam (@samanthavicent) June 21, 2020
More recently, reporters with the Tulsa World and others tweeted that some protesters have marched to Tulsa’s historic “Black Wall Street” in Greenwood, where music is playing and the demonstration has become upbeat.
Protesters have gathered at the front steps of Vernon AME Church, which withstood the Tulsa Race Massacre. #BlackLivesMatter is projected on the side of the church. pic.twitter.com/n5mh3Ljb9G — Tim Landes (@TimLandesJr) June 21, 2020
21 Jun 2020 03.39 BST There are reports of police using pepper balls to disperse a crowd protesting outside the BOK Center, where Donald Trump held his rally tonight. RIGHT NOW: Protests are starting outside the BOK Center in downtown Tulsa near 4th & Boulder. News On 6’s Brooke Griffin says police have used pepper balls in the area. She says some people ran away, others poured water on their faces. Heavy police presence in area. #TulsaRally pic.twitter.com/hxfy1e9G6n — Shannon Rousseau (@shannonrousseau) June 21, 2020 Police just fired what people are calling pepper balls into the crowd to push people back near Boulder and Fourth. pic.twitter.com/WdJ2J49V4P — Kayla Branch (@kayla_branch) June 21, 2020
Updated at 03.40 BST
21 Jun 2020 03.33 BST The Trump campaign had reported hundreds of thousands of people had signed up for tonight’s rally. There were definitely not that many in Tulsa, and there are reports that social media campaigns on campaigns including TikTok had been used to get people to claim tickets they had no intention of using. A member of the president’s campaign denied to CNN that was the case. “We had legitimate 300,000 signups of Republicans who voted in the last four elections. Those are not [TikTok] kids. It was fear of violent protests. This is obvious with the lack of families and children at the rally. We normally have thousands of families,” the official told the broadcaster.
Updated at 03.49 BST
21 Jun 2020 03.26 BST Trump went after Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez twice in his speech tonight. As Ocasio-Cortez herself says, it’s interesting that the most powerful person in the United States sees a first-term member of Congress as one of his main opponents. Perhaps because she represents what many of his most loyal supporters fear. Ah yes - in fact, I’m so uncharismatic and untalented that the President of the United States has dedicated time at multiple rallies over two years to talk about me, a first term member of Congress 💁🏽♀ https://t.co/OncmV2u7Nw — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 21, 2020