PBS NewsHour Weekend; PBS NewsHour Weekend : KQED : August 13, 2017 5:30pm-6:01pm PDT

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>> Sreenivasan: ON THIS EDITION FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 13: MURDER CHARGES IN CHARLOTTESVILLE FOR THE MAN WHO ALLEGEDLY DROVE A CAR INTO A CROWD OF DEMONSTRATORS AND THE TERROR THREAT POSED TO THE HOMELAND BY WHITE SUPREMACISTS AND OTHER RIGHT WING EXTREMISTS. NEXT ON "PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND."

>> PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND IS MADE POSSIBLE BY: BERNARD AND IRENE SCHWARTZ. THE CHERYL AND PHILIP MILSTEIN FAMILY. DR. P. ROY VAGELOS AND DIANA T. VAGELOS. THE J.B.P. FOUNDATION. SUE AND EDGAR WACHENHEIM, III. THE ANDERSON FAMILY FUND. ROSALIND P. WALTER, IN MEMORY OF ABBY M. O'NEILL. BARBARA HOPE ZUCKERBERG. CORPORATE FUNDING IS PROVIDED BY MUTUAL OF AMERICA-- DESIGNING CUSTOMIZED INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP RETIREMENT PRODUCTS. THAT'S WHY WE'RE YOUR ADDITIONAL SUPPORT HAS BEEN PROVIDED BY: AND BY THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING, AND BY CONTRIBUTIONS TO YOUR PBS STATION FROM VIEWERS LIKE YOU. THANK YOU. FROM THE TISCH WNET STUDIOS AT LINCOLN CENTER IN NEW YORK, HARI SREENIVASAN.

>> Sreenivasan: GOOD EVENING AND THANKS FOR JOINING US. A DAY AFTER WHITE NATIONALIST PROTESTERS AND COUNTER- PROTESTERS CLASHED VIOLENTLY IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA, THE CITY IS STARTING TO PICK UP THE PIECES. TODAY, MOURNERS GATHERED AT A MAKESHIFT MEMORIAL WHERE AN INTENTIONAL CAR CRASH TOOK THE LIFE OF A WOMAN. IT IS NOW BEING LABELED AN ACT OF TERRORISM. FRIENDS SAY THE VICTIM STOOD UP TO BIGOTRY. "NEWSHOUR WEEKEND'S" MEGAN THOMPSON HAS MORE.

>> Reporter: A 20-YEAR-OLD OHIO MAN IS CHARGED WITH MURDER FOR PLOWING HIS CAR INTO A CROWD OF PEOPLE PROTESTING THE WHITE NATIONALIST RALLY IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA, YESTERDAY. JAMES ALEX FIELDS, JR. IS BEING HELD WITHOUT BAIL AND IS SCHEDULED TO BE ARRAIGNED IN CHARLOTTESVILLE GENERAL DISTRICT COURT TOMORROW MORNING. HE WAS HOLDING A SHIELD WITH THE EMBLEM OF A WHITE SUPREMACIST GROUP. THE HIT AND RUN WAS A SILVER DODGE SEDAN BEARING OHIO PLATES THE HIT AND RUN, WITH A SILVER DODGE SEDAN BEARING OHIO PLATES, OCCURRED A FEW HOURS AFTER POLICE HAD LARGELY CLEARED DOWNTOWN CHARLOTTESVILLE AND SEPARATED THE CROWDS. TODAY, AUTHORITIES IDENTIFIED THE WOMAN KILLED IN THE CRASH AS 32-YEAR-OLD HEATHER HEYER, A LEGAL ASSISTANT FROM CHARLOTTESVILLE, WHO WAS AMONG THE COUNTER-PROTESTERS. THE CRASH ALSO INJURED 19 OTHER PEOPLE, SOME WITH MAJOR INJURIES THAT REQUIRED HOSPITAL TREATMENT. TODAY, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER, H.R. McMASTER SAID, HE DOES CONSIDER THE CRASH AN ACT OF TERRORISM.

>> I CERTAINLY THINK ANY TIME THAT YOU COMMIT AN ATTACK AGAINST PEOPLE TO INCITE FEAR, IT IS TERRORISM. IT MEETS THE DEFINITION OF TERRORISM. BUT WHAT THIS IS, WHAT YOU SEE HERE, IS YOU SEE SOMEONE WHO IS A CRIMINAL, WHO IS COMMITTING A CRIMINAL ACT, AGAINST FELLOW AMERICANS. A CRIMINAL ACT THAT MAY HAVE BEEN MOTIVATED, AND WE'LL SEE WHAT THE-- WHAT'S TURNED UP IN THIS INVESTIGATION, BY THIS HATRED AND BIGOTRY.

>> Reporter: THE FEDERAL JUSTICE DEPARTMENT HAS LAUNCHED A FEDERAL A CIVIL RIGHTS INVESTIGATION INTO THE CRASH. IN A WRITTEN STATEMENT, ATTORNEY GENERAL JEFF SESSIONS SAID:" THE VIOLENCE AND DEATHS IN CHARLOTTESVILLE STRIKE AT THE HEART OF AMERICAN LAW AND JUSTICE. WHEN SUCH ACTIONS ARISE FROM RACIAL BIGOTRY AND HATRED, THEY BETRAY OUR CORE VALUES AND CANNOT BE TOLERATED." TODAY, VIRGINIA AUTHORITIES CONTINUED TO INVESTIGATE THE CAUSE OF TWO OTHER DEATHS-- A HELICOPTER CRASH THAT KILLED TWO STATE POLICE OFFICERS WHO HAD BEEN ON AERIAL PATROL. YESTERDAY'S CLASHES ERUPTED OVER THE PROTEST PLANNED BY RIGHT WING EXTREMISTS GROUPS, INCLUDING THE KU KLUX KLAN, OVER THE PLANNED REMOVAL OF A STATUE OF CONFEDERATE GENERAL ROBERT E LEE FROM A CHARLOTTESVILLE PARK. TODAY WHEN ONE OF THE ORGANIZERS OF THE UNIT THE RIGHT RALLY HELD A PRESS CONFERENCE OUTSIDE CITY HALL HE BLAMED COUNTERPROTESTORS FOR THE VIOLENCE.

>> THE HATE THAT YOU HEAR AROUND YOU THAT IS THE ANTIWHITE HATE, THAT FUELED WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY.

>> THE CROWD SHOUTED HIM DOWN AND CHASED HIM AWAY.

>> WE CONDEMN IN THE

>> WE CONDEMN IN THE STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS THIS EGREGIOUS DISPLAY OF HATRED, BIGOTRY AND VIOLENCE ON MANY SIDES.

>> Reporter: TODAY, MEMBERS OF THE PRESIDENT'S OWN REPUBLICAN PARTY CONTINUED TO QUESTION WHY HE HAS NOT SPECIFICALLY CONDEMNED THE WHITE NATIONALISTS' AGENDA. TODAY, COLORADO REPUBLICAN SENATOR CORY GARDNER CALLED ON MR. TRUMP TO DO JUST THAT.

>> CALL THIS WHITE SUPREMACISM, THIS WHITE NATIONALISM, EVIL. AND LET THE COUNTRY HEAR IT. LET THE WORLD HEAR IT. IT'S SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO COME FROM THE OVAL OFFICE. IL BY ITS NAME." SHOULD CALLD DO MY BROTHER DIDN'T GIVE HIS LIFE FIGHTING HITLER FOR NAZI IDEAS TO GO UNCHALLENGED HERE AT HOME." TODAY, THE WHITE HOUSE ISSUED THIS STATEMENT IN RESPONSE TO THE CRITICISM: "THE PRESIDENT SAID VERY STRONGLY IN HIS STATEMENT YESTERDAY THAT HE CONDEMNS ALL FORMS OF VIOLENCE, BIGOTRY, AND HATRED. OF COURSE THAT INCLUDES WHITE SUPREMACISTS, K.K.K., NEO-NAZI, AND ALL EXTREMIST GROUPS. HE CALLED FOR NATIONAL UNITY AND BRINGING ALL AMERICANS TOGETHER."

>> Sreenivasan: VIRGINIA GOVERNOR TERRY McAULIFFE HAS TWO WORDS FOR THE WHITE NATIONALISTS WHO CAME TO CHARLOTTESVILLE THIS WEEKEND-- "GO HOME." TODAY, McAULIFFE AND THE MAYOR OF CHARLOTTESVILLE CONTINUED TO BE VOCAL IN THEIR DENUNCIATION OF THOSE THAT CAME TO PROTEST THE REMOVAL OF A CONFEDERATE STATUE AND RENAMING OF A PARK, BUT TODAY SOME OF THOSE PROTESTERS SPOKE UP FOR THEMSELVES." NEWSHOUR" REPORTER AND PRODUCER P.J. TOBIA AND MARC SCIALA HAVE BEEN COVERING EVENTS IN CHARLOTTESVILLE FOR US ALL WEEKEND, AND P.J. FILES THIS REPORT.

>> Reporter: LEAVING SERVICES AT CHARLOTTESVILLE'S AFRICAN METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH THIS MORNING, VIRGINIA GOVERNOR TERRY McAULIFFE HAD A CLEAR MESSAGE FOR THE WHITE NATIONALIST PROTESTERS.

>> TELL WHITE SUPREMACISTS, TELL THE NEO-NAZIS, TELL THE K.K.K., TELL ¡EM ALL, "WE'VE HAD ENOUGH OF IT." GET OUT OF OUR COUNTRY. YOU ARE NOT WANTED HERE. YOU ARE DIVIDING US.

>> Reporter: CONGREGANTS AT MOUNT ZION BAPTIST CHURCH DECRIED THE PROTESTERS WHO DESCENDED ON THE CITY, CARRYING CONFEDERATE FLAGS AND DISPLAYING SWASTIKAS.

>> IT'S A SHAME THAT IN THIS DAY AND TIME THAT CHILDREN AND PEOPLE STILL TEACH RACIAL HATRED SO THAT IT'S PASSED ON. IT WON'T STOP LIVING IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA OR IN THIS COUNTRY UNTIL PEOPLE COME TO GRIPS WITH IT.

>> Reporter: TODAY, CHARLOTTESVILLE'S DEMOCRATIC MAYOR, MICHAEL SIGNER, WASTED NO WORDS IN CALLING OUT PRESIDENT TRUMP FOR WHAT HE SAYS IS HIS CULPABILITY IN YESTERDAY'S VIOLENCE.

>> I THINK THAT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THIS COARSENING OF OUR DIALOGUE AND FOR THE INVITATION OF OPEN BIGOTRY AND OPEN INCITEMENT AND THE PREJUDICES, GOES RIGHT TO THE DOORSTEP OF THE PRESIDENT AND THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM WHO CHOSE TO DANCE WITH THE DEVIL IN THEIR PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN.

>> Reporter: SIGNER SAYS THAT DESPITE CRITICISM THAT CHARLOTTESVILLE POLICE DID NOT DO ENOUGH TO STOP FIGHTS FROM BREAKING OUT, THE CITY MOVED QUICKLY TO BREAK UP THE EVENT.

>> IT WAS DECLARED AN UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY BECAUSE OF VIOLENT-- NOT PEACEABLE SPEECH, NOT PEACEABLE ASSEMBLY BEFORE THE EVENT EVEN GOT GOING. IT WAS SUPPOSED TO START AT NOON AND UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY WAS DECLARED BEFORE THAT BECAUSE OF THE VIOLENCE OF THE INITIAL PARTICIPANTS IN THE INITIAL EVENT.

>> Reporter: MAYOR SIGNER CALLS THE PROTESTERS "DAMAGED." BUT MATTHEW HEIMBACH, HEAD OF THE WHITE NATIONALIST GROUP," THE TRADITIONALIST WORKERS PARTY," WHO ATTENDED YESTERDAY'S PROTEST, SAYS RADICAL LEFTISTS ARE TRULY TO BLAME FOR YESTERDAY'S UNREST.

>> THESE PEOPLE WERE YELLING," KILL, KILL, KILL ALL THE NAZIS." THEY WERE USING ANY WEAPON THEY COULD TO TRY AND KILL THE MEN AND WOMEN THAT WERE MARCHING WITH ME, THAT WERE STANDING FOR GENERAL LEE, THAT WERE STANDING FOR OUR HERITAGE, AND JUST BRINGING OUR NATIONALIST MOVEMENT TOGETHER. HE WAS UNWILLING TO DENOUNCE THE AUTOMOBILE ATTACK THAT LEFT ONE PERSON DEAD AND SEVERAL INJURED.

>> WE DON'T EXACTLY KNOW WHAT HAPPENED, BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS IF YOU'RE IN THE CAR, YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE THAT ARE FLAT-OUT CHANTING THAT THEY WANT TO KILL YOU, BECAUSE THEIR DEFINITION OF A NAZI IS ANYONE THEY POLITICALLY DISAGREE WITH, THAT IS A TERRIFYING SITUATION TO BE IN, ESPECIALLY BY YOURSELF.

>> Reporter: ALL SIDES, LEFT AND RIGHT, WHO PARTICIPATED IN YESTERDAY'S RALLY SAY THAT CHARLOTTESVILLE IS A TURNING POINT IN THEIR CONFLICT.

>> Sreenivasan: DESPITE THE NATION'S INTENSE NATIONAL FOCUS ON ISLAMIC TERRORISM SINCE 9/11, HOMEGROWN, RIGHT WING EXTREMISTS HAVE ALSO KILLED DOZENS OF AMERICANS. THE GROUPS INCLUDE WHITE SUPREMACIST AND NEO-NAZI GROUPS AND ANTI-FEDERALISTS MILITIAS. SINCE 2001, THE NUMBER OF VIOLENT ATTACKS ON U.S. SOIL INSPIRED BY FAR-RIGHT IDEOLOGY HAS SPIKED TO AN AVERAGE OF MORE THAN 300 A YEAR, ACCORDING TO A STUDY BY THE COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER AT WEST POINT. A 2015 SURVEY OF U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT GROUPS FOUND THEY CONSIDER ANTI-GOVERNMENT VIOLENT EXTREMISTS TO BE A MORE SEVERE THREAT THAN RADICALIZED MUSLIMS. AND WHILE JIHADIST TERRORISTS HAVE KILLED 95 PEOPLE IN THE U.S. SINCE 9/11, FAR-RIGHT EXTREMISTS HAVE KILLED 68 DURING THE SAME TIME, INCLUDING THE CAR ATTACK IN CHARLOTTESVILLE. THAT'S ACCORDING TO DATA COLLECTED BY OUR NEXT GUEST, PETER BERGEN, THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES PROGRAM FOR NEW AMERICA AND A TERRORISM ANALYST FOR CNN. PETER, I KNOW YOU FOCUS A LOT OF JIHADISTS, ISLAMIC TERROR HAPPENING IN THE UNITED STATES AND HAPPENING OVERSEAS BUT YOU HAVE ALSO BEEN STUDYING AND LOOKING CLOSELY AT HOME GROWN TERROR, DOMESTIC TERROR THREATS. WHEN YOU SAW WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY, WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR MIND.

>> CLEARLY ITS WITH AN ACT OF DOMESTIC TERRORISM AND SEEMS TO BE AN ACT OF EXTREME RIGHT WING TERRORISM. AND IT'S ONE OF MULTIPLE INCIDENTS THAT WE'VE SEEN IN THIS COUNTRY, UNFORTUNATELY, IN FACT ALSO WE'RE SEEING AN INTERESTING SPIKE? BLACK NATIONALIST TERRORISM, THERE HAVE BEEN EIGHT DEATHS SINCE 2016 CAUSED BY BLACK NATIONALISTS AND WE ALSO SAW CAUSED THE ATTACK ON THE BASEBALL GAME BY AN EXTREME ANTI-TRUMP PERSON. VIOLENCE COMES IN ALL SHAPES AND FORMS. WHEN WE HEAR TERRORISM PEOPLE THINK JIHADI TERRORISM BECAUSE OF THE 9/11 ATTACKS BUT THE FACT IS, IS THAT WE HAVE CONTINUE TO SEE EXTREME RIGHT WING TERRORISM, AND WE HAVE SEEN A SLIGHT YUP TICK IN LEFTIST TERRORISM IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS.

>> Sreenivasan: WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT CAUSES?

>> WELL, I PLEEN, I MEAN THEY SCAN THE POLITICAL SPECTRUM BECAUSE THEY HAVE BLACK NATIONALIST TERRORISM WHICH HAS BEEN SPIKING. YOU HAVE A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF ANTI-TRUMP TERRORISM WHICH HAS HAD AN YUP TICK. YOU HAVE THIS EXTREME RIGHT NEO NAZI ANTIGOVERNMENT TERRORISM WHICH HAS BEEN PRETTY CONSTANT IT WAS THE MOST LETHAL ATTACK ON AMERICAN SOIL BEFORE 9/11 WAS THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING WHICH KILLED 168 PEOPLE PI TWO EXTREME RIGHT WING MILITANTS. THIS HAS BEEN AROUND, THIS STRAIN OF TERRORISM WE SAW IN CHAR LORTS-- CHARLOTTESVILLE IS NOT NEW, THEY DON'T TENDS TO KILL HIGH NUMBERS LIKE ISLAMIC TERROR ATTACKS WHICH HAVE A HIGHER DEATH TOLL BUT IT IS A CONSTANT OUT THERE.

>> WHEN YOU SAW THE METHOD, THE THE CAR ATTACK, SOMETHING WE HAVE BEEN SEEING REPEATEDLY OVERSEAS LAST YEAR.

>> YEAH, THIS IS USUALLY THE CENT MONTHS THAT KILLED 13N PEOPLE, THE ATTACK IN NICE KILLED 84, THE ATTACK IN BERLIN THAT KILLED 12 PEOPLE WERE JEE JIHADI TERROR ATTACKS NOW WE ARE SEEING IT ADOPTED BY PEOPLE WITH OTHER IDEOLOGY, IN CHARLOTTESVILLE WE SAW, THIS AND WE ALSO SAW AN ATTACK LIKE THIS IN LONDON OUTSIDE A MOSQUE RELATIVELY RECENTLY IN WHICH ONE PERSON WAS KILLED. UNFORTUNATELY USING VEHICLES AS A DEADLY WEAPON IS A TACTIC THAT IS KIND OF BEEN A DOD BY VIOLENCE-- VIOLENT TERRORISTS OF ALL IDEALOGICAL STRIPES.

>> Sreenivasan: HOW MUCH DOES THE LABELING OF IT MATTER, CALLING IT TERRORISM, DOMESTIC TERRORISM FROM THE MEDIA ON TO THE POLITICIANS?

>> I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO CALL THINGS WHAT THEY ARE. AND ONE OF THE REASONS THAT THESE DOMESTIC TERRORIST INCIDENTS DON'T GET CALLED TERRORISM OFTEN IS BECAUSE THERE ISN'T A LINK TO AN INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST ORGANIZATION SO AS A FORMAL MATTER IF YOU ARE CHARGING TERRORISM AS A CRIME, IF THERE IS SOMETHING TO ISIS ORAL QUIEDA IT IS EASY TO CHARGE TERRORISM, BECAUSE OF THE FIRST AMENDMENT ISSUES IN THIS COUNTRY IT IS NOT ILLEGAL TO BE A NEO NAZI IT IS ILLEGAL TO BE A NEO NAZI TO CARRY OUT A VIOLENT ATTACK BUT WHEN A NEO NAZI CARRIES OUT A VIOLENT ATTACK IT IS USUALLY SIMPLY TREATED AS MURDER OR HATE CRIME BUT NOT USUALLY AS TERRORISM FROM A LEGAL POINT OF VIEW BAS THERE ISN'T AN ASSOCIATION WITH AN INTERNATIONAL TERRORIST ORGANIZATION SUCH AS ISIS ORAL QUIEDA.

>> PETER BERGEN OF NEW AMERICA AND ANALYST FOR CNN, THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Sreenivasan: FOR MORE PERSPECTIVE ON THE EVENTS IN CHARLOTTESVILLE, WE'RE JOINED FROM LONG ISLAND, NEW YORK, VIA SKYPE BY MICHAEL ERIC DYSON, A PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY AT ITE AMERICA." A SERMON TOARS

>> THANKS FOR JOINING US. BEFORE WE GET TO THE EVENTS OF YESTERDAY I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE EVENTS OF TWO NIGHTS AGO, WHEN YOU SAY YOUNG MEN CARRYING TORCHES ON THE UVA CAMPUS, WHAT WENT THROUGH YOUR HEAD?

>> IT WAS EXTRAORDINARILY DISSPIRITTING. MANY PEOPLE HAVE SAID THIS IS NOT AMERICA, THIS IS NOT US, YES, IT IS. THIS IS AN UGLY CONTINUATION OF A BRUTAL TRADITION OF WHITE SPREM SEE IN THIS NATION. THE TORCHES SIGNIFYING THOSE NIGHT RIDERS WHO USED TO STALK BLACK PEOPLE WITH FURY AND VEN SENSE WHO REFUSED TO ACKNOWLEDGE OUR HUMANITY, WHO RIPPED US FROM HOUR HOMES WHO STOLE EMMETT HILLS FROM HIS RESTING PLACE IN MISS MISSION AND TOSSED HIM INTO THE TALLAHASSEE RIVER. THE REALITY IS THOSE TORCHES SIGNIFY THE WORST EMBLEM OF BIGOTRY THAT THIS NATION HAS CONFRONTED ANT FN AND THE DOM TESSIC TERRORISM WE REFUSE TO CONFRONT THREATENS THE FABRIC OF THIS NATION. SO HE SOOG THOSE TORCHES BEING CARRIED ON THAT PROUD COLLEGE COMMUNITY, THAT UNIVERSITY FOUNDED BY THOMAS JEFFERSON, THERE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA AND THEN MORE BROADLY A STATE THAT HAS OSTENSIBLY COMMITTED TO THE LIBERAL VALUES OF ONE OF OUR FOUNDING AREAS, WAS ESPECIALLY TROUBLING IN OUR OWN DAY AND AGE.

>> THERE WAS A TWEET BY CONGRESSMAN MOULTON WHO SAID THE ONLY DIFFERENCE OF THE KKK MARCHS 50 YEARS AGO AND CHARLOTTESVILLE TODAY IS NOW THEY DON'T EVEN HAVE TO WEAR HOODS. SCARY.

>> IT IS EXTREMELY SCARY. THERE IS NO PRETENSE OF COVERAGE. THERE IS NO PRETENSE OF HIDING THEMSELVES FROM THE VITRIOL AND BIGOTRY THAT THEY INTEND TO IMPOSE.

>> Sreenivasan: ONE OF THE THINGS THAT YOU WROTE A COLUME FOR "THE NEW YORK TIMES," CHARLOTTESVILLE AND BIGOTOCRACY AND ONE OF THE THINGS YOU POINT OUT IS THE VISIONIST HISTORY OVERLOOKS SOME BASIC FACTS.

>> THAT'S EXACTLY RIGHT. THE REALITY IS IS THAT THIS COUNTRY IS STILL PROSECUTING A WAR THAT AT ITS HEART INCLUDED AFRICAN-AMERICAN DEATHS. MANY PEOPLE IN THE SOUTH JOINING A FADED SOUTHERN ARIST OCTOBER CRASSEE BELIEVE THEY ARE STILL SUPERIOR, THAT THE WAR SHOULD BE REFOUGHT, THAT THEY WON. THAT THE REAL TRUE JUSTICE THAT SHOULD HAVE PREVAILED MUST NOW PREVAIL. SO THE CONFEDERACY IS AN EMBLEM OF A LOST OPPORTUNITY THAT SHOULD BE RECLAIMED BY ESPECIALLY WORKING CLASS AND MIDDLE CLASS WHITE PEOPLE WHO FEEL THAT THEY WERE DENIED A LEGITIMATE, IF YOU WILL, INHERITANCE OF SUPERYORITY IN THIS COUNTRY. THIS IS NOTHING NEW. THALITY-RIGHT IS A REVISION AND A REVIVAL OF A MUCH MORE ANCIENT AND HORRY TRADITION WHERE WE SEE BLACK PEOPLE AT ODDS BECAUSE OF THEIR HUMANITARIANITY, THEIR VERY EXISTENCE TO A SOUTHERN ARISTOCRACY THAT BELIEVE THERE OUGHT TO BE A HIERARCHY, WHITE OVER BLACK, THOSE WHO ARE WHITE SHOULD BE TREATED WITH EQUANIMITY AND PURPOSEFUL HUMANITY AND THOSE WHO ARE BLACK SHOULD BE SECONDED CLASS CITIZENS. AND THE DIVISION THEY WANT TO BRING TO THIS COUNTRY, THE SECRETARY SESSION FROM THIS COUNTRY THAT THEY ATTEMPTED AND FAILED TO DO, NOW THEY HAVE INTERNAL SECRETARY SESSIONISM WHERE THEY WANT TO CREATE RADICAL DIVISIONS AND SEPARATIONS BETWEEN THE RACES. AGAIN THIS IS NOTHING NEW. THIS IS NOT THE QUAINT FOLK LORISH NOTION OF BIGOTRY THAT IS POLITE. THIS IS THE UGLY, VIEL, PROTESTATION AGAINST THE VERY HUMANITY AND UNITY THAT THIS COUNTRY IS BUILT ON. EPLURIBUS UNUP, OUT OF MANY ONE, WE SEE EVERYTHING BUT THAT IN THESE PROTESTS.

>> MICHAEL ERIC DYSON JOINING VIA SKYPE, THANKS SO MUCH.

>> THANK YOU, SIR, FOR HAVING ME.

>> Sreenivasan: THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, A NONPROFIT THAT TRACKS EXTREMIST GROUPS AND HATE CRIMES, HAS REPORTED A RISE IN BIAS-RELATED ATTACKS IN THE PAST YEAR, COINCIDING WITH THE CAMPAIGN AND ELECTION OF DONALD TRUMP. THE S.P.L.C. TALLIED 900 BIAS- RELATED INCIDENTS AGAINST MINORITIES, INCLUDING ASSAULTS, JUST IN THE FIRST TEN DAYS AFTER MISTER TRUMP'S ELECTION. SINCE THE ELECTION, ACCORDING TO THE ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE, ANTI-SEMITIC INCIDENTS-- INCLUDING BULLYING, BOMB THREATS, AND CEMETERY DESECRATION-- WENT UP LAST NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER AND THEN SURGED BY 86% IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THIS YEAR. JOINING ME NOW FROM MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA, TO TALK ABOUT THESE DISTURBING TRENDS IS THE PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER, RICHARD COHEN. THANKS FOR BEING WITH US. YOU KNOW, HOW DO WE PUT A FINGER ON EXACTLY WHY THIS IS HAPPENING?

>> I THINK THE ANSWER IS PRETTY CLEAR. THE COMBINATION OF TRUMP'S INCENDIARY RACISM DURING THE CAMPAIGN AND HIS ATTACKS ON SO CALLED POLITICAL CORRECTNESS HAVE GIVEN PEOPLE LICENSE TO ACT ON THEIR WORST INSTINCTS. I THINK REPRESENTATIVE MARK SANFORD A REPUBLICAN FROM SOUTH CAROLINA PUT IT WELL WHEN HE SAID THAT THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN HAS UNLEASHED SOME DEMONS ON THE LAND.

>> THESE FEELINGS HAVEN'T JUST EMERGED. HE DIDN'T CREATE THE RACISM UNDERLYING IT OR BIGOTRY UNDERLYING IT. THEY HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR AWHILE.

>> THAT'S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT. MR. TRUMP HAS HARNESSED IT. WHAT WE HAVE SEEN IN RECENT YEARS HAS BEEN A BACKLASH TO THE CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS IN OUR COUNTRY. IT'S BEEN GOING ON FOR QUITE SOME TIME. MR. TRUMP, UNFORTUNATELY, DURING HIS CAMPAIGN HARNESSED HIS CANDIDACY TO THAT AND REALLY STOAKED THE FLAMES IN A VERY SIGNIFICANT WAY.

>> PUT THIS IN PERSPECTIVE FOR US. ARE WE SEEING MORE OF THESE INCIDENTS BECAUSE WE'RE MORE CONNECTED SOCIETY AND EVERYTHING GOES VIRAL ON THE INTERNET OR ARE THERE ACTUALLY MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE JOINING THESE GROUPS AND MARCHING WITH THEM.

>> WELL LOOK, WE'VE SEEN AN INCREASE OF ABOUT 100 PERCENT IN THE NUMBER OF HATE GROUPS SINCE THE LATE 90ST. WE'VE ALSO SEEN A TREMENDOUS SURGE OF HATE ACTIVITY ONLINE AS ONE MIGHT EXPECT. IT'S DIFFICULT TO PUT EXACT NUMBER ON THE NUMBER OF HATE CRIMES IN OUR COUNTRY BECAUSE REPORTING IS SO POOR. THE FBI ACCOUNTS 7 TO 10,000 HATE CRIMES EVERY YEAR. THE BUREAU OF JUSTICE STATISTICS SAYS THAT THE TRUE NUMBER MIGHT BE CLOSER TO A QUARTER MILLION. I THINK OUR OWN WORK TELLS US THAT WE'VE SEEN A REAL INCREASE. WHITE SUPREMACISTS UNFORTUNATELY ARE NOT SURPRISINGLY PERHAPS ARE CELEBRATING MR. TRUMP'S VICTORY. THERE WAS A TREMENDOUS OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT, REALLY AN UNPRECEDENTED OUTPOURING OF SUPPORT FOR HIM DURING THE ELECTION SEASON AND IMMEDIATELY AFTER HE WAS ELECTED IN NOVEMBER. YOU KNOW, MR. TRUMP HAS NOT REALLY DISTANCED HIMSELF FROM THESE PEOPLE. HE'S BEEN LOATHE TO CONDEMN D HE IS CERTAINLY NOT TAKEN RESPONSIBILITY FOR HOW HIS ACTIONS, HOW HIS WORDS HAVE ENERGIZED THAT MOVEMENT.

>> THERE IS A LOT OF FOCUS ON THE TYPE OF WORDS HE SHOULD BE USING, THE TYPE OF STATEMENTS HE SHOULD BE MAKING. THERE IS A CORRELATION BETWEEN WHEN A LEADER STEPS UP AND SAYS SOMETHING ABOUT THIS, AND SAYS WN OR UP.SE HATE INCIDENTS GOD

>> I THINK THERE IS. A GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT WOULD BE AFTER 9/11. WE SAW A SPIKE IN HATE CRIMES AGAINST THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY. AND PRESIDENT BUSH WENT TO MOSQUES AND SPOKE OUT VERY, VERY FORCEFULLY AGAINST IT. I THINK IT WAS ONE OF THE HIGH POINTS OF HIS MORAL LEADERSHIP DURING THE PRESIDENCY. AND WE SAW THOSE NUMBER OF INCIDENTS GO DOWN. MR. TRUMP HAS ACTED REALLY QUITE FRANKLY IN THE OPPOSITE WAY.

>> Sreenivasan: RICHARD COHEN, PRESIDENT OF THE SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER JOINING US FROM ALABAMA TODAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH.

>> THANK YOU.

>> Sreenivasan: READ MORE ABOUT THE MAN CHARGED IN THE CHARLOTTESVILLE CAR ATTACK ON OUR WEBSITE AT w.pbs.org/newshour.

>> Sreenivasan: VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE IS IN CARTAGENA, COLOMBIA, TONIGHT, HIS FIRST STOP OF A SIX-DAY, FOUR-NATION TOUR OF LATIN AMERICA. PENCE WILL MEET WITH COLOMBIA'S PRESIDENT, JUAN MANUEL SANTOS TONIGHT BEFORE HEADING ONTO ARGENTINA, CHILE, AND PANAMA. THE DETERIORATING HUMANITARIAN AND POLITICAL CRISIS IN VENEZUELA IS EXPECTED TO TOP HIS AGENDA. ONE STOP ON PENCE'S TRIP WILL BE THE RECENTLY-WIDENED PANAMA CANAL. THE PENTAGON SAYS TWO AMERICAN SOLDIERS IN IRAQ WERE KILLED TODAY CONDUCTING COMBAT OPERATIONS. FIVE OTHER SOLDIERS WERE WOUNDED. THE PENTAGON DID NOT EXPLAIN WHAT HAPPENED BUT SAID THE CASUALTIES WERE NOT DUE TO ENEMY CONTACT. MORE THAN 5,000 U.S. TROOPS ARE CURRENTLY DEPLOYED IN IRAQ FOCUSING ON THE CAMPAIGN AGAINST ISIS. RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTER SERGEI SHOIGU SAID TODAY THE SYRIAN GOVERNMENT OF BASHIR AL-ASSAD HAS INCREASED THE AMOUNT OF TERRITORY IT CONTROLS, BY TWO- AND-A-HALF TIMES IN THE PAST TWO MONTHS. RUSSIA HAS BEEN PROVIDING AIR SUPPORT TO ASSAD'S MILITARY FORCES SINCE 2015. SYRIAN FORCES, BACKED BY RUSSIA AND BY IRANIAN MILITIAS, HAVE SEIZED THOUSANDS OF SQUARE MILES FROM REBELS AND ISIS MILITANTS, INCLUDING THE CENTRAL PROVINCE OF HOMS. ISIS HAS CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR A SUICIDE BOMBING IN A CROWDED MARKET IN THE PAKISTANI CITY OF QUETTA. THE BLAST KILLED AT LEAST 15 PEOPLE AND WOUNDED 40 OTHERS YESTERDAY. THE BOMBER, RIDING A MOTORCYCLE, RAMMED A MILITARY TRUCK NEAR A BUSY BUS STATION. EIGHT SOLDIERS WERE AMONG THE CASUALTIES. A MILITARY SPOKESMAN SAID IT WAS AN ATTEMPT TO DISRUPT TOMORROW'S 70th ANNIVERSARY OF PAKISTANI INDEPENDENCE. FLOODING AND LANDSLIDES HAVE KILLED AT LEAST 47 PEOPLE IN NEPAL THIS WEEKEND, WITH SEVERAL DOZEN PEOPLE MISSING. THREE DAYS OF HEAVY RAINS DURING THE REGION'S MONSOON SEASON HAVE DISPLACED MORE THAN 30,000 FAMILIES. THE FLOODS HAVE TOPPLED TELEPHONE AND POWER LINES, CUTTING ELECTRICITY AND COMMUNICATIONS IN MANY AREAS. TOMORROW ON "THE NEWSHOUR," LONGTIME CALIFORNIA CONGRESSWOMAN MAXINE WATERS JOINS US FOR OUR SERIES "ON THE ROAD AHEAD," FOR DEMOCRATS. THAT'S ALL FOR THIS EDITION OF" PBS NEWSHOUR WEEKEND." THANKS FOR WATCHING. I'M HARI SREENIVASAN. HAVE A GOOD NIGHT. Captioning sponsored by WNET Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org

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