Headlines June 5, 2023 from Democracy Now!

In the German city of Leipzig, dozens of people were arrested or detained over the weekend, as police clashed with protesters and authorities sought to ban demonstrations following the conviction last week of an anti-fascist activist. Twenty-eight-year-old Lina E. received five years in prison for attacking neo-Nazis. Three others received sentences of two to three years. Activists decried the violent crackdown on protests and public assembly.

Ende Gelände activist: “It’s unbelievable, experiencing how repressive the state and police are against anti-fascist protesters. It’s exactly the same response to climate activists. But we are standing strong together, in solidarity.”

Back in the U.S., California authorities have launched an investigation after at least 16 asylum seekers were flown to Sacramento Friday in a private jet believed to have been arranged by the state of Florida. The migrants, who are from Venezuela and Colombia, say they were promised work if they boarded the flight, but were instead dropped off in front of a church with only a backpack’s worth of belongings. The group had entered the U.S. through the Texas border and were transported by bus to New Mexico, where they were put on the chartered jet to California. Officials say the migrants had paperwork appearing to link the flight to Florida. California’s attorney general called the move a “state-sanctioned kidnapping.”

Last year, officials working for Republican Governor Ron DeSantis helped coordinate similar flights, coercing dozens of asylum seekers to go to Martha’s Vineyard under the false promise they’d be given jobs and housing.

In more immigration news, an investigation into last month’s death of 8-year-old Anadith Tanay Reyes Álvarez reveals Customs and Border Protection officials refused to call an ambulance for the girl despite her history of medical problems — and even after she presented with a fever of nearly 105 degrees Fahrenheit. She’d been detained with her family by CBP for at least nine days before she died. Her mother pleaded for help but was ignored until the young girl had a seizure and was finally taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead about an hour later.

A federal judge has ruled Tennessee’s law banning drag shows is unconstitutional. The Trump-appointed judge said in a decision released Friday the legislation was overly broad and encouraged “discriminatory enforcement.” Tennessee’s law was signed by Republican Governor Bill Lee in March and comes as part of an onslaught of attacks on the rights of LGBTQ people. On Saturday, attendees at a Pride event in Franklin, Tennessee, celebrated the ruling. This is drag performer Cya Inhale.

Cya Inhale: “Having the answer finally delivered and that breath of fresh air and that weight off our shoulders that it’s finally gone, we don’t have to worry about it, is lovely. We can breathe easy for the rest of the year. There’s still a fight, and we still have to continue fighting. There are still other states that we are — drag is still being criminalized, that we still have to work on, but this is definitely a step in the right direction.”

Unionized workers at shipping ports across the West Coast, including in Los Angeles and Oakland, California, have walked off the job as union negotiations demanding better working conditions and benefits continue.

In other labor news, the Directors Guild of America has reached a tentative contract agreement with Hollywood studios covering pay, streaming residuals and protections against AI. The Writers Guild of America remains on strike.

Journalists and staff working at Gannett, the country’s largest newspaper chain, are leading a one-day strike today as the media company holds its annual shareholders’ meeting. Workers are demanding shareholders take a vote of no confidence against Mike Reed, Gannett’s chief executive, and allow for new leadership.

Amazon on Friday abruptly fired union organizer Jennifer Bates, who’s been a leading spokesperson of the unionization campaign by warehouse workers in Bessemer, Alabama. Bates often spoke out against Amazon’s workplace safety issues and its attacks on union efforts, including in Congress and on Democracy Now! in 2021.

Jennifer Bates: “The reason why we’re organizing is because we need an even playing field. Some of the conditions that are in there are: being ignored by human resources, long work hours with only two breaks, long walks upstairs and downstairs. … So, we want to be heard. We want to be treated like people and not ignored when we have issues. People are getting fired without having their opportunity to speak their side.”