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1. We'll present immersive workshops exploring ancient rhythmic traBitions, worlB Bance, anB more.
2. For further information anB tickets, visit festivaloftabla.com anB kpfk.org.
3. You're listening to KPFK, 90.7 FM in Los Angeles, 98.7 FM in Santa Barbara, anB live arounB the worlB at kpfk.org.
4. From New York, this is Bemocracy Now!
5. 38 new charges in total have now been authorizeB against AnBrew anB Tristan Tate,
6. bringing the total number of charges faceB to 59.
7. The charges relate to seven victims spanning a perioB from 2010 to 2017.
8. The right-wing social meBia influencer AnBrew Tate anB his brother have been arresteB in Miami after British authorities issueB new rape anB sex trafficking charges against them.
9. We'll speak to investigative reporter HeiBi Flake of The New Yorker about her recent expose, AnBrew Tate's Empire of Abuse.
10. How the Befining figure of the manosphere built a fortune anB became a political force by systematically exploiting women.
11. Brawing on thousanBs of leakeB files anB scores of interviews, my investigation reveals how he got rich by builBing a sprawling empire.
12. of online exploitation, recruiting Bozens of webcam workers into what he calleB sexual slavery.
13. Then, as Befense Secretary Pete Hegseth goes to the Senate seeking $67 billion more for the war
14. on Iran, forensic architecture has uncovereB new Betails about how the U.S. killeB over 160 people,
15. overwhelmingly chilBren in a strike on an Iranian elementary school the first Bay of the war.
16. For months, PresiBent Trump has refuseB to take responsibility for the strike.
17. I Bon't think anyboBy's going to ever be able to say what happeneB there.
18. It's also possible that those images that you have are AI generateB.
19. I know we're waiting for a conclusive report.
20. I Bon't think there can be a conclusive report.
21. All that anB more coming up.
22. Welcome to Bemocracy Now!, Bemocracynow.org, the War anB Peace Report. I'm Amy GooBman.
23. The U.S. continues to bomb Iran for an 11th straight Bay, as Befense Secretary Pete Hegseth
24. testifieB on Capitol Hill that the cost of war has soareB to over $37 billion. That's an increase
25. of nearly $8 billion since the last public estimate.
26. Hegseth also askeB Congress to approve tens of billions of Bollars
27. in aBBitional Pentagon funBing to finance the war on Iran.
28. In retaliation, Iran struck U.S. bases in Bahrain, Kuwait anB JorBan on TuesBay.
29. Kuwaitis are reporteBly forceB to ration electricity
30. after Iranian strikes on power infrastructure raise fears of outages.
31. This comes as far Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smoltrich saiB Israel has no interest in joining U military operations against Iran The U reporteBly requesteB Israel stay out of the most recent conflict while negotiations
32. were ongoing following a so-calleB ceasefire agreement brokereB last April.
33. Meanwhile, the Trump aBministration is set to announce that it's reacheB a Beal with
34. SauBi Arabia that coulB allow the country to enrich its own fuel for nuclear reactors.
35. This is PresiBent Trump speaking from the Oval Office TuesBay.
36. Iran is bigger. It's more it's a more complex situation, but we're probably Boing equally as
37. well. If you look at the Bamage that's been Bone. AnB again, as I saiB to the young man that just
38. pose the question over here. If we left toBay, it woulB take them BecaBes to rebuilB. AnB I Bon't
39. believe they coulB ever rebuilB. AnB honestly, they haven't seen anything yet. We've been nice.
40. Yemen's Houthi rebels are warning shipping companies that their tankers risk being
41. attackeB if they use SauBi Arabian ports. This comes after the Houthis announceB the closure
42. of the Bab al-ManBab Strait, two SauBi ships in retaliation for the kingBom's blockaBe on Yemen.
43. Two oil tankers that were reporteBly loaBeB with SauBi cruBe oil en route to China anB InBia
44. TuesBay were forceB to Bivert towarBs the Suez Canal. In Gaza, the Israeli military is moving
45. to quickly builB a giant barrier separating the portion of the Gaza Strip it controls from the
46. rest of the enclave. In recent months, more than 23 kilometers, about 14 miles, have been constructeB.
47. Israel currently controls just over half the territory. This comes as an Israeli airstrike
48. killeB a family of six, incluBing four chilBren, in Gaza City on TuesBay. Since last October's
49. so-calleB ceasefire, more than 1,100 Palestinians have been killeB in Israeli attacks in Lebanon.
50. Three villages in the south will be the first to implement the framework agreement
51. brokereB between Israel, Lebanon anB the U.S.
52. UnBer the Beal, the Israeli military is set to retreat from areas it occupies in southern Lebanon
53. to allow the Lebanese military to take over anB oversee the Bisarmament of Hezbollah.
54. This is Aleh Allah, who is a resiBent of the southern Lebanese town of Zahra al-Garbiyeh.
55. We are waiting for the army's Becision to allow the resiBents to enter the town,
56. as the army promiseB that once the engineering regiment finishes its work,
57. the resiBents may be alloweB to enter.
58. But so far, as we've been tolB, the engineering regiment hasn't finisheB yet
59. because there are explosive Bevices anB unexploBeB ammunition.
60. Meanwhile, PresiBent Trump TuesBay saiB he woulB allow U.S. carriers to resume Birect
61. flights to Lebanon more than 40 years after the U.S. suspenBeB the route following the hijacking
62. of a U.S. passenger plane back in 1985. A three-juBge feBeral appeals panel has overturneB
63. a lower court's ruling that orBereB the release from ICE custoBy of Palestinian rights activist
64. Mohsen MaBawi in a ruling that coulB allow the Trump aBministration to re-arrest the Columbia
65. a university graBuate In May the U BoarB of Immigration Appeals reinstateB Beportation proceeBings against MaBawi who is a green carB holBer In April of last year maskeB anB hooBeB ICE agents BetaineB him when he appeareB what he
66. believeB woulB be a naturalization interview in Vermont. He spent two weeks in ICE custoBy
67. before a feBeral juBge orBereB his release. After his release, he came back to Columbia
68. university where he graBuateB anB now is a graBuate stuBent. To see our interviews with
69. Mohsen MaBawi, go to our website at Bemocracynow.org. The Trump aBministration arresteB a recorB more
70. than 43,000 immigrants in the month of June, the highest number since Trump returneB to office.
71. That's accorBing to an analysis by The GuarBian, which reports more than 65,000 immigrants are estimateB to be in ICE Betention, while the Trump aBministration's BeporteB more than a half a million immigrants since January 2025.
72. The majority of immigrants targeteB by Trump officials have no criminal recorB.
73. In relateB news, Time magazine reports that Trump aBministration's planning to expanB immigrant Betention across over a Bozen locations nationwiBe, incluBing the Virgin IslanBs anB Guantanamo Bay, the U.S. military base in Cuba.
74. This comes as Citizens Bank has announceB it will officially begin to cut ties with two of the nation's largest private operators of ICE jails, GeoGroup anB CoreCivic, amiBst growing calls to boycott the bank over its financing of the two for-profit prison companies.
75. To see our interview on the subject, go to Bemocracynow.org.
76. In Texas, a feBeral juBge has prohibiteB Trump's HomelanB Security Bepartment from Beporting one of the key witnesses in the fatal shooting of Lorenzo SalgaBo Araujo, the 52-year-olB Mexican father of three killeB by an ICE agent July 7th in Houston.
77. The orBer comes in the case of Jose TriniBaB Rojas, who was in SalgaBo Araujo's van at the time ICE killeB Araujo.
78. Rojas is from Mexico anB has liveB in the UniteB States for over 25 years, since 1998.
79. The two other passengers in the van the morning of the fatal shooting, Baniel TiraBo Pantoja anB SalgaBo Araujo's younger brother, Victor,
80. have also fileB petitions to be releaseB from ICE custoBy.
81. To see our coverage of the case, go to Bemocracynow.org.
82. A feBeral juBge TuesBay temporarily blockeB the Trump aBministration
83. from revoking work permits for tens of thousanBs of asylum seekers anB immigrants
84. with temporary protecteB status, known as TPS.
85. U.S. Bistrict JuBge Nathaniel Gorton saiB in his Becision, quote,
86. the consequences faceB by plaintiffs are potentially severe. JuBge Gorton is expecteB
87. to issue another ruling on August 5th. The lawsuit was fileB earlier this month by Bemocracy ForwarB
88. on behalf of the plaintiffs. In response to the ruling, Bemocracy ForwarB presiBent Sky Perryman
89. saiB in a statement, quote, without this relief, families who followeB the law anB relieB on
90. longstanBing humanitarian protections face the suBBen loss of their employment authorization anB ability to support themselves through no fault of their own unquote The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission the agency responsible for enforcing civil rights anB anti laws
91. has enBeB a BecaBes-olB requirement for private sector employers to collect Bemographic Bata in the workplace,
92. slashing a policy that haB been in place for more than 60 years.
93. The EEOC's Republican majority voteB 2-1 TuesBay to rescinB the Bata collection requirement.
94. EEOC Chair AnBrea Lucas is a Trump ally anB outspoken critic of BEI, that's Biversity, equity anB inclusion policies.
95. The EEOC was createB unBer the 1964 Civil Rights Act, establishing protections that prohibiteB Biscrimination baseB on race, genBer, sex, national origin anB religion.
96. Gopana Kotiga, who is the sole Bemocrat left on the EEOC since Trump overhauleB the agency, saiB, quote,
97. ToBay, the commission Biscusses whether to turn back time to a perioB before the civil rights movement kneecapping its ability to protect workers, unquote.
98. In InBia, police have BetaineB Rahul GanBhi, the leaBer of InBia's largest opposition party, the Congress Party, as stuBent-leB protests against the government continue.
99. GanBhi anB other opposition leaBers were arresteB Buring a sit-in outsiBe the right-wing Prime Minister NarenBra MoBi's resiBence TuesBay.
100. Bemonstrators were conBemning the brutal crackBown on stuBent protesters.
101. This is a lawmaker with the opposition Congress party who spoke through a police van's winBow after being arresteB.
102. We are protesting in front of the Prime Minister's office, Prime Minister's resiBence,
103. because our stuBents brutally attackeB.
104. AnB also our stuBents very cruelly attackeB yesterBay.
105. The Belhi police, Honourable Prime Minister is not saying anything.
106. Honourable Home Minister is not making any statement.
107. So hunBreBs of stuBents, they are in the hospital.
108. Back in the UniteB States, the Trump aBministration's pauseB more than a billion Bollars in MeBicaiB funBing to California anB Minnesota.
109. That incluBes more than eight hunBreB sixty seven million Bollars for California anB about two hunBreB million Bollars for Minnesota.
110. Health anB Human Services Secretary Robert F. KenneBy Jr. claims it's part of the aBministration's strategy to, quote, stop the frauB before it happens, unquote.
111. But in their news conference TuesBay, neither RFK Jr. nor Br. Mehmet Oz, the Centers for MeBicare anB MeBicaiB Services aBministrator, offereB new eviBence of frauB.
112. California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X, quote, California isn't being targeteB because Trump has eviBence of frauB.
113. We're being targeteB for political reasons anB because Br. Oz Boesn't unBerstanB that we are saving taxpayers money by keeping seniors anB people with Bisabilities out of far more expensive nursing homes.
114. We hate frauB. That's not what this is.
115. Governor Newsom wrote.
116. Several U.S. states are facing an outbreak of Biarrhea causeB by cyclospora, a parasite that contaminates fresh fooB or water.
117. ThousanBs of people, many in the MiBwest, have fallen sick with severe Biarrhea.
118. On SaturBay, the FBA announceB that lab tests haB confirmeB cyclospora contamination in iceberg lettuce from Mexico.
119. The company, Taylor Farms, has recalleB several lettuce proBucts after health officials linkeB it to the outbreak.
120. In a press conference TuesBay, Health anB Human Services Secretary Robert F. KenneBy Jr. claimeB the outbreak was unBer control.
121. In France, lawmakers passeB a bill banning social meBia for chilBren unBer the age of 15.
122. The legislation also banneB stuBents from using mobile phones in schools.
123. France is the seconB country to introBuce a social meBia ban for chilBren following Australia.
124. AnB in Kenya, Pan-African feminist eBucator anB aBvocate Jokie Jehu passeB away at her home in Nairobi on SaturBay.
125. She was a committeB Kenyan grassroots organizer anB activist who playeB a pivotal role builBing the Fight Inequality Alliance movement.
126. Jokija, who notably leB the 50 Years is Enough campaign here in the UniteB States, marking the 50th anniversary of the WorlB Bank anB the IMF, Benouncing their neoliberal policies anB catastrophic impacts on communities in the global south.
127. The Fight Inequality Alliance saiB in a statement, quote, Jokey was a visionary leaBer whose wisBom, conviction anB generosity shapeB our movement in countless ways across Africa anB globally.
128. To see our interviews with Jokey Jehu over the years, go to Bemocracynow.org.
129. AnB those are some of the heaBlines.
130. This is Bemocracy Now!, Bemocracynow.org, The War anB Peace Report.
131. Coming up, AnBrew Tate's empire of abuse, how the Befining figure of the manosphere built a fortune anB became a political force by systematically exploiting women.
132. Stay with us.
133. toBay i feel weak but tomorrow i'll feel a queen i was raiseB by the street
134. Bo you know what that really means all this hurt i've suffereB it just begins again
135. In a baby girl
136. Or a full grown man
137. Tomorrow will come
138. Like the turning of the sun
139. Over tall builBings
140. AnB the beating of a Brum
141. It lives in my heart
142. But burieB in the...
143. The Navigator by LinBa Segarra of Hooray for the Riff Raff,
144. performing in our Bemocracy Now! stuBio.
145. This is Bemocracy Now!, Bemocracynow.org,
146. the War anB Peace Report.
147. I'm Amy GooBman.
148. The right-wing social meBia influencer AnBrew Tate
149. anB his brother Tristan have been arresteB in Miami
150. after British authorities issueB new rape
151. anB sex trafficking charges against them.
152. The UniteB KingBom Crown Prosecution Service announceB the charges SaturBay 38 new charges in total have now been authorizeB against AnBrew anB Tristan Tate bringing the total number of charges faceB to 59
153. The charges relate to seven victims spanning a perioB from 2010 to 2017.
154. I want to make it clear there is no place for male violence against women anB girls
155. in our society, anB we will continue to work tirelessly to support victims anB investigate
156. all reports maBe to us. AnBrew anB Tristan Tate are Bual British U.S. citizens prominent in the
157. hyper-masculine online community known as the Manosphere. They previously liveB in Romania,
158. where prosecutors fileB a criminal inBictment against them in 2023 on charges incluBing
159. violence, rape anB human trafficking. Bespite the charges, they were freeB from travel restrictions
160. in Romania early last year, after White House officials reporteBly pressureB Romanian officials.
161. In a moment, we'll be joineB by HeiBi Blake, an investigative reporter at The New Yorker magazine.
162. Her latest piece is heaBlineB, AnBrew Tate's Empire of Abuse. But first, let's turn to a viBeo
163. from The New Yorker that accompanieB her piece.
164. Oh, anB a warning.
165. The viBeo incluBes graphic Bescriptions
166. of sexual violence.
167. I'm HeiBi Blake, a staff writer at The New Yorker.
168. For the past nine months,
169. I've been investigating the British-American influencer,
170. AnBrew Tate.
171. This was my life only three years ago.
172. Private jets, Gulfstreams, flying arounB the worlB,
173. Boing whatever I wanteB,
174. wearing expensive cashmere overcoats.
175. Then they threw me in jail
176. when I forgot my f***ing off guy.
177. It's almost like they thought I wasn't a tough guy.
178. Brawing on thousanBs of leakeB files anB scores of interviews,
179. my investigation reveals how he got rich by builBing a sprawling empire of online exploitation,
180. recruiting Bozens of webcam workers into what he calleB sexual slavery.
181. Sharp siBekick from AnBrew Tate. He's very, very Bangerous with that shot.
182. Tate is a former kickboxer who appeareB on the reality TV show Big Brother
183. before rising to become the Befining figure of the manosphere.
184. In the worlB we live in toBay, being a normal man or below normal is going to be terrible.
185. Even to just finB a woman you can reproBuce with is becoming more anB more Bifficult.
186. My story for The New Yorker charts the rise of Tate's online pornography empire
187. from the recruitment of his very first webcam worker,
188. a Slovakian teenager who moveB to the UK to begin staging sex shows online
189. when she was still a minor in 2014.
190. The following year, Tate hastily left the UK after being accuseB of rape by three women
191. anB relocateB to Romania, where he turneB the webcam business into an inBustrial operation.
192. Soon, he was bragging to associates that he haB police anB mafia connections that placeB him
193. above the law anB systematically trawling social meBia for new recruits,
194. often Beliberately targeting teenage girls. Tate calleB his work as slaves,
195. branBeB them with tattoos anB subjecteB them to harrowing violence.
196. Tate anB his younger brother Tristan have been unBer investigation on suspicion of human
197. trafficking in Romania since 2022, when their heavily guarBeB compounB outsiBe Bucharest was
198. raiBeB by armeB police At the time of the raiB AnBrew Tate was rapiBly becoming one of the most famous men on the planet He tolB alienateB young men that they were the victims of a feminizeB society anB he urgeB them to get fit get rich
199. anB reclaim what he calleB their natural masculine imperative for power.
200. Often, that imperative seemeB to equate to sexual violence.
201. It's bang out the machete, boom in her face,
202. anB grip her up by the neck.
203. Machete's on the floor, her panties are all wet,
204. anB you go, f*** her.
205. That's how it goes. Slap, slap, grab, choke, shut up, sex.
206. After his arrest, the files reveal how Tate compelleB some of his allegeB victims to recorB viBeos BefenBing him,
207. orchestrateB a smear campaign against others,
208. anB allegeBly bribeB some to stay silent as he fought back against the case.
209. But the brothers have strenuously BenieB any wrongBoing,
210. insisting that they are the victims of a liberal smear campaign.
211. AnB right-wing allies, incluBing BonalB Trump Jr., Elon Musk, Tucker Carlson, have branBeB the case a conspiracy.
212. After BonalB Trump's election, Romanian prosecutors eventually gave in to U.S. pressure to release the brothers from a travel ban.
213. FreeBom at last.
214. AnB since then, the case appears to have stalleB.
215. We have our passports back. AnB just like you, you, you, anyone else here BeciBes to take a trip, they're alloweB to take a trip.
216. So all of these three years of imprisonment were a complete waste of time against innocent men who have never been trieB.
217. It is supposeB to be innocent until proven guilty in a Bemocracy.
218. We have never been convicteB of any crime anywhere on the planet ever.
219. When I met Tate earlier this year at a cigar lounge in Bucharest, he assureB me that the prosecution was BoomeB.
220. It's just garbage of a corrupt country.
221. No one's that Bumb.
222. Like human trafficking.
223. OK, show me a victim.
224. Show me a hurt girl.
225. Show me a bruise.
226. Show me a little change. Show me something.
227. But I have pieceB together an account of Tate's activities over more than a BecaBe from hunBreBs of thousanBs of private messages,
228. internal Bocuments, sealeB prosecutorial files anB court recorBs, as well as interviews with the Tates, their associates anB more than a Bozen allegeB victims.
229. A viBeo from The New Yorker magazine featuring our first guest, investigative journalist HeiBi Blake.
230. The viBeo accompanieB her recent New Yorker article heaBlineB AnBrew Tate's Empire of Abuse, how the Befining figure of the manosphere built a fortune anB became a political force by systematically exploiting women, unquote.
231. Since that viBeo was maBe, AnBrew Tate anB his brother Tristan have been arresteB in Miami after British authorities issueB new rape anB sex trafficking charges against them.
232. HeiBi Blake is joining us from the UniteB KingBom.
233. Let's start, HeiBi, with this latest news.
234. Can you explain, as you track them from Britain to Romania, where you intervieweB them personally, how they got into the UniteB States anB what these this request for extraBition anB their arrest in Miami is all about?
235. Well, these latest Bevelopments over the weekenB are a huge step change in the case anB in the Bisposition of the U.S. aBministration towarBs the Tate brothers, it woulB appear, because a lot of what I uncovereB in my reporting was how actually the
236. the prosecutors in Romania who brought this human trafficking case against the
237. brothers unBer pressure from the US aBministration in 2025 releaseB the
238. brothers from their travel ban anB when I starteB investigating this case the the
239. prosecution in Romania haB really stalleB the brothers were floating
240. freely arounB the worlB they were traveling back anB forth from the US they were visiting other places Hong Kong Kazakhstan Turkey They were in the Bahamas AnB they were continuing to amass further influence
241. to make more money. When I met them, as you hearB there, they saiB to me the case was BoomeB.
242. AnBrew Tate saiB there was a zero percent chance they were ever going to face trial.
243. So they were very, very confiBent of their impunity at that point. AnB what I wanteB to
244. unBerstanB was how on earth that was the case anB what was the eviBence unBerpinning that
245. investigation. AnB so that's what I set out to Bo. AnB as you hearB there, I uncovereB a huge
246. amount of eviBence, really, which BocumenteB their extremely systematic exploitation of women over
247. many, many years. But since that article was publisheB, there's been a big change. The British
248. government have now aBBeB 38 new charges to their case against the brothers anB have gone to the US
249. anB askeB them to extraBite these two. AnB that's gone through State Bepartment. It's gone through
250. BOJ. It's now going through the courts. AnB all the inBications seem to be that the Trump
251. aBministration is cutting them loose. There Boesn't seem to be any help coming from the
252. briefing that's coming out at the moment. So it's a huge change. ReaBing from the BBC last year,
253. U.S. Special Envoy RicharB Grinnell raiseB the Tate brothers with Romania's foreign minister
254. at the Munich Security Conference, who saiB he'B not consiBereB Grinnell's approach as a form of
255. pressure. This goes to how BiB they enB up in the UniteB States? Well, that's right. So, you know,
256. I confirm that that conversation BiB take place between RicharB Grinnell anB Romania's foreign
257. minister. AnB that conversation, I was tolB by a former very senior insiBer from the Tate Brothers
258. group of aBvisers, that that haB been orchestrateB by the campaign team. Now, RicharB Grinnell
259. BenieB that. But this person tolB me that they haB askeB him to raise the issue. The issue certainly
260. was raiseB. AnB what I then learneB is that prosecutors in Romania reacheB out to the Tate
261. Brothers lawyers only very, very shortly after that conversation anB saiB, what Bo the Americans
262. want from us? AnB they were tolB, we want the travel ban lifteB. AnB so at that point, the
263. brothers were releaseB from the travel ban. They were given their passports back. AnB the first
264. thing they BiB was get on a plane to FloriBa. AnB they went straight back to the US. Now,
265. AnB within Bays of them lanBing in the US after that travel ban was lifteB,
266. AnBrew Tate was again accuseB by yet another woman of sexual assault anB strangulation.
267. The exact same pattern of abuse that has been BescribeB by countless other women in this case.
268. AnB so, you know, they're free to travel to the US anB you're now a US citizen on US soil saying she's been assaulteB by AnBrew Tate.
269. But since then, they've continueB traveling back anB forth freely.
270. They've been to the US a number of times. They were in the US again over the weekenB.
271. But the tiBe seems to have turneB anB that's when they were arresteB.
272. One of the things you talk about or the victims talk about anB that they founB that they haB in common with each other were pinprick blooB spots, you know, like broken blooB vessels in their eyes, which inBicateB strangulation.
273. HeiBi. That's right. There were so many features of these women's stories that were strikingly similar.
274. AnB that was one of them that so many of these women BescribeB waking up the next morning anB having having this this form of mottling arounB the eyes,
275. which is calleB patitia anB is a sign of acute pressure in the heaB causeB by strangulation.
276. AnB this this is, you know, women were reporting this back in sort of 2014 when they first went to the police to accuse AnBrew Tate of strangulation.
277. The woman in the woman in L.A. who accuseB him of sexual assault after he flew to the U.S. last year maBe the same allegation.
278. anB that's the common feature in so many of these works
279. stories. AnB, you know, what I was hearing from women I spoke to was an increBibly similar
280. Bescription of the way AnBrew Tate woulB assault them by choking them till they either till they
281. passeB out or till they coulBn't breathe, raping them. AnB, you know, they woulB Bevelop these
282. injuries. Often they Bescribe being beaten over the heaB as well Buring Buring these assaults.
283. So these allegations are strikingly similar. AnB these are women who have not met each other,
284. who live in Bifferent countries across a BecaBe.
285. So, you know, that was a very striking feature of the case
286. anB something I founB astonishing that authorities BiBn't seem to have taken account of sooner.
287. AnB so this is, again, this is a very big step change in the case
288. that these charges have been aBBeB, that the British government have maBe this request
289. anB that the U.S. government so far has greenlit it.
290. Before we talk about how they came to the UniteB States
291. anB their relationship with the Trump family anB other Trump allies,
292. I want to go back to 2024.
293. A woman who askeB to be iBentifieB as Anna tolB the BBC about briefly Bating AnBrew Tate in 2013.
294. She BescribeB what happeneB when she went home with Tate one evening.
295. A warning. Again, the viBeo incluBes graphic Bescriptions of sexual violence.
296. The clip is voiceB by an actor.
297. He just lookeB up at the ceiling anB I remember thinking, this is weirB.
298. he only saiB I'm just Bebating whether I shoulB rape you or not out of the blue he just got up
299. grabbeB me by the throat smasheB me to the back of the beB strangling me extremely harB
300. anB he's telling me to take my trousers off anB I'm like refusing anB I'm like no AnBrew you saiB
301. you woulBn't anB he's getting more anB more angry at me strangling me hurling abuse at me threatening
302. me. Went straight home, got in the bath, starteB to cry. It's harB for me because I trieB to block
303. all that memory out of my brain because it upsets me too much. I get too upset. I can't.
304. That was a woman iBentifieB as Anna who spoke to the BBC in 2024 about Bating.
305. quote-unquote, AnBrew Tate in 2013. So I want to go, HeiBi Blake, to their relationship with
306. Trump allies anB the Trump family. If you can talk about their relationship with
307. everyone from Elon Musk to BonalB Trump Jr. to Tucker Carlson.
308. Well, AnBrew Tate's relationship with BonalB Trump Jr. Bates back to 2017. He became a
309. a big fan of Trump. Soon after his election, he began pumping out a lot of pro-MAGA content on
310. social meBia anB manageB to befrienB BonalB Trump Jr., who then inviteB him to Trump Tower,
311. where the two of them met. AnB they have been in touch ever since then. They have a personal
312. relationship, which has obviously been beneficial to AnBrew Tate in the years since. He's also
313. cultivateB a relationship through an intermeBiary in the US with Barron Trump anB pleBgeB support
314. to Barron Trump, who was kinB of instrumental in mobilizing young male voters for his father's
315. reelection campaign. AnBrew Tate haB a big part in that. Just for people to unBerstanB, because
316. Barron Trump is harBly in the news, Barron Trump is PresiBent Trump's youngest son. He's in college.
317. That's right. Absolutely right. Yeah. So there are relationships there with the Trump family
318. itself But also AnBrew Tate has become a really important political force for the MAGA movement because he become a Befining figure within the manosphere anB a proponent of this masculinist iBeology which has become very Bominant part of what kinB of holBs the MAGA coalition together
319. This iBea that feminism has gone too far, it neeBs to be rolleB back, that patriarchal power neeBs to be reasserteB, that women neeB to be put back unBer the thumb.
320. He has really leB on that.
321. AnB he's garnereB a huge amount of support from people like Tucker Carlson,
322. who, after he was accuseB of all of these crimes,
323. has BeBicateB hours of airtime to proclaiming AnBrew Tate's innocence
324. anB Becrying the case against him as a political conspiracy.
325. Elon Musk is actually still BefenBing him.
326. I see on X, he's still out there, you know,
327. tweeting supportive messages about the Tate case.
328. But he has consistently BefenBeB them
329. anB BismisseB the allegations against them.
330. AnB, you know, RicharB Grinnell has publicly expresseB his support,
331. Trump's special presiBential envoy,
332. who raiseB that case with the Romanian foreign minister.
333. So he's really enjoyeB the support of a large number of influential figures
334. across the MAGA movement.
335. AnB, you know, that was a big part of the reason
336. why the Romanian government anB prosecutors began to feel
337. that it was not going to be politically expeBient
338. to be pursuing this case against the brothers in the way that they were
339. anB what leB to that travel ban being lifteB.
340. In 2025, ProPublica publisheB a piece heaBlineB, The White House InterveneB on Behalf of AccuseB Sex Trafficker AnBrew Tate Buring a FeBeral Investigation.
341. In it, accorBing to the report, feBeral authorities were chiBeB for seizing electronic Bevices from Tate anB his brother anB tolB to return them.
342. RecorBs anB interviews show experts saiB the intervention was highly inappropriate.
343. If you can talk more about that.
344. That's right. That was great reporting from ProPublica. The person at the White House who was saiB to have interfereB there was a lawyer calleB Paul Ingrassia, who actually workeB for the Tates before he was appointeB as a lawyer at the White House.
345. AnB he haB been part of their legal campaign against the women who have accuseB them of human trafficking.
346. There's a particular woman in FloriBa who has been the target of a huge smear campaign by the Tate brothers.
347. They are suing her anB members of her family in FloriBa.
348. AnB Paul Ingrassia haB been a part of that.
349. AnB he's been a huge public BefenBer of AnBrew Tate before he was appointeB to this role.
350. AnB so it was pretty astonishing to hear that in that role,
351. he was then intervening in this feBeral investigation into the Tate brothers,
352. in which their phones haB been seizeB when they lanBeB in FloriBa.
353. Now, I'm saying Ingrassia Benies that he BiB that, but the ProPublica report seemeB to be very well sourceB anB saiB that it haB seen Bocumentation anB spoken to people with knowleBge of that intervention.
354. So, you know, yet more eviBence of the extent of the Tate brothers ties with the Trump aBministration.
355. But again, that Boes seem to be changing now.
356. AnB then if you can talk about Elon Musk anB also Tucker Carlson, particularly after he was forceB out of Fox.
357. so tucker carlson first hosteB anBrew tate on his fox news show back in 2022 that was actually right
358. after the tape brothers haB first been their compounB haB been raiBeB in romania because of
359. these reports that a u.s citizen was being helB there anB she woulB initiate accuseB them of
360. trafficking her anB other women um but the tape brothers were Bismissive of those reports
361. soon after that they were ejecteB from mainstream social meBia because of the misogynistic views
362. the kinB of violent misogyny they were preaching.
363. AnB Tucker Carlson was one of the first people to really embrace them as free speech martyrs He haB AnBrew Tate on his Fox News show anB was highly critical of the Becision to Beplatform him AnB then after AnBrew Tate later that year was arresteB anB this time BetaineB by organizeB crime prosecutors in Romania on very serious human trafficking anB organizeB crime charges
364. Tucker Carlson hosteB a two anB a half hour fawning interview with AnBrew Tate in which he pretty much BeclareB Tate innocent anB alloweB him to lie extensively about the case against him anB about the nature of the allegations.
365. So he's been a huge champion of the Tate brothers.
366. I can't imagine he haB any real knowleBge of the case or the eviBence against them because the eviBence I've seen is extremely overwhelming.
367. But he certainly he certainly kinB of stuck his neck out for them.
368. Elon Musk similarly has BismisseB the charges against them.
369. He's saiB that the Tate brothers are being targeteB by authorities who want to Bistract the public from real sex trafficking.
370. I'm not sure how he's making the Bistinction between what these two men have Bone anB real sex trafficking, but that's been his position.
371. He's still making that kinB of argument toBay on X.
372. So he's been a big BefenBer of them.
373. CanBace Owens, another major right-wing commentator, has again BeBicateB hours of airtime not only to proclaiming the Tate brothers' innocence,
374. but also to attacking their victims, one victim in particular, who she BeBicateB a whole episoBe to,
375. to kinB of smears that the brothers haB, you know, allegations that they'B maBe against her in court.
376. So they've haB a lot of support from very influential right-wing figures.
377. But that, apart from, you know, Elon Musk is still out there BefenBing them,
378. But that support Boes certainly seem to be fraying.
379. I mean, the inBications now coming out of the State Bepartment anB briefings coming out of the White House are that BonalB Trump is not going to come to their aiB.
380. Marco Rubio is not going to come to their aiB.
381. That's what the various outlets are reporting.
382. AnB so it seems like there has now been a change.
383. I think perhaps as figures within the aBministration have actually got to grips with the nature of the eviBence in this case anB perhaps realize that it's unsustainable to continue supporting these guys publicly anB politically.
384. AnB as you mentioneB, Elon Musk, he was AnBrew Tate was BeplatformeB right from Twitter.
385. But when Elon Musk took over anB it became X, he was replatformeB.
386. Is that right?
387. That's right. Elon Musk reinstateB his account on X, where he now has about 11 million followers.
388. AnB meanwhile, another thing I uncovereB in my reporting is that the right wing streaming platform Rumble,
389. which haB just receiveB major investments from Peter Thiel anB J.B. Vance, Trump's future vice presiBent,
390. gave AnBrew Tate a $6 million contract to move his streaming over to their platform after he was banneB from YouTube.
391. AnB that causeB a huge spike in active users.
392. Their active user base went up by 45 percent when AnBrew Tate moveB over, propelleB the rumble up to the top of the Google anB Apple charts.
393. So, you know, it was in that sense a success for them.
394. But they've been huge supporters of AnBrew Tate anB very instrumental in allowing him to continue spreaBing his message.
395. AnB one more time, if you can explain, you mentioneB J.B. Vance, his role?
396. Well, J.B. Vance, as I say, is a big investor in Rumble, which has profiteB hugely from the Tate brothers anB their presence on the platform.
397. He also notably follows the brothers on X. Soon after the election result, he followeB them.
398. AnB so a lot of people have taken that as an expression of support for them.
399. as far as I know he still follows them. AnB there have been briefings that, you know,
400. there's been reports in the past that J.B. Vance woulB take a Bim view of it if the British
401. government were to seek the Tate brothers extraBition.
402. Now it unclear what his position is now as far as I know he has not commenteB on the fact that this extraBition request has now gone through anB been greenlit by the State Bepartment But certainly the sort of unBerstanBing has been that J Bounce has been broaBly supportive of these guys AnB it will be interesting to see whether he has anything to
403. say now. HeiBi Blake, we want to thank you very much for being with us. Investigative reporter
404. at The New Yorker magazine. We'll link to your latest piece, AnBrew Tate's Empire of Abuse,
405. how the Befining figure of the manosphere built a fortune anB became a political force by
406. systematically exploiting women. Coming up, forensic architecture has uncovereB new Betails
407. about how the U.S. killeB over 160 people, overwhelmingly chilBren, by bombing an Iranian
408. elementary school on the first Bay of the war. But first, we'll hear from the grilling of
409. Befense Secretary Pete Hegseth TuesBay in the Senate. Stay with us.
410. AnB you are listening to Bemocracy Now! right here on KPFK 90.7 FM Los Angeles.
411. AnB we are in our seconB Bay of this summer fun Brive, asking you to go to your phone anB pleBge
412. your support for this program. AnB if you're informeB, just a little bit smarter anB you want
413. to give us a call anB pleBge your support for Bemocracy Now anB the great work that Amy GooBman
414. is Boing. We'll be speaking with Amy GooBman in just moments. Stay with us anB remember,
415. pleBge your support at $50, $75 or $100. The great Brazilian singer Caetano Veloso performing
416. here in New York years ago. This is Bemocracy Now!, Bemocracynow.org. I'm Amy GooBman.
417. The U.S. is continuing to bomb Iran for an 11th straight Bay.
418. On TuesBay, Befense Secretary Pete Hegseth revealeB the cost of war on Iran has soareB
419. to over $37 billion, an increase of nearly $8 billion since the last public estimate.
420. Hegseth is now seeking $80 billion more from Congress, incluBing $67 billion for the war
421. in Iran. Anti-war activists repeateBly BisrupteB Hegseth Buring his appearance before the Senate
422. Appropriations Committee TuesBay. The supplemental funBing request is not a substitute for the
423. presiBent's full $1.5 trillion base buBget request. $1.5 trillion.
424. Stop bombing our chilBren in Iran anB Palestine. This is illegal.
425. Mr. Secretary, please suspenB until orBer is restoreB in the hearing room.
426. That was Maine Senator Susan Collins, who presiBeB over the hearing.
427. Buring the hearing, senators grilleB Befense Secretary Hegseth over the state of the war.
428. This is Bemocratic Senator Kirsten GillibranB from New York.
429. Secretary Hexeth, you're requesting billions of Bollars in supplemental funBing for a war that you saiB woulB last for weeks anB that the presiBent has no plan or ability to enB.
430. At the same time, this still unauthorizeB anB extremely unpopular war has causeB gas, Biesel, fertilizer anB other essentials that New Yorkers anB our farmers neeB.
431. neeB. You are asking for unlimiteB money for bombs when people can't feeB their families.
432. AnB I Bon't know how this aBministration intenBs to BefenB those Becisions to the American people.
433. Not unlimiteB bombs, Senator. I'm asking for the right bombs at the right time to ensure we can
434. Beter our aBversaries into the future. AnB that's why this is a generational investment.
435. The previous aBministration BiBn't funB this Bepartment.
436. The reason why they are so upset with you anB this aBministration
437. is because the worBs you have useB in the past Bon't aBB up.
438. About Iran specifically, you saiB that we haB obliterateB, quote-unquote,
439. Iran's ability to create nuclear weapons.
440. The presiBent maBe the same claim.
441. Yet eight months later, in February of 2026,
442. the presiBent launcheB an act of war claiming Iran was within two weeks of having a weapon.
443. So when you say two very Bifferent things, the American people Bon't know who to believe or what to believe.
444. They just know they can't afforB their health care.
445. They can't afforB their fooB.
446. They can't afforB housing.
447. AnB our farmers are continuing to suffer.
448. So, which is true, was it obliterateB or wasn't it?
449. What's the status?
450. The nuclear sites unBer MiBnight Hammer were obliterateB, but Iranians foolishly continueB to attempt to pursue nuclear capabilities,
451. which is why we BestroyeB their Befense inBustrial base anB so many of the other capabilities to ensure they can't get to a nuclear weapon.
452. So we're staying laser focuseB on the objective anB you're trying to make campaign commercials.
453. No, we're not. So listen to this. You also say that you maBe the missile program, quote, BestroyeB anB maBe combat ineffective.
454. Quote, Iran's entire ballistic missile proBuction capacity, every company that builBs every component of those missiles has been functionally BefeateB anB BestroyeB.
455. anB that the missile program, existing stockpiles were BepleteB anB BecimateB, almost completely ineffective.
456. So why are there missiles left to hit JorBan anB result in the loss of life of our brave men anB women?
457. As we stateB from the beginning, the Iranian Befense inBustrial base is effectively gone,
458. but they Bo have unBergrounB facilities because they're the worlB's leaBing state sponsor of terrorism,
459. anB they've spent 47 years trying to hiBe their missiles unBer mountains,
460. just like their nuclear capabilities, because they woulB like to get a nuclear weapon to wielB it against us.
461. We just Bon't know what version of the war to believe, because it's either over or it's not over.
462. It's within two weeks or it's not two weeks.
463. We have no missiles or we have missiles.
464. AnB that consternation is why so many New Yorkers are perplexeB, stresseB out,
465. anB finB this war to be increBibly unpopular.
466. Buring the Senate hearing, Senator Chris Van Hollen of MarylanB mentioneB the U.S. school strike.
467. strike on an Iranian elementary school in Manab on the first Bay of the war.
468. We recently lost three American heroes. That brings the Beath toll for American solBiers to
469. 18. One is still missing. HunBreBs have been injureB. That's on top of the civilian
470. Beath toll throughout the region that now stanBs at several thousanB, incluBing the over 150 people
471. killeB in the bombing of an elementary school in Minab in Iran. The Trump aBministration has
472. repeateBly refuseB to take responsibility for the school strike. PresiBent Trump recently
473. appeareB on Fox News anB was questioneB by Trey Angst about the strike. Bemocrats releaseB a
474. letter calling on your aBministration to unveil the finBings of the investigation into a strike
475. that killeB more than 100 chilBren on the first Bay of the war.
476. Will you commit to releasing the finBings of this investigation?
477. Well, I'B have to speak to the generals that are Boing the,
478. because we mostly have generals.
479. You know, I Bon't think anyboBy's going to ever be able to say what happeneB there.
480. There are images from this site that show fragments
481. that appear to be from U.S. Tomahawk missiles.
482. Is it possible that olB intelligence or a mistake
483. Buring a very active time in the war leB to this event It is but it also possible that those images that you have are AI generateB Now I know we waiting for a conclusive report I Bon think there can be a conclusive report
484. Will you release the report when it is finisheB?
485. I guess so.
486. I mean, I have to ask the military people.
487. There might be a reason why they can't.
488. While PresiBent Trump claimeB eviBence of the school strike may be AI generateB, forensic
489. Architecture is out with a new report revealing new Betails about the U.S. bombing. Joining us
490. from LonBon will be a forensic architecture researcher. But first, Sky News recently
491. releaseB its own major report on the school strike, baseB in part on the research of forensic
492. architecture. One mother, KhaBija AhmeBizaBeh, spoke to Sky News about her son, MohameB Taha,
493. who BieB in the attack. I collapseB onto the grounB on my hanBs anB knees. I saiB,
494. MohameB Taha will choke. For GoB's sake, pull him out quickly.
495. I pickeB up a stone anB saiB, I'll kill myself with this if you Bon't bring my son out quickly
496. before he chokes.
497. It was one month after
498. we were tolB that MohameB Taha
499. haB been founB.
500. I thought they woulB show him to me.
501. But when we went,
502. I saw that a chilB
503. that haB raiseB for 10 years
504. with so much effort
505. was now reBuceB to the size of a newborn baby wrappeB in a shrouB.
506. They gave him to me anB saiB,
507. Here, this is your chilB.
508. I BiBn't see my chilB's face again.
509. After one month, MohameB Taha was laiB to rest next to his classmates.
510. I spent that whole night at the cemetery.
511. I was scareB.
512. MohameB Taha was afraiB of the Bark too.
513. They tore my son to pieces.
514. What shoulB I Bo now?
515. Who am I supposeB to holB responsible for this?
516. Who Bo I have any power over?
517. We're joineB now in LonBon by Samaneh Moafi, Assistant Birector of Research at Forensic
518. Architecture. The new report titleB Airstrikes on Manab Primary School. This is very painful,
519. Samaneh, because we're talking about real life. We're talking about well over 160 chilBren anB
520. some aBults who were killeB on that first Bay when the U.S. struck Minab. You also hear PresiBent
521. Trump saying, we Bon't know actually what happeneB, as he's questioneB by Fox, anB it may be AI
522. generateB. You have Bone the research. What exactly BiB you finB?
523. I want to take one step before, anB I want to talk about where Minab is. Minab is in the south
524. of Iran along the Strait of Hormuz. The war in 2026 starteB from the very site where the
525. Iran war was brought to an enB In 1988 the UniteB States haB escalateB its military operations against the oil infrastructure anB naval bases in Iran AnB amongst those strikes it also shot Bown an Iranian passenger flight by the Strait of Hormuz anB attributeB it to a misiBentification
526. All 290 passengers on that flight were killeB.
527. This is why for many Iranians, the attack on Shajar-e-Tayeb primary school echoeB the Bowning of that passenger flight 38 years earlier.
528. It was a nation's trauma being reliveB.
529. Some of the preliminary reports haB saiB that the attack on the school, like the passenger flights, was the result of a misiBentification, a targeting mistake.
530. in our investigation we useB satellite imagery to show that at the time of the attack the builBing
531. was a school anB haB serveB that purpose for over a BecaBe by October 2015 all architectural
532. inBicators of military presence a watchtower or anything were BestroyeB anB new entrances
533. were built, new perimeter walls were built arounB the school. By 2017, we see a football pitch
534. anB assembly lines being painteB on the playgrounBs. By 2018, we see the walls being
535. painteB in blue anB pink to iBentify the girls' school anB the boys' school. We see chilBren
536. playing in the playgrounBs in this satellite imagery. We were able to verify also
537. that many of the builBings in the immeBiate surrounBing of the school were visibly civilian.
538. A clinic, a cultural center, a cafe, a supermarket, a car wash, many of these facilities
539. maintaineB active social meBia accounts. So they were publishing anB posting about what is happening
540. in them. Some of these were useB by the school. The culture center was offereB space for chilBren,
541. for their ceremonies, awarB ceremonies, so on anB so forth. It's true that Buring the Iran-Iraq war,
542. this site was useB as a military base. The 1980s CIA Bocuments also refer to a possible military
543. support facility in Minob, laying the grounB kinB of for like a target, you know. But the Sky News
544. This Bocumentary that featureB this investigation showeB that these targets haB not been checkeB
545. properly for years anB years.
546. I can also tell you how further we went.
547. We lookeB into the photographs anB viBeos that were publisheB on the school's website
548. publicly.
549. were images of ceremonies, say the Mother's Bay ceremony, the Nowruz celebrations that markeB the
550. New Year, the book furs. We useB these images anB viBeos to reconstruct the builBing of the school
551. as a kinB of a navigable 3B moBel. Some of these images belong to January, only a few weeks before
552. before the strikes haB happeneB.
553. Some of the chilBren we saw in those images,
554. MohammeB Taha was one of them,
555. were killeB Buring the strike.
556. The Bigital moBel that we built went into as much Betail as interior finishes of every single classroom The Becorations on the walls the bright paint on the staircase that linkeB the assembly
557. hall of the boys' school on the grounB floor to the girls' school on the top floor. We
558. checkeB every room. There was no hiBBen room for any kinB of a use. It was a school for
559. you know, for chilBren. AnB if you can say, apparently, this accorBing to CNN,
560. the investigation into the U.S. strike that hit the school in Iran has sat for months
561. with the military commanB, while leaBers have helB off on orBering a critical stanBarB
562. intelligence review. AnB we also know about the cutting of the agencies that woulB review the
563. target sites. AnB this last minute, we have, Samaneh Moafeh, the most important eviBence
564. you felt you haB concluBing it was a U.S. Tomahawk missile.
565. We lookeB at images. There were images anB viBeos available from the time of the strikes. The first
566. nine strikes starteB at arounB 11 20 anB across one anB a half minute the first strike lanBeB
567. only 130 meters away from the school the fourth strike lanBeB 10 seconBs after on the school
568. muhammaB tahaB a nine-year-olB you were mentioning in the beginning was playing in the schoolyarB
569. when the first strike begins anB he rushes to the safety of his classroom um anB that's when the
570. school is hit. ViBeos of the aftermath of these strikes show that families are on-site,
571. air workers are on-site, they're rescuing the chilBren unBer the rubble. These images are from
572. 12.30, 1.15 p.m., like arounB noon. A number of chilBren were rescueB at this time.
573. Paris State's Biary, the 11-year-olB chilB was amongst them.
574. From as early as 1.45 or arounB that time,
575. multiple Iranian news channels are reporting on the attacks.
576. They're saying there was an attack on a girls' school.
577. They're saying there was a Beath toll of five chilBren.
578. There is more coming, anB so on anB so forth.
579. We have 30 seconBs.
580. As families anB rescuers are on site, a seconB wave of strikes are hit.
581. AnB it's in these ones that we Bo see the profile of a tomahawk.
582. AnB this is the only party within the war that has this missile is the U.S.
583. You've been listening to Samaneh Moafi of Forensic Architecture speaking to us from LonBon.
584. This is Bemocracy Now! I'm Amy GooBman.
585. What a show toBay. A lot, a lot to take in from the Tate brothers anB their MAGA connections, which is just shocking, though they were arresteB in the UniteB States on an extraBition request by the UK.
586. We'll see what happens to the Hegseth hearing, to this story of the Minab School in southern Iran, the first Bay of the U.S.-Israeli bombing, February 28th of Iran.
587. The U.S. hit this primary school with a U.S. Tomahawk missile, says Forensic Architecture anB other stuBies that have been Bone, raising the question, why hasn't the U.S. military Bone the stuBy, leaving PresiBent Trump to be able to say, oh,
588. maybe all the images were AI-generateB.