special counsel jack smith paints a picture of a commander-in-chief willing to throw out the votes of millions of americans, including large numbers of black voters who turned out to elect joe biden. trump fueled conspiracy theories, putting poll workers, and public servants at risk. on january 6th, he embraced violence, and swamped a mob, that went on to attack one of the most sacred monuments to our democracy. even now, trump continues to behave as if he's above the law. we have breaking news this evening, his legal team has until monday to respond to a government motion for a protective order related to a threatening social media post. from the former president. we are going to get into the legal specifics of the case, and the political implications throughout the hour. but, make no mistake, while it is donald trump who will be going on trial, it is the fate of our nation that will be decided by the outcome. we begin with delicate, stacey pulaski, from the virgin islands. a former house manager during the second impeachment trial of donald trump. thank you for joining -- or for being with us, congresswoman. let's start with the second impeachment of donald trump. held in the aftermath of january 6th. you and your democratic colleagues argued trump incited an insurrection. those proceedings, in many ways, laid the groundwork for what we saw this week. so, i wonder what your thoughts were when the indictment did come down. >> thank you so much for having me, reverend. thank you for asking that question. this is really a culmination of so many peoples works and so many efforts throughout many generations. correct, of people who are protecting this democracy. in the aftermath of january 6th, if you can recall, i'm sure, members of the democratic caucus sat in a room, and scribbled are the beginnings of the impeachment article against then president donald trump. it was the speaker, nancy pelosi's belief, that he should be tried immediately, while he was in office. and we moved expeditiously on that. it was mitch mcconnell who headed up the senate, who waited until after donald trump was out of office, the inauguration of the new president, joseph biden, had taken place, before that impeachment trial had taken place. as you've seen, there's been a building that has occurred, of information, time, as well as powers of those who've been investigating this. we had very few powers as impeachment managers. really, it was the tremendous work of the staff, and others, who were supporting us in that impeachment trial, to bring the initial framework, kind of the scaffolding of what happened. and then, of course, under the leadership of benny thompson, and the select committee for january 6th. which really was able to, in the words of donald trump's own supporters, his own administration, they were the witnesses that were brought forward. who raised their hands and said yes. we want to tell the truth, and our democracy is greater than one man. they came forward to the january 6th group to bring outline for us, and much more detail of what had happened. but, it is the power of the special counsel, with subpoena, who has really brought to this criminal indictment against a man who believed that he was above the law, that is now going to be brought to trial, and face the reckoning of his actions. >> now, your impeachment efforts in 2021 passed the house with just ten republican votes, and senate republicans blocked a conviction. that could have barred trump from running from office again. now republicans are once again defending trump. on thursday, speaker mccarthy compared to trump's election fraud claims to those made by hillary clinton and al gore. -- are republicans simply afraid of trump? or do they actually think his efforts to overturn a free and fair election are acceptable? >> you know, i do believe that there are those republicans who have actually drink the kool-aid, when it comes to the things that donald trump had said. but i think that is a fringe group of the republican -- my republican colleagues. many of them are not afraid of donald trump, but more afraid of that 35% of the base who would follow donald trump anywhere. and as we can recall, as you stated in that impeachment trial, it took two thirds to find him in fact convict him. but it would have only taken a majority of members to bar him from ever running for office again. i can recall going to senators, republican senators. and that is the strange thing about impeachment. the people who are your witnesses in the jury are speaking to you. the republican senators would come to me and say, you actually have incredible evidence against him. this man needs to be stopped. this is terrible. i would say, look, just vote with us on the conviction. and we only need to the democrats for him to be barred from office. demofor the most part, they woud say yeah, i don't think it's enough of us that are going to get you to that second vote. therefore, i'm too afraid, basically, is what they were saying, to make that first vote on -- >> let me pause right there. they admitted to the evidence you had was solid, and enough. but they were too afraid to vote for what was right for this country, and their constituents. >> in many instances they would use phrases like what will this due to the presidency? what will this mean for us going forward as a country, if we were to convict a president? you know, i don't want to take -- i don't think you have the vote. i will be out on a limb. that's the kind of things that, you know, this is a party, i've said this on the weaponization committee. this is a party that is more into power, and more into their own positions than they are for the every day good of americans. >> yeah. >> the things they said they were going to do when they were in charge of the house. deal with inflation, deal with every day kitchen issues. having never been addressed, rev. all they are doing is putting towards conspiracy theories and helping one man to try and regain the presidency, donald trump. >> and i'm afraid if they don't do the right thing, what happens to the country. we had the american revolution to end autocracy. that's the reason they wanted to form a democracy, and had the revolution against king george. and no president since that revolution has tried to have a revolution keep themselves in power. but as we mentioned today -- >> but raf, i was going to say, you were talking about that, but the thing that you brought up, that you have fought so hard for for so many decades is the right to vote. that is one of the charges that we can see here, that jack smith has put forward. that donald trump has tried to suppress the vote and the will of the people. while we cannot count on those senators and many of the members of congress on the right to do the right thing, we can believe in the american people, that they will come out in numbers. let's look at how many young people came out. >> that's right. >> we've got to incentivize and bring our people of color and others that they are afraid of, to continue to vote. i represent the virgin islands, we don't have the ability to vote for president. and so we are fighting even more. you all vote are so much more precious to us, and the fight to retain that, to expand the vote, more than to shorten it. to make sure that lets people have the right to vote. that's the fight that we are in. >> now, we are out of time. but i must ask you, today, we learned trump's legal team has until five pm monday to respond to a motion by special counsel jack smith, to issue a protective order barring trump from publicly disclosing evidence in the case. the filing last night cited threatening social media posts from trump, including this one, that reads, quote, if you go after me, i'm coming after you, unquote. what do you make of these latest developments? >> well, i think that this is jack smith and the prosecution saying that they are not going to let him get away with intimidation. this is different than a gag order, which would keep him from speaking at all in public. this is a protective order to protect witnesses, potential jurors, as well as the judge and those that are within the court room. and the transcript itself. from being tampered with by donald trump. this would not have been an issue if donald trump after arraignment had not brought this up. so, while we recognize that mr. trump is in an election, and that he has an ability to act as a political candidate, he cannot and should not be allowed to intimidate those witnesses that may potentially bring very important evidence in front of this jury, and in front of the judge in this matter. i think that the timely filing of this by the prosecution was the appropriate thing to do. >> all right, thank you for being with us. delegate, stacey plaskett. >> the thank you so much rev, take care. >> joining me now is rebecca -- she is a former assistant district attorney for the manhattan district attorney's office, and is a new york university law professor, thank you for joining me tonight, professor. let me ask you this. we brought you on today, to better understand the legal theories behind this latest trump indictment. let's review the charges. conspiracy to defraud the united states. conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding. obstruction of and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding. and conspiracy against rights. first of all, how serious are these alleged offenses, and what might happen if the former president were convicted of all or some of them? >> these are serious allegations, reverend. and they are serious in part because they carry a significant sentence. but they are also serious because they allow the prosecutor to tell a narrative of serious conduct. conduct that should concern americans if he can prove these allegations to be true. >> now i want to go a little bit deeper into that last charge, conspiracy against rights. the charge is actually based on a law, passed after the civil war, to combat the ku klux klan. can you talk a little bit about the laws origins, and how it applies to the case against donald trump? >> absolutely. so, you're right, this law emerged at that time, when there was serious intimidation. both in terms of physical threats, and other sorts of intimidation against people who were trying to vote. mostly people of color. >> who had been slaves and denied the right to vote before that. >> absolutely. absolutely. that statute has been interpreted over the years, to apply to not just violent threats, but rather any kind of fraudulent attempt to deprive individuals of the right to vote. while it was designed to address that particular situation, it is written in broad terms, and has been interpreted throughout american history in a broadway, to apply not just to those specific instances where there are actual physical threats of violence, but rather in much more broad situations like the one at issue. when people use threats or lies, or intimidation, in order to deprive people of their right to vote. >> we covered criminal justice issues all the time on this show. and for most americans being charged with a crime, and put on trial, it's a traumatic experience. and yet again this week, we see trump is able to turn himself in, he's fingerprinted, but does not have to sit for a mugshot. and then he's able to walk free. although this time, the judge did advise him not to discuss the case with witnesses. is trump being given special treatment, or is that appropriate, what happened this week? >> i don't think it's special treatment. this is a particular kind of -- i think we want to talk about more broadly about criminal justice, i think if anything, we need to make more situations look like this, rather than make this look like some of the situations that you are describing that can be so traumatic. but that said, when it is a kind of crime like this, and a kind of white collar crime, this is not that far from the way this would be treated normally. of course, no defendant other than the former president has secret service accompanying him in. but in terms of the procedure, it's not that far different from it would be if it would be any other kind of fraudulent act, or white-collar crimea and, submitted my somebody generally in their business. >> now, trump lawyers have added they intend to make a first amendment defense. arguing their client believed the election had been stolen, and has a right to speak out about it. what do you make of that strategy? >> first of all, i want to say something that just adds to your former conversation. in order to fight autocracy, it is critical not to engage in autocratic kind of conduct, or use tactics that are not legal. and the magic of this indictment is that it is it very clear that it is abiding by, and respecting, the former presidents first amendment rights. there is a first amendment right to talk publicly, and even to lie publicly. and even to do that in order to convince the public of something that is not true. that is all protected. however, that protection ends when the words are part of a course of conduct that is itself criminal. and so, the allegations are not that he engaged in disinformation. if that were the allegation, that would be a serious problem from a first amendment perspective. the allegations are instead that he used those lies to engage in the course of conduct involving those crimes that you just mentioned. depriving the american public of the results of a legitimate election. depriving individuals of the right to vote. and obstructing that proceeding. and so, those actions, that course of conduct, is not protected, even when it is conducted through words. >> in fact, that's the opposite of fighting on autocracy, and establishing a democracy, which the country was built on. the other tactic trump is likely to use is this case, and others, that he has, is to delay. on thursday, his lawyers took issue with the speedy trial act. which requires the case to go to trial within 70 days. legal experts have noted that in all of the cases against the former president, the strategy seems to be pushed the proceedings past the 2024 election. when trump might be able to simply make the case go away, if he is elected. how do prosecutors count on this approach? and if by chance he's elected, he really can't even part in the states charges. he can only pardon federal charges. if he's charged in georgia, he couldn't pardon that. he can't pardon the charges in manhattan. so we're only talking about federal charges, could possibly go away if he's possibly elected. >> that's absolutely right. he could even appoint an attorney general who just dismissed these charges, and these investigations. it could be that easy. he wouldn't even have to engage in a pardon. but as you say, it wouldn't reach to the state cases. and, you know, i think it will be difficult to make these prosecutions proceed fast enough that there will be a trial prior to the election. and i think that the prosecutors are clearly trying to do that. you can see from that submission that they are trying to prevent the former president from engaging in that kind of delay. it is possible that they will be able to do that to a certain extent. but, the timeline is very short. >> yeah. all right. thank you very much for being with us, attorney, and professor, rebecca roiphe. tomorrow marks the 50th anniversary of the voting rights act. signed, august 1965, by president lyndon -- johnson, in the presence of martin luther king junior. coming up, we ask, is it easier, faster, and safer, to vote today, then when it was 58 years ago? first, my colleague richard lui with today's top news story. richard? >> thank you raf. we're having a good saturday to you. first off, a popular online video game influencer is facing charges of inciting a riot and promoting an unlawful gathering. this after a chaotic scene yesterday in new york city. police saying the streamer, kai senate, told followers he was going to give out free play stations. thousands of people then showed up. some jumping on top of vehicles, they hurled bottles, engaging in scuffles also with police. 65 people were arrested. a 17-year-old suspect arrested in connection of a fatal stabbing of a gay man at a new york gustafson was charged with a hate crime. police say 28-year-old, o'shae sibley, was dancing when a group of men approached him, and told him to stop dancing. the group then attacked him. more politicsnation with reverend al sharpton, right after this break. ak y choose t-mobile for business. mlb partners with t-mobile to not only enhance the fan experience, but to advance how the game is played. aaa relies on t-mobile's network to stay connected nationwide, so they can help get their members back on the road. and we're helping pano ai innovate, to stop the spread of wildfires. now's the time to see what america's largest 5g network can do for your business. how are folks 60 and older having fun these days? 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(announcer) change your life at golo.com. that's golo.com. >> welcome back to politicsnation. tomorrow marks the anniversary of the 1965 voting rights act, prohibiting racial discrimination in voting, 58 years later, republican-led state legislators are across the crunchy are passing laws aimed at limiting voter participation. at least 322 restrictive bills have been introduced in 45 states this year, according to the brennan center. a near record number. for more on the ongoing fight to protect voting rights, i'm joined by congresswoman, chantal brown, democrat of ohio. congresswoman, we've got some encouraging news from your state this week. where early voting hours has been extended, ahead of next week's special election. can you talk a bit about the turnout you've seen so far, and i'm getting reports from our national network chapters. what are those reports? and what do you expect to happen on tuesday, for this very important vote in the state of ohio? >> thank you for having me, reverend al. i know this is a conversation me in my sweetheart, antjuan see right, talked about on monday. the importance. >> on my radio show, since she dropped, it will get a free advertising, but go ahead. >> that's right. that's right. monday, 2 to 3. but i want to point out the fact that the voting rights act to eliminated these things that have put barriers in the place for people of color, like literacy tests, knowing how many bubbles are in a bar of toast -- soap. people actually blood and lost their lives for us in order to have this right. but as a black woman, this is critically important to me and is not lost on me that the precious right to everyone to have access to the ballot box is 58 years old. a tad younger than you rev, and only ten years younger than my parents. -- as a member of the cdc, it's been one of my highest priorities. in ohio, what we are dealing with is issue one. issue one has really been a precursor, a barometer, a test case, to really take a way the voice of the people. in my home state of ohio, where there is a republican state leader who actually passed a law saying there will be no more special elections in august, is currently holding this election. it's no mistake that the republicans have once again pulled out there, if we can't beat them, let's check, them playbook. the this illegal election reeks of thieves in the night, reverend al. most people are not conditioned to vote in summer. they are focused on vacationing. they are focused on their kids little league games, and getting ready for back to school. so it was their hope that we weren't paying attention. but as you pointed out, i am proud to say yesterday, i spoke with some enthusiastic voters in cleveland. i held a press conference on monday with fake leaders, community leaders, activists, labor leaders, to make sure that people were aware what is taking place in ohio. and to remind them that they could vote early, before they went off on their vacations. additionally, i've be remissed if i did not point out that the ads have been so confusing and very misleading, reverend. i felt like it was important to set the record straight, to let the people of ohio no, that it is so important to devote on issue one. because it would specifically -- simply put an end to the power of the people by taking away the majority rule. i'm pleased to report, people are paying attention. the voting turnout are looking. get better than expected. we cannot take our foot off the grass. >> i -- i talk to others, who worked with us there, let me go to this issue. two months ago though, the u.s. supreme court ruled alabama violated the voting rights act by failing to draw a second majority black congressional district in a state that is 27% black. the alabama state legislature has so far refused to withdraw the map. how is this going to be solved, congresswoman? >> well the sea veasey continues to be the conscience of the congress, i'm proud to say as a freshman, i voted to pass the john lewis voting rights act, as a soft more. i voted to pass the freedom to vote act. but i'm sad to say it was sold in the senate. what we are going to have to do, reverend al, is continue to fight, and to continue to work hard to win back the majority. because right now, the mega extreme republicans have the power. and in order to take the power away, we have to change the lawmakers. so in 2024, we are looking forward to getting back in the majority, so that we can govern, and get this legislation passed. because we know that people don't try to take things away from you they do not have value. these voter suppression laws that are being uninitiated across the state are just the beginning. i would be remiss if -- i >> let me pause you right there. as i mentioned, that at least 11 states have enacted at least 13 restrictive voting laws this year. and several others are in the pipeline. many of these laws curb access to -- voting -- stricter -- this would be a central part of the marching march on washington, august 26th. all of this is made possible by the supreme court's 2013 decision in shelby county versus holden. gutting the voting rights act. what are democrats in congress doing to try to restore these protections? >> well, we'll be rocking with you on the 26th for sure. but again, reverend al, this is and if you can't beat them cheatham strategy. if you want is the test case for the strategy. i want people to pay attention to ohio. because of issue won passes, it's going to grow legs, and run all across this country. it would end the simple majority rule here in the state of ohio. and this again is just something that the rest of the nation is looking to scale up, if you will, if we are unsuccessful in defeating it. so, it starts with our local government. but it also goes up to the federal government. i can assure you that once we become the majority in the house again, and we have speaker jeffries at the helm, we are going to do everything we can to make sure we enshrine and codify these protections that you can find in the john lewis voting rights act, as well as the freedom to vote act. >> all right, congresswoman shontel brown of ohio. i tell you, sweetheart, i will talk to him on monday. he talks almost as good as you. he's almost as good as you. thank you for being with us. >> thank you rev.. >> coming up, my political brando -- panel breaks down how the latest trump indictment could shake up the 2024 presidential race. stay tuned. stay tuned that keeps you dry? 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>> so, this is scary, at this point. what you saw with that social media post from donald trump was not just an explicit threat to the prosecutors office. it was also an explicit threat to witnesses, and potential witnesses. >> and possibly jurors. >> and jurors. this is mafia type stuff right here. it's an explicit threat of violence. it is actually a crime, by many interpretations. but this is going to be the general trend for the next 18 months, or so. and what my deep concern is though, is that we will, as democrats, take donald trump and his campaign, which is formally organized to this time around, than previous campaigns, for granted. of course, the crimes he committed are so obvious, so offensive, and such a threat to all that we hold dear. but it does not negate the fact that he could win. yet again. and that is why having such an organized opposition to him, in a political sense. because the legal proceedings have got to play out without political interference or commentary. but the political offensive has got to be organized, and massive. >> now joe, after trump's indictment for mishandling classified documents, his poll numbers jumped 5%. many political insiders are expecting he will receive a similar bump after this week's charges. trump himself is suggesting one more indictment in georgia would ensure his victory in 2024. why aren't republicans more troubled by trump's legal issues? >> well i'll, think about who the average republican voter is. the average republican voter right now believes donald trump won in 2020. they believe the 2020 election was stolen. the average republican voter right now believes there is this thing called the deep state, which is after donald trump. now, the rest of america, understands the truth about the 2020 election, and the deepstep. but for republican voters, al, they buy this stuff. that's why, weirdly, every new charge, and every new indictment against trump only strengthens him in the republican party. i think he's got the nomination locked up. but to what max said, this is so important. that host of trump's come after me and i'll come after you, that is a direct call for violence. this needs to be said. donald trump wanted violence on january 6th. he's doing the same thing here. and it is going to lead to violence during this campaign. >> what's amazing, he's on trial. he's going to go on trial, about violence on january 6th. and he's now using the same rhetoric as he prepares for trial. it's the most arrogant and, in my opinion, a logical way to defend yourself. but max, according to polling from before the third indictment, 71% of americans think that conspiring to overturn the results of a presidential election is a serious crime. do you think there's a chance these latest charges might have more of a negative impact on trump than the ones prior? >> of course. it depends on whether we're talking about the primary or the general election. i do believe that this helps that republican base coalesce around donald trump. and it makes his nomination more inevitable. but it also damages him even more in a general election. this is why you are seeing his competitors, in this primary, so oddly, come to his defense. despite the fact that that virtually ensures they will never win the nomination themselves. but the general election voter, in all presidential politics, is moderate. through and through. they find these actions horrendous. throughout the country, people are each and every day waking up with a deep sense of loyalty and admiration, and recognition, for family, faith, and flag. each and every day, with his actions, donald trump has shown that he does not give a you know what about those values. and that will be damaging to him in this general election. >> you know, joe, there are -- a third trump ally was charged this week, with voting machine tampering in michigan. we've also seen a number of coconspirators named in the 2020 election indictment, who could face charges at a later date. all of this is happening as trump seems poised to once again, as you say, when the republican nomination for president. and once again, become the de facto leader of the republican party. how concerned are you about the future of your party right now? >> oh, i think al, i think the future is set. this pains me to say it. my party is not a party. it's a cult. i understand, donald trump can do no wrong and say no wrong. i think the republican party is on this nationalistic, anti-democracy, authoritarian embracing, cruel, bigoted path. and al, i don't see it getting off of that path. it's bigger, it's metastasized beyond donald trump. look, the only other republican who is even registered in the polls is ron desantis, besides trump. what is desantis? just a cheaper, cruel version of trumpism. it is now the party of trumpism. i don't think that is changing. >> that question is how we got here. no war in american history since the country has formed has the president tried to undermine an election, or overthrow the american government. thank you for being with us, former congressman max rose, and -- i said max roach. i'm thinking again as well as i've known you, since you are a kid. max rose, and joe walsh. coming up, there was closure this week in the case of the worst antisemitic attack in u.s. history. but the threat of online hate continues to loom large. four years after the tree of life synagogue tragedy. i'll be right back. not the other way. zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. they work continuously, so you don't have to. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. my cpa told me i wouldn't qualify for the erc tax refund, so i called innovation refunds. their team of independent tax attorneys will work with your cpa to determine if your company is eligible. [whip sound] take the first step to see if your small business qualifies. detect this: living with hiv, i learned i can stay undetectable with fewer medicines. that's why i switched to dovato. dovato is a complete hiv treatment for some adults. no other complete hiv pill uses fewer medicines to help keep you undetectable than dovato. detect this: most hiv pills contain 3 or 4 medicines. dovato is as effective with just 2. if you have hepatitis b, don't stop dovato without talking to your doctor. don't take dovato if you're allergic to its ingredients or taking dofetilide. this can cause serious or life-threatening side effects. if you have a rash or allergic reaction symptoms, stop dovato and get medical help right away. serious or life-threatening lactic acid buildup and liver problems can occur. tell your doctor if you have kidney or liver problems, or if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or considering pregnancy. dovato may harm an unborn baby. most common side effects are headache, nausea, diarrhea, trouble sleeping, tiredness, and anxiety. detect this: i stay undetectable with fewer medicines. ask your doctor about switching to dovato. subway's now slicing their meats fresh. that's why soccer pros like me profer the grand slam ham. and this rookie pro... profers fresh sliced turkey. and if we profer it, we know you'll prefer it too. glad you made the cut. you mean slice? seriously? my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. >> welcome back to politicsnation. there was closure this week in the deadliest anti-semitic attack in american history. a federal jury voted unanimously to give the death sentence to the gun man, who massacred 11 jewish worshippers at pittsburgh tree of life synagogue four years ago. investigators say the shooter was extremely active on social media, prolifically posting hateful messages about jews, and other groups in the lead up to the attack. it's a growing problem, the as the watchdog group warned antisemitic -- are up nearly 40% in the uk, with elon musk's twitter driving the increase. joining me now to talk about it is nbc news senior reporter, ben collins. ben, thank you for joining us. >> thanks for having me, rev. >> let's start talking about the tree of life shooter, robert gregory bowers. and the online culture that has spawned here. because it seems as if the environment has only gotten more poisonous. fbi data released in march shows hate crimes in the u.s. reached their highest level recorded in 1921 -- i'm sorry, 2020 21. is the highest level recorded ever. what role is social media playing in that? >> a tremendous amount. i think you can look to the tree of life shooter just for that. he was posting on a website called gab, which was the far-right, at that point, version of twitter. anything goes far-right antisemitism sort of thing. he was posting about the great replacement theory. which was the idea that a cabal -- the jews, in his idea, we're sending mexicans through the mexican u.s. border in order to shape the electorate. that is what drove him to commit that murder, the murder of 11 people. at a synagogue. but now, you sort of see that shift. where gabby really feels like twitter now. that's -- that sort of person one when twitter was sold to elon musk. elon musk has, you know, a lot of fellow travelers now. one is a guy who frequently interact with, named richard -- sorry, her ronna. he was in the new york times posting op-eds in their. it turns out, yesterday it came out that this guy was an active neo-nazi on neo-nazi forums. this guy was pretty close, rhetorically, to elon musk. the rhetoric has shifted closer to neo-nazi in the last four years. >> i saw that in yesterday's times. given all the controversy, i was surprised to read last week, twitter was actually suing a group of researchers who had published a study showing a rise in hate speech on the platform. what can you tell us about this case? >> yeah, this is ccdh. it's basically trying to find ways to track hate speech on the internet, quantitative ways, big data stuff. they weren't personally calling the government and saying hey, i don't like this guy speech. i don't like what this sky as hand in popular opinion or whatever. they were doing big quantitative work on how this all looks, academic work. elon musk is suing them, because he's saying that academic work is somehow labeling twitter itself. it isn't. i just want to make this very clear. this is an academic group trying to do academic work here. this lawsuit is hilarious, if you read through it. he thinks there's a big cabal between the governments, the world, and this group is running at all. it filters through what the biden administration, and stuff. it's completely crazy. but it is exactly the sort of far-right ecosystem, where elon has wound up. >> look at the results. hate crimes are at an all-time high across the board, against blacks, jews, latinos, asians. the anti-defamation league and others are popular with martin luther king the third and -- and i for them august -- march on august 26th. one of the plans is stop paid against everybody and anybody. we want to march together. but finally, then, as deep as the problems with online hate and disinformation are now, it does concern me that the situation couldn't be getting much worse with a presidential election coming up. and possibly multiple criminal trials involving former president trump. what are your thoughts on this? and what could we be doing now to prevent a major crisis? >> yeah, if you look through the pro trump internet response to the indictment this week, what you see is people targeting anyone who dared to question donald trump. the top posts on trump forums are things that just say things like f mike pence. or trying to target jack smith, to find out things about his family. that is what we are in for for the next year. they are in for an information war. in that information war, they want to make people's lives hard, who are against donald trump. and then, that would be, you know, i would say a preview for a other trump administration, if that happens. where those sorts of things won't just be rhetorical. they won't just be internet mobs. they would have the power of the states. >> nbc news senior reporter, ben collins, thank you for being with us. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us. stay with us want a smarter way to mop? introducing the new swiffer powermop. an all-in-one cleaning tool with hundreds of scrubbing strips- that absorb and lock dirt away, for a mop and bucket clean in half the time. mop smarter with the new swiffer powermop. psoriasis really messes with you. try. hope. fail. no one should suffer like that. i started cosentyx®. five years clear. real people with psoriasis look and feel better with cosentyx. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infection, some serious and a lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reaction may occur. best move i've ever made. ask your dermatologist about cosentyx®. sometimes, the lows of bipolar depression feel darkest before dawn. with caplyta, there's a chance to let in the lyte™. caplyta is proven to deliver significant relief across bipolar depression. unlike some medicines that only treat bipolar i, caplyta treats both bipolar i and ii depression. and in clinical trials, movement disorders and weight gain were not common. call your doctor about sudden mood changes, behaviors, or suicidal thoughts. antidepressants may increase these risks in young adults. elderly dementia patients have increased risk of death or stroke. report fever, confusion, stiff or uncontrollable muscle movements which may be life threatening or permanent. these aren't all the serious side effects. caplyta can help you let in the lyte™. ask your doctor about caplyta find savings and support at caplyta.com. my frequent heartburn had me taking antacid after antacid all day long but with prilosec otc just one pill a day blocks heartburn for a full 24 hours. for one and done heartburn relief, prilosec otc. one pill a day, 24 hours, zero heartburn. >> more breaking news in the election interference case against former president donald trump. in a rare saturday evening response. the judge in the case has denied a request from trump lawyers to extend the deadline for them to respond to special counsel jack smith's motion for protective order, barring trump from discussing evidence in the case. the deadline remains, monday, five pm. going to our last segment of hate crimes, i stand with those that are protesting and memorializing o'shae, a victim of an lgbtq plus killing in brooklyn. i ended tonight remembering the loss of two great americans this week, lieutenant governor of new jersey, sheila -- who passed this week, who i was blessed to work with and to know, a gallant woman, who stood with what we in our communities and our nation should always install. and then, one of the greatest scholars academicians and activist this country has ever known, dr. professor, charles ocheltree, who i worked with for decades, congressional hearings, we did together, speeches, he put me together even with former adversaries to fight for education. there was no one that stood stronger and taller than doctor charles ocheltree. he will be greatly missed. we'll be right back. not the other way. zevo traps use light to attract and trap flying insects with no odor and no mess. they work continuously, so you don't have to. zevo. people-friendly. bug-deadly. subway's now slicing their meats fresh. that's why soccer pros like me profer the grand slam ham. and this rookie prefers fresh sliced turkey. perfect for when you're subbed out of the game. and if we profer it, we know you'll prefer it too. nothing better than a sub, sub. 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