Judy Kurtz
Tue, October 1, 2024 at 9:05 AM MDT·5 min read
He’s been a vocal Vice President Harris supporter and is hitting the campaign trail to back several Democratic Senate bids, but Martin Sheen says he can’t think of “anything more important to do in relation to this year’s election” than sound the alarm on voter suppression from “MAGA vigilantes.”
Sheen, who famously portrayed President Jed Bartlet on NBC’s long-running political drama, “The West Wing,” is an executive producer of the new film, “Vigilantes Inc.: America’s New Vote Suppression Hitmen.”
The documentary-style project from journalist Greg Palast, currently streaming for free, “hones in on 8,500 self-proclaimed vigilante ‘vote-fraud hunters’ who have already challenged the rights of 851,000 voters of color in the 2024 election” in Georgia and beyond.
“If we have 2 million vigilante challenges, we don’t know how many will go through, but you have to understand the tiny margins of these states. And that’s the real threat to this election,” Palast told ITK in an exclusive joint interview with Sheen.
“This is something that we really need to expand the public’s knowledge on and make them aware that this is going on and how egregious and illegal, not to mention, immoral it is,” Sheen said.
“The fact that they are attacking newly registered voters — young people, people of color and immigrants, or people with foreign-sounding names — it’s very egregious, it’s racist and it’s going to have a powerful effect on the outcome of the election,” the actor said.
“Our purpose in making this film is to make sure that the voters — not the vigilantes — pick our next president,” Palast said.
“That’s the entire point. I’m not being partisan. I’m not trying to elect Kamala Harris. I’m trying to let the voters make that decision, not the vigilantes. And so we’re exposing them and helping people to save their votes,” the filmmaker and author added.
“Vigilantes” raises the possibility of the results of November’s presidential election being overturned by the Supreme Court. It’s a scenario that Sheen said he is “absolutely” concerned might play out.
“You can’t trust a lot of this villainy that has been sparked by this new fandangled Republican Party, whatever the hell it is. It used to be a fair fight in the old days. Now, it’s like it’s going on behind our backs, or under the seats, or wherever they can get away with whatever they get away with,” Sheen, 84, exclaimed.
The Emmy Award winner, a self-described “lifelong Democrat,” pointed to the 2020 White House race and the Jan. 6, 2021, riot by supporters of then-President Trump: “This crowd is criminal and immoral, and their efforts to subvert the vote — I mean, my God, look what happened to the last national election with the Capitol. And the results of that are still being felt.”
“We can’t trust them. They can’t trust themselves. So we have to be vigilant. And that’s part of what being involved in politics these days is being vigilant, and watch what’s going on and listen to what they say. But more importantly, watch what they do,” Sheen said.
“Don’t take anything for granted. These are scoundrels, and they’re not upfront, and they’re not fair, and they’re backed with billions and billions of dollars.”
Sheen said he “had not the slightest doubt” that Harris will win against Trump in November, saying he “wouldn’t even consider the alternative.”
Asked if “The West Wing” — which often depicted characters in both political parties as good-intentioned and trustworthy — was a naive fantasy, or if it’s more that politicians have changed since the show ended its run in 2006, Sheen replied, “I don’t think there’s anything Pollyanna-ish or naive about trying to express and expose the very best part of who we are, where we come from, what we stand for and what we mean to each other.”
“We relate to each other politically. The air we breathe, if it’s been fouled up, it’s a political act. So no one can remove themselves from the political reality of where we live and how we live at the present time. So it’s just a natural progression to be involved and to be clear about what we’re faced with,” Sheen said.
“Look at all this nonsense, this horrible crap they’re spreading in Springfield, Ohio,” Sheen said, a reference to Trump and his running mate, Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), repeating false allegations earlier this month about Haitian immigrants abducting and eating local pets. Last week, a Haitian group filed a criminal complaint against Trump and Vance, saying the amplification of the false claims had a “direct impact” in spurring 33 bomb threats in the Ohio city.
“I’m from Dayton, Ohio. I know Springfield,” Sheen said.
“My parents were both immigrants. I know what it’s like to grow up in an immigrant family where … you’re having to put your best foot forward every day because you’re being judged or not fully trusted. So I have an inkling of what that’s about — so you can’t get away with that crap,” the performer, whose mother was from Ireland and father was born in Spain, continued.
“I would suggest that Mr. Vance go to Springfield, Ohio, and find a family that’s been affected by his bulls— and has been forced to stay indoors and protect their children. He should apologize to those people and stay overnight in that house and beg their forgiveness,” Sheen said.
Palast said the aim of “Vigilantes” is to “educate voters to protect themselves” and ensure they “know the history of voter suppression, Jim Crow and slavery, which all connects back to vote suppression.”
“We’ve got to we’ve got to stay the course and keep swinging right to the end,” Sheen said.
Trump-supporting Republicans, Sheen said, will “contest anything they lose. They won’t contest anything they win — of course not. It’s what it is, and we have to stick to it like a stamp.”
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