NEW YORK (AP) — More than 30 states will resume their antitrust trial against Live Nation and Ticketmaster on Monday after negotiations this week failed to result in many states joining a tentative settlement reached by the Justice Department.
Lawyers told the judge Friday at a hearing in New York that seven states — Arkansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota, all of which have Republican attorneys general — were joining the Justice Department in settling with the live music giant.
The other 32 states, along with the District of Columbia, plan to continue trying to convince a jury that Live Nation Entertainment and its ticketing subsidiary, Ticketmaster, are squelching competition and driving up prices for fans. They say this was done through threats, retaliation and other tactics to control virtually every aspect of the industry, from concert promotion to ticketing.
The companies say they do not monopolize their industry and that artists, sports teams and venues set prices and decide how tickets are sold.
A jury had already begun hearing testimony in the trial when the U.S. Justice Department, which had taken the lead in suing Live Nation, said it had reached a deal with the company that would save the public money by letting competitors of Live Nation into some ticket markets where they are currently excluded.
Many states criticized the deal, saying the federal government failed to get enough concessions from the company.
Testimony was put on hold for a week for more settlement negotiations, but with no breakthrough in sight, Judge Arun Subramanian said Friday the trial would resume.
The judge also ruled against Live Nation's objection to trial exhibits in which a company employee several years ago tells another worker that the prices Live Nation charges to access the VIP area of a Tampa, Florida, amphitheater are “outrageous,” that customers paying the fees "are so stupid” and that “I almost feel bad taking advantage of them” before writing, “BAHAHAHAHAHA.”
Live Nation had argued against their inclusion in the trial, saying the employees were making “passing references to non-ticket ancillary products — such as VIP club access, premier parking, or lawn chair rentals — sold to concertgoers at two amphitheaters” in Florida and Virginia.
The judge said the overall fan experience is relevant to the relationship between performers and their customers and some artists might not want to perform if fans were being charged too much for lawn chairs or other amenities.
Subramanian said it was no different than the harm that might occur to the film industry if movie theaters began charging $50 for concessions such as soda, candy and popcorn.
In a statement issued Thursday, Live Nation said it had just learned about the private conversation between the employees and planned to look into it promptly because the conversation “absolutely does not reflect our values or how we operate.”
At a hearing on Tuesday, Live Nation attorney Dan Wall told the judge that the chance all states would settle their claims this week was “about zero.”
FILE - The Ticketmaster logo is seen along the sideline of the field before an NFL football game, Sept. 15, 2024, in Jacksonville, Fla. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Anti-Muslim rhetoric from some Republicans in Congress intensified this week against the backdrop of the Iran war, with multiple lawmakers — including one who said “Muslims don’t belong in American society” — drawing condemnation from Democrats for their remarks but little pushback from GOP leaders.
The derogatory language has been percolating among Republican officials for months, often prominent when criticizing New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who is Muslim. But against the backdrop of the Iran war, a country with an overwhelmingly Muslim population, and attacks at a synagogue in Michigan and a college in Virginia, the tone sharpened this week.
“The enemy is inside our gates,” Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville wrote Thursday in response to a photo of Mamdani sitting on the ground during an iftar dinner at New York City Hall. The photo was juxtaposed with a picture of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Hours later, Tuberville doubled down: “To be clear, I didn’t ‘suggest’ Islamists are the enemy. I said it plainly.”
The rhetoric intensified Friday as GOP lawmakers responded to the attacks in Michigan and Virginia by urging a halt to all immigration into the United States. Some singled out Muslims specifically.
For many Muslims, it's a political moment that carries echoes from the early 2000s, when the 9/11 attacks and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars generated hostility toward Muslim communities in the United States, often accompanied by discrimination and racist violence.
“When members of Congress speak, it’s not just words,” said Iman Awad, the national director for policy and advocacy for the Muslim American advocacy group Emgage Action. “It shapes public perception. It legitimizes prejudice.”
Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles in his social media post stated flatly that Muslims don't belong in the United States. He stood behind it after criticism mounted, later writing that “paperwork doesn’t magically make you American” and that “Muslims are unable to assimilate; they all have to go back.”
Asked about Ogles’ post on Tuesday, House Speaker Mike Johnson said he had spoken to members “about our tone and our message and what we say.” He said Ogles used “different language than I would use,” but added that he believes the issue raised by the comments is “serious.”
“There’s a lot of energy in the country, and a lot of popular sentiment that the demand to impose Sharia law in America is a serious problem," Johnson said. "That’s what animates this.”
Sharia is a religious framework that guides many Muslims’ moral and spiritual conduct. References to “Sharia law” have often been invoked by officials to suggest Muslims are attempting to impose religious practices on communities in the United States.
Many Republicans point to a Muslim-centered planned community near Dallas as proof of “Sharia law” — though the developers have denied the allegations and said they are being targeted because they are Muslim.
With Johnson not condemning Ogles’ remarks — or to recent comments from Florida Rep. Randy Fine that “the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one” — the anti-Muslim rhetoric grew louder. After the photo circulated of Mamdani at the iftar dinner, several Republicans responded with critical posts.
Democrats broadly condemned the GOP messages. Chuck Schumer, the leader of Senate Democrats, called Tuberville's post “mindless hate.”
“Islamophobic hate like this is fundamentally un-American and we must confront and overcome it whenever it rears its ugly head,” Schumer said.
Mamdani — in response to Tuberville's post that “the enemy is inside our gates" — said: "Let there be as much outrage from politicians in Washington when kids go hungry as there is when I break bread with New Yorkers.”
Federal officials identified a man who rammed his vehicle into a hallway at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan, this week as a naturalized citizen born in Lebanon. Officials have said that the man had lost four family members in an Israeli airstrike in his native Lebanon last week, just after sunset as they were having their fast-breaking meal during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan
In Virginia, Mohamed Bailor Jalloh opened fire in a classroom at Old Dominion University before ROTC students subdued and killed him. Court documents showed that he had previously served time for attempting to aid the Islamic State and was released less than two years ago.
Some Republican lawmakers claimed vindication for their views. Others pushed for legislation. Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer, the House GOP’s whip, said “the security of our nation hinges on our ability to denaturalize and deport terrorists.”
West Virginia Rep. Riley Moore said he would introduce a bill to denaturalize and deport any naturalized citizen who “commits an act of terrorism, plots to commit an act of terrorism, joins a terrorist organization or otherwise aids and abets terrorism against the American people.”
Similar rhetoric and policy pushes have surfaced before and drawn controversy. Last year, protesters connected to demonstrations over the Israel-Hamas war were arrested and targeted by authorities, including former Columbia University graduate student Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist the government has sought to detain and deport.
Middle East conflicts bringing domestic tensions is nothing new. With the war in Gaza, both Muslim and Jewish communities have faced faith-based discrimination and attacks.
Mamdani said the posts invoking the 9/11 attacks are problematic not just because of the words, but because of "the actions that often accompany them.”
“I think too of the smaller indignities, the indignities that many New Yorkers face, but that Muslims are expected to face in silence,” Mamdani said. “Of the exhaustion of having to explain yourself to those who are not interested in understanding. Of the men who introduce themselves by their given name only to be called Muhammad for years on end.”
The stark silence from Republican leaders, including President Donald Trump, reflects a broader change in the party. After the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, Republican President George W. Bush visited the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C., to explicitly warn against Muslim discrimination.
“America counts millions of Muslims amongst our citizens, and Muslims make an incredibly valuable contribution to our country,” Bush said during the visit, adding: “They need to be treated with respect. In our anger and emotion, our fellow Americans must treat each other with respect.”
“Those who feel like they can intimidate our fellow citizens to take out their anger don’t represent the best of America, they represent the worst of humankind, and they should be ashamed of that kind of behavior,” Bush said.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks during a Rental Ripoff Hearing at Fordham University on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki)
Police tape hangs outside the Temple Israel synagogue Friday, March 13, 2026, in West Bloomfield Township, Mich. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
FILE - Rep. Andy Ogles, R-Tenn., arrives for a meeting with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., at the Capitol in Washington, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
FILE - The U.S. Capitol is seen at sunrise March 9, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
