Welcome to the beat, I'm Ari Melver, and our top story right now is important.

The mountain grave and possibly existential threat to democracy.

The New Year's not about rhetoric, though that's also escalating, but tangible plots to

overturn elections, incite vigilantes with conspiracy theories, target attack, and try to

assassinate civilian leaders all out in the open.

In facing these plots, people following the law do expect action.

Not new, indictments, arrests, trials, convictions, convictions when supported by evidence.

It's all very familiar right now with what we're living through in America, but the reporting

that I'm mentioning here is not only about America.

Here's the new scene over the weekend in Peru, where the Capitol featured a roiling debate

about this nation's democracy in a response to a blatant coup attempt.

You see protesters and police there, fires burning clashes in the streets, tear gas,

all part of the fallout from the country's leader making an extraordinary response to

his own looming impeachment.

Pedro Castillo proclaimed that the government's impeachment process was basically a witch

hunt, as he was facing a repeated push to impeach him over alleged improprieties.

Not only did he say he defied it, but he proclaimed he would seize dictatorial powers

to just eliminate and dissolve Congress.

The Congress was about to impeach him again.

This is hours before that planned impeachment vote.

On Thursday, he went out and addressed the nation and just claimed that he would have

his own new emergency powers.

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