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Writings Point to Terrorist Motives of Chattanooga Gunman; U.K. Man Charged over Plans to Attack U.S. Military; Polls Show Trump Holding His Lead; Ohio Governor to Join GOP Race; Sandra Bland's Death to be Investigated as Murder; New Surveillance Video of Baltimore Riots; Owner Declared His Gun Store Muslim-Free Zone; Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 21, 2015 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Into that deadly shooting rampage in Chattanooga, Tennessee, that killed four Marines and a sailor. Law enforcement officials now say that writings examined by the FBI and other evidence increasingly indicate that the gunman, Mohammad Abdulazeez, had political and terrorist motives. And they say that Abdulazeez searched out religious teachings on martyrdom.

Let's find out more. Let's bring in CNN national correspondent Sunlen Serfaty.

Good morning.

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Yes, the signs are really pointing to the possibility that his motive was terrorism and that's based on what investigators have recently uncovered based on his political and religious views.

Sources tell CNN's Evan Perez that investigators, they've uncovered -- they have not uncovered any new communications or any communications at all with any sort of terrorist group, but they are looking hard at these writings that were recently uncovered, done by Abdulazeez in the last -- in the last year. And during -- in those writings, they included references to Anwar al-Awlaki, of course this is the Yemeni cleric, American born cleric, who has inspired other terrorist attacks in the past.

Fort Hood in 2009, also the recent "Charlie Hebdo" attacks in Paris. So they're looking hard at, is he potentially could be have been inspired by his teaching in those writings saying that he agreed with some of the viewpoints of al-Awlaki.

Also the FBI has recovered recent Internet searches on his computer made days before the shooting in which he tried to have some -- he has some questions about martyrdom, wondering whether martyrdom can atone for any sins. Of course, this is one part of the fuller picture that we're starting to see really be filled out about Abdulazeez, a person who is very much struggling with mental health, drug abuse, and really starting to see, Carol, how he's trying to reconcile that with his Muslim faith. That said, officials say there are still no conclusions yet about a potential motive -- Carol. COSTELLO: It's sort of confusing because Drew Griffin talked to one

of his friends and said that Abdulazeez thought ISIS was, what, stupid but apparently he liked al Qaeda better?

SERFATY: Well, there are definitely a lot of conflicting reports here. We know from the family of Abdulazeez, they say that he was suffering from drug abuse, bipolar disorder, something that he struggled with for years they say, but we are, of course, hearing also from friends, many who say they never really saw signs of depression, characterizing him as always happy. Here is what one friend told CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES PETTY, FRIEND OF MOHAMMED ABDULAZEEZ The depression is a big surprise to me because he showed no sign of that towards me. He was always happy with me, always had something really nice to say. He never showed any type of anger like not once was he -- did I ever see him angry.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SERFATY: And that friend also saying that he believes what happened is that his friend, Abdulazeez, just snapped he said in such a horrible way -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Sunlen Serfaty reporting live from Chattanooga this morning. Thank you.

We're also following a developing story in the UK where a British man is now facing charges over plans to attack the U.S. military. The man was arrested along with his uncle. Both were allegedly attempting to join ISIS in Syria.

Our senior international correspondent Frederik Pleitgen has more from London.

Hi, Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Yes, we've just actually gotten some new details because these two men actually just appeared here in front of the Westminster Magistrates Court and as you said both of them were apparently plotting to join ISIS in Syria and one of them, who's also been named as Junead Khan, who's 24 years old, was apparently also plotting to attack U.S. service members here in Britain.

Now the charges were read out just a couple of minutes ago and there further details were given where it was said that apparently they were plotting a -- or Junead khan was plotting a car accident style attack, which means running into a service member and then killing him with a knife. It was also said that there was apparently also talk of using a suicide vest as well.

Now it is obviously something where very limited in the knowledge that we have so far. This is what was read out today, the two men were arrested on July 14th north of London. There was also a man in his 30s who was arrested with them as well. He's been released without charge, but both of them are now in custody -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Frederik Pleitgen reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

At the top of the hour, Donald Trump supporters will rally in South Carolina, and his critics will be listening just as intently. Will the Donald toss more verbal hand grenades?

The combative bluster seems to have energized his followers, and they're cheering more loudly than ever. A new ABC-"Washington Post" poll shows Trump has opened a double digit lead over the rest of the Republican pack, but the largest newspaper in one critical caucus state, Iowa, says enough is enough.

[10:05:02] The "Des Moines Register" calls Trump a feckless blowhard and wants him to drop out of the presidential race. The criticism means little to many Iowa conservatives, however, who dismiss the paper as liberal. And just moments ago Trump fired back.

Our chief Congress correspondent Dana Bash is live in Bluffton where Trump is expected to speak to a noontime crowd.

Good morning.

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning. Carol. And no surprise Donald trump fired back using that very word liberal to describe "The Des Moines Register." I'll read you part of his lengthy statement. He said, "As one of the most liberal newspapers in the United States, the poll results, referring to the fact he is now in double digit lead over the rest of the field, were just too much for them to bear.

"The Des Moines Register" has lost much circulation, power, and advertising over the last number of years. They will do anything for a headline and this poorly written non-endorsement got them some desperately needed ink."

I think this is sort of vintage Donald Trump to not only fight back but fight back in a personal and pretty biting way. I'm sure we're going to hear a lot more about this, Carol, from him personally. He's going to be speaking here, as you mentioned, probably in about an hour and a half.

This is a retirement community here just outside of Hilton Head, South Carolina, and just coming in here, the line is pretty long. It kind of snakes around outside. I think part of that is because it's a slow-going process to get people registered but no question about it because there is a lot of interest in hearing personally what Donald Trump has to say from a lot of these people.

COSTELLO: It does indeed look like a fuel house. Dana Bash reporting live from South Carolina this morning.

You know, the debates are coming up on August 6th. Will those debates expose Trump as all sizzle and no steak or is he the straight talker disillusioned voters need? We know this much. Donald Trump is far to the rights on immigration and Hispanics are a key voting bloc.

Alfonso Aguilar is the executive director of the Latino Partnership for Conservative Principles. He's also the former chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship.

Welcome, sir.

ALFONSO AGUILAR, LATINO PARTNERSHIP FOR CONSERVATIVE PRINCIPLES: Good morning, Carol. Thank you for having me.

COSTELLO: Thank you for being here. What do you make of Donald Trump?

(LAUGHTER)

AGUILAR: Well, I think he's a sideshow. I think he's saying despicable things. Certainly with the Latino community he's offending a lot of Latinos. His comments so far on immigration are not only insulting of the Latino community but they have no basis. He's basically saying that the majority of undocumented immigrants are rapists or criminals and that's just not true. Studies show that the majority, the immense majority of undocumented immigrants are good, hard working people.

We need to find a way to fix the system, but he's just using this rhetoric to throw red meat at a certain sector of the conservative base just to get attention. I think his comments have been offensive and I think at this point he shows that he doesn't have the executive temperament to be president of the United States, and I would call on him --

COSTELLO: And --

AGUILAR: -- to withdraw from the race for the good of the Republican Party and for the good of the country.

COSTELLO: And you, sir, are a Republican.

AGUILAR: Yes, yes, I am.

COSTELLO: And you want him to withdraw from the presidential race.

AGUILAR: Right. I mean, I'm not calling for censorship. If he doesn't want to withdraw, I think he should be on the debate stage. But I think -- you know, this in a way presents an opportunity for the other candidates. If they have Trump on the stage saying this type of things, I think it's an opportunity for them to call him out, to distance themselves from Trump, and rebuke him forcefully.

I think we've already had some candidates do that. Governor Jeb Bush, Senator Marco Rubio, certainly Governor Rick Perry, but I think if he continues with this type of vitriol, I think it's important that candidates blast him. But, again, I think for the good of the country, for the good of the country, not only the Republican Party because he's making a mockery out of this process, I think he should withdraw. COSTELLO: But, Alfonso, you have to admit that he's touched a nerve.

Did you see that space in South Carolina? It is packed with people. Dana Bash says there was a line down the sidewalk. He has touched a nerve and a lot of people support him.

AGUILAR: But, you know, this has happened in the past with candidates like Pat Buchanan, Ross Perot, I think people are discontent with the way things are going, with the status quo, and so they're there to -- they see him as a person who is expressing that frustration. It doesn't mean that they're going to vote for him. In any case, you mentioned "The Washington Post" poll, and while he's on top of the poll, the last day of that poll, the fourth day of that poll, which was right after he made the remarks questioning John McCain's heroism, he polled less than 10 percent.

So I predict that his numbers are going to start to come down when people realize that really he doesn't have the temperament or the knowledge of, frankly, the intellectual capacity to be president of the United States.

[10:10:11] COSTELLO: Alfonso Aguilar, thank you so much for your insight. I appreciate it.

AGUILAR: Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Coming up next -- you're welcome.

Coming up next, is there room for yet another candidate in the Republican primary? Well, ready or not, here comes Ohio's governor who says he has what it takes to win over voters. We'll talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: So what exactly does the crowded GOP field need at this point? How about one more candidate?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JOHN KASICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No one running for president has helped balance the federal budget, saved the state from near bankruptcy or served on the Defense Committee for 18 years. Maybe I ought to run.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: And he is. That's Ohio Governor John Kasich. He's officially entering the race for the White House in the next hour. And here is the company he will be keeping. Kasich becoming the 16th Republican in the running. His announcement is expected to come in just about 45 minutes at the Ohio State University.

CNN's Athena Jones is in Columbus with more.

Good morning, Athena. ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. That's right.

This campaign kickoff is going to get under way in less than an hour. As you mentioned, Governor Kasich is going to be joining an already very crowded field. Take a listen to his pitch in a preview of today's announcement. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KASICH: Who is it that has the experience to balance the federal budget? It's very hard to do. Who is it that's had the experience in turning a major state from big deficits and high unemployment to prosperity? Who is it that has spent time, actual time, working on the national security issues?

You know, of all those people running, there's not one that has experience in all these critical three areas.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And, of course, we expect those three areas to be brought up when Governor Kasich takes the stage a little while from now. We're expecting for the speech to be about 15 to 20 minutes long. He'll be speaking from notes, not from a script. He won't be using a teleprompter, and you can see here that the venue has already been filling up. People started waiting in line a couple of hours ago.

I should mention to you that while his resume has broad appeal, there are a few stances he's taken that may anger some conservatives. For instance, he's in favor of the Common Core Education Standards. He accepted money from the Affordable Care Act to expand the Medicaid program here in this state to help the poor. And when it comes to immigration reform, he hasn't ruled out a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

So while he touts his conservative credentials there are a few areas there that could anger conservative voters -- Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Athena Jones reporting live from Columbus, Ohio.

I want to bring in senior digital correspondent Chris Moody now with some analysis.

Hi, Chris, how are you?

CHRIS MOODY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL REPORTER: Good morning. Great to be here.

COSTELLO: Great to have you here. So John Kasich is announcing at a time Donald Trump is just getting all the limelight. Does he have a -- I mean, should he have postponed it? Does he have a chance?

MOODY: Well, I think early in the race is kind of relative to the beholder, to the eye of the beholders because there's still six months, a long time before these primaries and caucuses really kick off. I think John Kasich's team was looking at the field and noticing that no one was really breaking out in a significant way, for example, in the way maybe Mitt Romney did showing a lot of support back in 2012. They've noticed that the field is really wide open. So why not? This could be a real opportunity for him.

But that could also be difficult because there are, of course, 16 candidates. So I think he's going to have a real challenge, especially because the debates are coming up in just a few weeks, and he needs to meet the threshold to get there because he's not necessarily wide known all around the country, and the debates are a prime opportunity to get his name out there.

COSTELLO: What, in the polls he's at 2 percent but he hasn't declared just yet so that may change.

MOODY: That might change and this is his opportunity to make his case to voters. Now as Athena mentioned, Kasich has a bit of a more moderate record on a lot of issues. Expanding Medicaid in his state and also defending it as a part of his compassionate conservatism. But also he's proven himself to be a winner, someone who can win not just in a red state but a crucial swing state of Ohio, and that's a case he's going to make looking forward into the general election saying, look, Republicans need to win Ohio, and I can do it.

COSTELLO: All right. Chris Moody, thanks so much. I appreciate it.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, why would a 28-year-old woman commit suicide after a traffic stop? The FBI now investigating. Is this suicide or murder?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:23:21] COSTELLO: A Texas district attorney wants to know how a woman arrested during a minor traffic violation ended up dead in her jail cell. Newly released surveillance footage shows jail staff scrambling to rescue Sandra Bland just three days after her arrest. Cops say she killed herself but not everyone is buying it. The 28- year-old's family claims she was anything but suicidal, and now many are calling for an independent investigation into Bland's death.

Pastor Jamal Harrison Bryant has been working to raise awareness of the case.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PASTOR JAMAL HARRISON BRYANT, EMPOWERMENT TEMPLE AME CHURCH: We are in a state of emergency. Here in Texas, we are not afraid of ISIS. We're afraid of the police. And we need immediate intervention and the Department of Justice has to come.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: CNN's Ed Lavandera joins me now with more on this story.

Good morning, Ed.

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. Well, this is interesting how things have dramatically changed there in that small Texas town where the case of Sandra Bland is being investigated.

Just last week we were speaking with the district attorney and he was telling us that everything was being blown out of proportion in this case, that this was a simple case of suicide, but now the district attorney after meeting with Sandra Bland's family is saying that this is a murder investigation and that there are still too many unanswered questions that need to be looked at.

So a dramatic change here in the last few days as the case of Sandra Bland is being investigated and a couple of things, Carol, to look forward to today as you saw there. Investigators have released a three-hour video from inside the jail cell. The medical examiner has already preliminarily ruled that Sandra Bland's death was a suicide, but the family has hired its own -- is doing its own autopsy and those results are expected back at some point this week.

[10:25:04] And also, the dashcam video from the arresting officers and some of the other officers at the scene are expected to be released as well. This comes after the three-hour video that was released from inside the jail there in Waller County where Sandra Bland was found dead hanging in her cell. And investigators and officials there say that during that three hours there was nothing in that video that showed anyone coming in and out of the cell where Sandra Bland was being held, but more video expected to be released today as a great intensity of questions continues to swirl around this case, Carol.

COSTELLO: All right. Ed Lavandera reporting live for us this morning. Thank you.

We're getting new surveillance video of the riots that erupted in Baltimore back in April after a young African-American man, Freddie Gray, died while in police custody. The video is raising new questions about how Baltimore Police handled the unrest.

You can see a crowd here smashing the window of an unattended police car. Crowds also ransacked a CVS store and set fires as police apparently just stand by. They didn't move in for nearly one half hour.

Mike Helgren of CNN affiliate WJZ has more on how the situation escalated.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gathered at the location causing a disturbance.

MIKE HELGREN, WJZ REPORTER: WJZ reviewed more than a dozen hours of newly released recordings from the April 27th Baltimore riots.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh. Look at that tear gas.

HELGREN: And they paint a revealing picture of a city slowly turning out of control.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Attention all units, attention all units, I need all available northern units at One Drive with your riot gear. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got hit with a brick. We're going to stand out

here. I can't leave these officers here by themselves.

HELGREN: A frustrated ill equipped police force struggled even though the mayor and police deny claims they were ordered to stand down.

MAYOR STEPHANIE RAWLINGS-BLAKE, BALTIMORE: It wasn't until there was a controversy around the stand down order that I even knew what a stand down order was.

HELGREN: Here's what police said on the radio.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hold the line. Do not go forward. And do not chase them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're sitting ducks here there's a couple of hundred people here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not going to let my guys get hurt because we have equipment we're not using.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Somebody get me (INAUDIBLE).

HELGREN: The police union says in some cases officers had to get approval simply to make arrests and some had to buy their own safety gear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Officer down at that location. Let's go. Use caution.

HELGREN: More than 150 officers were injured that day, and the city has yet to provide a full public accounting of what went wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone, if you're not -- get over here. Get your riot gear.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You all know what to do, protect yourselves and protect each other.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COSTELLO: That was Mike Helgren of CNN affiliate WJZ reporting.

And good morning. I'm Carol Costello. Thank you so much for joining me.

In response to last week's shooting massacre in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where four Marines and a sailor were killed, one Florida gun store owner declared his business a Muslim-free zone. He made the announcement on YouTube.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW HALLINAN, FLORIDA GUN SUPPLY: Now I have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure the safety of all patriots in my community, and so effective immediately I am declaring Florida Gun Supply as a Muslim-free zone. I will not arm and train those who wish to do harm to my fellow patriots.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: Andrew Hallinan, the owner of that Florida Gun Supply store, joins me now.

Good morning.

HALLINAN: Good morning. Thanks for having me.

COSTELLO: Thanks for being here. So you're standing in front of a confederate flag, you're banning Muslims who read the Quran from your store. You want to be provocative. Why?

HALLINAN: You know, the goal of the video was to offend -- it was to offend as many people as I could, quite honestly, so we could start a conversation about the political correctness that has become overly extreme here in the United States and causing loss of life that we could prevent if we called -- you know, if we looked at Islam for what it is.

COSTELLO: OK. So I'm all for a conversation, right, but you're going one step farther. You're banning Muslims who follow the Quran from your store. How do you determine which Muslim who follows the Quran?

HALLINAN: You know, it's a pretty unenforceable action, right? I mean, I can't by law ask each and every person that comes through my doors what their religious background is, but the ATF expressly gives me the right and the authority to deny service to anybody that I feel is a threat for any reason. And it happens on a weekly basis that we have people come through the gun shop that they pass their background check, they seem -- you know, but they seem a little off, and we make the determination on a case-by-case basis whether or not we're going to arm and train these people because the last things we want to do is have more loss of life, you know, for any sort of tragic event.