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Sucker-Punched Protester Speaks Out; Violence at Trump Events; Obama Begins First Full Day of Cuba Visit; Authorities: Arrested Paris Suspect May Have Been Planning More Attacks. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired March 21, 2016 - 09:30   ET

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

[09:30:00] CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: This, of course, is in slow motion. Petway (ph), by the way, is now charged with assault. The attack on Sanders was the culmination of a very tense day filled with protests against Mr. Trump.

All right, Bryan Sanders joins me now live.

Welcome, Bryan.

BRYAN SANDERS, PUNCHED, KICKED AT TRUMP RALLY IN ARIZONA: Good morning. How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good.

How are you doing, though?

SANDERS: The media circus has been intense. The physical pain has been kind of annoying, consistently, but other than that, you know, I'm just here to talk to you about what I see as Donald Trump's attempts to divide us.

COSTELLO: If security had not pulled off your attacker, what do you think would have happened?

SANDERS: It's probably not for me to speculate. I think anyone can see that the level of violence that occurred that day could have gotten much worse real quickly. If you look at the video and obviously there's four or five versions of the video out there, they all show the same thing. They show me walking up the stairs being escorted by Donald Trump's security. I'm holding my protest sign in my right hand. In my left hand, I am holding a peace sign. And when I get up to the top of the stairs, I look to my left, someone from the right steps forward a couple of paces real quick, grabs the sign and then sucker punches me with his left hand. And then everything kind of devolved from there.

I will note that it could have gotten really ugly only because it's a vertical stairway, right, and it's dangerous kind of by its nature. There is metal everywhere. There's concrete everywhere. And there's people everywhere. It was an extremely volatile moment. There's no doubt about that.

COSTELLO: Did any of the -- did any -- anybody in the Trump rally that wasn't security try to get this guy off you? SANDERS: You know, when something like this happens, the adrenaline

rush that kicks in makes it really difficult to comprehend what's going on around you. And when I did look up after he stopped pummeling me, I did notice that there was a guy that kind of stepped in. And I think on the video you can see that this guy kind of steps in and is trying to sort the situation out because there was only the one security guard dealing with me and all of the people around me.

And then after it all got kind of settled down a little bit, that's when the Tucson Police Department, you know, rushed in and actually put the man in handcuffs and really controlled the situation.

COSTELLO: But does --

SANDERS: And I do want to, you know --

COSTELLO: Donald --

SANDERS: Tip my hat to TPD and just thank them for their professionalism.

COSTELLO: All right, that's a nice thing to do. Donald Trump is blaming protestors in part for the violence that breaks out at his rallies. You said you were holding up a sign with Donald Trump's face on it. Was it a confederate flag with Donald Trump's face on it? Was that what it was?

SANDERS: The sign had -- yes, the sign had Donald Trump's face. It had the infamous confederate flag superimposed on Donald Trump's face. And then underneath that it had the words "bad for America". And that is the reason why I was at the rally. I was at the rally to protest what I see is Donald Trump's use of violent rhetoric looking to divide us on ethnic, religious and social lines. I think Donald Trump is trying to create a million little Americas, all of us fighting each other. I don't want that. I like America as one big crazy melting pot place.

COSTELLO: Mr. Trump said, though, because you were displaying the confederate flag, and there was a man dressed up in a Ku Klux Klan outfit behind you, that you guys incited this African-American gentleman to attack you. What do you way to that?

SANDERS: Well, first of all, I have absolutely nothing against the gentleman that attacked me. I don't personally hold him responsible for the level of violent rhetoric that Donald Trump and his campaign manager, Cory Lewandowski, have created at their events. I do think that it's completely unacceptable to respond to peaceful First Amendment protests with intense violent attacks. I also disagree completely with the notion that somehow there is an incitement level when the simple fact is that everyone who protested at that rally did so of their own accord. Many people made their way down to the TCC to protest because they were upset at what they see as Donald Trump trying to divide this country into a million tiny little pieces, all of them fighting against each other.

[09:35:23] COSTELLO: I understand what you're saying, but why not -- why not hold your protest outside? Why take it inside a rally when you know there could be trouble?

SANDERS: Well, I do reject the premise of that question. I did protest outside, along with a lot of other people. I came into the rally so that I could see the atmosphere, OK, and I could see what was actually going on inside, what was being said, what was being done, how were other protestors going to be treated? And the simple fact is that a First Amendment protected peaceful protest simply cannot be met with the level of violence that we saw on the video that happened to me at Donald Trump's rally.

COSTELLO: All right, Bryan Sanders, thanks for sharing your story. I appreciate it.

SANDERS: Thank you, Carol. Have a great day.

COSTELLO: You too. You're welcome.

With me now, former Secret Service Agent Daniel Bongino.

Hi, Daniel.

So you heard what Bryan said.

DANIEL BONGINO, FORMER SECRET SERVICE AGENT: How are you?

COSTELLO: I'm good.

And I just want to talk to you about security at these events. Donald Trump blames these protesters in part for creating an atmosphere where violence can occur. What do you say?

BONGINO: Well, I think we have to separate this into two separate maybe parallel but never intersecting lines of debate. One being Donald Trump's political rhetoric, political ideology, the words he chooses to use. Fair enough. I'm, to be clear and open with your audience, I have supported Ted Cruz. I'm not, in fact, a Donald Trump supporter. I disagree with a lot of the words he's chosen to use.

But secondly, along the lines of your question, the atmosphere at his events, you know, I thought you asked some very fair questions to your last guest. You have the right to protest, Carol, that's clear. This is the United States of America. You have the freedom of assembly and the freedom of speech. But what you don't have the right to do -- and I think what your -- what the prior guest wasn't understanding is, these are private events. The Trump campaign pays to rent these arenas, just like the Sanders campaign and the Clinton campaign does as well.

I remember this in the Secret Service, exactly how this works. You don't have the right to disrupt a private event. I don't -- I don't get why they don't understand that. You should go outside, hold up your signs, scream and yell as loud as you want as long as you don't threaten anybody else, and everyone's interest is protecting that, but not in protecting the right to disrupt these events. And I'm not sanctioning the violence against this man. That was disgusting. And that man was treated (INAUDIBLE). COSTELLO: Well, let -- well, let me -- let me run this by you, Daniel. Let me run this by you, Daniel.

BONGINO: Yes.

COSTELLO: It's nothing new to have protesters inside of anyone's political rally. I've seen it at Democratic rallies. I've seen it at Republican rallies. I've seen it inside the Supreme Court. I've seen it inside the halls of Congress. It's sort of an American thing to do. So why all of a sudden isn't it?

BONGINO: Well, it's not an American thing to do to disrupt free speech. And, Carol, I have to disagree with you fervently on this one.

COSTELLO: Oh, come on, it is, too. Have you ever heard of Code Pink?

BONGINO: Well -- Code Pink is a -- no, I didn't make my point yet. The point I'm trying to make here is, this is not a left-right phenomenon. Let's be abundantly clear on this. This is a far left phenomenon. Protesting is American thing. Far left, far right, right, left, it doesn't matter. Disrupting events and looking to stop the free speech of a candidate is exclusively a far left phenomenon. Tell me one event you can think of on the far right where they've shut down a Sanders or Clinton event and attempted to storm the stage? You can't because it doesn't happened. In 12 years in the Secret Service, I never saw it, not one time, but I see it a lot at conservative rallies with political candidates where far left groups like MoveOn try to stop the event from happening. This is exclusively a far left phenomenon and your audience knows it.

COSTELLO: So as a security person, as a person who provides security, what is the answer then? Do you check everyone for secret signs coming into these rallies and try to keep them out? What do you do? Do you arrest all the protesters with any signs from the get go and throw -- what do you do?

BONGINO: Well, that's a good question. And, as a Secret Service agent, we were told over and over again, and they made this abundantly clear, it is never the Secret Service's role as a United States law enforcement entity, to stop legal protesting. The only time the Secret Service, in their security role, Carol, will ever get involved is if protesters make any movements towards the stage, any furtive movements, or if those protests involve threats, we're going to come up on stage, they say something like, we're going to punch Donald Trump in the face or something. That's different. But protests within the crowd, those are handled by the staff and local law enforcement because, remember, these are private events. The -- it would be like someone protesting in your house. You can call the cops and have them thrown out. And that's why you're seeing local law enforcement getting involved here and not the Secret Service. We don't stop protests ever. That's not what they do.

[09:40:27] COSTELLO: All right. And I should add that Mr. Trump is going to provide increased security at events in the future to try to stop this kind of thing from happening again.

Daniel Bongino, thanks for your insight. I appreciate it.

BONGINO: You're very welcome.

COSTELLO: You're welcome.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, President Obama is in Cuba making history and angering critics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: Just minutes from now, President Obama begins the first full day of his historic trip to Cuba.

[09:45:00] He'll lay a wreath to honor a Cuban hero who helped win the island's freedom from Spanish rule. He'll then face more recent history as he meets with President Raul Castro and tries to bridge the divide, a half century of Cold War hostilities.

Joining me now to talk about this, Douglas Brinkley, he's a CNN presidential historian, and Mike Gonzalez, he's a senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation. He is also a native Cuban. Welcome to both of you.

DOUGLAS BRINKLEY, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Thank you.

COSTELLO: Douglas...

MIKE GONZALEZ, SENIOR FELLOW, HERITAGE FOUNDATION: Thank you.

COSTELLO: You're welcome, thanks for being here.

Douglas, the - next hour, the president will sit down with Raul Castro, but not his brother, Fidel Castro. Still, tell us the historical significance of this.

BRINKLEY: Well, it's very important historically. I mean, we've had a Cold War with Cuba. John F. Kennedy was thinking of going right before he was shot to Cuba to kind of a fall (ph) occur. Of course that didn't happen. And nobody's gotten better press in the last few days than Calvin Coolidge, his name's splattered everywhere, you know, because he went there in 1928.

So, the very nature of President Obama going there is historic. It's controversial. He's been spending a lot of - you know, he famously shook Raul Castro's hand at Nelson Mandela's funeral. They talk on the phone a lot. But it's a very calibrated friendship, and it's -- the president has to do a real diplomatic dance not meeting Fidel Castro, making sure he talks to dissidents so he doesn't come off looking like a patsy to the Cuban regime on this journey.

COSTELLO: Interesting. And I say interesting, Mike, because Fidel Castro is still trying to make his presence known. He released a picture with Venezuela's president the very day that the president landed in Cuba. What is he trying to say?

GONZALEZ: Well, I mean, all the signals have been very clear. First of all, yesterday about 60 dissidents were beaten up, taken away to prison. I talked to one of them today, he was kept in prison for eight hours, he was beaten up, his wife was beaten up. This is a clear message to Obama that we don't care what you do, we don't care if you arrive here, we're going to continue to repress the population.

Number two, nobody -- only minor functionaries were at the airport to receive the Obama family. That was a direct snub. And number three, let's not forget the third Castro, the one nobody talks about, Alejandro Castro Espin. What is happening right now on the island is the transfer of power from Raul to his son, Alejandro Castro Espin, who's in charge of military security, military intelligence. By visiting there, what President Obama is doing, he is helping the Castro family perpetuate its rule over the island.

COSTELLO: And there are a lot of human rights abuses still taking place there, Mike. You're right about that. But Douglas, I want you to listen to this. Alan Gross, he's the American contractor who spent five years in a Cuban jail on spy charges. Alan Gross is in favor of the president's trip. Now, keep in mind Gross was threatened with torture, he lost 100 pounds and he lost his mother while in captivity, yet here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

ALAN GROSS, FORMER AMERICAN POLITICAL PRISONER IN CUBA: Our Congress really needs to grow a pair and decide to get out of the way. The embargo can only be lifted by Congress and Congress is going to need to step up to the plate. President Obama is showing that he's a leader, that he's courageous and I take my hat off to him, I really do.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

COSTELLO: So, I don't think a lot of people realize that Congress has to vote to lift the embargo, Douglas, but what do you make of what Mr. Gross is trying to say?

BRINKLEY: Well, that there's change in the air. You know, I write a lot about the early Cold War period. And you know, we were forced to imagine (ph) -- Europeans forced to allow Germany into NATO after the Nazis slaughtered Jews in the Holocaust, Slovs in the Holocaust, on and on.

Look at Richard Nixon, he went in 1972 to China. He had many critics, but you know, what - is he in bed Mao Zedong (ph) and Xuan Li (ph) because he visited? But Capitalism, at least some form of it, is now in China. Bill Clinton had to normalize relations with Vietnam and many people were not happy about that.

The point is that President Obama is trying to embrace a younger generation of Cubans. I don't think this is a trip about cozying up to the Castro regime as much as it is about touching the hearts and minds of these young kids that want WiFi. President Obama's brought Maryard (ph) and Starwood CEOs down there with him. You have the Tampa Bay Rays playing a baseball game. We're - it's trying to get some kind of thaw going. I think the question is, is this too soon, should we wait until Fidel and Raul's out of power in 2018? Should we be waiting, or is this premature?

But this is the last year of Obama's presidency and this is the move he's wanted to make. It's classic Obama diplomacy.

[09:50:02] COSTELLO: All right, I have to leave it there. Douglas Brinkley, Mike Gonzalez, thanks to both of you.

Still to come in the NEWSROOM, as Belgian officials say the captured Paris suspect, well, he may have been planning new attacks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COSTELLO: In a matter of minutes we're going to be getting an update on capture of Paris terrorist attack suspect, Salah Abdeslam. Here's new video of his arrest.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

COSTELLO (voice-over): Officials say he may have been plotting another attack after finding a large stash of weapons. Authorities now believe a large terror network kept him hidden for four months since those Paris attacks went down.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

COSTELLO (on camera): Our senior international correspondent, Nima Elbagir, joins us live from Brussels, Belgium with more.

Hi, Nima.

[09:55:15] NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. Well, authorities have discovered that not only was he able to evade their capture for months, but he appears to have been able to recalibrate with an entirely new network. The cache of weapons, new associates, and new target right here in Belgium. That's in addition to their discovery that the network supporting the Paris attack conspiracy is much bigger than even they first suspected.

Initially they say they were looking for about ten men. Already, Carol, they say they have about 30 arrested in custody and that search continues. One man who was only known to them previously by his alias, Sophian Kael (ph), believed to be a key conspirator. Counter terror officials tell us that intercepted phone calls between him and the Paris attack ring leader, Abaaoud, lead them to believe that he was in fact senior to Abaaoud. We're expecting more detail though, Carol, in that press conference in the coming moments.

COSTELLO: All right, Nima Elbagi reporting live from Brussels, Belgium, this morning. Thank you.

The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM after a break.

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