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Rahami Charged in Bombings; Charlotte, North Carolina Dealing With Another Shooting by Police of a Black Man; Presidential Race Heats Up in Philadelphia. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired September 21, 2016 - 10:30   ET

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

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN HOST: Now Rahami is up against federal charges, including use of weapons of mass destruction. We've also learned that his wife is now cooperating with the authorities. Our justice correspondent, Evan Perez, has more for you this morning. Good morning.

EVAN PEREZ, JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Carol. And the charges that have been filed in New Jersey and in New York are the first federal charges that he's now facing. We expect that he will have to eventually be presented before a judge, but these charges that were described in these criminal complaints are extraordinary. In addition to the details you just mentioned he bought - on Ebay he bought some of the components for the bombs including citric acid and circuit boards, which he used to build the bombs. We also learned in this criminal complaint the FBI obtained video from a family member's phone that showed essentially a practice run of building a bomb. And the interesting thing about this - about this video is it opens the possibility that some family member could end up facing legal charges from the FBI. Carol.

COSTELLO: All right, Evan Perez. I'm sorry, I'm a little distracted, but you're sharing very important information with our viewers. We have another live event. It's been a very busy morning. So let me take you out to Charlotte, North Carolina. This is the NAACP speaking about the shooting that happened yesterday.

UNKNOWN MALE: Comments will be from Brother B.J. Murphy, representative of the Nation of Islam; Pastor Amir May, from Detroit, now has a church in Charlotte, Abundant Faith Word Church. We also will be expressing what time our meeting is with the attorney today. We're going to be meeting with Attorney Timothy D. Smith, and we're going to collaborate his law firm with Christopher Chestnut, who is in Florida, we contacted(ph) last night, who helped us with the Ferrell case in Charlotte.

So we thank you all for being here, and in the spirit of civil rights we're going to open up, but before we start that we do this press conference in memory of Tamir Rice, Travon Martin as I travel the streets of Sanford, Florida. We stand here I memory of Michael Brown, shot down five times and one of the bullets went in his eyeball. I attended his funeral as well. We're here for Walter Scott. The family received $5 million a couple months ago. We're here for Jonathan Ferrell. Some of the other unknown individuals that's been shot in Charlotte: Aaron Winchester, Brother Brown and others. The list goes on and on. Brother who resided at North Bank Mall(ph), I think on Christmas Day or the day before Christmas. All of these shootings across the country. We're sick and tired of being sick and tired. So before I get into all of that, we're going to open up in prayer by Bishop Kevin Long(ph).

KEVIN LONG(ph), BISHOP, : Let's pray together. Gracious, God, our Heavenly Father. We do thank you and we do praise you for today. And today our hearts our heavy, but we come in obedience to your word when we've been instructed to in all things give thanks, for it is your will concerning us. Today, God, we come together with a collaborative effort and a united front to cry out against injustice here in the city of Charlotte and elsewhere. And we thank you, God, that even as you taught us to pray through your son, Jesus, that your kingdom should come and your will should be done. Today, God, we come admitting the Kingdom of God, declaring justice and equity for all those. And, God, for those that have been wronged, we declare now restitution. And, Father, we know that your will is that justice would roll down like waters from the hills, and so today, God, we stand united, declaring and decreeing your glory. It is in the name of Jesus I offer this prayer. Amen.

UNKNOWN MALE: The first speaker that we're going to have - not speaker, the first individual that's going to speak briefly is Mr. B.J. Murphy; long time friend of mine, also a Million Man marcher, associate of mine as well. So he's going to come, representation of the Nation of Islam.

B.J. MURPHY, NATION OF ISLAM: I open up in the name of the Lord, the beneficent, the merciful, I bear witness that there is no God but Allah and Mohammad is his messenger. I greet everyone at this press conference in the greeting words of peace of as-salamu alaykum. I am not the official spokesperson for the City of Charlotte. Brother Corey Mohammad(ph), he just pulled up, he's on his way, but being a media person, a long-time resident of the City of Charlotte and we're watching our Black men this week being gunned down, and there is no redress for our grievances of Black people being killed. With our Brother Scott, they said he had a gun, somebody said he had a book. We need to do our own independent investigation to see if that is actually true. But what we're standing up for now is our Black manhood and our Black people who are being gunned down in the street and we don't get no justice. So what I'm calling for and what we're calling for is an economic boycott of the whole City of Charlotte. Since Black lives do not matter for this city, then our Black dollars shouldn't matter. Right?

Keep our money in our pocket and let you filthy(ph) - we're watching modern-day lynching on social media, on television, and it is effecting the psyche of Black people. That's what you saw last night. This is what - when you don't get your justice, we don't get a redress for our grief, and we don't get justice, this is what you see and you going to see more of that. We've got to tell our brothers and sisters to stop, we're not going to get out there and tell y'all, "Brother, you shouldn't do that, you shouldn't do this," when we ain't getting no justice.

So everybody in Charlotte should be on notice that Black people today, we're tired of this bull. We're tired of being killed and nobody saying nothing. We're tired of our political leaders going along to get along. They're so weak. They don't have no sympathy for our grief. And we want justice. So I say, take your money out of Northlake Mall, take your money out of Southpark Mall, take your money out of the Epicentre. Hell, this don't even have the CIAA this year, how you going to party, have a drink in your hand, we ain't getting no damn justice in here. So what we're saying is, we're calling all Black people in Charlotte to keep your money in your pocket and let the City of Charlotte with their great shiny buildings and skyscrapers and Panthers and Hornets and all that. Keep your money in your pocket, and let everybody feel the pain, economically, of what we're feeling physically when you kill us.

So that's what we're calling for. We're calling for economic boycott in the City of Charlotte. Don't spend no money with no White folks that don't respect us. And that's all I gotta say, Brothers and Sisters. And I thank you all. I don't want to defend nobody, but, hell, man. We don't got nothing to lose. We don't got nothing to feel, because we are offended. We are offended because we can't get no justice and, you know, and the thing that is sad about it when Black people are killed, there is no sympathy on social media, on the radio, on television. Nobody wants to feel our pain. So the question is, what are you trying to force us to do? And I'm saying, take our money out of Charlotte and let's put it in our own community, let's create our own Black Wall Street right here in the City of Charlotte.

[10:37:30]

AMERE MAY, PASTOR OF ABUNDANT FAITH WORD CHURCH: Greetings, I'm Pastor Mermay from Calamazoo, Michigan, ex-professional basketball player, and I am the proud father of two sons; one who has an academic scholarship at North Carolina AT; the other one is a professional basketball player trying out for the Bulls this weekend. I am concerned first as a father. I'm concerned as a Black man myself. It's obviously - it's hunting season, and the Black male is the prey. And something has to be done. So I greet you in the name of Jesus Christ, but at the same time the psychology of the church in the nation is that Christians are weak, but we're not standing here as a weak body. We represent the love of Christ, but we also represent the temperance of Christ in that we're fed up. We're fed up in police - being stopped by police while driving while being Black; we're fed up at being gunned down; we're fed up for having Skittles in our hands and a life being taken; we're fed up from having CDs in our hands and our lives taken.

Now we have in our hand and our lives are taken. So it's obvious to me - you say "All lives matter," but to me it's obviously not the truth. Because if all lives matter, Hispanics, Caucasians, and Asians would be dying by the same White supremacy police force that we're dying by. So Black lives does matter. I come from a psychological aspect that I'm challenging all the Caucasian leaders across this country, the major pastors that pastor all over this world. Chances are that a White supremacist police officer or a racist police officer won't come to my church, but they probably have a chance to come to your church, and therefore you need to use your platform to tell them that Black lives matter. It's not until you begin to speak up and voice your opinion and tell these people that have taken our kids' lives that Black lives matter that change is going to come. There's no need of us rioting. There's no need of us burning our own community down.

How we can change is economically empower, shop Black owned. And we need an exodus not only of the Macy's and out of these stores, but we need a major exodus out of these churches, because a lot of African Americans support Caucasian pastors and the pastors never come to our community. They never support our community. They're not even in here today for the press conference. So we need to have an exodus and a major boycott of these churches that you all support. Not only Caucasian pastors, but Black pastors that take our dollar that won't come to our community, Black pastors that take our money that won't support our children. Black lives do matter. Regardless of what people say, God has created us, he put us first in the Garden of Eden, and before he created the church he created the Black man in Eden, in Africa. So we have to understand, we are fed up, we are - we are not scared, but by any means necessary, we don't want to get to a place that change comes only by bloodshed. So it's critical that we be altruistic enough.

It's critical that you help us embellish and enhance our community. How do you do it? By providing us jobs, by giving us adequate education, by giving us adequate job training. You cannot put us in a confined area and limit our resources, limit our food, limit our education, and don't think we're going to not turn on each other. That's from the 1970s from Chicago, as a noted scientist(ph) said, he had the rats' experience. The rats' experience is they put a male rat with a female rate with two mice, with two children that were mice, and they put them all in a confined area. They fed them, the family was good. They continued to feed them, they family was good. But they began to take away their water supply, their food supply, and they noticed the male rat began to turn on his children, he began to turn on his wife. And from that experience, you have the Projects that birthed out in our inner city community. We have to cause change to happen in America. Take the liquor stores out of our community, take the abortion clinics out of our community - there's none in the suburbs, they shouldn't be in the inner city. There's no liquor stores on every corner in the suburbs; there shouldn't be in our inner city. If we want change, change can only happen when everybody is on board. I'm Pastor May from Abundant Faith Word Church. Bless you. [10:41:36]

UNKNOWN MALE: Yesterday, standing here behind the police line, I heard a 13-year-old tell me everything that happened. She just got off the bus and she witnessed everything. The police always wants to run with a gun. So what? My mother got a gun. But the truth of the matter is that he point that gun. Did he intend to really sit in a vehicle, waiting on his son to get home from school, and then plot to shoot a cop if they pulled up on him? No, no he didn't.

The reality is that - they tell me that Mr. Scott sits there every day in his vehicle wanting to pick up his son and give him a hug. And yesterday his son did not get that hug. Across the country, we are being shot down. Shot down. Very few cops go to jail for that. Here in Charlotte, just two years ago, standing here yesterday was symbolic to me standing in court for Jonathan Ferrell, shot down 10 times, shot at 12 times. How can the City of Charlotte cut a check for $2 million? If you cut a check for $2 million for a family, then obviously something is wrong. So how in the world you not lock the officer up? And then you give him his three-year salary as if everything's okay. And then you file a complaint on my lawyer in Florida, Christopher Chestnut, and say he been passing out business cards at a funeral. How dirty are you, Charlotte? Nineteen days before the court date - let me take you down memory lane. July 19th, Jonathan Ferrell's trial. On July 1st the chief of police resigns.

Now he's doing security in Florida at the Coca Cola plant. My question is the same chief that put the charges on the cop was not in trial. They brought 30 cops out, talking about stuff we ain't know. When it rains? And how powerful was the gun? And what part of the bullet hit his heart? We don't want to know that. We want to know why the mystery man, Chief Monroe, was not in trial. He charged the officer. So you got things going on behind closed doors that we're aware of. Reverend Chaptigate(ph) told me about the third eye, to look behind those doors where they're smoking cigars, plotting on the lives of African Americans. America, you're not - you're not going to be deleted out of my memory bank in reference to what you did during the Tuskegee experiment. Those same plots and plans of sticking syphilis in the veins of African Americans then and then Bill Clinton - as they say the first Black president - President Clinton gives an apology 40 years later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: All right, we're going to pull away from this so we can talk about what went down in Charlotte, North Carolina. With me now is Cedric Alexander, a CNN Law Enforcement Analyst; Michaela Angela Davis, Culture Critic and Writer; and CNN Legal Analyst, Laura Coates. Thanks to all of you. So we've heard what was said at this press conference from the Nation of Islam and a number of pastors from across the country. Last hour, the police chief spoke about how officers recovered a gun at the scene. They said that when the officers approached the suspect, Mr. Scott, they ordered him to drop the gun and he didn't. I want you to listen to how the chief of police described what went down yesterday afternoon. [10:44:39]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF KERR PUTNEY, CHARLOTTE-MECKLENBURG POLICE: He exited the vehicle armed with a handgun. The officers observed him get back into that vehicle, at which time they approached the vehicle to engage this subject. The officers gave loud, clear, verbal commands which were also heard by many of the witnesses. They were instructing the subject, once he got out of the vehicle, to drop the weapon. In spite of the verbal commands, Mr. Scott, as I said, exited his vehicle armed with a handgun as the officers continued to yell at him to drop it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COSTELLO: So, Cedric, I'll pose this question to you because the police chief could not say whether Mr. Scott was pointing the gun at officers, but if there was a gun in this man's hand and police were ordering them to drop the weapon, would police necessarily wait for the gun to be pointed at them before they opened fire?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: No, absolutely not. They probably would not wait for the gun to be pointed at them if he stepped out of the vehicle with a gun. But let me say this, I still think there's still a lot of that investigation that's going to need to be determined; the physical evidence, the witness statements, the officers statements, where that body was found, where it was lying, where the proximity of the gun was lying to the body.

A lot of things are going to be taken into account as to determination as to what happened. But here's the most important thing: Regardless of what happened in Charlotte, people across this country are fed up with what they're seeing and it's not making sense to them. I'm talking to you as a police administrator, and one who's been in this profession for about 40 years now. It is very difficult for me or anyone else to come on this show, or any show, and begin to offer some type of reasonable conclusion as to what happened. Because we see these events over and over and over. I as a police administrator, I've had shootings in my community. I've been questioned in my community. But it is becoming so much of an issue in a way in which you just heard those pastors there in Charlotte - people are finding it very difficult, even if it is a well-trained shoot or not, people are having a very hard time trying to separate between what's truth and what's fiction. We are in a very, very tough place. And it seems like all the work we've been doing over the last couple of years is - really, appears to be of very little avail. But we still have to wait for a complete investigation.

But the American people, and I'm not just talking Black people, I'm talking the American people are seeing something is inherently wrong here and something has to be done. And we've got to figure out what that is. And I would hope - and I'll end here. I would hope in five days we have the first presidential debate and it should be on their agenda to talk about these issues as it relates to police community relations in this country and they can talk about foreign policy, economic policy, but we also need to talk about policy and what needs to be done between police and community in this country. And they have circumvented - both candidates need to talk about this issue and tell the American people what their plan is. Because these issues are going to be here when they take their post on January 20th.

COSTELLO: You're absolutely right about that. And, you know, the frustration - there's frustration within communities, right, Laura? But there's also frustration within the police community. And you could certainly hear that in Chief Putney's voice when he spoke about not listening to a voiceless majority. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PUTNEY: People are watching how we respond.

(EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM) [10:50:00]

MICHAELA ANGELA DAVIS, CULTURAL CRITIC AND WRITER: What you're dealing with is a system that has never been trusted by the community. You can read in Just Mercy all the evidence of things being moved around and evidence being - we just saw it in Charleston - evidence being planted on a dead body. So what we're doing now is we're trying to negotiate in America every morning - we wake up wondering, "Who was shot? What brother was stolen? What father was stolen? What daughter was stolen? What sister was stolen from us?"

Either by law enforcement or by mass incarceration. And at what do you tell people to wait? At what point do we stop waiting? Why are we asked to have a moral compass that no one else is following? At a certain point, the burden is too great on the Black community and everyone, the White community, has to stand up and say "enough," and deal with their brutal history and their brutal system in which people are operating. This is not a bad apple. This is a bad system that has always been bad for Black Americans. We're negotiating, seeing two terrorists live to go to trial and North Carolina is an open carry state. So that man is allowed to have a gun.

But I saw Dylan Ruth(ph) kill people in Charleston, get a hamburger, and he's going to trial. We are all negotiating all this madness, right? So when you hear this outside agitating of kids throwing rocks who know that this country has never cared about them, that the only plan for them is prison, how are they supposed to react? And they're not burning their community. That's like - when saying that they're destructing their communities, that's like saying their burning down the plantation, right? At what point does that community feel like theirs? At what point do those badges feel like they are there to protect them? They're there to protect property. They're there to protect Whiteness. They are not there to protect them. So until there is justice, there is been - people are being killed with impunity. Until there is justice, there is no peace. We are hurting today, Carol. Well, Carol, this is not (--)

COSTELLO: I know, I know, I know. I want - I have to stop it right here. I would only say that Chief Putney is begging the community in Charlotte peaceful protest, do what's legal. He says he doesn't mind peaceful protest, but please no violence because, you know, there's no place for that right now in this community that is hurting and is seeking understanding. So I have to end it there. Laura Coates, Cedric Alexander, and Michaela Angela Davis, thank you. I'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [10:55:00]

COSTELLO: Just 48 days to go until election day and in the battleground state of Pennsylvania, it is an intense fight to the finish for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. CNN's Miguel Marquez is on the front lines in Philadelphia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN MALE: I'm expecting a huge turnout in November and we're going to have Donald Trump and we're going to make America great again. Thank you.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Republicans counting on enthusiasm.

UNKNOWN MALE: You want to knock on that door, I'll knock on 722?

MARQUEZ (voice over): In an uphill battle to turn this blue collar state red in November.

PETE BECKLEY, TRUMP VOLUNTEER: It wasn't won by republicans for the last few presidential elections. We think Trump's going to win this state.

UNKNOWN FEMALE: Are you going to vote for Donald Trump?

UNKNOWN FEMALE: Probably, it's the only choice.

MARQUEZ (voice over): The last time Pennsylvania went republican, 1988. The latest poll shows Clinton ahead in the state, but with exceptionally tight races in Ohio and Florida. Republicans here sense momentum.

TERRY MADONNA, DIRECTOR, FRANKLIN AND MARSHALL COLLEGE POLL: If Donald Trumps wins Pennsylvania, he wins the presidency. Here's why: Pennsylvania is more democratic than both Florida and Ohio.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Thank you, wow.

MARQUEZ (voice over): If he wins here, he wins there. Trump running strong in rural Pennsylvania but needs support in vote-rich Philadelphia and its suburbs, where a third of the state's voters live.

MADONNA(ph): You cannot lose the Philadelphia suburbs. Not only are we talking about a large number of votes, but we're talking about the largest pool of swing voters.

TRUMP: Childcare is such a big problem.

MARQUEZ (voice over): Trump announced his childcare initiative, appealing to swing voters, women and moderates in those Philly suburbs.

TRUMP: We're going to solve that problem.

MARQUEZ (voice over): He and his running mate, Mike Pence, have already been to the state nine times.

TRUMP: Hello Philly.

MARQUEZ (voice over): Democrats too have descended on the keystone state, fighting to keep its 20 electoral votes in their column.

HILLARY CLINTON, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So let's go out, let's make our case, let's win the election.

MARQUEZ (voice over): Clinton and Kaine have been here 11 times, and that's not including the democratic convention held here in July. And her most powerful surrogate, President Obama, made his first solo campaign event on behalf of Clinton right here in Philly.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I need you to work as hard for Hillary as you did for me.

UNKNOWN MALE: All right, thank you all so much for coming to help out with our 2 p.m. shift.

MARQUEZ (voice over): Voter registration in July and August ahead of 2008, a banner year. So far this year, democrats have registered 418,000 new voters; to republicans' 321,000. For both candidates, turnout is critical.

CLINTON: If I'm in the White House, young people will always have a seat at any table where any decision is being made.

MARQUEZ (voice over): Clinton seeking support from younger voters, many still burned out from a primary in which their guy didn't win. Jordyn Tannenbaum was a Bernie Sanders delegate. Like many, she says fear of a Trump presidency is a bigger motivation than love for Clinton.

JORDYN TANNENBAUM, CLINTON VOLUNTEER: It's not an election that it's okay to sit out. You know, you can't - protest votes aren't going to do much this election. It's too risky.

ANDREW CHANG, CLINTON VOLUNTEER: It's our job to talk to them about why they feel that way and hopefully change that into positive energy.

AD CAMPAIGN: How do we make the economy work for everyone?

MARQUEZ (voice over): And the ad wars have finally come to Pennsylvania. Clinton has spent nearly $12 million in the state. Her latest ad focused on jobs and the economy.

AD CAMPAIGN: Donald Trump's America is secure.

MARQUEZ (voice over): Donald Trump after spending zero through August on TV advertising has spent nearly $3 million on ads focusing on immigration and security. Voter registration here ends with October 11th with no early voting. In Pennsylvania, it will be a race to election day.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUEZ: Now pollster Terry Madonna says that what he is seeing is that many voters are saying they are more motivated by their fear or dislike of the other candidate than their own. So enthusiasm will be huge here. It's going to be a long hard slog to November 8th. Carol. [10:59:59]

COSTELLO: But it will be interesting, to say the least. Miguel Marquez reporting live from Philadelphia this morning. Thank you for joining me today. I'm Carol Costello. "AT THIS HOUR" with Berman and Bolduan starts now.