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Ex Detainee on Warmbier's Death: It Could Have Been Me; New Video Released of Philandro Castile Shooting after Officer Acquitted; Awaiting FBI News Conference on Officer Stabbing in Michigan; Funeral Services Underway for Muslim Teen Beaten to Death with Baseball Bat. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired June 21, 2017 - 14:30   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:31:20] BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Tensions are escalating between North Korea, the U.S., and its allies, just days after an American citizen returned from detention in North Korea, and at 22 years of age, dies. U.S. spy satellites have now detected new activity in North Korea's underground nuclear test site.

No shortage of topics to discuss as U.S. and Chinese officials meet in Washington today. China is the main ally and trading partner of North Korea. Keep that in mind.

But even before those talks really began, President Trump may have complicated things with a tweet, which I'll read for you, "While I greatly appreciate the efforts of President Xi and China to help with North Korea, it has not worked out. At least I know China tried."

Meantime, the circumstances surrounding the death of Otto Warmbier just days after his release from North Korea may remain a mystery. Warmbier's family deciding against an autopsy on the 22-year-old's body.

But Kenneth Bay, the U.S. citizen detained by North Korea for two years, says he believes Warmbier may have been tortured.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KENNETH BAY, FORMER AMERICAN HELD IN NORTH KOREA: I do believe it's possible. It didn't happen to me, but they did threaten me a few times. So, for, you know, for 21-year-old, not really knowing what to expect, I think it's probably, he was very terrified. There could be a possible that he may be threatened or he was actually, physically, you know, tortured or attacked.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Earlier, I spoke with someone else who knows what it's like to be imprisoned in North Korea. Here's part of our conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Joining me now, Jeffery Fowle, an American who was held in North Korea for six months in 2014.

Jeffery, thank you so much for being with me.

JEFFREY FOWLE, FORMER AMERICAN HELD IN NORTH KOREA: Thank you. It's my pleasure, Brooke.

BALDWIN: How did the North Koreans treat you? Were you beaten? Were you harmed physically at all?

FOWLE: No, I wasn't. I was treated OK, physically, by the North Koreans. I had plenty to eat in both places I was housed, were decent quarters. The first place, for three and a half weeks, was a four- star, supposedly, hotel, and then after that, it was at a guest house. Both places were nice, especially by North Korean standards.

I was never beaten, physically mistreated. But the mental strain and emotional strain, just under the circumstances, it was pretty rough. Just not knowing what was happening back here in the United States, and questions about my future and that was -- that took the biggest toll on me.

BALDWIN: So, you would wonder about what was happening back in the United States. I'm wondering about just your family. I mean, you have a wife and at the time when you were detained, you had three school age kids. Were you allowed to contact them ever, be in touch?

FOWLE: Right. I was allowed to write letters after a while. About halfway through the ordeal there, I was actually encouraged to write. Some letters didn't get there and some of their letters didn't get to me. But that was some line of communication. About two and a half months into the detention, I was allowed to make a phone call, and that was the only verbal communication I had with my wife. But that was -- that was helpful emotionally as well.

BALDWIN: I keep thinking about Otto's parents and not knowing if their son is OK for 17 months.

FOWLE: Yes.

BALDWIN: And so, you know, your own family, when you finally --

(CROSSTALK)

FOWLE: Right. And then to have it turn out like this.

BALDWIN: No, no, but your own family, coming home to them, what did they tell you? What was it like for them?

FOWLE: For my family, oh, they were very happy to see me.

(CROSSTALK)

BALDWIN: No, but I mean, the time of waiting.

FOWLE: -- and a great reunion. Oh, the waiting -- the six months that I was in detention, it was pretty rough. Kids didn't have a dad and my wife didn't have a husband. And I was worried about my job situation during that whole time, and just a lot of black questions on the horizon for me. And for them, too.

[14:35:14] BALDWIN: Jeffery, on Otto's case, you know, when you heard the news that he had been released, had come home, and days later died, what thoughts went through your mind.

FOWLE: Well the first thoughts was for the family and the anguish that they must be experiencing. They definitely need our prayers during this hard time of adjustment for them. And my heart went out to Otto, what he must have gone through during the 17 months he was over there. I think at times, there, but for the grace of God, go I. That could have been me.

BALDWIN: Jeffery Fowle, thank you so much. Appreciate the time.

FOWLE: My pleasure, Brooke. Take care.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BALDWIN: Coming up here, we have disturbing new video in the death of Philando Castile, showing those moments leading up to the shooting and his death, including hearing his final words.

Plus, we are waiting on a news conference to begin from police there in Flint, Michigan. An airport police officer was stabbed in his back and his neck at an airport where he appeared to be targeted because of the uniform he was wearing. Is terrorism on the table? We'll take it live when it happens.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:40:44] BALDWIN: 40 seconds, seven rounds, five bullets, a deadly one piercing the heart of Minnesota driver, Philando Castile. We're now seeing the police dash-cam video showing the moment his 2016 traffic stop ended in his death. The video has reignited anger, reopened painful wounds and deep-seated frustrations in this country. All of this just four days after the police officer involved was acquitted on all charges.

We're going to play this video for you now. But I need to warn you, it is tough to watch. It is graphic. It is unsettling.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERONIMO YANEZ, MINNESOTA POLICE OFFICER: Hello, sir.

PHILANDRO CASTILE, SHOT BY POLICE: Good, how are you.

JANEZ: Good. The reason I pulled you over, your brake lights are out so you only have one active brake light and that's going to be our passenger side one. Your third brake light and on this one back here, it's going to be out. Do you have your license and insurance?

CASTILE: Sir, I have to tell you, I do have a firearm on me.

YANEZ: OK. Ok. Don't reach for it then. Don't pull it out.

CASTILE: I'm not pulling it out.

REYNOLDS: He's not pulling it out.

YANEZ: Don't pull it out.

(GUNFIRE)

(SCREAMING)

(CROSSTALK)

DIAMOND REYNOLDS, GIRLFRIEND OF PHILANDRO CASTILE: He wasn't reaching.

YANEZ: Don't pull it out! Don't pull.

REYNOLDS: He wasn't. (EXPLETIVE DELETED)

Oh my god.

YANEZ: Don't move!

REYNOLDS: Oh my god.

YANEZ: Don't move!

REYNOLDS: Oh my god.

YANEZ: Don't move!

REYNOLDS: Don't move, baby.

YANEZ: Get the vehicle out of here. (EXPLETIVE DELETED). Don't move.

(CROSSTALK)

(SHOUTING)

YANEZ: Code three! Shots fired!

REYNOLDS: Stay with me.

YANEZ: Code three.

REYNOLDS: He got pulled over for a broken taillight in the back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Castile girlfriend, Diamond Reynolds, reacted to the verdict at a community forum, telling the crowd she and her daughter are in therapy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REYNOLDS: It's just unfortunate that I put myself and my daughter's life in jeopardy to record something so traumatic, only for a verdict to be told it was not guilty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The officer will lose his job. Many say he should be behind bars.

That includes my next guest, Jason Sole, a Castile family friend, and the president of the Minneapolis NAACP. He's also a criminal justice professor.

So, Jason, thank you so much for taking the time.

JASON SOLE, CASTILE FAMILY FRIEND & PRESIDENT, MINNEAPOLIS NAACP & CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSOR: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: When the verdict came down Friday, I know the NAACP's legal defense and education fund said that the message in this verdict was that people of color, and I'm quoting, "Are second class citizens, if not fully dehumanized in the eyes of the law."

I mean, you've seen the dash-cam video. Now the statement. What does all of this mean for you?

SOLE: It just means, you know, black people have no refuge here in the United States. You know, we're under attack. You know, that was murder. What I saw. That was clear, flat-out murder. He posed no threat to the officer and his life was taken. We saw that law enforcement are not held accountable in the courts in Minnesota and beyond. So, what we're asking for is officers to be held accountable for the courts to be held accountable and for corrections to be held accountable because we believe the entire system from top to bottom is guilty. They don't care about black life. They don't have a sanctity of black life policy, and they need to create one. They're killing us for no reason. Philando did everything right. He had a baby in the car. He had his seatbelt on, and you traumatized his fiance, the kid, the community. And we're asking that the government and everybody who has positions of power to step up and use it for the right things. Philando shouldn't have died. He should still be here working with children.

BALDWIN: I can't begin to imagine what the family is going through. But on the other side, the jury disagreed with you, the officer's defenses were essentially that he thought if Philando Castile had the guts to smoke pot in front of this little girl, Castile could shoot, also said he matched the description of a robbery suspect. But you disagree and say race played a huge role in this.

[14:45:16] SOLE: Absolutely. He racially profiled. He said he had a wide-set nose. He changed up his story so many times. There's a number of things we can look at to pick apart this case. The fact of the matter is this, America is a racially biased society and it allows law enforcement officials like this to be able to execute and be able to go on vacation and tend to their family and to be able to go on and live great lives. Black people have no form of justice in the United States. A lot of people across the country thought this was the case. This was the one where we would see an officer charged and convicted with manslaughter in the state of Minnesota. And we were let down once again by the system. So what that tells us is we got to figure out on our own what we need to do, because the United States and the government doesn't care about us. And it's working against us in all cases. That 4-year-old baby shouldn't have had to deal with that. They shouldn't have had to go through that. The Castiles shouldn't be mourning and grieving and be dragged through a legal process only to be let down again. We feel like they were victimized on a number of occasions when this happened. We need it to stop. Convict the killer cops.

BALDWIN: Jason, what do you -- help us understand. What do you think, in this specifically in the dash-cam video that the jurors obviously saw in the courtroom, that we're only now seeing publicly, what do you think the jurors saw differently than you?

SOLE: I think they were -- I mean, I think the jury selection created a problem. There were some jurors that shouldn't have been, you know, handling this case. You know, I mean, if you look at the profiles, you know, I'm not saying that tells us everything but it tells us something. If you look at the profile of the people who were placed on the jury, there was one juror who actually had some pro-police verbiage on a Facebook post, and she was still allowed to be on the jury. So, I think on some levels, they were thrown off with a number of different elements, but I think most of them walked in with a decision already made. And I think because they've grown up with law enforcement officials close by or around them or in their family, they automatically sided with law enforcement. You don't usually see police officers in court as the defendant. You usually see them in court trying to convict someone. The system works really well to hurt, harm, and convict black people and other people of color. But when it's time to convict the police officer, they struggle. So that's what happened with the jury. They're not accustomed to being in that situation where they see an officer on trial for manslaughter. That was the first case in the state of Minnesota. So many of them were caught up in a number of different feelings and thoughts, and it showed out with the verdict.

BALDWIN: That police officer out of a job, but acquitted.

Jason Sole, Minneapolis NAACO president. Jason, thank you for your time and your voice.

SOLE: Thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: Just ahead, was the CIA director aware of suspicions about Michael Flynn as he briefed the national security adviser at the time with the White House. New details out today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:52:11] BALDWIN: Funeral services are underway for the Muslim teenager who was brutally attacked and killed with a baseball bat near a mosque in Virginia. Police say 17-year-old Nabra Hassanen was walking with friends after attending an overnight pray service when this man, 22-year-old Darwin Torres, allegedly, chased them with a baseball bat and beat her to death. He now faces murder charges, but members of this Muslim community say they believe the suspect should also be charged with a hate crime.

CNN senior national correspondent, Alex Marquardt, joins us live from Sterling, Virginia.

Tell me what you're hearing. Is hate crime on the table as far as the investigation is concerned? What are you hearing from the victim's family?

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, hate crime certainly is on the table. We spoke with the prosecutor a short time ago, who says that they are not ruling it out. So far, there has been no evidence offered by the police to indicate that this was a hate crime.

For his part, the father of Nabra Hassanen told CNN that he 100 percent believes this is a hate crime.

There is a profound sense of grief here. The Muslim community here is shocked. They are stunned. They are saddened. That funeral wrapping up just moments ago. You can see people lining up behind me to get on to buses to go to the burial.

Shortly before the funeral, we were able to speak with some of the mourners. Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: When you heard the news on Sunday, what was your reaction?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I couldn't believe it. I mean, me and my family, we were just --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Prayers. They come for prayers here so it was very shocking. This area is never dangerous or anything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MARQUARDT: The fear now is that even if this specific attack was not against a Muslim, in particular, that, in general, Muslims here in America are much more of a target these days -- Brooke?

[14:54:06] BALDWIN: Awful, awful, all the way around.

Alex, please stay on it for us. Alex Marquardt there in northern Virginia.

Coming up next, a police officer stabbed in the neck and back by an attacker at a Michigan airport. Why the FBI is investigating this as a possible terror attack. We're waiting for a news conference. Should begin any moment now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BALDWIN: Hi, there. I'm Brooke Baldwin. You're watching CNN.

We begin with breaking news that the FBI is investigating whether this attack on an airport police officer in Michigan was an act of terrorism. The officer was stabbed in his neck and back at the Bishop International Airport in Flint, Michigan. We're told the officer is in stable condition. But the airport has been evacuated and shut down. The suspect is alive. He's in custody, being questioned. The FBI says, based on what it knows right now, the attack appears to be an isolated incident. And we're told President Trump has been briefed on the situation.

Shimon Prokupecz, our CNN crime and justice reporter, is all over this with his sources. Juliette Kayyem is joining us as well, CNN national security analyst and former Homeland Security assistant secretary.

Shimon, straight to you. What are you hearing from the FBI?

SHIMON PROKUPECZA, CNN CRIME & JUSTICE REPORTER: We hope to hear more within the hour. We're expecting a press conference with the FBI and some of the local officials and the police there. Hopefully, within the hour.

I think what you said, Brooke, is key there, that right now, the FBI believes this was an isolated incident, not part of any larger plot, not part of any sort of cell. And that this appears to be a, perhaps, lone wolf, one person acting on his own who targeted this police officer in a just sudden attack inside this airport. We're told by officials that he attacked the officer from behind, leaving him -- perhaps, you know, there was no ability to defend himself. The officer is in stable condition.

We're also told that during the attack, the suspect allegedly uttered some words, you know --