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Rep. Rashida Tlaib Describes Threats Against Her Over Muslim Faith; YouTube Banning Accounts That Promote Nazism; Ex-Resource Officer Charged for Failing to Protect Students; Helicopter Rescue of Hiker Goes Wildly Off Track; Bernie Sanders Takes Minimum Wage to Walmart. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired June 05, 2019 - 15:30   ET

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


[15:30:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN HOST: Rare emotional moment in Congress. Democratic Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib teared up while reading death threats against her. One of the first Muslim women in Congress she recounted a message that she received in the wake of the deadly New Zealand mosque attacks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RASHIDA TLAIB (D-MI): When you get something like this attention Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and rag heads Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, I was totally excited and pleased when I heard about 49 Muslims were killed and many [pause], many more were wounded in New Zealand.

[15:35:00] This is a great start. Let's hope and pray that it continues here in the -- in the good old U.S.A. The only good Muslim is a dead one.

How is that enough? Not enough to fall under domestic terrorism if they're targeting solely based on my faith and others and saying that a good Muslim is a dead one. Obviously directed to me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: The Congresswoman was questioning an FBI official on the resources the bureau has to investigate and prosecute domestic terrorists. That official urged Congresswoman Tlaib to work in Congress to develop domestic terror legislation.

All of this as YouTube has now decided to ban white supremacist content and delete hundreds of thousands of videos including those that promote Nazism or deny events like Sandy Hook ever happened. CNN tech reporter Brian Fung is with me now. And I mean, I can hear the -- OK, great, like finally, why now?

BRIAN FUNG, CNN TECH REPORTER: Well, Brooke, this is an issue that critics have called on YouTube to address for years now. And it is not just pro-Nazi content that YouTube is banning, it is also taking aim at a wide range of other types of discriminatory content as well. In a blog post earlier today, YouTube said its updated policy specifically prohibits videos alleging that a group is superior in order to justify discrimination, segregation or exclusion based on qualities like age, gender, race, caste, religion, sexual orientation or veteran status.

Now at the same time that they're targeting discriminatory content YouTube is also taking aim at other types of videos that it says don't necessarily violate its policies but walk right up to the line. So examples of this might include things like videos promoting fake medicines or videos that promote the idea that the earth is flat. YouTube calls these types of videos, quote/unquote, borderline content. So the bottom line here is this is a significant step YouTube is taking that could end up affecting a broad range of content on its platform.

BALDWIN: What's the reaction you're hearing to the announcement?

FUNG: Well, a lawyer for the Sandy Hook families told CNN's Oliver Darcy that this is long overdue and better late than never. In a statement the lawyers said, quote, Sandy Hook happened now nearly seven years ago, and so during that entire time the clients were subject to hostile postings on YouTube that disseminated this false narrative and caused undue harassment, threats and fallacies as they were trying to heal. Oliver also spoke to Lenny Pozner, who's a father of the Sandy Hook victim and he says he welcomes the change and is looking forward to other changes by other platforms.

BALDWIN: Brian Fung, thank you very much.

For the first time today we saw the officer accused of neglecting his duties at the Parkland School shooting, he was in court, the parents of many of the victims say it is about time. This man is charged. I'll talk to one of them next.

[15:40:00] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: His job at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School was to protect the students and today former School Resource Officer Scot Peterson made his first court appearance on charges that he failed to do just that when a gunman killed 17 people at the Parkland, Florida school. A judge set Peterson's bond at $102,000. He is now charged with 11 counts including perjury and felony child neglect. But Peterson's attorney said the prosecution appears to be quote, a thinly failed attempt at politically motivated retribution against Mr. Peterson.

And the Deputy's Association has concerns about the impact on other officers saying this, quote, in order for there to be neglect, the individual must be a caretaker of the individual. Does that mean that every police officer from now on that works a detail where children are present are now subjected to child neglect charges if something happens? Peterson spoke to the "Today Show" four months after that shooting in Parkland.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In this really important moment, you missed it.

SCOT PETERSON, FORMER SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER, MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: I have to -- I live with that. You know, how could I not. I mean, I'm human. In the perfect world, oh, I would have said, oh, yes, I know there was a shooter and let me go to the third floor and find this person. If I would have known, I mean, knowing what I know today, I would have been in that building in a heartbeat.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Ryan Petty is the father of Alaina. She was just 14 years of age when she was killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School just last year. So Ryan, thank you so much for joining me.

RYAN PETTY, FATHER OF ALAINA KILLED AT MARJORY STONEMAN DOUGLAS HIGH SCHOOL: Brooke, thank you for having me.

BALDWIN: So this is all about Scot Peterson today. When you first heard about those charges he's now facing, what did you first thing?

PETTY: I was elated. I knew there was an ongoing investigation. I was not sure why it what was taking so long. Obviously, I want to thank the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, FDLE, for the meticulous investigation that they performed over the past year.

[15:45:00] But just elated to hear that he was charged. When you look at the facts, when you look at what he failed to do, the action that day, I'm pleased to see that he'll be held accountable.

BALDWIN: I can't imagine some of the thoughts that have gone through your mind in the last 16 months. But is one of them had he flung into action, do you feel like he could have saved your little girl?

PETTY: Yes, for Alaina it was too late. She unfortunately was in one of the first classrooms that was hit. And Deputy Peterson arrived at the 1200 building after we believe Alaina had been killed. But he certainly was there in time to save the six that were lost on the third floor and he arrived at the outer door of that building, then retreated back behind a cement pillar and stood for 48 minutes while students and teachers were being slaughtered in that building. Hearing the gunshots, knowing where the gunshots were coming from and he did absolutely nothing.

BALDWIN: His lawyer says this is all a gross simplification that he did not know where the shots were coming from. We played the clip. You've seen him in the interview with the "Today Show." He said, quote, it was my job and I didn't find him. And then he goes on to acknowledge he failed to go into the school during an active shooter situation, that he missed a, quote, important moment to save lives. So he seems to admit that he made a mistake and that he will live with this for the rest of his life. What do you want to happen to him?

PETTY: Well, I want him to get a fair trial. I want to go through the process that we now need to go through. Charges have been filed. Obviously, the case will need to be prosecuted and I would imagine a jury will have to determine whether or not they find him at fault. It was clear in the testimony we heard in the commission, and we invited Deputy Peterson to meet with us as a public safety commission to talk -- to get his side of the story and he refused to testify in front of us.

It was clear for me from the testimony we heard, the testimony of the other law enforcement personnel and the other school safety personnel that were on campus that day that his failure to act cost lives. And I hope that testimony is presented in front of a jury and they'll make their own decision.

BALDWIN: There were a lot of people who jumped all over him after the shooting. One of them the President of the United States calling him a coward. How would you, Ryan, choose to describe him?

PETTY: Well, I certainly think -- I agree with that --

BALDWIN: That he was a coward?

PETTY: Yes, he was the one person on campus -- he was one of just a handful of people on campus that day that could have stopped or prevented the tragedy. Certainly the six that were killed on the third floor. Had he just entered the building and presented any kind of obstacle to the shooter, I think those lives would have been saved.

But there were failures up and down the organization, the Broward Sheriff's office that day up into and including the former Sheriff Scott Israel who I'm grateful the governor -- Governor DeSantis removed him from office. And now we have a Sheriff that's in place that is making the necessary reforms, putting the right policies in place and ensuring that all of the Deputies under his command are being appropriately trained for every situation.

To the current School Resource Officers that are at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, I had a private meeting with them and I told them that one day they may be faced with a decision as to whether or not they get to go home and see their families or those children that their responsible will go home and see theirs. That I would expect them to make the decision that those children that their responsible for need to go home to their families and they looked me in the eyes and said, yes, sir, we understand and we will go in.

BALDWIN: Lastly, Ryan, I just want to end on your daughter on Alaina. It's been nearly 16 months since you lost her and for parents who have never lost a child like this, how do you honor her every day?

PETTY: I try to be more and more like her. There was so much that I was learning from her and she was such a wonderful young lady. What a loss for our nation. I can only imagine the great things that she would have done, had she been here.

[15:50:00] So I try to honor her by making sure that the systems and people and processes that failed to protect her are changed. And that those that failed her are held accountable. That's the best way I can honor her.

BALDWIN: Ryan Petty, you have a powerful voice. Thank you for using it. Good to see you.

PETTY: Thank you.

BALDWIN: Coming up next, you got to see this video for yourself. An injured hiker spinning wildly as she was evacuated from an Arizona mountain. I'll talk to a helicopter pilot about how this could happen.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:55:00] BALDWIN: A helicopter rescue in Phoenix turned into a terrifying ordeal for a 75-year-old hiker. The video tells the whole story here. The woman had to be rescued after falling and hitting her face and her head. When the rescue chopper arrived, the pilot began to lift her up and then air turbulence from the chopper's rotor caused the rescue basket to spin wildly. Look at that! Wildly! They eventually stopped the spinning and safely hoisted the woman onboard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL APOLINAR, CHIEF PILOT, PHOENIX POLICE AVIATION UNIT: Sometimes if we're in a canyon, if it's a strong, windy day, it will spin on us. It doesn't happen very often, but sometimes it just does. And when it does, we're trained to take care of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Elizabeth McCormick is a decorated former U.S. Army Blackhawk helicopter pilot. And Elizabeth, I mean, I have watched that over and over. And it's not like a little bit of spin, it's like, bang. Right. I would have -- I know you've been on a lot of rescue missions. What were they trying to do?

ELIZABETH MCCORMICK, FORMER BLACKHAWK HELICOPTER PILOT: So it's wind. Wind is the enemy in situations like that. So you've got the wind from the rotor coming down and spinning and then up underneath and so, and it's causing -- it causes that to happen. It's not uncommon. It's probably pretty uncommon that there's a news crew following, videoing, though.

BALDWIN: Right. What are the odds that somebody was there actually catching video of this moment with this 75-year-old woman hiker spinning away? What, what-- how do you stop it? Do you change altitude or?

MCCORMICK: Yes, so they did everything right when that situation happened. I watched the video all the way to the conclusion. So the first thing to do is you lower back down and try to get a better lift and hope that it doesn't happen. In this case, it not only happened, but it got worse when they came back up. The second thing you would do is get forward momentum, because when you're going forward, the rotor wash that's causing the spin becomes -- goes behind you.

So kind of like a slip stream effect and you get the aerodynamic forces to help level it out, which you can do, but you've got a person hanging underneath there, so you've got to be really careful when you're going forward that you're not going too fast or too far forward.

BALDWIN: By the way, I feel like I'm burying the lead. The woman is OK. Right? The fire captain said that this woman suffered, I think his phrase was, no ill effect from this spin. I can't say the same about me if I were spinning quite like that, but is there danger to the rescue? Can it further an injury? What do you think?

MCCORMICK: You know, considering -- you all have to weigh, are you going to send a helicopter to pick someone up or try to get a crew up there? Obviously, she was injured enough where they felt it was necessary to bring a helicopter in, and there's always a risk with everything that we do with flying helicopters, there's a lot of moving parts going on there, but, you know, I think that the worst that she suffered, I heard and read, it was that there was dizziness and nausea related to that, which they gave some medication to treat.

That's probably like if you had a bad experience on a roller coaster at an amusement park that spins you around. So it wouldn't be that much different to that. She was fully secured in that basket. It looked like the fire and rescue did everything right.

BALDWIN: Did everything right. Glad she's OK. Elizabeth McCormick, former Blackhawk helicopter pilot, good for you. Nice to talk to you. Thank you for everything you've done for this country. Appreciate it.

MCCORMICK: It's an honor, thank you.

BALDWIN: I want to get you now to some 2020 headlines. Senator Bernie Sanders is taking his fight against income inequality directly to one of the biggest corporations in the world. He talked today at Walmart's annual shareholder's meeting, calling on the retail giant to put hourly workers on its board and pay them a $15 minimum wage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT) DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Today, with the passage of this resolution, Walmart can strike a blow against corporate greed and a grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that exists in our country. Please do the right thing, please pass this resolution. Thank you very much.

[16:00:00] UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Senator Sanders, for your presentation and for your viewpoint. While we don't support this particular proposal, the importance of listening to and investing in our associates was reflected in Doug's remarks, and you'll hear more about it later in the meeting.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: And even before Senator Sanders spoke, Walmart defended itself on Twitter, pointing to the company's record on college education, workforce training, employing veterans and cutting carbon emissions. And not long after he spoke, Walmart's CEO did say that he thought the federal minimum wage, he admitted was, his words, lagging behind. Over to Senator Cory Booker now, taking a stand on the high price of

housing. He says there is an affordability crisis in America and has introduced a plan modeled after a bill he previously introduced in the Senate that would give a credit to renters. He says it could lift almost 10 million people out of poverty. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for being with me. "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.