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The Lead with Jake Tapper

1 Officer Killed, 1 Wounded, Attacker Dead at U.S. Capitol; CNN & Amnesty International Investigate Shocking Video of Executions By Ethiopian Soldiers. Aired 4:30-5p ET

Aired April 02, 2021 - 16:30   ET

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

[16:30:07]

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Right.

REDDIT HUDSON, FORMER ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI POLICE OFFICER: I heard that discussed earlier on the air, and that's a reality. Some people do attempt to end their lives by provoking police officers to kill them.

TAPPER: Right.

HUDSON: It's rare. It's unusual, but it's not out of the question.

TAPPER: Suicide by cop as it's referred to.

CNN's Lauren Fox is on Capitol Hill.

And, Lauren, this is -- this is the second time since January 6th that the speaker of the House has asked for the flags at the Capitol to be place at half-staff, to be lowered to half-staff to honor a fallen Capitol police officer. She's now also reacting to this incident with her -- with her word. Tell us more.

LAUREN FOX, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, that's right. The House speaker giving out this statement just a few minutes ago, and I want to read it. It is really offering thoughts, prayers and acknowledgement of what has occurred today at the U.S. Capitol.

She says, quote: Today, America's heart has been broken by the tragic and heroic death of one of our own Capitol police heroes, Officer William Evans. He is a martyr for our democracy. She goes on to say in this statement that Congress is prepared and ready to begin an investigation into what she calls a heinous attack, and I think that that is really important here because, you know, there's what occurred today and then there's the repercussions for what the Capitol is going to have to do to try to understand the event. But also, you know, make sure that it can't happen again in the future, Jake.

And I think that that is really going to be key here because, you know, just a couple of weeks ago there was fence on the outside perimeter of the U.S. Capitol. You could not drive up and down Constitution. This event today happened at the corner of Constitution and Delaware at the north front of the U.S. Capitol.

So, obviously, there's going to be a question of what security needs to continue up here, and I think what that what the speaker is saying here is not only is she grateful for the U.S. Capitol police force and this Officer William Evans in particular who gave his life today, but she's arguing that Congress has to stand ready to investigate what happened, and that could mean taking actions in the future to make sure that it can't happen again, Jake.

But, obviously, the Capitol complex, the community up here just overwhelmed by the fact that this happened just a few months ago and now here we are again today on this Good Friday, a holiday when lawmakers are on recess.

TAPPER: That's right. It's -- it's Good Friday.

And, Lauren, while I have you. Let me just ask you, because I know working in that building, working on Capitol Hill, I remember I was a congressional reporter and I was there on September 12th, the day after 9/11, and it was traumatic and scary and all of that and the Capitol hadn't been attacked at that point though later it was with anthrax.

What is it like working there, whether your own personal experience, or that of people that you work with and around you, ranging from people of law enforcement, to other journalists? It was very scary for people on January 6th. People died that day.

There's been an attempt to whitewash the horrors of January 6th. But people were killed. Police officers were severely wounded by this mob, and -- and it was only just a few months ago, not even three full months ago, and now, you have another attack which must also bring back some of the horrible fears and memories of that day.

FOX: Yeah, Jake, you know, I'll tell you. I was in the Dirksen Office Building trying to renew my congressional ID and I was about to go back to my office in the U.S. Capitol building and I was standing by this train that runs through the building underground waiting for it to come when, all of a sudden, an announcement came over the loudspeaker that said that there had been an event outside and that, you know, the Capitol was on lockdown, that we weren't to enter or exit the building.

And the visceral feeling I had, I mean, I was here on January 6th. It was the exact same. My heart dropped. I mean, the feeling that you have up here on Capitol Hill, I was just walking into the building today. My husband dropped me off in a corner basically right here where this barrier is this morning.

And I -- I just was feeling really hopeful about the fact that for the first time in a long time that it felt like things were starting to get back to normal up here. It will never be the same after January 6th, but there was just really a sense that I was starting my day. The cherry blossoms are all blooming. It's such a beautiful time to be in Washington. It's Easter weekend for those who celebrate that holiday.

And, you know, I was just feeling like okay, like things are starting to move on.

[16:35:02]

And that announcement just a couple of hours ago, I mean, that feeling, it was just like I was back standing in the basement of the Capitol on January 6th when I what is being told that day, I couldn't get back to my office in the U.S. Capitol.

So, a lot of parallels, Jake, and I know from talking to sources, both staff and members that I've been talking to this afternoon, many people felt the exact same way about what they were feeling today, even members who weren't at the Capitol but watching from home or back in their districts -- Jake.

TAPPER: Yeah, how traumatizing without question and, of course, our thoughts are with the families and friends and colleagues of Capitol Officer Billy Evans who was killed today in this incident.

We're going to squeeze in a quick break. We're going to come back with some more breaking news. One officer, Officer Billy Evans, killed at the U.S. Capitol.

Stay with us. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:40:00]

TAPPER: Welcome back.

We're following breaking and tragic news. One police officer, Officer Billy Evans, has been killed at the U.S. Capitol. He was an 18-year veteran of the Capitol police and one of our producers on Capitol Hill, Kristin Wilson (ph), just tweeted his photo, and she obviously knew him. She said Billy was the kindest person.

A suspect rammed his car into two officers, including Evans and lunged at them with a knife. That suspect is also dead. This happened justly after 1:00 p.m. East Coast time.

Let's bring in CNN's Whitney Wild. She's near the scene.

Explain how this happened for our viewers who are just tuning in.

WHITNEY WILD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we know is that this car again rammed into officers who were at this barricade. You know, when you come to Capitol Hill, you realize in some moments that the targets are soft because these officers are standing on the street where they can interact with pedestrians and in this case tragically interact with a motorist.

The breaking news that we have at this moment, Jake, is that sources are telling me my colleague Evan Perez and my other colleague Brynn Gingras that the suspect in this case is Noah Green. We're still trying to learn more details about this person, why he would do such a horrific act, where he's from and how old he is.

All those details we're trying to nail down at this moment. But what we know is tragically, Officers Billy Evans lost his life. The suspect is also dead in this case.

One of the questions that we had was what was -- what was the purpose? What was the motive? So, earlier today, we heard from both U.S. Capitol Police Chief Yogananda Pittman, as well as D.C. Police chief here, Robert Contee.

At this moment, they don't believe that this person had a terrorist motive. They don't believe that this person was targeting a member of Congress. We don't believe that there is an ongoing threat.

And then, finally, Jake, they don't believe that this person was known to law enforcement prior to this incident. That is an important piece of information because so much of the conversation here security-wise has surrounded how to get better at intelligence, how to stop threats.

And the context here as well, Jake, is that Capitol police has tried to make meaningful changes. They have changed their intelligence flow here on Capitol Hill. They have tried to beef up security with a National Guard. They just took down the outer perimeter fence. They finally feel like they had a handle on what was going on and yet something like this happens, and yet, these officers continue to be under attack.

Since January, this department has lost three officers. As I said, you know, earlier in the hour, I can't stress this enough. That is so heartbreaking for any department to lose three at once. That's something, Jake, some departments don't see over a several year span and here they are back in this familiar place that is all so tragic -- Jake.

TAPPER: Officer Brian Sicknick who died shortly after the insurrection. There was another officer who died by suicide in the days after the insurrection traumatized by the event we're told.

And now, of course, Officer Billy Evans who our CNN Capitol Hill producer Kristin Wilson says was a kind person. We'll talk to her in a second if we can get her on the phone. There's a picture of Officer Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force.

I want to spring our law enforcement panel back and if we can put up the graphic of the Capitol Hill grounds at the view, the bird's eye view, I just want to explain to people. There it is. There's the U.S. Capitol and the -- on the left side of your screen, that's the back. That's where the inauguration takes place of the Capitol.

On the right side, that's the front where people -- people drive in on those roads, and then you see where it says deadly incident, that's basically Constitution Avenue is on the very top of the screen. That's a bunch of Senate office buildings line Constitution Avenue. Anybody can drive down Constitution avenue.

You can't turn -- when you turn into where the deadly incident is, there is a police kiosk and a barricade and, you know, years ago the barricades were almost never up, but now they are regularly up. And apparently, this individual, the suspect who we have identified rammed, you know, turned into that part of the Capitol grounds, the Senate side of the Capitol. The top part of the screen is the Senate side and the bottom is the House side and that's where the incident took place.

And, Juliette Kayyem, it was just days, weeks ago that members of Congress were complaining about all of the fencing surrounding the Capitol that had been put up there after January 6th, and, look, I understand it. Nobody wants to feel like they are living in the Green Zone in Baghdad, in a war zone.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Right.

TAPPER: And this is the people's house. People are supposed to be able to walk in and walk out. Talk to their member of Congress, et cetera. I get the -- the idea, but this is exactly the kind of thing that law enforcement was worried about happening.

[16:45:00]

KAYYEM: Exactly. It's too early to make a judgment call about what the security assessment should be around the Capitol right now. So, lots of people, some of them with political motives are saying bring everything down and others are saying put more up. You know, basically, this is going to take just an honest accounting of what the threats are and where we need people.

So, the question I do have is what was the security posture today that was likely in response to January 6th? In other words, were there more police officers there because we did -- what happened today was thwarting something that could have been worse, the car gets in, rams other pedestrians even if they don't get a Congress person.

So was there more security because of January 6th and do we want to keep that up? One thing I want to say about the slain officer. He was from an Emergency Management Division and what that means is he generally was not patrol, nor intelligence. So it may mean that they were moving lots of people, lots of Capitol police to try to protect the perimeter simply in response to maybe not a specific threat but an intelligence threat.

So, these are the kinds of questions that we cannot answer at this movement, but certainly cannot be answered by congressmen who are making assessment about the security should look like. This has be to a thorough objective law enforcement review.

TAPPER: I want to bring in CNN Capitol Hill producer Kristin Wilson who I've known for years.

Kristen, you and I would interact before I was at CNN when I worked on Capitol Hill, and you really get to know the Capitol Hill police officers that you see day in, day out. Some are friendly, some less so. You went on Twitter and you say that Officer Billy Evans, who was killed today, you say he was the kindest person.

Tell us whatever you know, even if it's superficial niceties, we'd like to here about this man. KRISTIN WILSON, CNN PRODUCER (via telephone): Well, I mean, as you

said, Jake, anybody who works at the Capitol, sort of gets -- you know, it's a tiny family up here. We all see each other, we see the same people every day. You know, if you were working in, especially on the Senate side, you see him. He's sometimes he's inside, sometimes he's outside, always had, you know, either kind word or good morning or he would give you some sort of grace, which is what I think he's always really enjoyed doing to me and some of us he sees all time.

Why are you here so late, why are you coming in so early, don't you have a family, don't you have somewhere to go? Just giving us trouble, you know, terrible jokes, bad dad jokes, they're like my (INAUDIBLE). Just really pleasant guy.

I mean there was one day we were outside. It was miserably cold and we were standing out there, and, you know, he's like, your kind of weather. And I'm like it's absolutely not my kind of weather. Just had a good time with you.

I don't know. Never an unkind word. Just a nice kind word for everybody, whether it was a staffer walking in or some intern, or senator, nice person, this kind person. It's -- it hurts. They all hurt but this one hurts.

TAPPER: Yeah, and it's just, know, it's a tough -- it's a tough business, politics and journalism and law enforcement, not the same thing, obviously law enforcement is tougher, but the -- but they are serious businesses, and to have somebody who is trying to brighten the day of, you know, somebody that they are charged with protecting, I mean, that's special and there are a bunch of Capitol officers that are like that, I should say.

There are a bunch of them who work really hard and are really kind and pleasant to be around. And it's a real loss, and it's been really rough for that family, the Capitol Hill family, but especially the Capitol police family this year because of the loss of three officers, Officer Sicknick killed in the line of duty, January 6th, the officer who died by suicide shortly thereafter and now, Officer Billy Evans.

WILSON: Yeah, and, I mean, these case -- they are taking it hard. I've talked to a lot of Capitol police today and these guys are friends and I see them all the time and they just look wounded and haunted. It's just like one more that they have to bear.

This was -- I think -- I think Lauren Fox was taking earlier that there was starting to feel like a sense of hope and things are getting back a little bit to normal, and the fencing was coming down. This is just a hit that are just going to hurt the whole family, Capitol police family and everybody up here. It's just a tough one.

TAPPER: All right. Well, Kristin, thank you so much for calling in and sharing your experiences with Officer Billy Evans. He sounds like a special guy, and to people who knew him better, his friends and family, obviously, we would love to honor him on CNN. So, reach out to us, let us know when a good time to talk would be, because he deserves to be remembered. His name needs to be made famous, not his assailant. We're going to squeeze in another quick break. We'll have the latest

on the investigation, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:53:09]

TAPPER: We're going to continue to monitor the breaking tragic news out of Washington. Capitol Police Officer Billy Evans killed in the line of duty after a suspect rammed his car into his and another officer outside the Capitol, lunging at them with a knife. We're going to keep an eye on that.

But we have to tell you about this shocking story and bring this shocking story from the world lead to you right now. The Ethiopian government is denying that it its soldiers are responsible for war crimes committed in their own country but new video obtained by CNN will make that hard to maintain.

The video is from Ethiopia's Tigray region, where a civil war is raging, and what a whistleblower captured goes way beyond military conflict. The video shows Ethiopian soldiers executing unarmed young men, and CNN's Nima Elbagir and team collaborated with Amnesty International to investigate this video. A warning: what we're about to play is graphic and gruesome but it's also far too atrocious to ignore.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're watching footage filmed by a soldier turned whistleblower, now in hiding. This video was obtained by a pro-Tigray media organization based in the U.S.

The video you're watching will show these Ethiopian soldiers execute these men -- a war crime.

The Ethiopian government has waged war against Tigray's ousted regional leaders for the last five months with the help of neighboring Eritrea. Ethiopia has implied the atrocities in Tigray are mainly Eritrea's doing.

That's not true, and here's why.

We know these are Ethiopian soldiers because of the Ethiopian flag on their shoulders here and here. Examining details of the stitching, color, and camouflage patterns, military experts confirmed to us that the uniforms match those of the Ethiopian army.

[16:55:04]

In addition, the soldiers are speaking Amharic, the official language of the Ethiopian federal army, distinct from the local language.

We also know the location by analyzing the video and geolocating the footage. We know it's in central Tigray by the mountain range and terrain just south of the city of Aksum.

This model, developed by Amnesty International then verifies that location through spatial analysis. You can see the mountain range matches the footage.

The captives were moved from where you see them sitting to here, 1.7 kilometers away. We know that because the video is tracked and mapped, and key geographical features were matched on the basis of a high- resolution satellite image of the site.

By pinpointing the location, CNN was able to speak to local villagers who confirmed their family members were dragged away by Ethiopian soldiers and have not been seen since. Some believe their loved ones are in this video.

You can hear soldiers asking the whistleblower to come closer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): Why don't you get close and film the execution of these?

ELBAGIR: The wording here is important. Execution. This is premeditated. They've rounded up these men to kill them.

We must warn you. What you are about to see is horrifying.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Walk them down there. Shoot him in the back of his head.

ELBAGIR: Shoot them in the head, he says. And they do.

Look at the left of your screen. The man shoots.

(GUNFIRE)

ELBAGIR: We paused the video just before his victim falls to the ground. And, again, another soldier raises his weapon towards the man in the white scarf. The video cuts out. But the next scene tells you what happened to him, to all of them. The soldiers continue to shoot, making sure that there are no survivors.

What you are witnessing is an extrajudicial execution.

We counted at least 34 young men at the beginning of this video. All are now presumed dead, their bodies casually flung over the ridge. No attempt to hide what has been done here. No apparent fear of consequences.

Their actions are so appalling, we could only show individual frames from the video. But it doesn't stop here. You can hear someone saying, check that one. That one is not dead. Kill him or I will come.

The same soldier moves further along the ridge and shoots from close range as other soldiers watch on.

Much of the region remains under a Ethiopian government blackout, but CNN and Amnesty International were able to speak to local villages and family members, who told us that at least 39 men remain missing from the village. One man was able to watch the video and confirmed to us that his brother is among the dead depictured here.

Family members continue to search for their loved ones but have been unable to reach this remote area. Their wish to respectfully bury their dead will go unheeded.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ELBAGIR (on camera): And, Jake, the Ethiopian government has now gotten in touch with us with this statement dismissing our claims, saying that the Ethiopian government has indicated its open will for independent investigations to be carried out in the Tigray region adding social media posts and claims cannot be put forward as evidence regardless of whether western media reports them -- Jake,

All right. Another incredibly report from Nima Elbagir. Thank you so much. Really appreciate it and your excellent reporting.

Be sure to tune in this Sunday for "STATE OF THE UNION." My guest includes Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves, a Republican, and Congresswoman Ilhan Omar from Minnesota where that trial is going on. That's at 9:00 a.m. and Noon Eastern.

And also you can follow me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @JakeTapper. You can tweet the show @TheLeadCNN.

Our coverage on CNN continues right now Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM." I will see you Sunday morning.

(MUSIC)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in "THE SITUATION ROOM".

We're following breaking news.

Another deadly assault as the U.S. Capitol, just some three months after the January 6th insurrection. One Capitol police officer is dead and another wounded after an attacker rammed them with his vehicle.