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California Governor: Police Response To UCLA Clashes Unacceptable; Campuses Nationwide On Edge As Pro-Palestinian Protests Escalate; House GOP Leaders Plan To Kill Motion To Oust Speaker; Justice Department To Reclassify Marijuana, Ease Restrictions. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired May 01, 2024 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: It was Jacksonville for the vice president. Last week, of course, it was Tampa for the president here in Duval County, which is a county that the president won back in 20.

The first time that a Democratic presidential candidate was able to win this county since 1976. They are going to try to replicate that and that success all across the country. Of course, here in this county, one of the reasons for that success was turning out the black vote, something that, again, they're hoping they can do successfully in other parts of the state and other parts of the country as well -- Alex.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN HOST: Yes, certainly an issue we're going to be hearing a lot about from the vice president and from the campaign for the next few months ahead of the election. MJ Lee in Jacksonville. Thank you very much.

And we'll be right back. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:24]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We're following new developments out of California where Governor Gavin Newsom is slamming what he calls a limited and delayed campus law enforcement response at UCLA. He said that it's unacceptable and he's now demanding answers. There's video from early this morning and it shows counter demonstrators attacking a pro-Palestinian encampment. The university did bring in police as violence escalated.

MARQUARDT: And today the activist students were seen reinforcing their encampment barriers. You can see those plywood boards going up there and those bicycle barriers as well.

We're joined now by CNN law enforcement analyst Jonathan Wackrow. Jonathan, I want to ask you about that limited response that Gavin Newsom was blasting. The LAPD, they showed up on campus just this morning after these violent clashes. What do you make of the police response or the lack thereof?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, listen, we're going to have to take a look at exactly what were the requests from the university officials of law enforcement. When did they actually make the call for assistance for them to come in? That does need to be investigated because basic response, law enforcement response to any type of protest activity is first ensure that everyone's First Amendment constitutional rights are protected.

However, the safety of the general public and the protesters need to be, you know, a priority for law enforcement. And part of that is ensuring that disparate groups, opposing groups are separated so that there are not these types of clashes. You can have disagreements, you can have different points of view around topics, but what you can't have is things escalate into violence like we saw where people are getting injured.

That is the responsibility of law enforcement, but it's predicated upon awareness that something is going on. And that falls back upon university officials to call in law enforcement before things get out of hand.

KEILAR: OK, Jonathan, let me, when that obviously would be very helpful, of course, but we've heard now from multiple eyewitnesses who were there. Students, including there was there was a Jewish student who does not like the encampments does not feel particularly safe on campus, who said that as this violence started to happen, no one was stepping in. And then we also heard from a reporter with the Daily Bruin, who was among four journalists with the paper who were violently accosted by counter protesters. We also heard from her.

So in that situation where she was saying that police were just standing by and not doing anything. What do you think about hearing that from those students?

WACKROW: Well, listen, if there was acts of violence, which is a crime occurring in front of sworn law enforcement officers, then there is, you know, some negligence here, right? They needed to act to protect the public. That is the duty of law enforcement, right?

It's to maintain civil order and suppress the criminal element. Those tenants are reinforced during these times of tension when you have groups protesting. So that actually has to be investigated.

I can't defend the actions of the administration or of law enforcement because I just don't know all of the facts. However, if these are the accusations that are being made, government officials, investigators need to look at what exactly happened because that is unacceptable.

MARQUARDT: Jonathan, looking elsewhere, there was a student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who said that the campus protest was peaceful until the police showed up. We have seen heavier-handed tactics from law enforcement at Madison, at UT Austin, at Emory, for example. To what extent do you think law enforcement can escalate that tension? WACKROW: Well, I think you have to think about this. Law enforcement, the key word here is proportionality, right? It's tailoring the response, the police response, the law enforcement response to the actions in the mood of the protest crowd.

Now, if administrators, you know, call in for assistance, there's a reason why. Is there an escalation of acts of violence? Are they breaking the law? Yes, that is a police action.

Now, what we're witnessing is nonviolent direct action by these students. However, when given a lawful command to disperse or that notification that they're breaking the law by trespassing and they refuse, that moves beyond just nonviolent direct action and acts of civil disobedience.

[15:40:05]

It actually is now a criminal act. Law enforcement then has to go in and, based upon their training tactics and experience, execute their plans for mass detention.

Now, those mass arrests or trying to remove protesters is the last option. That means everything else, de-escalation techniques and strategies, have failed and this is where the administration of the school has now called in a response. So what's that?

KEILAR: Oh, sorry, we didn't say anything, Jonathan. Please continue your thought.

WACKROW: Oh yes, no, I mean, and that's where administrators have to look at, you know, how do we deescalate things before we ever get to this law enforcement action, right? Ensuring that students have the outlet and the ability to voice their opinions, express their First Amendment rights, but deescalating, you know, the tension that, you know, surrounds these protests and making sure that we have the positive outcome from all sides, absent of what we're witnessing with this police action.

KEILAR: Jonathan, great to have your perspective. Jonathan Wackrow, thank you.

WACKROW: Thank you.

KEILAR: And some of the same House Republicans who have been critical of House Speaker Mike Johnson now find themselves pushing back on a long shot effort to remove him from his job. We have that next.

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[15:45:59]

MARQUARDT: The race to save the Speaker of the House is already underway on Capitol Hill. Sources telling CNN that House Republican leaders are planning to kill a motion by Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene that is trying to oust Speaker Mike Johnson. KEILAR: Yes, Greene says she's actually planning to force a vote next week. Let's go now to CNN's Melanie Zanona, who's on Capitol Hill. Following all of this drama, how's this going to play out, Mel?

MELANIE ZANONA, CNN CAPITOL HILL REPORTER: Well, even though Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to keep his job, there is still a lot of anger towards Marjorie Taylor Greene for pushing ahead with this move. Even Donald Trump doesn't want her to follow through. I'm told that he communicated to the head of the RNC that he wanted him to relay to the House Republican Conference during a meeting yesterday that Trump wants to see the party united ahead of November.

But so far, that has not deterred Greene. She's planning to call up this motion next week. When that happens, leadership is expected to quickly tee up a vote to kill or table that motion.

And it is expected to fail, this motion to vacate the speakership, because Democrats are vowing to step in and save Mike Johnson from that threat.

But supporters of the motion to vacate say they want to still put every single member on the record even as other Republicans warn that now is not the time. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. THOMAS MASSIE (R-KY): I think the main thing that we'll get out of next week if we don't succeed is a list, a list that people can use when they go to vote in primaries and general elections, both on the Democrat side and the Republican side.

REP. MATT GAETZ (R-FL): No one is taking much exception with those substantive critiques, but in terms of the timing, I think we've got to be sensitive to the calendar and the realities.

REP. RALPH NORMAN (R-SC): Marjorie had every right to do it, but it's not the time. Who's in line to take over? Who wants the job?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZANONA: Now, it's unclear whether Marjorie Taylor Greene is going to force repeated votes on this motion to vacate. It's also unclear whether Democrats will continue to step in and try to save Johnson, so this could be a continued headache for Johnson. For his part, though, Johnson says that this is wrong for the country, wrong for the institution, wrong for the Congress, and he also says he has no plans to step down -- Brianna and Alex.

MARQUARDT: And Democrats saying they're stepping in because it's time to end the pro-Putin agenda up on Capitol Hill. Melanie Zanona up there on Capitol Hill. Thanks very much.

For more than 50 years, the government has classified marijuana in the same category as other drugs, including heroin and ecstasy. But that could soon change as the Department of Justice looks to reclassify cannabis. That's coming up. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:52:44]

KEILAR: A historic shift is coming to the federal government's drug policy. The Justice Department is moving to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug and the plan would recognize the medical uses of cannabis and also acknowledge that it does less harm than other drugs like heroin and ecstasy. But it would still not legalize it for recreational use, at least on the federal level.

MARQUARDT: Let's bring in CNN health correspondent, Jacqueline Howard. So Jacqueline, what does this mean if marijuana is reclassified in practical terms?

JACQUELINE HOWARD, CNN HEALTH REPORTER: Well, what the reclassification might look like, Alex and Brianna, we know that the DOJ is planning to reschedule marijuana from being a substance, one substance to being a schedule three substance. And here's what that looks like. Schedule three substances include drugs that are seen as having a currently accepted medical use.

These are drugs that are seen as having less potential for abuse than substances in schedules one or two. And this would put marijuana in the same schedule as drugs like prescription ketamine or Tylenol with codeine. And currently, the way marijuana is scheduled is as a schedule one substance.

Under schedule one, drugs are seen as not having current medical purposes. They're seen as having high potential for abuse. So that's the shift that we could see play out.

But I will say, Alex and Brianna, with this plan, we still need to see it go through the formal rulemaking process. We need to see this finalized, published in the federal register. But once that happens, this could take months.

But in the coming months, if we see this play out, it can mean that rescheduling marijuana from schedule one to schedule three would make it more easily accessible as a form of medicine. It would make it more easily accessible for science and research. And this could have implications for businesses in the cannabis space.

So this is an area to watch in the months to come as these discussions continue around how we see marijuana scheduled and how we view it and interact with it as a substance -- Alex and Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes, very, very interesting. Jacqueline, thank you for that report. We'll have much more news straight ahead.

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[15:59:20]

MARQUARDT: Moments ago, former President Donald Trump addressed the issue of abortion during a campaign stop in Wisconsin. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They've been pretty much right there where they want to be. Other states have gone far more liberal in that sense than they wanted to be, and some were more conservative. And they have some votes coming up now, and the people are going to activate and they're going to work in their state.

But I think it's a very important thing, and we did something that took courage, but it's something that everybody wanted to see. They wanted to bring it back, and now I say it's up to the state. They'll ask me a question about it, I say that's up to the state.

[16:00:00]

So I say to you, I think we did a very good job in that a lot of people are very happy with it, and we did the right thing for our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Trump has another stop later in Michigan. We're going to be monitoring that. We'll keep an eye on his next campaign stop to see what happens there.

He says a lot of people are happy, but we've seen the polls. A lot of people also are not, and this continues to be a problem.

MARQUARDT: He hit on all kinds of things. On the campus protests, praising the police in New York for getting those protesters out of that building. So we will continue to watch that speech of the former president.

"THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts right now.