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Sources: At Least 4 killed In GA High School Shooting; Justice Dept. Announces Actions On Russian Meddling In 2024 Election; U.S. Sanctions Top Editors On Russian State Media RT Over Alleged 2024 Election Meddling; Garland: Iran Making "Aggressive" Efforts To Influence 2024 Election; Garland Details Domestic Threats Against U.S. Election Candidates & Workers; Garland Addresses School Shooting At Georgia High School. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired September 04, 2024 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- there's also a pre-K school and elementary school, a middle school.

And, Boris, here is a live look right now at what we're seeing. This is as far up as we can go, because obviously this is a very active scene happening right here, but you can see fire trucks, their state, local, and federal resources out here. It's chaotic, as the sheriff said.

The response has been immense. It looks like they're focused. But they're obviously dealing with a lot right now, the parents, too. This is not any sort of call or text that any parent would want to receive.

I spoke with the parent right over there who told me she was at work when she got the text that there was an active shooter. Her child, who is over at the elementary school.

All the schools here preemptively put on lockdown. She dropped everything that she was doing, rushed to her car and got here. She said she trekked over a mile to get here to figure out if her child was OK.

So these parents are dealing with a lot. The community is dealing with a lot. And we're just beginning to put together what happened.

And of course, hoping to get more details here in the 4:00 Eastern hour, the sheriff says he'll make another statement.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes. He's hoping to do that. We're hoping to learn some more details.

Isabel, can you talk a little bit more -- and as you mentioned, even that parent you spoke with was an elementary school student. This is the high school, Apalachee High School. But all of those schools placed on lockdown out of an abundance of caution.

So you said you spoke to a parent, and I'm assuming the -- you tell us if you know the reunification process may not just be going on with high school students could be going on with middle school and elementary school students as well.

Where are the parents or are they just sort of standing around waiting for further information, is there a place where they can go?

ROSALES: Yes, Brianna, this is a great question. So right by my photojournalists is a street, and you have schools on either side of this stretch of grass right here.

And what I'm seeing are just parents looking in this direction, looking at the schools, but they have no answers. They're looking at their phone, seeing if they will get an update via text, via a phone call.

I saw a mother standing with her babies waiting to get more details on another child that was in a different school. But they don't know. So they're trying to keep their patience and wait for 40s to tell them what to do next.

All that we know from the sheriff, Judd Smith, is that that reunification process has started. He also mentioned about the importance of keeping student privacy.

So I don't know if that means that they'll be moving the students, maybe, away from all of these cameras. Understandably, there's a lot of cameras and media here in the field. But we have not seen any student exiting the school so far.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Isabel, please standby.

We do want to share with you a moment that helicopter cam picked up a short while ago. This is above -- shooting above the football field at Apalachee High School. And you see what appears to be students gathered there for a prayer circle.

They're joining a sad group of students from across this country, thousands now that have endured shootings in school. This, coming just one month after classes started for the school year.

I do also want to point out we are expecting to hear from the attorney general, Merrick Garland, shortly. He was set to give a press conference on Russia's sustained efforts to influence the 2024 election.

But we are told that he is going to mention this shooting at Apalachee High School in his remarks.

I want to go to CNN's Josh Campbell in the meantime.

Josh, as we're looking at these images of the students gathered at the school, how complicated is it for law enforcement to go through a scene like this with so many students and so many potential pieces of evidence scattered across a huge area?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, those images that we just saw there from that football field, I mean, that is simply heartbreaking. And you think about the number of schools in this country, students, faculty, parents that have had to go through similar incidents like this.

Obviously, when you have a shooting, our concern is obviously with the victims, those who we're killed, those who are physically injured. But think about the psychological wounds as well. Many of those lasting a lifetime.

So this truly is an epidemic, and it is just so, so broad to see that for yourself, students that are gathering after this tragedy.

As far as the investigation, one thing that we're waiting to hear, in addition to the number of victims, is the actual status of the shooter.

Law enforcement is saying that he is, quote, "in custody." But as we've seen in other incidents, that doesn't necessarily mean that the person was taken alive.

We've seen these incidents get resolved in a number of ways. Sometimes there's an exchange of gunfire. The shooter was killed by police. Sometimes they take their own life. Sometimes they are taken into custody safely without incident.

The reason why that's obviously important is because, if he's alive, authorities can interview him, and if he or she is willing to actually provide information, that will help try to get to that motive.

[13:35:03]

But if the shooter has been killed in this exchange and, obviously, he's not able to be interviewed, that makes the work of law enforcement that much more difficult to work behind the scenes, trying to identify anyone who was in this person's orbit who might've known the circumstances of this person's life was just telegraphed in any way.

Sadly, we've seen in incidents, people do know things in advance, they just don't say so.

KEILAR: Yes, and sometimes they don't understand always what they are seeing and that it is a sign --

CAMPBELL: Yes.

KEILAR: -- of something so serious to come.

Josh, thank you so much. Standby for us.

We'll have much more on this breaking news out of Georgia. At least four dead, dozens injured. The number, at this point, according to sources that our John Miller is speaking to, 30 injured. Not entirely clear that all of those are related to the shooting, that those are gunshot injuries.

So we are still waiting for a lot of details to come in. But this is what we're monitoring here, a shooting at a high school northeast of Atlanta. Stay with CNN for the latest.

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SANCHEZ: Breaking news into CNN. A deadly high school shooting in Georgia, in Winder, Georgia, just northeast of Atlanta.

We want to go straight to Attorney General Merrick Garland, who is making remarks on this. Let's listen.

[13:38:39]

MERRICK GARLAND, ATTORNEY GENERAL: -- for doing their civic duty. And we did so because threats to election workers constitute threats to our democracy itself.

In just a few minutes, the task force here will meet to discuss its continuing work in advance of the upcoming election.

But before we begin, I want to address the tragic shooting that occurred this morning at a high school in Winder, Georgia. We are still gathering information but FBI and ATF are on the scene, working with state, local and federal partners.

[13:39:12]

I'm devastated for the families who have been affected by this terrible tragedy. The Justice Department stands ready to provide any resources or supplies --

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[13:40:22]

GARLAND: -- engages in illegal activities or seeks to influence public discourse.

The American people were entitled to known when a foreign power is attempting to exploit our country's free exchange of ideas in order to send around its own propaganda.

The company never disclosed to the -- I'm sorry. And that is what we alleged happened in this case.

In the wake of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, RT, which was then known as "Russia Today," was dropped by its American distributors. The company ceased its formal operations in the United States. And the European Union, the U.K. and Canada banned RT's broadcasting.

But as RT itself has boasted, the government of Russia continued to use RT to direct disinformation and propaganda. In the wake of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, RT's editor in chief said the company had built, quote, "An entire empire of covert projects designed to shape public opinion in Western audiences." We alleged that, as part of that effort, RT and its employees,

including the defendants, implemented a nearly $10 million scheme to fund and direct a Tennessee-based company to publish and disseminate content deemed favorable to the Russian government.

To implement this scheme, the defendants directed that company to contract with U.S.-based social media influencers to share this content on their platforms.

The subject matter and content of many of the videos published by the company were often consistent with Russia's interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition to core Russian interests, particularly its ongoing war in Ukraine.

The company never disclosed to the influencers or to their millions of followers its ties to RT and the Russian government. Instead, the defendants and the company claimed that the company was sponsored by a private investor, but that private investor was a fictitious persona.

The charges unsealed this morning do not represent the end of the investigation. It remains active and ongoing.

In a separate enforcement action, the Justice Department is seizing 32 Internet domains that the Russian government and the Russian-sponsored actors have used to engage in a covert campaign to interfere and influence the outcome of our country's elections.

As alleged in our court filings, President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, including Sergey Krinakoff (ph), directed Russian public relations companies to promote disinformation and state-sponsored narratives as part of a program to influence the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

An internal planning document created by the Kremlin states that has a goal of the campaign is securing Russia's preferred outcome in the election.

The online infrastructure used by the Russian public relations company, known as the Social Design Agency, or SDA, and related actors, included what are sometimes referred to as cybersquatted domains.

These Web sites we're designed to appear to American readers as if they we're major U.S. news sites, like "The Washington Post" or FOX News. But, in fact, they were fake sites.

They were filled with Russian government propaganda that had been created by the Kremlin to reduce international support for Ukraine, bolster pro-Russian policies and interests, and influence voters in the United States and in other countries.

Internal documents of the Kremlin describe the content as, quote, "bogus stories disguised as newsworthy events," closed quote. This malign influence campaign has been referred to as Doppelganger.

The Russian public relations companies drove viewers to these Web sites by deploying influencers and paid social media advertisements. They also created fake social media profiles, posing as U.S. citizens, posted comments on social media platforms with links to the sites.

[13:45:00]

According to SDAs records, it actively sought to, quote, "eliminate the possibility of detection of the Russian footprint."

Both of the schemes I've just discussed make clear the ends to which the Russian government, including at its highest levels, is willing to go to undermine our democratic process.

But the enforcement actions I have discussed also make clear that the Justice Department will aggressively counter such efforts. And the same is true of the entire United States government.

Today, our colleagues at the State and Treasury Departments are announcing parallel actions in both of these matters.

Unfortunately, we know that Russia is not the only foreign power seeking to interfere in our elections. As the U.S. intelligence community notice two weeks ago, we have observed increasingly aggressive Iranian activity during this election cycle.

That includes recently reported activities by Iran to compromise former President Trump's campaign and to avoid an election outcome that it regards as against its interests.

Those recently reported Iranian activities also include efforts to obtain access to individuals who themselves have access to the presidential campaigns of both political parties.

The Justice Department's message is clear: We have no tolerance for attempts by authoritarian regimes to exploit our demographic -- our democratic system of government.

We will be relentlessly aggressive in countering and disrupting attempts by Russia and Iran as well as China or any other foreign malign actor to interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy.

Now I will turn back to the topic of today's meeting. Just as we are dedicated to combating foreign threats to our elections, we are equally dedicated to confront domestic threats against the public servants who administer our elections.

Since the 2020 election, we have seen an unprecedented spike in threats against a public servants who do administer our elections. Election officials, workers and volunteers and communities across the country have been targeted with heinous acts and threats of violence.

The following are a few examples of successful enforcement action that the Justice Department has taken over the past year.

In New Mexico, county commissioners and other elected officials were targeted with a series of shootings that the department has alleged in court papers were organized by an unsuccessful candidate for the state legislature, who claimed that the election had been, quote, "rigged" against him.

At least three of the shootings occurred while the intended victims or their children or their family members were at home.

In February, two shooters who allegedly were recruited by the candidate pled guilty to carrying out the attacks. In March, the candidate himself was charged in the 13-count superseding indictment.

In Arizona, a man sent a state election official a bomb threat warning that if she did not resign within two days, quote, "The explosive device impacted in her personal space would be detonated."

In March, the man was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for making that threat.

In Maricopa County, Arizona, an elections officials, a county attorney and their families were threatened by a defendant who called for, quote, "a mass shooting of poll workers and election officials" in precincts he believed had, quote, "suspect results."

His revolting comments included, quote, "Dead children, burn into the memories of people."

The county attorney who had been targeted later reported that he, his wife and four children had been assigned round-the-clock protection and issued body armor in response to the threat.

And the elections official who was targeted said in a victim impact statement that, quote, "While I am the person directly threatened by this case, the impact of such threats is felt by a much larger community.

"The thousands of committed election workers who operate our democratic processes. When threats are made against any election worker, the impact reverberates throughout the entire community."

That defendant was sentenced to three and a half years in prison.

In recent months, our enforcement actions have continued. In July, we secured the guilty plea of an Alabama man who repeatedly threatened to kill Maricopa County election workers and officials.

In one particularly chilling message, he said, quote, "You better not come in my church, my business, or send your kids to my school. You are stupid if you think you are safe."

[13:50:07]

His sentencing is scheduled for next month.

Also in July, the Justice Department secured a 14-months sentence for a man who sent a death threat to a Michigan election worker. In a voicemail, he said, quote, "Ten million-plus patriots will surround you when you least expect it." And he added, "We well kill you." Less than two weeks ago, we charged and arrested a Colorado man for

allegedly threatening the lives of election officials, judges and law enforcement officials in both Colorado and Arizona.

As I have said before and I will reiterate today, these cases are a warning. If you threaten to harm or kill an election worker or official or volunteer, the Justice Department will find you and we will hold you accountable.

In a democracy, people vote and argue and debate, often loudly, in order to achieve the policy outcomes they desire. And the Justice Department will continue to relentlessly protect the rights of all Americans to peacefully express their opinions, beliefs and ideas.

But the promise of our democracy is that people will not employ violence to achieve their preferred outcomes. The public servants who administer our elections must be able to do their jobs without fearing for their lives.

That is why this task force has been marshaling the full resources of the Justice Department to aggressively investigate and prosecute threats targeting election workers, officials and volunteers.

And we will continue to do so in the months ahead when the taskforce will build on the partnerships with state and local election officials and law enforcement officials tasked with protecting them.

Since March, the task force has participated in more than 25 convenings, engaging -- engagements, trainings, tabletop exercises, including both with our law enforcement partners and with our partners in the election community nationwide.

Over the next several weeks, task force representatives will be on the ground meeting with election workers. And in early November, both in advance of and after Election Day, the FBI will be hosting federal partners at its headquarters command center to address events, issues and potential crimes related to the elections in real time.

Election officials and administrators do not need to navigate this threat environment alone. We are here to support them and to make sure they can safely carry out their critical work.

Protecting our democracy and protecting our elections was a founding purpose when the Justice Department was established in 1870. The department answered that charge then and we will answer that charge today as we confront those who would use violence or threats of violence to attack those who administer our elections.

Now I'd like to ask the deputy attorney general to make some remarks.

LISA MONACO, DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL: Thank you very much, Mr. Attorney General.

And good afternoon, everyone.

I also want to start by expressing my sympathies to the families who have been impacted --

SANCHEZ: We've just been listening to Attorney General Merrick Garland from the Justice Department announcing some major news.

I do want to point out, before getting into efforts by federal agencies to protect the 2024 election, he did mention the shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia, saying that he is devastated for the families affected and then offering assistance in the investigation. Confirming that the FBI and the ATF are on the scene.

We're, of course, working to get you the details on that as they come into our NEWSROOM.

But just to point out what the attorney general was laying out, this is a very broad effort by the United States to block the Kremlin in its repeated efforts to interfere in U.S. elections.

Today, the government announcing sanctions on 10 people and two entities affiliated with the Russian media company, RT, as well as the Russian hacktivist group, or Russian nonprofit and people in Vladimir Putin's inner circle.

Here, the attorney general squarely pointed the finger at Vladimir Putin for directing efforts to sow this information in the United States, saying that deceptive tactics were used to influence voters in the U.S.

And also to discourage the U.S. from funding Ukraine and its ongoing war against the Russian invasion. Obviously, major news there.

[13:55:05]

And then he announced a slate of enforcement actions against folks who tried to intimidate and target election workers in the United States.

KEILAR: That's right. He's painting a picture of sort of broad efforts. I'm sure some of them disconnected regionally, obviously, but just for election workers, people who this is just what -- the work they do.

Very important work they do to secure elections and to make sure that there running -- they have become threatened very much, their families have been threatened, and some of them with bomb threats, some of them have been issued body armor, he said at one point.

So painting a picture of just how dangerous that work can be, which certainly should not be dangerous.

He also mentioned that Iran has been trying to interfere. We've been talking a lot about that story as well.

We're going to be bringing you some more information now as parents are reuniting with students. Some students are talking to cameras about what happened at Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia. We'll bring you that right after our break.

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