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Don Lemon Tonight

Graphic Body Cam Videos Of George Floyd's Arrest Played In Court; Chauvin Defends Actions In Video Played In Court; Defense Says Crowd Distracted Officers; President Biden Pitches Massive $2.2 Trillion Infrastructure Plan; Interview With Rep. James Clyburn (D- SC); Black Business Executives Call On Corporate America To Fight Back Against Restrictive Voting Laws; Pfizer: Vaccine 100 Percent Effective In Children Aged 12 To 15; Two Capitol Police Officers Charge Trump Over Insurrection. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired March 31, 2021 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

DON LEMON, CNN HOST (on camera): And In the battle against COVID-19, Pfizer reporting clinical trials showing that its vaccine is 100 percent effective in adolescents 12 to 15 years old.

Right now, no COVID vaccine is authorized for Americans under 16. But I want to get right to that dramatic testimony today in the trial of Derek Chauvin. CNN's Sara Sidner reports now from Minneapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): 61-year-old eyewitness Charles McMillian took the stand, breaking down in sobs after prosecutors played this body camera video of George Floyd interacting with police.

GEORGE FLOYD, DIED OF POLICE VIOLENCE: I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Not moving. Mama. Mama.

CHARLES MCMILLIAN, SAW GEORGE FLOYD BEING DETAINED: I don't have a mama either. I understand him.

SIDNER: McMillian is the man you hear on the video begging for to give into police before Floyd is taken to the ground.

MCMILLIAN: (Inaudible), an officer myself and I understand once you get in the cop, you can't win. You're done.

SIDNER: McMillian told the jury he regularly walks his neighborhood. In fact he bumped into Officer Derek Chauvin there five days before Floyd's arrest.

MCMILLIAN: Five days ago, I told you, (inaudible) say the next person going to make that mistake. But today I got to looked at you as a maggot.

SIDNER: On this day in court the jury also saw George Floyd alive, watching not seen before surveillance video from inside the cup food store. 19 year-old former cashier Christopher Martin took the stand to explain what was going on leading up to police arriving.

UNKNOWN: Do you recall what it was that you saw?

UNKNOWN: He (inaudible) a pack of cigarette. He seemed very friendly. Approachable. He is talkative, he seem to be just behaving average in a normal day, just living his life.

SIDNER: A scene from everyday life, but the jury knows they are watching a dead man walking. In less than an hour, Floyd will be struggling for his life under then Officer Derek Chauvin's knee, Martin says Floyd, seemed high.

UNKNOWN: When I asked him if he played baseball, he went on to respond to that, but it kind of took him a little long. So it would appear that he was high.

SIDNER: And paid for cigarettes with an odd looking $20 bill.

UNKNOWN: I assume that it was fake.

SIDNER: He testified the store policy is if a cashier accepts counterfeit money, it comes out of their paycheck.

UNKNOWN: I took it anyways, and I was planning to just put it on my tab, until I second-guess myself and as you can see in the video I kept examining it. And then I eventually told my manager.

SIDNER: The manager of the store asked another employee to call police on Floyd, after the teenage employees confronted Floyd at his car twice. When police eventually detained Floyd, Martin heard a commotion and went outside.

UNKNOWN: George was motionless, limp and Chauvin seemed very, he was in a resting state.

UNKNOWN: What was going to your mind that time period?

UNKNOWN: Disbelief. And guilt.

UNKNOWN: Why guilt?

UNKNOWN: If I would've just not taken the bill, this could have been avoided.

SIDNER: And for the first time, we are Chauvin explaining on his body camera, why he restrain Floyd.

DEREK CHAUVIN, FORMER POLICE OFFICER KNOWN FOR HIS INVOLVEMENT IN THE KILLING OF GEORGE FLOYD IN MINNEAPOLIS: I'm trying to control this guy because he's a sizeable guy, it looks like he's probably on something.

SIDNER: The jury then saw the excruciating close video from several angles, all of it from officer's body cameras.

FLOYD: Mama, I love you.

SIDNER: It take several minutes before you hear an officer just one question Chauvin's tactics.

UNKNOWN: Should we roll him on his side?

CHAUVIN: No (inaudible).

UNKNOWN: I just worry about the excited delirium or whatever.

UNKNOWN: That's why we have an ambulance coming.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (on camera): Boy oh boy, Sara, good evening to you. These videos are so disturbing and difficult to watch, what was the reaction in the courtroom?

SIDNER (on camera): There was visceral reaction by one juror, a juror in her 50s. We know that she's a white woman who said that she was in health care, a non-profit executive and a single mom. She was feeling shaky, she said and having trouble sleeping. As she has been listening to the testimony over the last few days, and you can really understand why.

And Don, I want to mention this particularly to you, the man who spoke from his heart, with so much passion and so much sorrow, and so much honesty. Charles McMillian that you saw there talking about just how this affected him.

[23:05:08]

LEMON: Right.

SIDNER: We all know a guy like this, don't we? In the neighborhood, the guy that goes and gives you good advice because he's an elder who has been through some stuff. A guy that breaks up the fights among the young people, who's always getting into people's business, the one that says hey, Mrs. So and so. You know what, your boys down there is about to get in trouble, you should go get him.

This is a person, and this is significant because this is a person that you can identify with. Any neighborhood, any creed color or background. You know this guy, and he took the stand with such honesty. He took the stand actually in the very beginning, actually saying look I was just being nosy. It was kind of funny, and very colloquial and he was just being himself.

And then when he breaks down, a grown man 61 years old. When he breaks down sobbing and talks about his mother, and talks about George Floyd screaming for his mom. It was a punch in the gut, to any human being watching this trial. The most bar none, extremely emotional and powerful testimony that we have yet heard yet in this trial, against former officer Derek Chauvin and the killing of George Floyd, Don.

LEMON: And what it showed Sara, is that he wasn't threatened by George Floyd on what was going on. It was his neighborhood, right? These are people that he knew, and so they weren't foreign to him. These were the neighbors that he knew, he knows those stories. And we should all get to know the stories of people like that, so that we can see their humanity. And that's what he saw in his neighbors.

I'm glad you pointed that out, Sara. Thank you and I'll be watching tomorrow of your reporting and what's going on in the courtroom, thanks so much, Sara Sidner in Minneapolis there for us.

SIDNER: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: I want to bring in now former federal prosecutor, Laura Coates and vice president of the Minneapolis city council Andrea Jenkins. Her district includes a street were George Floyd was killed last year, thank you both for joining us. Councilwoman you joined us when this was all going on that site, and I appreciate you joining us again.

You know, this is your community, today was another incredibly emotional day in court. The body camera footage hard to watch, hearing George Floyd calling for his mother. We saw your constituents on television crying, others, blaming themselves for not doing more. How has this trial weighing on them, on the folks who are so close to it?

ANDREA JENKINS, VICE PRESIDENT MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL (on camera): Well, you know I've seen Charles walking around in the neighborhood, you know and the correspondence was correct. We all know somebody like Charles, this community, this neighborhood is breaking my heart. You know, watching the video like everybody else over the last three days. But to see my constituents, on the stage, in so much pain, in dealing with so much trauma. It just really breaks my heart.

I want to send my condolences out to them, but also just thank them for their courage and the strength that they're exhibiting to be able to be up on that stand, and be vulnerable and share their truth. So it's really bittersweet. But they are doing the right thing.

LEMON: Laura, I want to bring you in, because listen, this is where you, you know, major bones in the courtroom, right? Being a formal federal prosecutor and an attorney, it's striking to hear these witnesses so upset, so emotional, so overcome with guilt for not being able to do more to save George Floyd, just feet away from a man who had the power to do something and didn't, right? What kind of impact would that have on a jury? Sorry?

LAURA COATES, CNN INTERNATIONAL LEGAL ANALYST (on camera): No, it's an extraordinary impact. And imagine if all of these people, from the nine year old to the now 18 year old, to somebody who was a half -- more than a half a century older than the youngest witness to testify.

And during such trauma, breaking down on the stand. You can imagine what the jurors are thinking to themselves, does this defendant feel the same level of guilt that these people who were really powerless to do anything.

When somebody who was in a position of power, had agency to act. Had the badge to protect him, chose not to act? That's going to be lingering on the minds of the juror. The idea here that for some remember as part of why (inaudible) many of them or a couple of them have never even watch the original eight minute and 46 seconds video. Come to find out the day of opening statements it was expanded by more than 40 seconds.

And now they are hearing it and seeing it again and again. Corroborated through different lenses. And some of these witnesses are particularly you call credibly pure, in the sense that they've got no angle, no agenda to push, they're disinterested. How do you undermine the credibility of all of these different minor underage people?

[23:10:08]

Let alone even what broke my heart, this now 18-year-old employee who thought, let me just pay for the $20 bill here. Let me just put it on my tab, and just let the situation go away. This is not somebody who is threatened and so to see all this as played by the defense, as some sort of David and Goliath story when a man is handcuffed in the prone position, unconscious, not breathing, not moving.

To suggest that somehow he still had to be subdued, or in some meaningful way, with lethal threat, and legal force is disheartening and disingenuous.

LEMON: Well, Laura, having said that then, let me put up this and get your response to this. This is body camera footage showing when police first approach George Floyd, the former officer Thomas Lane pointed a gun. But the officer felt safe enough, the officers felt safe enough to put their guns away, for the rest of the encounter. So they didn't feel threatened, then why was it necessary to kneel on someone's neck for nine minutes and 29 seconds?

COATES: Exactly Don, if they had guns available, which they did and there were four officers on that scene. They felt comfortable enough in the interaction with George Floyd, to put those guns away. So why would you then need to use and apply this what is deadly force, and known to be able to cause at least at the very least, grave bodily harm by putting ones knee on the neck and towards the head area of a human being. Why would you need to do that?

That's exactly the question that's going into the minds of the jurors right now. And the one that the prosecution is going to not do any favors to answer on behalf of Derek Chauvin. This actually moves the needle in favor of him being implored and compelled to have to testify, to answer that question.

Because if he thinks his statements in that body cam footage that suggest hey, this is a big guy I had to use this force. When they saw a stream what presumably is urine coming from his body not breathing no pulse and he knew it. He is going to have to answer for that.

LEMON: You know councilwoman, the defense keeps trying to portray the bystanders. You know, you heard what Laura said how they are trying to portray George Floyd, right? The big guy, some hostile whatever.

But the bystanders, they're portraying them as hostile, hostile angry crowd. What are your constituents saying about this attempt to characterize these people, these black people who saw this as angry?

JENKINS: Well, you know, I think people are offended and rightfully so. I mean, we are looking at the crowds that were there, they're the supposed crowds. Five or six people, a couple of people walking by. You know, it was a beautiful day, it was Memorial Day and so people were out and about.

But the crowds were disturbed because of the very dramatic situation that they were witnessing. So yeah, the community doesn't really give credibility to that characterization of being, you know, angry or, if they were rightfully so. I mean we are watching --

LEMON: That's a very good point.

JENKINS: We are watching him go away.

LEMON: That's a very good point, let me ask you another thing. What is this done to the relationship between police in the community?

JENKINS: Well, it has always been you know, challenged I think between, you know, the black community and the community seeking social justice in Minneapolis. We had a number of other high profiles nationally, attention grabbing, you know deaths by police force.

And so the relationship has always been fragile, it has been almost completely torn us under now. It is really challenging to have constructive dialog between community and the Minneapolis police department, we have to rebuild that trust.

LEMON: There's something very important that I think you want to convey to our viewers before we let you go that's going to be the last word. But what did you want to say, councilwoman?

JENKINS: Oh you know, I wanted to just highlight and look up the fact that today is the day of disability, and you know, at a moment in time where so many state legislators -- state legislatures around the country are attacking transgender nonconforming youth.

[23:15:05]

I want young people out there to know that we see you, we love you and we are fighting for you, we will pass the equality act in the United States Congress. So that we can bring full equality to LGBTQ Americans all across the country.

LEMON: Councilwoman, thank you. Laura, thank you as well. I appreciate it.

COATES: Thank you.

JENKINS: Thank you, Don.

LEMON (on camera): You know, it's hard to hear the testimony about the last moments of George Floyd's life. Second by second and if you are having trouble dealing with it, speak up, ask for help, OK. Look up on your screen right there. You can find it on my social media after this but you got some resources up on the screen for you. Again, don't hesitate to get help.

So, our other big story tonight, President Joe Biden going big with a 2 trillion dollar infrastructure plan, but what's Senate for you?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: If we act now, in 50 years, people are going to look back and say this was the moment that America won the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:20:00]

LEMON (on camera): President Biden introducing his $2.2 trillion infrastructure proposal that he is selling as a plan to transform America's economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIDEN: It's not a plan that tinkers around the edges. It's a once in a generation investment in America, unlike anything we've seen or done. Since we built the Interstate Highway System and the space race decades ago. I'm convinced, if we act now, in 50 years, people are going to look back and say this was the moment that America won the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): So, it's called the American jobs plan, and it's the first of a two-part infrastructure proposal that goes way beyond just modernizing highways, roads and bridges. It also invests nearly 600 billion across manufacturing, research, and development in areas like climate, science, and job training. 400 billion would help caregiving for aging and disabled Americans. It also invests in housing, schools, water and digital infrastructures.

Joining me now to discuss is Democratic Congressman, James Clyburn. Congressman, thank you so much. I appreciate you joining. Let's talk about this plan that the president laid out today. It is massive, and it is only the first part. It would reshape the economy, it would help workers, it would combat the climate crisis. What does this mean for everyday Americans that, you know, they don't care about the politics, they just want to know what it's going to do for them?

REP. JAMES CLYBURN (D-SC) (on camera): Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. You know, what Joe Biden is doing here is exactly what I envision way back during the campaign. When he kept talking about bringing America back better, building back better, that's what we're doing here.

He has offered a plan, if implemented, if this plan is implemented, I think we will see a resurgence in our economy. We will see a renewal among our people, and we will see a better America for each and every one of us.

And so I am ecstatic about this plan, and talking to him about the future, I just believe that this is the America's jobs plan. I think we are getting ready in a few weeks to see America's family plan. It's going to be what we need, it's going to be what he promised, and we are going to be a much better country than we have been in the past.

LEMON: What's interesting, I'm sure you remember not so long ago, it seems like every week under previous administration was infrastructure week, but now it looks like there's something actually being proposed to happen here. This plan would replace all lead pipes across the country, something that's disproportionately affected people of color. It would expand broadband access, which you have pushed for. How far does the proposal go and helping communities of color?

CLYBURN: It will do the kinds of things that are necessary to make these communities compatible for all who live in it, and will also make it palatable for all who wish to improve it. This plan, it's the kind of plan that I've dreamed about for a long time. I represent a lot of rural America, and I can tell you that this hundred-billion- dollar broadband plan is going to deliver health care in communities, that have not had before.

It is going to have online learning for our children. It is going to be what businesses need in rural communities. We do not have -- we should not have to go to urban centers in order for businesses to flourish. We also allow the environment to be created so that businesses can flourish wherever they may wish to locate. And rural America is as good as of places in it.

LEMON: Listen, no pun intended but I'm just wondering about the possible road blocks here, because Biden plans to pay for the plan by hiking corporate tax, that's not going to apply with Republicans as you know. The scope of this proposal could worry moderate Democrats and the 50/50 Senate. Senate Democrats need every single vote, are you worried?

CLYBURN: No, I'm not worried because I'm talking to a lot of corporate people and did tell me, they didn't ask for their corporate rate to go down the 21, they didn't want anything under 25.

[23:25:06]

They knew to drop the cooperate down to 21, then we would get to some unintended consequences and that's what happened. That's how we lost the affordable housing market, because there's no tax incentive for people to invest in the affordable housing. So if he moves it up to 28, they do not mind, that's what they have said to me and I believe them.

They think, that if this economy gets back where it should be they will benefit. If it stays where it is, they are going to lose. So all business people want to see a flourishing economy and getting us rate back up to 28 so that you can invest in the families of America, invest in communities, it will make everybody happier.

LEMON: You know, at the same time that this is going on, Republicans are pushing hundreds of voter suppression bills, one became law on Georgia last week. Does President Biden need to put more energy into fighting that?

CLYBURN: Well I think he is watching this fight very closely, those of us who are legislators are carrying the fight. We've already pass HR1 to do what is necessary, to take dark money out of politics, to take partisan politics out of redistricting. To do what is necessary to get voters back in touch with their communities.

And to choosing their representatives, rather than having their representatives to choose them. I believe that we are going to pass that bill and I believe, that the president is going to sign it. And I think, that's exactly what the public would like to see done.

LEMON: You have talked about creating rules that would get rid of the filibuster, for issues of civil rights and voting rights. So that they could get around the 60 vote threshold, how do you get moderates on board like Joe Manchin?

CLYBURN: I think Joe Manchin understands, there is no way under the sun that we are going to sacrifice voting rights, for Democrats or all Americans, civil rights for all Americans. On the altar of the filibuster. Now the filibuster was designed to extend the bay on issues of a legislative nature.

It is never to determine, whether or not people get the right to vote or whether or not their Constitutional rights are going to be there for them. So, I believe there will be a way to work around the filibuster, keep it for legislation but not for people's constitutional rights.

LEMON: Congressman Clyburn, always a pleasure, thank you so much.

CLYBURN: Thank you so much for having me.

LEMON: One of the biggest companies in Georgia speaking out against their new restrictive voting laws, and they are not alone. That and a look at Jim Crow, then and now. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): Call to action by dozens of America's most prominent Black business leaders fighting back against new laws aimed at restricting access to the ballot.

Seventy-two Black executives signing a letter today challenging Fortune 500 leaders to stand up against restrictive vote legislation in Georgia and other states, saying this, at this very moment, the fundamental tenets of our democracy are under assault by forces that seek to take this country backwards. The new law and others like it are both undemocratic and un-American, and they are wrong. When it comes to protecting the rights of all Americans to vote, there can be no middle ground.

Also today, the CEO of Coca-Cola, one of the largest companies based in Georgia, speaking out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES QUINCEY, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, COCA-COLA: Let me be crystal clear and unequivocal. This legislation is unacceptable. It is a step backwards and it does not promote principles we have stood for in Georgia.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): And Major League Baseball now open to discussing moving the All-Star Game out of Atlanta. President Biden addressing that just moments ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I would strongly support them doing that. This is Jim Crow on steroids, what they're doing in Georgia and 40 other states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): There are more than 250 proposed bills and at least 43 states that are aimed at restricting access to the ballot. It is being called the new Jim Crow. Here's CNN's Joe Johns.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jim Crow is making a comeback, the fictional black-faced character from minstrel shows who came to symbolize second class citizenship for millions of Americans.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

JOHNS (voice-over): Jim Crow is also the name used to describe unequal racial segregation rules that banned Black people from eating at white-owned restaurants, staying in white-owned hotels, and fully participating in the election process.

Now, as hundreds of new proposals to scale back voter participation in elections make their way through state legislatures, the parallels with the past are inescapable.

Elizabeth Johnson Rice was 19 when she went to jail fighting Jim Crow 61 years ago as a college student at Virginia Union University.

[23:35:05]

JOHNS (voice-over): She and 33 other students were locked up for a sit-in at a local department store. The alleged crime is trespassing at a whites-only lunch counter in Richmond.

ELIZABETH JOHNSON RICE, MEMBER OF THE RICHMOND 34: If you wanted a meal, you had to go into the alley, to the door, and let them serve it to you through the door in the alley.

JOHNS (voice-over): Virginia, like many states, also had strict voting rules with poll taxes and literacy test, while other states had something known as the Eight Box rule requiring a separate box and separate sheets of paper for ballots for each office. Slight variations could cause ballots to be thrown out.

JOHNSON RICE: And every time you vote for a person, it got to be the right box and the right size paper because so many were illiterate.

JOHNS (voice-over): But comparing today's proposal to limit voting with Jim Crow laws of the past can only go so far.

JOHNSON RICE: What is happening now is worse than anything that I would think could ever happen to a democracy living in America.

JOHNS (voice-over): How could it be worse? Because Johnson Rice says the new proposals, more than 250 in 45 states and counting, according to data from the progressive leaning Brennan Center for Justice, are inspired by former President Donald Trump's big lie claiming the last presidential election was stolen due to massive voter fraud.

JOHNSON RICE: I mean it is really upsetting for people to take a lie, take an untruth, and spin it and spin it and spin it, and then blatantly in front of you let you know, this is what we're going to do for you, we are going to keep you from voting.

JOHNS (voice-over): And some of those proposals have already become law like the one in Georgia, making it a misdemeanor to deliver food or water to people standing in line to vote. Proponents of the measure claim it is not racist. It's just to keep people from trying to influence voters on Election Day. But the Brennan Center for Justice says Jim Crow election laws were also presented as neutral at the time.

MICHAEL WALDMAN, PRESIDENT, BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE: They look neutral on their face, so did so many of the Jim Crow laws, but in their impact, they really hit voters of color and young voters and poor voters much harder than other people. These proposed laws are carefully tailored to make it harder to vote for some people but not for others.

JOHNS (voice-over): Elizabeth Johnson Rice says trespassing conviction was eventually vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court and the expectation is the courts will have to intervene against the flood of current legislation. But given the current composition of the high court and its conservative majority, she's not so sure they will have the final say this time around.

JOHNSON RICE: I think it's going to be the voice of the people so loud in a nonviolent way.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

JOHNS (on camera): Now, it's the Constitution that gives essentially the state legislatures the power to control the time, place, and manner of elections. But the United States Congress has the power to make its own rules or alter any rules made by the state.

So, in theory, at least, anything the states do, the Congress can undo if there is only enough political will. That, of course, is a big question mark right now. Don?

LEMON: Joe, such a great report. Thank you so much for doing that for us. History really shows us why it is so important for Congress to be involved here, right?

JOHNS: Absolutely. There is a real question of congressional neglect. Back in 2013, the United States Supreme Court essentially eviscerated parts of the Voting Rights Act, but they did tell Congress that it needed to pass some new measures along with the Voting Rights Act, which has not happened now in eight years. Of course, that's the reason why we see such a big push up on Capitol Hill to change voting rights once and for all.

LEMON: A really important story. We also put it out on social media. Joe, thank you really again, great reporting.

And listen, we talked about my new book, how we think -- I think it's going to help heal America. I really do believe this. So, all these issues that we talk about on the air here, the conversation that I had with Mitch Landrieu, this is where we start. It is called "This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism." It is out now. I hope you will check it out. It will help.

So Pfizer is out with new data on how effective their vaccine is on young teens and it's good news. Those details after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:40:00]

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LEMON: So there's big news in our fight against COVID today. Pfizer reporting that phase three clinical trials show its vaccine has 100 percent efficacy among children ages 12-15. Think about that, 100 percent effective. The results could pave the way for kids to be vaccinated before the school year begins next fall.

Joining me to discuss is CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner. Doctor, some good news! Yes! Happy about that. It is good to see you. So, Pfizer says they're going to submit their results to the FDA in the coming weeks and they hope that they can begin vaccinating kids in time for school next year. The numbers are really impressive.

JONATHAN REINER, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST, DIRECTOR OF CARDIAC CATHETERIZATION PROGRAM AT GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL: Yeah, they really are. But the bigger news about this is the prospect of vaccinating kids because we can't get herd immunity without vaccinating children.

[23:45:06] REINER: Twenty-three percent of the population in the United States is composed of kids under the age of 18. So we can't get to herd immunity without being able to vaccinate kids. This study, which looked at over 2,000 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 15, shows that the vaccine produced really robust immune response and 100 percent efficacy in preventing symptomatic disease.

So, it works really well in this age group. We know this age group gets, you know, certainly can the contract the virus and we know this age group spreads the virus very effectively. This is super good news.

Mind you, this vaccine, the Pfizer vaccine, is already approved for teenagers 16 and older. So this will move it even lower and they -- the manufacture already announced that they've begun enrolling very young children from six months to 15 -- six months to 12 in a new trial, which will probably take the balance of the summer.

LEMON (on camera): All right. So, good news. Not so great news, right, another day of over 60,000 new cases. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky is giving a warning but also a message of hope today. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROCHELLE WALENSKY, DIRECTOR, CDC: This is a critical moment in our fight against the pandemic. As we see increases in cases, we can't afford to let our guard down. We are so close, so very close to getting back to the everyday activities we all miss so much. But we are not quite there yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON (on camera): So speaking of getting ahead of ourselves, there are governors that are lifting mask mandates and letting up on restrictions. Could this spin out of control again?

REINER: I don't think -- I don't think it's going to spin out of control because just about 100 million Americans sometime in the next two days -- the 100 million Americans will be vaccinated. There's a lot of vaccine in the community. So I don't think we are going to see the dramatic spike we saw in Christmas and New Year.

But it can get worse and it will get worse if states don't act wisely, which means in places where we are seeing spikes, we may need to re- institute a restriction on indoor gatherings. I think every state should have a mask mandate until this is really under control, and it's nowhere near fully contained.

LEMON: Doctor, love the house calls, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

REINER: My pleasure, Don. Thank you.

LEMON: So they say Trump inflamed, encouraged, incited, and directed the insurrection. And now, two Capitol police officers are suing him. Stay with us.

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[23:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON (on camera): Tonight, two U.S. Capitol police officers who say that they were injured during the January insurrection are going after former President Donald Trump, suing him for allegedly inflaming, encouraging, inciting, and directing the mob. Here's CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: One officer says he was crushed against doors and sprayed with chemicals. The other claims he was slammed against a stone column. Tonight, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby of the U.S. Capitol Police become the first law enforcement officers to sue former President Trump, saying they suffered physical and emotional damage because Trump, they claim, inflamed, encouraged, incited and directed the mob on January 6th.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're going to the Capitol.

JENNIFER RODGERS, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR: Former President Trump brought them there, encouraged them, and so on, but wasn't the one actually throwing the punches. So, their challenge is going to be convincing a jury that, in fact, what he did led directly to their injuries.

TODD (voice-over): Representatives for Trump have not immediately responded to the lawsuit. But the former president has previously denied inciting the rioters.

And new information tonight on the pure hate that was mixed with the violence on January 6th. Prosecutors allege rioter Garret Miller in the days after the Capitol attack identified a Black police officer and posted messages online threatening to lynch him, saying in court filings Miller threatened to hug his neck with a nice rope. He will swing. Could that officer still be in danger?

CEDRIC ALEXANDER, FORMER PRESIDENT, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION OF BLACK LAW ENFORCEMENT EXECUTIVES: It puts them certainly in a target of someone who could be so hateful and bigoted. That they could, potentially, do them harm.

TODD (voice-over): Prosecutors say Garret Miller posted those threats, believing the officer in question shot and killed rioter Ashli Babbitt, though there is no indication that Miller correctly identified the officer who shot her. Miller's lawyer has said his messages were -- quote -- "misguided political hyperbole" and that Miller regrets what he did.

This comes as two leaders of the far-right pro-Trump group, the Proud Boys, are making new claims to try to avoid being jailed before their trials. Ethan Nordin now says in court filings that the Proud Boys were disorganized on January 6th and that he himself was only planning to stage a private concert at an Airbnb that day.

Nordin is charged with multiple counts, including conspiracy, along with fellow Proud Boys leader Joseph Biggs, who is now claiming the FBI checked in on him several times in recent years and that he regularly spoke to local and federal law enforcement about protests he knew of or was planning.

CARRIE CORDERO, FORMER COUNSEL TO THE ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL FOR NATIONAL SECURITY: It does not actually mean that the government did not view him as a threat in any other way.

[23:55:03]

CORDERO: Sometimes, law enforcement checks in on individuals who are subjects of their investigation for the purpose of just kind of keeping in touch with them.

TODD (on camera): Joseph Biggs and his lawyers claim that last year, Biggs met with FBI agents, who they say were interested in his knowledge of the left-wing group Antifa and wanted to know what Biggs was seeing on the ground. The Justice Department and the FBI have not responded to Joseph Biggs's assertions. Don?

(END VIDEO TAPE)

LEMON (voice-over): Brian Todd, thank you so much. And thank you, everyone, for watching. Our coverage continues.

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UNKNOWN: He told George Floyd he could not win as police try to get Floyd into a squad car.