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Authorities Arrest Man Seen in Pictures Carrying House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's Podium During Storming of Capitol Buildings; House Democrats to Propose Second Impeachment of President Trump; Video Released on Protestors on Capitol Hill Overwhelming Security Guards; Twitter Permanently Suspends President Trump's Account over Concerns of Incitement to Violence; California May Start Rationing Health Care Due to Coronavirus Spread Overwhelming Hospitals; International Leaders React to Storming of U.S. Capital by President Trump's Supporters; Intelligence Indicating Possible Violent Protests on Capitol Hill During Congressional Certification of Electoral College Votes Examined. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired January 09, 2021 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:23]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Saturday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We have this breaking news just into CNN, new arrests in the Capitol Hill riot. CNN's senior justice correspondent Evan Perez is here with more on this. So Evan, what do you know?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Fred. Yes, we have another arrest, it's basically become a national roundup of some of these people that have been seen on some of the social media pictures who invaded the capitol. The latest arrest, his name is Adam Johnson. He was picked up in his home state of Florida in Pinellas County. He's booked in Pinellas County jail. And according to the officials there, he was booked at the request of the Justice Department. We anticipate that he's going to face charges.

Now, the pictures, I think you already have, are of him holding the speaker's podium, one of the many people who mobbed, who ransacked the capitol and posted pictures of themselves, or were captured on social media images showing what they were doing at the capitol. We know so far the Justice Department has announced charges against at least 13 people. There are a number of other arrests or charges that are still under seal. We expect some more arrests over the weekend, and we expect to see some more charges into the next week.

We're told, Fred, that the investigators from the FBI, the ATF, the U.S. Marshals, as well as the Metropolitan Police here in Washington are working with prosecutors around the country, around the clock, to try to find some of these people. Some of them, a lot of them have gone back to their home states and they're getting picked up, and they're going to be brought here to face these charges.

Of course, some of this stuff, Fred, the pictures are a little funny, right? There's some very lighthearted images that are being captured. But there's some serious stuff here. Some of these people, obviously there was serious charges against people who had Molotov cocktails. One guy in particular, his name is Lonnie Coffman, he's 70-years-old from Alabama, he had a car full -- or a truck full of Molotov cocktails that was parked outside the capitol buildings while he attended the Trump rally. This is really, really dangerous stuff, and a lot of people's lives could have been lost, much more than the five that already are known to have been lost.

WHITFIELD: Right, five lives lost, including a Capitol Hill police officer, a 12-year veteran. And I know what you mean, Evan, when you say some of these pictures are funny, meaning they're horrific images that range the gamut. In this particular case when you talk about funny, this suspect is posing as if -- in a celebratory mood of, look, I'm taking the Speaker of the House podium. And I read that this suspect is also a furniture maker in Florida and actually posted an image of the speaker's podium on eBay hoping to sell it. This after a horrible day of chaos on Capitol Hill.

PEREZ: Right. And keep in mind also that there were a number of people who have already been charged by federal prosecutors here in Washington with having intent to try to harm Speaker Pelosi. There's a couple of them, one of them traveled to Washington from Colorado, and according to prosecutors and documents that were unsealed last night, his intent in some of his social -- I'm sorry, some of his private postings and his text messages with associates, he came here to try to harm the Speaker of the House, and he said -- they found that he had weapons on him. So again, this is very, very serious, this is very dangerous, and the fact that more people did not die is, frankly, a blessing.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And so Evan, we're zeroing in on the House Speaker because we are talking about items taken from her representations of her, we talk about the Arkansas man who was arrested, kicking his feet up on her desk and admitting on videotape to stealing her mail. Now, all of this took place just days after her San Francisco home was vandalized. So, what do you know about the kind of security, the protections that have been -- heightened protections put in place to keep her safe, and other members of Congress, but particularly the House Speaker?

[10:00:01]

PEREZ: Yes, I think that that's a great point to raise. Certainly, the security has been increased around her and around other leaders. Obviously, she's in the line of succession, she is in the line of succession for the leadership of this country. And to have her have to be taken to a secret location at the capitol complex and taken away from there during this invasion of the capitol, as well as Vice President Pence, Mitch McConnell, the majority leader in the Senate, obviously all of those people now have increased security simply because there are so many threats against them. We saw some of the images of people who climbed up the inauguration

stage, some of them made it up to the second floor and were banging on the windows of what was believed to be Mitch McConnell's suite of offices. This is the level of the violence that was going on that day. I don't think a lot of people really understand, still at this day, how dangerous this was and how terrible this was to be a part of that and to experience it all.

WHITFIELD: So, while more than 60 people may have been arrested that day, the roundups now continue now days after that melee on Capitol Hill. Evan Perez, thank you so much. We'll check back with you.

Meanwhile, President Trump is under fire from both sides of the political aisle, facing the very real possibility that he could be the first U.S. president ever to be impeached twice. Democrats say they plan to unveil new articles of impeachment as soon as Monday, which would set up a vote in the House as early as next week.

Let's go now to CNN's Sarah Westwood. So, Sarah, what, if anything, is the White House saying? Usually by now we'd hear a lot from the president via Twitter, but of course his account has been suspended indefinitely. What other smoke signals might there be from the White House or from him?

SARAH WESTWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, Fred, the White House is quickly decrying this impeachment push as just a politically motivated stunt from Democrats. They're citing the fact that the president has now 11 days left in office as the reason why they say this is partisan. And I want to read you the White House statement on this. "As President Trump said yesterday, this is a time for healing and unity as one nation. A politically motivated impeachment against a president with 12 days remaining in his term will only serve to further divide our great country."

Now, privately, though, White House aides are taking very seriously the prospect of impeachment, and in fact CNN is reporting that on Thursday top White House officials, including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, sat Trump down and warned him that there was a serious possibility that he could be removed from office because of his actions this week, either through impeachment or through the exercise of the 25th Amendment, through members of his own cabinet moving to remove him.

So all of that pressure on Trump caused him to come out and record and release that more conciliatory video about the protests. That was, of course, too late. His Twitter was suspended over the incendiary things that he's been saying on social media leading up to the violence. Now, amid all of this fallout the president at the last minute canceled a trip to Camp David this weekend, what might have been his last visit to the presidential retreat. And now White House officials are hoping that Trump focuses on his legacy, on his post-presidency and how he wants to be remembered. That's obviously not been a focus so far in the time since he's lost the election. Trump also announced that he will not be attending President-elect Biden's inauguration, Fred.

WHITFIELD: OK. And of course, President-elect Biden saying that's one of the few things that he and the sitting president actually agree on, that he shouldn't be there during the inauguration. Sarah Westwood, thank you so much.

Momentum is building towards this second impeachment of President Trump, and that momentum we will likely see come Monday. But Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, warns that even a fast-tracked process likely could not get done before the president leaves office. Suzanne Malveaux is on Capitol Hill. So Suzanne, give us an idea of this timeline, while the House feels like it has the momentum this week, Mitch McConnell says it would look very different right at the same time of inauguration of a new president.

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's absolutely right, Fred. It is kind of a complicated dance that they're doing here on Capitol Hill, but this is the single article of impeachment here, incitement of insurrection it says. And what is required here is that the House essentially fast track this process. We are expecting that on Monday the House Rules Committee will meet. Through a privileged resolution they will introduce potentially an article of impeachment here and allow for a debate over the course of two days, and then essentially the House can vote. It's a simple majority that is required. The Democrats have the majority on the House side. It is the tool in their toolbox to singly impeach the president here.

[10:10:07]

And what they are saying is they believe that they could have enough momentum to get this done and get it done quickly, potentially next week. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying really the only option that they have is to move forward, that they cannot just simply allow this to go unchecked. And this is what they said on "60 Minutes."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA): Sadly, the person that's running the executive branch is a deranged, unhinged, dangerous president of the United States, and there are only a number of days until we can be protected from him. But he has done something so serious that there should be prosecution against him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: So, if you play this out to the conclusion here, potential options here, let's say he is impeached by the House. You're absolutely right, Fred, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, that would switch over to the Democratic leadership on January 20th. That is when the Democrats would really hold sway when it comes to the Senate. But they still need two-thirds to remove the president from office, so they do need some Republicans.

When I covered the December 2019, impeachment of Trump, they didn't have a single Republican on the House side, they had one senator, Mitt Romney, who voted to remove the president from office, clearly not enough. But there are some signs of the Republican loyalty to the president cracking, breaking. You have Representative Adam Kinzinger saying that he's got to go, Senator Ben Sasse. Senator Lisa Murkowski saying this, saying "He needs to get out. He needs to do the good thing, but I don't think he's capable of doing a good thing." And essentially this is a president who could make history as the only one being impeached twice, or if he's removed from office, it means that he would never be able to hold a federal government position again, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Suzanne Malveaux on Capitol Hill, thank you so much for that.

Still to come, swift reaction to the events in Washington this week coming from around the world. But the full international fallout is likely still to come. We'll take you live to London.

And southern California on the brink as COVID records continue to fall. CNN goes inside a hospital where patients sit waiting in hallways for more than a week.

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[10:16:30]

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. A new video now from Wednesday's riot on Capitol Hill. I want to warn you ahead of time the video is disturbing. It shows the horrifying and stunning moment when rioters launched a violent attack on police officers on the west side of the capitol, and at one point the crowd crushing a trapped officer between a door and his shield.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just go home, OK. You see me. Just go home. Talk to your buddies and go home.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not hurting you.

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It's unbelievable and so disturbing. We don't know how that officer is doing, but wow.

So with me right now, Asha Rangappa, a CNN legal and national security analyst and former FBI special agent in charge. Jonathan Wackrow is a former Secret Service agent. I just blended your credentials there, so hopefully people can see the spear. A CNN law enforcement analyst, Jonathan. Good to see both of you.

So OK, Jonathan, this is so disturbing to see. It's been disturbing since we all watched it unfold from so many different vantage points on Wednesday. But now to see some more detail of what was happening, what's your reaction here, and what concerns you most about what it reveals?

JONATHAN WACKROW, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Well, first of all, every single time I've watched that video, and it's probably been 50 times over the last 24 hours, it's heart-wrenching. And really, Fred, it's disappointing that we're actually viewing and discussing the violence against police officers in this video. Literally today is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, so it just compounds.

But listen, those who were mounting this insurrection at the capitol really did so under a false pretense of being supportive of law enforcement. Many in the video, you can actually see, had police morale patches on and thin blue line apparel on.

But let me be clear, these are not supporters of law enforcement. They are criminals. And that was a contributing factor to the breakdown at the capitol. The capitol police had an inability to respond to the acute shock of the moment, that incident that had occurred. They were caught off guard and they were literally overwhelmed because they underestimated the potential violence from this group.

[10:20:6]

This was literally a breakdown in intelligence planning where they failed to understand the likelihood of the threat manifesting itself, and calculated -- and miscalculated, actually, the inherent vulnerabilities of the lax physical security at the capitol. So all of this was a convergence at one moment that led to this tragic, tragic incident.

WHITFIELD: And the lack of preparation, still, is that much more perplexing because of the sign posting that came with we're coming to town, we're going to be doing this, we're taking the capitol, et cetera. So is it in your view, Jonathan, that there was just an underestimation of the seriousness to take of the notices on social media that what happened really was signposted that it was going to happen, this was their intent?

WACKROW: This was a catastrophic intelligence failure. It wasn't just one missed signal. The warning signs were clear for a long time. Online posts from hate and rightwing groups calling for a civil war, literally telegraphing the game plan of mounting an insurrection on Capitol Hill to literally stop, physically stop lawmakers from certifying the Electoral College votes. You could not have been more clear. That is what is the most stunning to me of all of this, is how we missed that.

WHITFIELD: So Asha, all of this coming, and these new images today, new arrests coming as Twitter has indefinitely suspended the account of President Trump, citing a fear that he will incite more violence. However, he's likely to use an alias or someone else's account to tweet out. He's already using somebody else's account to do so. So we're learning that extremists are ramping up calls, despite all that has transpired, for more violence ahead of inauguration day. And then I just mentioned, there have been some arrests. Are those in any way a deterrent, or do you continue to be very concerned that these threats that there might be more violence, it's more than just threatening language?

ASHA RANGAPPA, CNN LEGAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: I am very concerned, Fredricka. As Jonathan mentioned, this is a snowball set in motion down the mountain. And so law enforcement is going to have to treat this just the way as if they hear chatter abroad from terrorist organizations that they may plan something, that is how they will have to treat it.

Now, I think that we are in a better position here, because I think knowing what kind of potential can result, not only will they be able to be proactive about shutting some of these organizational activities down. Social media is really important for that, so shutting down these Twitter accounts, going through Facebook, finding places where people from different parts of the country are able to organize and plan, that's going to be key.

And I think that we know now to actually beef up the security presence. Then there's the reactive piece, which is rounding up and charging and prosecuting the people who participated in the events on Wednesday. And I think it's going to be very important to really file particularly for the organizers, the people who planned things, who had the intent to harm and kidnap or, God knows what they wanted to do, for them to face very serious charges, things like conspiracy, intent to harm public officials, impede government functions, that will carry stiff penalties for them.

WHITFIELD: And so, Asha, is there a different message that comes from the immediacy of arrests when this melee is going on versus delayed arrests, looking at pictures of cellphone activity and then making the arrests? Is there any difference in the kind of messaging that comes with that?

RANGAPPA: I think it's not as much messaging as the FBI needs probable cause to arrest someone. So the mere fact of being identified as having trespassed on federal property gives them the ability to do that.

There may be others for whom they want to take more time to investigate what their intent was, if they were able to access their communications and see some of the long-term planning. But I think you're going to see -- we saw immediately starting on Thursday that there were arrests, so that is sending a message to the people who have participated, who posted online, thought they were -- this is some kind of party. They are on notice that the FBI will probably be knocking on their door very soon.

[10:25:00]

WHITFIELD: All right, Asha Rangappa, Jonathan Wackrow, thanks so much to both of you. Appreciate it.

Let's talk more about this different approach now. I want to bring in Ron Brownstein, a CNN senior political analyst and a senior editor for "The Atlantic." Ron, so good to see you. So, President-elect Joe Biden is set to be inaugurated as the next president in just 11 days. The House is going to get that article of impeachment going come Monday, maybe it will vote on it within a week. But then for the Senate, that entertainment of a trial may not come until January 19th or even 20th. So, is this the last resort, the only real option of giving a real consequence to the sitting president and his role in inciting this riot?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, that's the important word, because I think in talking to Democrats, the overwhelming priority they have is that there has to be consequences for what happened, the horrific video you showed. And the previous panel was talking about this as an intelligence failure. It may also have been a cultural and racial blind spot, a choice by the capitol police not to confront this anywhere near the force that they would a Black Lives Matter protest.

And so, I think when you look at what happened, Democrats feel there has to be a consequence. Now, impeachment is one consequence, an aspect of impeachment, it would be, in this case, barring Trump from holding federal office again, which would be another consequence. There's also the possibility that the Justice Department under Joe Biden could investigate and incite individuals who were involved in inciting this riot, maybe all the way up to the president. So, it is uneasy for Biden to envision a trial in the Senate, I think, right as he takes office. His message, his brand, is unity, bread and butter. I'm going to focus on getting shots into people's arms and aids into people's pocketbooks. But the belief is the Democrats, strong belief is there has to be consequences.

WHITFIELD: And a real calculated risk, as you say, for President Biden if that was one of the first orders of business for his DOJ out of the gate.

So, the president, clearly, is taking heat for his rhetoric in inciting this violence and the riot. You have a new piece in "The Atlantic" where you also lay a lot of blame on the GOP as a whole. The headline of the article, "The deadly consequences of apocalyptic Republican rhetoric. The Capitol riot showed how the ominous tenor of contemporary GOP messaging could be fueling white conservatives' extremism." So, the president's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, a prime example of that apocalyptic rhetoric. Just listen to what he said just prior to that ransacking of Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, PRESIDENT TRUMP'S ATTORNEY: And if we're wrong, we will be made fools of. But if we're right, a lot of them will go to jail.

(APPLAUSE)

GIULIANI: So, let's have trial by combat!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: "Trial by combat," he's no longer an elected official, but what about all the other GOP members who you really are speaking to, a complicity, what kind of responsible do they bear? What are the consequences for them for helping to enable the president?

BROWNSTEIN: I think there's a direct line between the way the Republicans have been framing the choice between the party in the last few years and what we have seen in the last few months and the last few days on Capitol Hill. For years Republicans have been arguing, and not just Donald Trump -- Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who would be standard issue country club Republicans in an earlier generation, Marco Rubio, Mike Pence, all arguing that if Democrats win, America as we know it will cease to exist. In conservative circles this is known as the Flight 93 argument, the case that a Democratic victory would so disfigure America, so uproot it from its traditions, that any means necessary are required to stop it.

And you saw the inevitable, if tragic and ironic, end point of that in Flight 93 argumentation, which is that a mob stormed and ransacked the very building that the actual Flight 93 passengers died to protect. And I think it is a moment when Republicans I think need to look in the mirror and ask, if you are telling voters that each election, if Democrats win any time it will destroy America, can you be shocked that some of them will turn to tactics like this.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and you mentioned an end. The sad thing is, the frightening thing is this may not be an end point, but actually a continuum.

BROWNSTEIN: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: And that is what continues to be so disheartening. Ron Brownstein, thank you so much. Good to see you.

BROWNSTEIN: Good to see you, Fred.

[10:29:57]

WHITFIELD: Coming up, the world watched as chaos unfolded in the nation's capital this week. How both U.S. allies and adversaries are responding, how do they see all of this, next.

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WHITFIELD: The eyes of the world are always on the United States, but especially as rioters took hold of the capitol this week. Condemnation of the actions and the actions of that of the president was swift, not just from America's adversaries, but from allies as well. Newspapers from across the globe show a stunned reaction, including this headline from the "Tabloid Times," an India newspaper, calling it a "Coup Klux Klan."

[10:35:00]

WHITFIELD: CNN's diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is in London for us. So, Nick, what does this do to America's position of global leadership of democracy?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It doesn't help. This was really uncomfortable for the United States allies to watch, shocking to some regard. Enemies look at Erdogan in Turkey, no paragon of democracy himself, in fact has rerun elections when they haven't gone the way that he wanted, but he said the United States is a disgrace for democracy. Russian politicians saying the United States is no longer an example of democracy. So, all of this, not just the actions, but the repercussions, that is what is tough for U.S. allies.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

ROBERTSON: On nightly newscasts, the world watched America's democracy falter.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As we filmed, protesters tore down Pelosi's nameplate. And so here we are right now inside the halls of congress.

ROBERTSON: In the aftermath, newspapers showering shame on the embers of Trump's presidency, world leaders damning in their response.

BORIS JOHNSON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What President Trump has been saying about that has been completely wrong, and I unreservedly condemn encouraging people to behave in the disgraceful way that they did in the capitol.

ANGELA MERKEL, GERMAN CHANCELLOR (through translator): A basic rule of democracy is after the election there are winners and losers. Both have to play their role with decency and responsibility so that democracy itself remains the winner. I regret very much that President Trump did not admit defeat in November and again yesterday.

ROBERTSON: Close allies wondering how it came to this.

SCOTT MORRISON, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: They're a great friend of Australia, and they're one of the world's greatest democracies. And so, our thoughts are with them, and we hope for that peaceful transition to take place.

ROBERTSON: On Twitter, both Norway's and Sweden's prime ministers directly blaming President Trump. "Heavy responsibility now rests on President Trump," Erna Solberg wrote. "President Trump and several members of Congress bear substantial responsibility," wrote Stefan Lofven. From Canada to Chili, Norway to Greece, India to Australia and New Zealand, global leaders vented worries. Sadness, horrendous, the world is watching, common themes.

These leaders know what happens in America has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the world. They worry about how this can influence democracy going forward. These are real concerns.

Meanwhile, America's enemies seemingly scoring points, in China taking some apparent sarcastic satisfaction.

HUA CHUNYING, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN (through translator): We hope that the American people can enjoy peace, stability, and security as soon as possible.

ROBERTSON: And in Moscow, a TV anchor reading a foreign ministry statement. The reason behind the divide in American society lies also in the archaic electoral system. Yet perhaps most striking, some allies still held back from blaming Trump directly.

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The ravage of the capitol yesterday was a disgraceful act and it must be vigorously condemned. I have no doubt that American democracy will prevail.

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: What happened today in Washington, D.C. is not America, definitely. We believe in the strength of our democracies. We believe in the strength of American democracy.

ROBERTSON: Everyone, it seems, counting on President-elect Joe Biden to make it all better.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

ROBERTSON (on camera): And Biden has said in his first year in office he'll hold a global summit on democracy, and what he wants to be able to do out of that is to be able to really bring the United States allies together. What he really doesn't need is enemies of the United States on the outside saying -- criticizing him, saying you have no moral authority to be talking about democracy, because what President Biden really needs to do with that support of allies is focus on the United States' biggest foreign policy challenge going forward, and that's China. So, he needs that strength of support from allies, and he doesn't need enemies biting at his heels, so to speak. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Nic Robertson in London. Legitimate worries abroad and here at home.

Join CNN's Wolf Blitzer for "The Trump Insurrection, 24 Hours that Shook America," a look at what happened at the U.S. capitol and what happens next.

[10:40:01]

This new CNN special report airs tomorrow night at 10:00.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Health officials in California are now preparing for the possibility of having to ration care as a recent surge of new cases pushes hospitals to the brink. The state just activating a mass fatality plan, rolling out 88 makeshift morgues to handle the influx of bodies as deaths spike across the state.

Joining me right now to discuss, Dr. Michael Saag, an infectious diseases expert and the Associate Dean for Global Health at the University of Alabama Birmingham. Good to see you, Doctor. So wow, this is some frightening information, and frightening reality check on what's happening. What goes through your mind as you hear how dire the situation is in some hospitals in California?

DR. MICHAEL SAAG, ASSOCIATE DEAN OF GLOBAL HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM: I think back to March when I first heard about COVID and it was hitting Italy really hard, and I saw providers just exhausted and hospitals having to ration care, and that stuck with me.

[10:45:05]

I didn't think it would ever happen in the United States, but it is happening. You talked about Los Angeles. We talk about other places. But here in Alabama I'm at the hospital this morning. I usually work in the outpatient area. This morning I'm working inpatient with infusion therapy to keep people out of the hospital. And I walked the wards where I normally go, and I was blown away. Literally, it was an emotional reaction as I walked through our normal medicine wards and it's all COVID. It's all COVID. And this is the type of thing that we have been talking about to the public for months, and yet it still happened. And that's very disappointing and demoralizing.

WHITFIELD: Are you concerned that there in Alabama that the need and the attention devoted to COVID cases will supersede any other kinds of -- whether it be elective surgeries or even other kinds of emergency medical treatment, that there is really no room for anything else but COVID?

SAAG: Well, it's starting to become that way all over the country. It's not just Alabama. And I think it is happening here for sure, and it is a concern. We went from about 50 cases in the hospital several months ago to now well over 300. And we can talk about the numbers, but when you think about the impact, not only on the patients who are coming in and their families, but the health care workers who have been at this for 10 plus months, it just gets exhausting for all of us.

And I think that's the point that we really need to appeal one more time to the public to do our part together, to stay away from crowds, stay indoors. It's really not that safe to go outside the house and be around a lot of other people. It's just not. The spread is too big right now.

WHITFIELD: Yes, it is significant. Dr. Mike Saag, you continue to be safe. Thank you so much for what you're doing to try to help so many.

SAAG: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: It's supposed to be one of the most secure places in America, but on Wednesday the innermost halls of this building were breached by an angry mob. So how did this attack happen? CNN investigates next.

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[10:51:40]

WHITFIELD: Recovering from this week's insurgency will be really difficult, trying to understand how it came to be that much more perplexing. Here now is Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Caught flatfooted, federal and local officials insist they had no idea the siege would happen.

CHIEF ROBERT J. CONTEE III, WASHINGTON, D.C., POLICE: There was no intelligence that suggested there would be a breach of the U.S. capitol. GRIFFIN: But that seems hardly believable. In the days and weeks

before the insurrection, the warning signs were clear. Violent and threatening online posts, an online call to arms, "Occupation Occupy the Capitol" one viral post called it. "Go to Washington January 6th and help storm the capitol. We will storm the government buildings, kill cops, kill security guards, kill federal employees and agents, and demand a recount." "Trump or war today, that simple," another user posted.

JOEL FINKELSTEIN, DIRECTOR, NETWORK CONTAGION RESEARCH INSTITUTE: The writing was on the wall months ago that this could turn into something extremely violent.

GRIFFIN: Researchers who track hate, violent speech, and extremist groups, say what happened at the capitol shows what some dismiss as just online boasting was actually a plan of action. And some of those who sieged the capitol were prepared.

JOHN SCOTT-RAILTON, CITIZEN LAB, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO MUNK SCHOOL: There were men on the Senate floor wearing tactical equipment, carrying zip tie restraints, the kinds that police use to handcuff people. I somehow doubt they just brought those to a protest.

GRIFFIN: The violent rhetoric had wide reach. The nonprofit Advance Democracy tracked 1,480 violence related QAnon Twitter posts just since January 1st. On TikTok, videos promoting violence were viewed 279,000 times.

SCOTT-RAILTON: If you look at anybody who has been tracking violent extremism in the United States, you will find that they have been warnings regularly about these groups and the language that they're using.

GRIFFIN: One of the main "Stop the Steal" rally organizers, Ali Alexander, told followers on Periscope he and three congressmen were planning something big.

ALI ALEXANDER, PROTEST ORGANIZER: We schemed up of pretty maximum pressure on Congress, we could change the hearts and minds of Republicans who are in that body hearing our loud roar from outside.

GRIFFIN: He told followers bring tents, sleeping bags, and other supplies, and added this, "If D.C. escalates, so do we." A follower responded to the post, "Bring a gun." Investigators at the Anti- Defamation League say they were sharing the violent posts and concerns about January 6th with law enforcement right up until this week.

JONATHAN GREENBLATT, CEO AND NATIONAL DIRECTOR, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: We've been in touch with law enforcement on a very regular basis.

GRIFFIN: Fearing the warnings were being ignored, the ADL went public.

GREENBLATT: Our level of concern rose so dramatically that on Monday we actually published a blog to put it out on the public record about our degree of alarm. We weren't surprised by the intensity of what happened.

GRIFFIN: What's next? January 20th. Researchers are worried about the increasing chatter about violence at the inauguration.

FINKELSTEIN: I think it's very plausible that we are just at the beginning of this.

GRIFFIN: "Round two on January 20th," one poster writes on the online forum "The Donald." "I don't even care about keeping Trump in power. I care about war." "Please take urgent action to save our country. On January 20th," says another post, "it's our last chance."

[10:55:09]

All of this means the same groups that attacked the capitol on January 6th may already be planning to be back in Washington. Hopefully this time law enforcement is taking note.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: As Congress weighs what is next for President Trump, the man seen in this picture from inside the capitol on Wednesday has been arrested in Florida. Details straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

WHITFIELD: Hello again. Thank you for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. We begin this hour with breaking news. Police made another arrest following the riot on Capitol Hill. Florida police taking 36- year-old Adam Johnson into custody.