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Parents of Accused Michigan High School Shooter Appear in Court; Olympic Skier Eileen Gu Wins Gold for China, U.S. Figure Skater Nathan Chen Sets World Record; Teen Arrested in Connection to Homicide Investigation; GOP Leaders Play Patriots Clip to Inspire Republicans to Play Like a Team; Supreme Court Allows GOP-Drawn Congressional Map to Stand in Alabama. Aired 1:30-2p ET

Aired February 08, 2022 - 13:30   ET

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

[13:30:00]

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is the preliminary hearing. So no jury. And the whole point is, is there probable cause to bind this case over for trial?

Many times defendants waive this, but these defendants have not. So the hearing is proceeding.

One of the witnesses, very important, Andrew Smith, who was actually the supervisor for Jennifer Crumbley.

He said that on the day of the shooting that he got a Facebook Messenger text a little after 10:00 in the morning saying, "I have got to go to the counselor's office at school today."

So she wasn't coming in right away. And then she did come back to work after the meeting with the counselor.

They had a conversation in the hallway. And she said that, "It looks like Ethan is going to need some counseling. I feel like I have failed him."

His grandparent passed away recently. A pet passed away recently,

and then he said it was a short time later he heard a scream of Jennifer's in the hallway. She left to go to the school. There had been a school shooting.

And here's the text Facebook Messenger that she sent to her supervisor. She said, "The gun is gone and so are the bullets."

Andrew Smith, her supervisor, says, "I'm praying everything is OK." Jennifer, "OMG, Andy, he's going to kill himself. He must be the

shooter. I need a lawyer at a substation with police. Ethan did it."

And then a little bit later, another text on Facebook Messenger. She said, "I need my job. Please, don't judge for me and for what my son did."

Prosecutors trying to show that at a time that when it was critical, children were killed or injured, her son did it, she believed, that she was worried about her job.

Defense really trying to humanize this couple today, saying she was the bread winner. She was in charge of everything monetarily. It was all on her shoulders and she knew they would have to have money for an attorney.

Now another witness was a young woman who owned the boarding farm for their horses. Talked about that she had had a few conversations about Ethan.

She said Ethan was a loner. He liked to do video games. He really didn't socialize. He stayed by himself.

And she thought it was weird. That's her word, "weird," according to testimony, that he didn't socialize with other young people.

She also then said she had a meeting with the counselor. And then this Kira Pennock of the horse boarding farm got a Facebook Messenger, "My son ruined so many lives today."

"This doesn't even remotely make me think this is your fault," Kira said.

And so another aspect of this testimony that is important, because the prosecutor -- and we believe that they ran, that they were going to flee prosecution.

Remember, they were found in an office building curled up behind a wall? Well, apparently, according to testimony from this witness, there were a lot of threats for their safety.

And there's another text where Jennifer says, "We've got to find a place, a safe haven for us to just be, because we're getting so many very violent texts of potentially what could be done to us."

And Kira said, "Please don't come to the horse farm." She testified that she was concerned somebody could follow them and something would happen violently to all the people at the horse farm.

ANA CABRERA, CNN HOST: Wow. All so horrific.

Jean Casarez, thank you for your reporting.

Now to the Beijing Olympics where U.S. figure skater, Nathan Chen, just set a world record. California-born skiing sensation, Eileen Gu, is winning gold for China. CNN correspondent, David Culver, joins us live from the Olympics.

David, let's start with Gu. Her win isn't without a bit of controversy.

DAVID CULVER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're right about that, Ana.

News of Eileen Gu's gold medal win here in China set the Internet on fire. The 18-year-old was born and raised in the U.S. Her dad is American. Her mom Chinese.

She grew up skiing in the slopes of Lake Tahoe. She says she spent most childhood summers in Beijing. She's fluent in Chinese and English. As she puts it, she's also fluent in both cultures.

But following her gold medal performance, she was flooded with questions from reporters about her nationality.

Gu is representing Team China, and China does not recognize dual nationality.

So did she give up her American citizenship? She was asked this several times and avoided answering each time.

Take a listen and hear how she addressed the criticism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EILEEN GU, CHINESE OLYMPIC SKIER: People don't believe me. And if people don't like me, then that's their loss. They're never going to win the Olympics, so.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CULVER: Pretty straight forward there with that answer.

Let's take you to an incredible performance by Team USA's Nathan Chen. The 22-year-old set a new short program world record in the men's figure skating event Tuesday.

This lifted him up to the top spot and closer to earning Team USA what would be its first gold medal in these games.

Chen's near flawless performance was rewarded by judges with an unprecedented 113.97 points.

The deciding free skate final will come on Thursday -- Ana?

[13:35:01]

CABRERA: All right. Can't wait to see that.

Thank you so much, David Culver.

Now new details about the investigation that led Minneapolis police to serve a no-knock warrant that resulted in the shooting death of Amir Locke.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[13:40:04]

CABRERA: The arrest of a 17-year-old is now providing new details about what ultimately led to the fatal police shooting of Amir Locke. The teen who was arrested was wanted in connection with a January 10th homicide in Minneapolis.

The warrants were filed under seal so it's not clear what his connection is to the warrants.

We do know police were serving a no-knock warrant connected to that homicide when they encountered Locke inside this apartment sleeping on a couch.

This body cam video then shows Locke holding a gun that his family says he legally owned. Police say Locke wasn't named in any of the warrants they were serving.

CNN's Omar Jimenez spoke with Locke's parents who are demanding a change to police policy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you blame the officer or the system that put this officer in this position in the first place?

ANDRE LOCKE, AMIR LOCKE'S FATHER: The no-knock warrant is what caused Amir's death.

KAREN WELLS, AMIR LOCKE'S MOTHER: The whole system. He wasn't killed, he wasn't murdered, he was executed.

JIMENEZ (voice-over): The parents of 22-year-old Amir Locke want to end what led to their son's killing, no-knock warrants, which let police enter a location without first knocking and announcing their presence.

As police barged into the apartment where Locke appeared to be sleeping, shouting commands, he started to get up holding a gun his family says he legally owned and police opened fire.

His parents see it as a failure in law enforcement.

WELLS: They are professional people that carry guns and are supposed to protect and serve a community. They didn't protect my son that day. They chose not to do that. And they took him from me and I am angry.

LOCKE: The love that I have for my boy, my boy, was taken.

JIMENEZ: It's an issue that extends beyond Minneapolis and has for years.

(SHOUTING) JIMENEZ: In Chicago, in July 2019, officers executed a no-knock warrant based on bad information.

(SHOUTING)

JIMENEZ: Barging in on Anjanette Young who was naked and later handcuffed in her own living room as officers searched her place, guns drawn.

In 2021, the city limited no-knock search warrants only to situations where knocking and announcing would be dangerous to the life or safety of the officers serving the warrant or another person.

But Young wasn't killed.

(CHANTING)

JIMENEZ: In Louisville, it was a different story. Breonna Taylor was shot and killed after a botched raid turned into a hail of gunfire.

The fallout eventually led to a total ban on no-knock warrants in the city known as Breonna's Law.

In Minneapolis, the Locke family and others are fighting for the same. The city updated its policy in 2020 to limit no-knock warrants but not eliminate them.

JEFF STORMS, LOCKE FAMILY ATTORNEY: Even now, the mayor has said, OK, there's a moratorium on no-knock warrants except in these situations. We have to challenge them not to put a Band-Aid over no-knock warrants.

Why are we not making changes preemptively that stop Amir Locke before Amir Locke ever happens? They need to take the step and completely ban no-knock warrants. It's not safe for either side of the door.

JIMENEZ: The city's current moratorium still allows for the warrants if there's an imminent threat and approval from the chief.

Separately, Locke's legal gun, his family says, puts him among the roughly 24 percent of black adults who say they own a gun countrywide, according to Pew Research.

It leaves his family wondering what else he could have done in this situation to survive.

LOCKE: I know my son lying on his stomach like he sleeps with the cover over his head. He didn't even see what was coming. He couldn't see who took his life.

STORMS: There's something at the heart, at the root of Minneapolis that has to change.

When you talk about knowing how your son sleeps, I know how my children sleep and I know what's going through their mind at that moment. LOCKE: Nothing that they can do can bring our son back.

But the best thing that they can do at this point with no-knock warrants and prosecuting the officer who decided to play God, fire him, prosecute him, and just tell the truth. We messed up.

WELLS: This is just sad. I -- my son is a hashtag.

JIMENEZ: Omar Jimenez, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[13:44:45]

CABRERA: Well, this is an interesting approach. Republicans are now using the New England Patriots to try to unify the party. We'll take you live to Capitol Hill, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CABRERA: Just how bad has the bickering among Republicans gotten in recent days?

So bad that during today's House GOP meeting, leaders resorted to showing a classic clip from Tom Brady's first Super Bowl, hoping it would apparently inspire everyone to play as a team.

Now, this rift re-emerged in the past week after the RNC went after two of its own, censuring GOP lawmakers Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for their work on the January 6th committee.

Let's go to CNN chief congressional correspondent, Manu Raju, on the Hill.

So, GOP leadership tried to tap into some vintage Patriots footage to inspire unity, huh? How was that received?

[13:50:00]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the issue, of course, has been about the division over the RNC censure resolution, going after Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney.

And the pushback from a lot of members, mostly on the Senate side, but some House Republicans as well, saying this is not the fight that the party wants at the moment where they're trying to capture control of both chambers of Congress.

They want to focus on the Biden agenda, not party infighting.

But Kevin McCarthy didn't mention specifically the RNC resolution that censured those two members for their role in investigating the January 6th insurrection.

And also included language referring to the events as legitimate political discourse.

But earlier today, after that meeting, I did ask the Republican leader about the RNC resolution and whether he supports the language.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Referred to the events of January 6th as a legitimate political discourse. I'm wondering --

(CROSSTALK)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA): See, that's not -- that's not correct.

The RNC was talking about -- everybody knows anybody can break in and cause damage. That was not called for. Those people, we've said from the very beginning, should be in jail.

What they were talking about was the six RNC members who January 6th had subpoenaed who weren't even here, who were in Florida that day.

RAJU: So you're in support of that resolution?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Now, it's not clear exactly what he was referring to, the six Republican members of the national committee who were not in Washington on the day of January 6th, were in Florida, he said.

He said that's what they were referring to when they're talking about legitimate political discourse. But that is not what was referenced at all in that resolution that was approved last week by the committee.

But I'm told from a McCarthy aide that he got that number, six, from the committee itself. The committee did confirm they told him that. But it's still unclear who exactly he's talking about.

But there was, Ana, some pushback among House Republicans.

One of whom, Tom Rice, who voted to impeach Donald Trump for inciting the insurrection, called it, quote, "pretty damn embarrassing" that the Republican National Committee would go that route -- Ana?

CABRERA: Manu Raju, on Capitol Hill, thank you.

The Supreme Court just delivered a major victory to Republicans. For now, upholding Alabama's new congressional map. A lower court previously rejected the GOP-drawn map, saying it diluted the political power of black voters.

With the House majority still the slimmest of margins, the once-a- decade redistricting process could tip the balance. This is a fight that encompasses voting rights, racial justice, and the courts and democracy itself.

For more on the battle lines being drawn over actually drawing lines, let's bring in CNN's Tom Foreman. Tom, walk us through this Alabama map and the Supreme Court's ruling.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Ana, in the big picture, this is something Republicans do agree on. They want to lock down as many districts as they possibly can.

This is what's happening in Alabama right now. The current seven districts, the proposed seven districts. Boy, they look a lot alike.

But the reality is what's happening is in the proposed seven districts, they're reducing the impact of black voters in the state.

Take a look at the numbers. If you look at the state overall, they do that by drawing those lines to pull them into separate groups.

African-Americans make up roughly 27 percent of the Alabama population. I'm from Alabama. I know how life is in Alabama. Who's there. But only 14 percent of the seats there.

The federal court rejected this map, saying this is a probable violation of the Voting Rights Act. They're trying to disenfranchise black voters there.

But the Supreme Court basically hinted that this is too close to this election coming up in May, and so they froze it and said they will hear arguments later on.

What the impact will be, we will find out.

But it's not happening just in Alabama. If you look at some other states out there.

In Ohio, the head of the State Supreme Court there also sided with Democrats, who said, no, the Republicans are trying to draw a map here that decidedly favors their party disproportionately to what the Democratic vote of Ohio would show.

Same in North Carolina where it's pretty closely divided. The argument is that Republicans are pushing it forward. The state court, also there, saying, that can't stand.

All of this is important, Ana, because if these redistricting plans stand with no changes, the redistricting alone could give the Republicans back control of the House.

But maybe with these court challenges, maybe not.

CABRERA: And all these states are doing redistricting right now, so what is the landscape more broadly nationwide? It seems like we're at the point where politicians pick their voters instead of the other way around.

FOREMAN: It's not just Republicans. The Democrats try to do the same thing, notably in New York. The difference is Democrats control many fewer state legislatures so their impact is less profound out there. For right now, Republicans control enough that they can basically draw

the congressional districts, 187 of them. And 75 are under Democratic control. So you can see the Republican impact can be much higher there.

And the result of all of this as we move forward, a real change in the number of seats in this country that are actually competitive.

[13:55:03]

In many places -- there's only 40 competitive seats right now compared to 73 10 years ago. In many places, if you win the primary, you have won the election because the other party doesn't really have a chance in that process.

This is the key to the fact that so many Americans are saying, we need to see more cooperation between the parties.

We need to take the best Republican ideas and the best Democratic ideas, merge them together in a moderate form where we can get the best of it all.

Under that, you cannot, because each party is being pushed towards its extremes and embracing its extremes in these safe, safe, safe districts -- Ana?

CABRERA: Tom Foreman, good info. Thank you.

And that does it for us. Let's do it again tomorrow. See you back here at 1:00 Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)