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Senators Announce Bipartisan Agreement On Gun Control; Interview With Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL); Inflation Rises At Fastest Pace In 40 Years; January 6th Committee To Focus On Trump's Big Lie At Monday's Hearing; Officer Who Defended Capitol On 1/6 Reacts To Explosive Hearing; Patriot Front Leader Among Those Arrested Near Idaho Pride Event; Satellite Pollution Threatens To Alter View Of Night Sky. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 12, 2022 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:08]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN HOST: You are live in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Jim Acosta in Washington.

Desperate calls for action on gun reform no longer falling on deaf ears in the halls of Congress. Today a bipartisan group of senators announcing an agreement in principle for gun safely legislation. The actual legislative text is not written yet but here are the main parts of the framework as it stands. Funding for mental health resources and school safety resources, grants for states to enact so-called red flag laws, enhanced review process for gun buyers under 21, closing the so- called boyfriend loophole, penalties for straw purchasing and clarifying the definition of a firearms dealer.

A rare common ground, no question about it, found in the wake of last month's school shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde, Texas. It's a wakeup call as gun violence stalks every corner of this nation on any given day just within the last 28 hours in Chicago. At least 21 people were shot and at least seven died. Last night four people were shot and one person died in Denver. Five teenagers were shot near a riverfront park in Louisville, Kentucky.

Two are dead and four are injured after a nightclub shooting in Gary, Indiana. In Georgia a man took his own life after shooting and killing his own infant daughter and her mother and injuring the granddaughter. And notably, six years ago on this day 49 people were killed in the attack at Pulse Nightclub in Orlando.

It's a lot every weekend here that we cover on CNN about these mass shootings. So let's go now to Eva McKend, from our Capitol Hill unit.

Eva, it doesn't go as far as some gun safety advocates would like obviously. But tell us, what do we know about some of these provisions in this agreement and how this might work?

EVA MCKEND, CNN NATIONAL POLITICS CORRESPONDENT: It does, Jim, because this is modest proposals but still could be quite consequential if the red flag law provision is adopted, for instance. It would provide funding to help states create new red flag laws. This would allow law enforcement to keep guns away from people found by a judge to pose a threat to themselves or others. But it sounds like the states would essentially be given a choice to opt in to receiving these federal dollars to enforce this effort. It does not appear to be any sort of requirement or mandate.

If the boyfriend loophole measure is agreed to, anyone who was deemed to have been in a serious dating relationship and was convicted of domestic violence related charge would no longer be eligible to buy a gun. This is noteworthy because previous attempts to pass this have failed under the weight of pressure from the NRA.

Let's talk about this enhanced review process for teens under 21. This is a measure that appears to have some teeth. It would include a more thorough review process for people between 18 to 21 who go to buy a gun. A Democratic aide telling CNN the National Instant Criminal Background Check System would have to contact state and local law enforcement to search for any disqualifying mental health or juvenile records. It also includes federal investments in mental health as well as school security programs -- Jim.

ACOSTA: And I think one of the things that stands out really almost above almost anything in this proposal is the fact that this is such a bipartisan agreement. You have a number of Republican senators who have signed onto this, and it makes it sound like, potentially, this could actually get through, which would be huge.

MCKEND: Hugely significant. We haven't seen this type of reform in several decades. But it doesn't include some provisions that gun reform advocates have been calling for for years. So more widespread background checks as well as a ban on these assault weapons, these military style weapons that we have seen in so many of these tragic mass shootings.

ACOSTA: And raising the age to buy a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21, a lot of gun safety advocates have been pushing for that as well. That's not in here also. But, all right, Eva McKen, we'll keep following this. Thank you very much.

Joining me now Democratic Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Senator Durbin, you're also the majority whip there in the Senate and so you know this all too well. You say that this agreement falls short but Congress can't let the perfect response be the enemy of the good. In your view, how significant is this that, as we were just talking about with Eva a few moments ago, that this is so bipartisan and has the chance of getting across the finish line? That is kind of extraordinary here in Washington.

SEN. DICK DURBIN (D-IL): Jim, let's put the cards on the table. America is divided politically. We all know that. It's a 50-50 Senate. It's an issue that's so red hot that we haven't done a thing for 30 years and we're in the midst of these national tragedies from these mass shootings one after the other to think that a group of senators, bipartisan group can come together and take measured but important steps forward toward gun safety is nothing short of a political miracle. [16:05:04]

We're not at the finish line but we at least can see it, and that's an encouraging development.

ACOSTA: And we're starting to hear already some words of caution from both parties that this isn't a done deal yet and that it could unravel based on what goes into the legislative text. What do you think, Senator, if any of the current provisions that we're talking about in this framework if they're dropped in the final version, would that affect your support for this effort?

DURBIN: Well, listen, my vision of gun safety in America goes far beyond what they have proposed. But as I said, I'm not going to hold out for everything, if anything that we can do is a step in the right direction we will save a life. Senator Chris Murphy called me this afternoon, we talked about drafting the provisions. It's a critical step that doesn't get a lot of public attention. But the resources in the Senate Judiciary Committee will be available to Chris and I'm sure Senator Grassley will say the same on the Republican side.

We want to make sure that we get this done in a professional and a timely way. Moving on this sooner rather than later is important.

ACOSTA: And Chicago in your home state of Illinois, Senator, as you know, was the scene of some horrific gun violence just this weekend. It happens all the time there. What have your constituents been telling you about what they want to see done?

DURBIN: Well, they are desperate and angry and they challenge all of us in elected office to, quote, "do something," close quote. And I get that message loud and clear. This bill does something. The idea of straw purchases being treated as a serious crime. That's when somebody, a convicted felon, has someone with a clear criminal record purchase a gun and they use it in crime. We know that story in Chicago.

It was last year that one of our finest, a young policewoman named Ella French was murdered with one of these straw purchase weapons. And my wife and I went to her memorial service. And it's something this bill would address and very important. But I also want to tell you that we have definitely for counseling. I'm so glad to see it's part of it. It's not the only answer but think of the fact that half the people that lose their lives to guns each day are usually committing suicide.

Secondly, that these people who have reached a level of madness where they turn a gun loose in a classroom, we think that we might be able to intervene in that situation at an earlier stage, I think it's an important step. And I want to add element in the talking about the crime in Chicago, many of these gang bangers are from completely broken homes and families. Counseling for trauma is an essential element if we want to reduce gun violence.

ACOSTA: No, absolutely. And let me ask you this because this agreement does not include an assault weapons ban, it does not raise the age to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21. We had Fred Guttenberg, father of a Parkland victim, who was with us last weekend. He was saying if that were changed from 18 to 21 his daughter would be alive today, if that had been in effect when Parkland happened. It might have made the difference in places like Uvalde. Is that a missed opportunity?

DURBIN: It definitely is. Let me tell you that we require you to be 21 years of age to purchase a handgun but not to purchase an AR-15? That crazy individual who went and purchased $6,000 worth of firearms and ammunition when he reached the age of 18 and then turned it loose on those poor kids.

I mean, that is not just a gun. It's a terrible device. A dangerous device that does almost unspeakable damage to the human body. And to think that that's been allowed for those 18 years of age, even though I'll have to concede they're trying to tighten the background check on people who purchase them under the age of 21.

But to my mind, assault weapons have no valid role in sport or hunting or even self-defense. I can't imagine if anything like was envisioned by the people who came up with our Second Amendment.

ACOSTA: You're right, there is a provision in this framework that targets this particular problem of young people purchasing these AR- 15s. There is an enhanced review process for gun buyers under 21 in that regard, and so perhaps that might alleviate some of the concern on this, but I have to ask you, are you concerned that some of your Democratic colleagues who would like to see this go further that they might gum up the works in an attempt to get more? Or are you trying to, you know, I guess tell them to, you know, hang on, let this process move forward?

DURBIN: I would tell them it comes down to three words. It takes 10. It takes 10 Republicans and all of the Democratic senators to support this measure. And tomorrow, if we fail to move forward on this bipartisan proposal, we'll still be in mortal danger in this nation from gun violence.

[16:10:02]

This at least is a step in the right direction. There's much more that needs to be done when it comes to assault rifles, high capacity, purchases -- velocity ammunition, as well as ghost guns. I mean, there are so many other topics. Don't let the array of possibilities stop us from this once in 30 years opportunity.

ACOSTA: All right. Senator Dick Durbin, thank you for your time. We appreciate it.

DURBIN: Thank you.

ACOSTA: All right. We'll see what happens moving forward.

Coming up, we're all feeling the effects of the economy. But what's the solution? We'll talk about that next with the former labor secretary under President Clinton. That's coming up in a few moments. You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: You're paying more for just about everything, we all understand that by now, but what's the solution? We turn now to Robert Reich. He is the former labor secretary under President Clinton. He's also the author of "The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It."

[16:15:01]

Mr. Secretary, thank you so much for being with us. It's great to have you on the program. You know, fair or not, voters seem ready to hold Democrats responsible for these rising prices. I know you have a different take on this. Is there anything the administration should be considering at this point? Are there policies that could alleviate what we're seeing out there?

ROBERT REICH, FORMER LABOR SECRETARY UNDER PRESIDENT CLINTON: Well, there's no simple answer, obviously, Jim. I mean, inflation is terrible. It is almost out of control. It's a worldwide phenomenon. I think that's very important for people to understand. It's not just the United States. In fact the United States inflation rates are actually lower than they are in most other places around the world.

But it is important to recognize that a big part of this inflation is not just a lot of demand and not enough supply. But a big part of it has to do with corporations, huge profits that they have been making and they are still pushing consumers to pay more. They're raising their prices when they don't have to raise their prices. I think that what the administration needs to do is, number one, much more vigorous bolder anti-trust enforcement because the only reason these big corporations are able to push price increases at the same time they're making record amounts of money, is because they have such dominant positions in the markets. They can do it. They don't have to pay a price.

And the second thing the administration ought to consider, in my view, is a windfall profits tax. Even the conservative government in Britain just passed that. And on the oil companies. The oil companies are raking in record profits and yet they are increasing their prices at the pump. That's -- to me that just makes no sense.

ACOSTA: It's interesting that you say that because last week I spoke to Democratic strategist James Carville, who you know very well, about these sky-high energy prices and here's what he proposed. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAMES CARVILLE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: If anybody doesn't think that these oil companies are manipulating these prices to their advantage and I have no idea what to tell you because you're strictly naive. The British parliament, the Tories passed this. Democrats in the House passed this. Tax those windfall profits and return that money to consumers. (END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: What do you think about that, Mr. Secretary? I mean, should the administration be thinking about a tax rebate going to the American people out there because we've seen that in previous administrations, Republican administrations have sent out rebate checks. Might that help, you know, ease this pinch that folks are feeling right now?

REICH: It definitely could help, Jim, because, again, most people, the biggest pinch for most people was energy prices and the biggest thing they see is those price rises at the pump. And so a windfall profits tax that were rebated to consumers would be enormously helpful. Another option is you take the revenue from a windfall profits tax, it goes from the treasury and the treasury reduces or eliminates the federal gas tax, at least temporarily, and helps the states eliminate state gas taxes again temporarily.

There are a lot of things that can be done but I think the windfall profits is absolutely critical. It also signals to the oil companies that they just can't keep on raising their prices to consumers without any kind of penalty.

ACOSTA: And I want to talk about another Clinton administration veteran, Larry Summers, who served as the Treasury secretary under President Clinton, was on CNN this morning advocating for lifting tariffs on China in an effort to bring down prices. What do you think of that?

REICH: Well, that might be a temporary help. But, again, China is not really responsible for the inflation. Lowering tariffs on goods coming from China could add to supply but it's not going to really be terribly helpful at this time because part of the problem with regard to China has to do with lockdowns, lockdowns in Shanghai and elsewhere given the enormous problems that China is now having with a new wave of COVID.

And on top of that you've also got ocean shipping. The ocean shippers are again another monopolist, set of monopolies. Those ocean shippers are not going to be reducing their prices any time soon. That's going to hobble any help we get from lowering tariffs on China. So I think the big issue here, and the most important to consider is windfall profits tax and anti-trust enforcement here in the United States.

ACOSTA: All right, Robert Reich, well, thank you very much. A lot of folks are feeling this economy and what it's been doing in terms of inflation. Hopefully we'll have you back sometime soon to talk about other solutions that may be out there and perhaps the administration will do some things and we'll talk about that as well. Thanks for your time. We appreciate it.

[16:20:02]

REICH: Thank you, Jim.

ACOSTA: All right, good to see you. Coming up, it's round two of the January 6th hearings tomorrow up on

Capitol Hill. Who will be testifying and what to expect, next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ACOSTA: Former President Trump was told he lost the 2020 election according to testimony made public by the January 6th Committee, but that didn't stop him or his allies from baselessly alleging election fraud in a futile attempt to prevent Joe Biden's victory. The big lie will be in focus tomorrow at the second public hearing by the January 6th Committee investigating the Capitol attack.

[16:25:01]

CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin joins me now.

Jeffrey, great to see you. Trump's mindset is key here. How hard is it to prove what he was thinking? And I guess what do you make of this witness list that we're seeing for tomorrow? It looks like it's going to be a big day of reckoning for the big lie.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN CHIEF LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you know, what really jumps out at me about the witness list is that they are all Republicans or Republican-affiliates because there's one FOX News -- former FOX News journalist. And this, I think, continues a theme that the committee started in its first hearing, which is, look, don't believe us Democrats, believe Republicans. Republicans are the ones, whether it was Bill Barr or Ivanka Trump.

And here you have Bill Stepien, Trump's former campaign manager, Ben Ginsberg, who is probably the most experienced and qualified Republican election lawyer in the country. A city council, Republican city councilman from Pennsylvania and the former FOX News journalist. These are all people who you would think would be sympathetic to any Republican claims but the fact that they will apparently be discrediting the big lie will have I think a little more credibility than if Democrats were doing it.

ACOSTA: Absolutely. And among the witnesses tomorrow, I mean, I think this is fascinating, Jeffrey. BJay Pak, the former U.S. attorney in Atlanta. He testified at the Senate Judiciary Committee that he quit his job in early 2021 after feeling pressure to investigate Trump's false election claims. Pak also said he was upset that Trump asked Georgia's secretary of state to find votes in that infamous phone call because that indicated Trump was seeking to overturn the election and ignoring essentially Pack's findings. Your thoughts on that. The Georgia aspect of this is always fascinating to me.

TOOBIN: Right. And he's an especially important witness because, you know, as you're suggesting, Jim, there is an active criminal investigation in Fulton County, which is Atlanta, being conducted about whether the president -- the former President Trump violated Georgia criminal election law in attempting to get the Georgia vote overturned. I think many people remember the infamous phone call on tape where

President Trump is essentially demanding the secretary of state to find him votes to win the -- to win Georgia. The testimony of the U.S. attorney will be another side of that Georgia story, which is both a subject of the congressional hearing but also the criminal investigation in Fulton County.

ACOSTA: Yes, and you mentioned Bill Stepien, he was Trump's 2020 campaign manager. We're going to see him tomorrow. I mean, that is important. He's known as this data driven guy who according to the "Washington Post" told others that Trump faced this tough bid for re- election. It's something that a lot of people who covered Trump knew from talking to our sources. And Stepien tells CNN he is appearing under subpoena so the committee appears to be continuing this tactic of using the words of Trump's inner circle against him.

TOOBIN: That's right. And, you know, the question as we get further along is how close to the inner circle will they get. We did hear from Ivanka Trump during the first day of testimony. We may hear something from Mark Meadows. You know, he cooperated through providing e-mails but didn't give his testimony. They're -- you know, knowing what Trump was thinking as this was happening in real time is so enormously important, both for the congressional and potentially criminal investigation.

You know, the closer you can get to the inner circle, the more important it is. You know, Stepien, the former campaign manager, you know, he was close at one time. I think one of the things we're all going to be looking for is how close was he to the Trump inner circle on January 6th. That's something I don't know. I don't know, but we will find out when he testifies.

ACOSTA: That's right. And I have to ask you about this, Jeffrey. Former Trump senior aide Steve Bannon, as you might expect, is slamming the hearings and using just some incredibly irresponsible language. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE BANNON, FORMER CHIEF STRATEGIST TO DONALD TRUMP: Trump won the presidency and he is the legitimate president of the United States, and your guy is illegitimate and the American people are awakening to that. And we don't care what you have to say. And I dare Merrick Garland to take that crap there last night and try to indict Donald J. Trump. We dare you. Because we will impeach -- we're winning in November and we're going to impeach you and everybody around you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Now we know something is definitely wrong with Steve Bannon but isn't there something wrong with Bannon being under federal indictment for contempt of Congress and yet he is threatening the attorney general of this country?

[16:30:07] TOOBIN: You know, I think back to the famous comment from the late great k to the famous comment from the late k to the famous comment from the late great senator Moynihan, that, you know, everyone is entitled to their own opinion but they're not entitled to their own facts. And, you know, it's not a matter of opinion whether Joe Biden or Donald Trump won this election. You know, Joe Biden won this election.

And there is no -- not even an unserious debate about that. And the fact that Steve Bannon is still using his microphone, as is Donald Trump, to claim otherwise, you know, it just presents a problem for us as journalists, I think. You know, what do we do with that? I mean, do -- you know, we can say it's a lie, but you know, these people with big platforms, they keep saying it, and it doesn't make it any more true.

ACOSTA: Yes. All right. Jeffrey Toobin, great to have you, thanks again. We appreciate it.

TOOBIN: One more thing, Jim.

ACOSTA: Yes, absolutely.

TOOBIN: Supreme Court opinion is 10:00 tomorrow. There could be a lot more news from there, too.

ACOSTA: All right. You're right about that, Jeffrey. And who knows what the Supreme Court will put out there. We could have one massive day of news to deal with.

All right, Jeffrey, good point. Thank you so much.

TOOBIN: Indeed. All right, pal.

ACOSTA: We appreciate it.

Let's bring in someone who defended the Capitol on January 6th and who was at Thursday's primetime hearing, Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn.

Officer Dunn, you testified during the very first January 6th hearing last summer. Great to have you, by the way. Thanks for coming in. Great to see you.

OFFICER HARRY DUNN, U.S. CAPITOL POLICE, DEFENDED CAPITOL ON JANUARY 6TH: Thanks for having me. It's good to see you.

ACOSTA: Yes, good to see you. Were you surprised by all of that new information that came out on Thursday? And what was going through your mind? You were in the room. That had to have been fascinating given everything that you and your colleagues in the police department had been through?

DUNN: You know, when the hearings first started it was a lot of information that first came out. And for me it was -- it just confirmed a lot of the thoughts that I already had, the opinions that I had made. The judgments. But like Mr. Toobin just said, you can't make up your own facts. So I made up my opinion and they were confirmed by the facts that the committee presented. Towards the end right before the first break they played that emotional video.

I tried not to watch the footage, even when it breaks on Twitter or anywhere. I don't like to watch it because who wants to sit there and watch that abuse that you, your co-workers, your friends take. And that was really brutal to go through. And then having those widows there with me. And seeing them being there, being strong and being emotional, it just tugged at my heart and it was tough to relive that day again.

ACOSTA: Yes, it seemed like a real moment for the law enforcement community, not only in the Capitol Police Department but in the D.C. Police Department. You guys have really rallied around one another and it's just been remarkable to watch.

I have to highlight the T-shirt that you wore during the hearing. It said "Insurrection, one, a violent uprising against an authority or government, two, January 6, 2021." The reason I bring it up, we know 20 million people approximately watched that hearing on Thursday night. Do you think that it is getting through to people that this was an insurrection, that it wasn't just something that got out of control that some people like to say?

DUNN: It's through to them. They're just spinning it the way that they want to make it sound better for them. Like I said earlier, I like to be very matter of fact about things. And if something is my opinion, I'll state it as that. However, what happened on January 6th by definition is an insurrection. And I don't care how you spin it, you're living in some alternate reality if you don't acknowledge it as that.

That's fine, but you're wrong. So -- I remember there was a lawmaker that said the real insurrection was the leak that came from the Supreme Court. That was a violent uprising against a -- I don't think so. But maybe that's his opinion but according to that definition it's not correct.

ACOSTA: Yes. Well, there's a lot of that kind of stuff flying around D.C. as you know. And the committee showed this footage that you were just talking about a few moments ago. And a lot of it we haven't seen before, which was pretty remarkable, and you were visibly emotional as those clips were played. You said just a few moments ago that it's hard to keep watching all of this. FOX News did not air it during the hearing. Your thoughts on that?

DUNN: I'm not surprised. I think there was a quote from one of the anchors that said we know our audience or something of that extent. Their audience doesn't really care about it, so they pandered to their audience instead of reporting what's actually happening in the news.

[16:35:06]

Sure there's a lot of things going on, they were talking about the economy and all that, and the inflation. Sure those things exist. But a lot of things exist at the same time. And it shows that some people can't concentrate on multiple things at the same time.

ACOSTA: And the committee was talking about, you know, Trump's inaction during the attack on the Capitol. And at one point we heard, you know, Liz Cheney talking about that Trump may have been, essentially, voicing support for this idea of hanging Mike Pence and voicing support for the rioters, the insurrectionists. What was your reaction when you heard that?

DUNN: That was completely surprising. I -- correct. So, I did say that yes, nothing really surprised me, but that was surprising to hear that well, maybe those people are right about Mike Pence, about hanging him. Really? Like that was surprising even from the former president. You know, that was surprising for me to hear that. I couldn't believe it.

But they also said that he did nothing to help us during that time period where we were fighting and protecting the members of Congress and this country. That's no longer my opinion, that's a fact now because it was confirmed.

ACOSTA: If the president at that time had acted sooner and gotten more support to you and your fellow officers on that day, might it have been different?

DUNN: You know, people were asking, you know, so how did the -- how did it end, how did y'all get everybody out? How did, you know, you clear the Capitol and bring order back? We got more help, that's what happened. There wasn't no special formula or special key word we used or some magic pepper spray. We had more help. And yes, it's easy to sit back and say sure, if we had more help then this wouldn't have happened or that wouldn't have happened. But when more people showed up we started to regain control of the building.

ACOSTA: Simple as that?

DUNN: Simple as that.

ACOSTA: And it's been over a year now, well over a year since January 6th, and I have to wonder what you, your fellow officers, the wives, widows of the officers who aren't with us anymore, what is your community going through right now?

DUNN: You know, a lot of people heal in many different ways. And with police officers, you know, we're supposed to be tough. You know, we're always supposed to be OK type A personalities, and out of sight, out of mind. But with these hearings happening, a lot of people are forced to relive it.

I'm making a choice to go to the hearings and make myself see it all the way through. That's important to me. But some people it just pops up on the TV and they be like, man, I was trying to forget all about it and now I'm taken back to this dark place.

ACOSTA: I have to think there are PTSD issues, there are mental health issues. DUNN: I had a colleague who called me, said he was in the store and he

was on the verge of a panic attack. And just thinking about after the hearings and, you know, how many people don't admit that that's what -- or somebody, I'm stressed out, I have a headache, and I don't know why. It's not easy. It's not easy. Especially when you're forced and not prepared to see that.

ACOSTA: All right. Officer Harry Dunn, I know it's something that you and your colleagues and the family members are all living through. But it helps us so much. Hope it helps you when you come in and talk to us about it. Really appreciate it.

DUNN: Yes. Definitely does. Thanks for having me on.

ACOSTA: Thanks very much.

DUNN: Good to see you. All right, thank you.

ACOSTA: Great to have you here. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:43:35]

ACOSTA: The leader of the white supremacists group Patriot Front was among those arrested near a Pride event in Idaho yesterday. Police say Thomas Ryan Rousseau was one of 31 white nationalists there arrested before the group could act on plans to riot at a Pride Parade. The masked men were dressed in riot gear, had shields and even a smoke grenade.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz joins us now.

Shimon, we've seen this group out there before. They do these protests and try to intimidate people, and these guys with their tactical gear all packed in a truck, what kind of trouble do police think they were planning?

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So for now, Jim, all they are saying, the authorities there are saying is that this was some kind of planned riot, plans to riot. That's why they're seeing them charged with pretty much a low-level crime at this point, a conspiracy to riot. But of course, the investigation is continuing. That's why the FBI is assisting here because think about where they were going, how they were planning to attend this event. This was a Pride event. And so certainly authorities are very concerned about that.

And also, Jim, one of the things that's very interesting here is that these men travelled from all across the country. We're talking 11 states. So if you're the FBI, if you're the police, you have to be wondering OK, well, did we miss something here? Because certainly this group is on the radar of authorities. They know about this group. The Anti-Defamation League has been tracking this group. So this group gets tracked across the country.

[16:45:00]

So certainly for law enforcement they now need to go back and try and figure out and really learn more about what these individuals were up to. We're told there's going to be a press conference tomorrow by the local authorities there at 2:00, so perhaps -- 2:00 Eastern. Perhaps we'll learn more from there.

But this no doubt, Jim, when you think about the number of people who were gathered here, the plans here, the fact that this was only disrupted because thankfully a tipster, someone saw them jumping into this U-Haul, describing them as a small army wearing khakis and these blue shirts and having shields and wearing masks, realized something was wrong here and called authorities.

ACOSTA: Yes. It's very disturbing to see the -- you know, a paramilitary group piling into a U-Haul truck. And I think, Shimon, we saw something similar to this in Washington not too long ago.

PROKUPECZ: Right. And that's the concern. Look, you know, since January 6th you have these groups that are now forming and gathering all across the country. And that's why, you know, the FBI we've heard from them say that they have concerns, certainly this summer, over some of these groups and perhaps some of the violence that we can expect.

ACOSTA: All right. Shimon Prokupecz, we know you'll stay on top of it. Thank you very much.

Coming up it's not just a problem here on earth. Pollution is also becoming a problem in space. And if we don't get ahead of it, it could change the night sky. Those details next.

You're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:02]

ACOSTA: Go outside tonight and look up. The sky that is already filled with stars is getting crowded. There's literally thousands of satellites up there with more going up all the time. Space experts are warning the satellite pollution could forever change our view of the night sky.

CNN's Kristin Fisher reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTIN FISHER, CNN SPACE AND DEFENSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here in this remote stretch of Saskatchewan.

SAMANTHA LAWLER, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR OF ASTRONOMY, UNIVERSITY OF REGINA: Full of stars.

FISHER: A chance to see the brilliance of the night sky.

LAWLER: That's so cool.

FISHER: But astronomer Samantha Lawler says it's changing and fast, as more and more satellites get in the way.

LAWLER: For the first time in human history we're not going to have access to the night sky the way that we've seen it since -- as long as we've been human.

FISHER: It only takes a few minutes of looking up with the naked eye to see what she's talking about.

(On-camera): There's one. I see a satellite, right up there.

LAWLER: Yes.

FISHER: There's another one. I see a second satellite right there. See, there's one, there's two.

LAWLER: Yes. Wow. That one is really bright.

FISHER: Yes.

LAWLER: And really low. What?

FISHER: Oh, yes.

LAWLER: What?

FISHER (voice-over): An assistant professor of astronomy at the University of Regina, Lawler has been watching from her farm as the number of active satellites has exploded from about 1,000 in 2017 to more than 5,000 today.

LAWLER: This is a lot worse than I expected. It's changing fast.

FISHER: And it's about to get much worse. Lawler and her colleagues created this simulation based on their recently published predictions about satellite pollution.

LAWLER: This is the number of satellites that are in orbit right now that we're seeing in the sky. And this is adding in the tens of thousands more that are planned without any regulation.

FISHER (on-camera): That's crazy. It covers the whole earth.

LAWLER: Yes.

FISHER (voice-over): In less than a decade Lawler predicts that one out of every 15 stars in the sky will actually be a moving satellite. It's the dawn of what's called the mega constellations, tens of thousands of small satellites only about 300 miles above earth launched by private companies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one.

FISHER: To provide global high speed internet access. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lift off.

FISHER: Elon Musk's SpaceX is responsible for a third of all active satellites.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Current separation confirm.

FISHER: More than any other company or country, including the U.S. government.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And off they go.

FISHER: SpaceX has already launched more than 2,000 satellites with plans to launch at least 42,000 more for its mega constellation called Starlink. SpaceX has said, "We firmly believe in the importance of a natural night sky for all of us to enjoy, which is why we have been working with leading astronomers around the world." And the company has made changes by adding a deployable visor to the satellite to block sunlight from hitting the brightest parts of the spacecraft.

But astronomers like Lawler say it's not enough. As of now there are no binding international rules monitoring these mega constellations.

LAWLER: We're already seeing so many now today and there's going to be 10 times as many.

FISHER (on-camera): There's one. There's another satellite.

(Voice-over): Kristin Fisher, CNN, Saskatchewan.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: Pretty cool. All right. This week's CNN Hero works to provide a necessary yet often overlooked item for financially struggling kids across America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RABBI AMY WEISS, CNN HERO: Underwear is just an overlooked item and it's super expensive. So the parents who are struggling financially tend to think, you can't see the underwear, so it will be OK.

There is a crisis for this very essential need that really makes a big difference in their social and academic world.

Kids who need underwear don't want used underwear, right. That's gross, isn't it?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

WEISS: We only give away new underwear.

Kids, they want what all of us wants, security and dignity.

[16:55:01] We want to increase these kids' self-esteem and confidence. That's really what it is all about. Helping fill that gap when no one else is doing it. And to keep them in school, when they've got underwear. It's just easier to be a kid.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And you can find more about this story at CNNheroes.com or you can also nominate someone you think should be a CNN Hero. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)