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CNN International: Violent Clashes Between Rival Protest Groups on UCLA Campus; Dozens of Arrests at Columbia University as Police Cleared Hamilton Hall; Antony Blinken Meets Netanyahu in Israel, Seeks to Ratchet Up Pressure on Hamas to Accept a Ceasefire and Hostage Release Deal; Florida's Six-week Abortion Ban Comes Into Effect; Arizona Senate to Vote on 160-year-old Abortion Ban; New Harvey Weinstein Trial Set to Start After Conviction Overturned; Trump Criticizes Gag Order After Judge Issues $9,000 Fine; Trump to Campaign in Wisconsin and Michigan Today; in Mexico, Political Violence Escalates as Country Gears Up for Election; in Haiti, Transitional Council Names New Leader, Proposes Interim PM. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired May 01, 2024 - 08:00   ET

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

[08:00:00]

AMARA WALKER, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Hi, everyone and welcome to our viewers around the world. I am Amara Walker. This is "CNN Newsroom." Just ahead, we are following breaking news out of Los Angeles were violent clashes have broken out between protesters at the University of California, LA. Then a look at U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken's last day in Israel where he spoke to protesters calling for the release of hostages held by Hamas. Plus, CNN has gained insight into the types of missiles and drones used by Iran in its unprecedented attack on Israel last month, an Exclusive Report from Tehran.

It is just before dawn in Los Angeles, 5 a.m. there, and police are on the campus of UCLA trying to regain control after a night of violence. Clashes erupted between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters overnight, this after school officials declared the pro-Palestinian protest encampment unlawful and increased security on campus. On the other side of the country, New York Police have retaken Hamilton Hall on Columbia University's campus.

Protesters had occupied the building and barricaded themselves inside, demanding that the school sell off its investments in companies tied to Israel. You can see in these -- this video here, police entering this building with a ramp. The mayor of New York is due to address the student protest next hour, and we will have more on that shortly.

But first to Los Angeles and CNN's Stephanie Elam was on the scene of the violent clashes at UCLA and she filed this report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we are seeing now is very different than what we were seeing on campus overnight with some of those visuals, I've seen fireworks being thrown and the counter protesters and protesters going at each other. I want to show you this over here just because, right now, we can see this group of people.

I believe they were just pushed out of the -- they were pushed out from inside the encampment. Law enforcement now making this line here that you can see. And these are law enforcement officers from different agencies locally. CHP, I see some Beverly Hills Police. I see LAPD. So, they are all here and they've been making this line. They are holding this line now. And as I can see now, they are also starting to build up this barricade here. What we saw overnight was very different. I can tell you that we did here some chanting not too long ago within the last hour, but that chanting seems to have stopped now.

It does seem that the energy has changed here, compared to what it looked like overnight when it as just devolving. And it just seemed like there was just different sides going at each other. And again, we are not clear on what caused everything to degrade in the way that it did overnight. I was out here all day yesterday and you saw some people yelling at each other, but it was nothing of anything to the scale that we've seen at other campuses.

What happened from then to overnight, not clear, what led to the agitation that we saw overnight here, the breaking down of the barriers. And one thing I also want to explain to you is just how they've done it here. Where we are standing, if you are familiar with UCLA's campus, would be closer to the eastern side of the city. This side, it would be the pro-Israeli demonstrators. Once you go beyond that, there is a barricade and then there is a walkway that they have barricaded. You see security in there, and then another wall of barricade, and on that other side is where you would see that encampment of the pro-Palestinian supporters.

So, they tried to keep people apart from both sides. And every now and then, you would see a flare up. You would see people yelling at each other over those barriers yesterday. But what we saw in the last few hours is a much more aggressive posture. But I can tell you now, on campus, police officers, law enforcement officers are all around here and it does seem that there is a forced move to keep people away from the center of this encampment and keep pushing people further, further out here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Thanks to Stephanie Elam for that report. Let's bring in Anna Dai-Liu. She is a science and health editor at the student newspaper, the "Daily Bruin" at UCLA. Anna, thank you so much for your time. I know that it is probably still dark there in California.

[08:05:00]

WALKER: Can you tell me what things are like right now on campus, Anna?

ANNA DAI-LIU, SCIENCE AND HEALTH EDITOR, DAILY BRUIN: Hi. We have actually not entered the scene for awhile, as it got quite dangerous to our reporters. We have reporters who were gassed and assaulted physically during the events. So, we actually haven't been directly monitoring, but I believe police presence is still on campus. The university has not informed students about anything as of yet, any changes to regular scheduling. So, we are currently all waiting for things to evolve further.

WALKER: Understood. Anna, you just said that some of your Daily Bruin reporters were physically assaulted. By whom?

DAI-LIU: It is -- I have not quite confirmed yet. This has obviously been quite a chaotic night for us. But they were assaulted while they were walking back from the plaza to our office here.

WALKER: Injuries, do they -- were they injured? How are they doing?

DAI-LIU: One of our reporters has been taken to emergency care and another is, I believe, also went as well. We have -- others of us have been OK, but it has been quite a dangerous night for the Daily Bruin.

WALKER: How are you doing? I mean, and what is your mindset along with your colleagues and your -- and just your friends at the UCLA campus, because we've been seeing these protests grow and spread throughout the country. A lot of it has been peaceful, up until, I feel it is like the last couple of days. What is the feeling in terms of safety on campus right now, especially for you, yourself and your colleagues?

DAI-LIU: We are currently kind of just processing the print our paper today. So, we were working on finalizing that for today's print issue I don't think a lot of the student population has quite woken up yet, since it is quite early and most of the events unfolded in an hour where a lot of people would be sleeping. I think we'll see more of the consequences unfold over the next couple of hours as people get ready to go to their 8 a.m. classes. Who knows if those will be happening?

But I think there were students who were on-site and just watching. I think this is something that we did not really have any advanced notice of at all, as the previous protests have never escalated in such a violent manner.

WALKER: So, what did you and your reporters see when you guys were on the scene overnight? And do you have any sense of how things devolved into this kind of violence that we saw people using, I mean, sticks and throwing debris? And I saw some people holding the barricades. I see umbrellas being used as well and plywood. Describe to us how you saw things escalate?

DAI-LIU: Yeah. There has been sort of consistent counter protester presence at our campus since the encampment began. Around 10:30 or so last night, all of a sudden, many more counter-protesters supporting Israel came to campus and shortly before 11, I don't know what triggered it, but they decided to storm the barricade. Security officials hired by the university did not -- they all retreated back into a hall (ph) on campus, which left counter protesters and protesters in direct conflict.

I was not there for too long, as I was gassed and I had to leave. But I understand that my colleague saw people being hit in the head, people were being hit with pipes. There was a (inaudible) allegedly around. I believe scooters were thrown, electric scooters, a variety of things have occurred. I know that the barricades were -- the metal barricades surrounding the encampment, a lot of them were moved back and out, and various time points. And that counter protesters were attempting to push down the wooden boards that surround the encampment on to the protesters inside.

So, what happened last night? Of course, it is still a bit hard for us to fully determine as, again, it has just been a few hours, but that's from my understanding. Those are just some of the things that happened across last night.

WALKER: And this is the first time since the protests began there at UCLA that you've seen in violence break out like this?

DAI-LIU: I would say yes. Our previous counter protests have, although they have -- like different groups have ended up coming into contact, they -- it was mostly chanting, nothing like this sort of violence that we've seen today.

WALKER: I have to ask you before we go, first off, what year are you at UCLA?

DAI-LIU: I am a third year.

WALKER: You are a third year. You know, it is heartbreaking to hear that the class of 2024, I mean, in 2020 was the pandemic, right? So many of the people who are supposed to graduate this year, it is commencement season right now, they didn't have a high school graduation. Everything was -- everyone was at home because of the pandemic.

[08:10:00]

WALKER: And now, many of the graduation ceremonies, the traditional things that happen on campus are not going to look the same, or they're going to be canceled all together depending on which university you go to. What is the morale or the feeling amongst your friends knowing that things have devolved in this way?

DAI-LIU: Yeah. I am not sure how much you can comment on that, particularly as someone who is not graduating. I think for us, especially as a school on the quarter system as opposed to semester system that other schools have, it is very unclear for us as to how the university will proceed next with these things. (Inaudible) I think we are still -- we still have about five, six weeks left in the quarter, so we are very much just waiting for things to unfold.

WALKER: Well, you are doing a great job. I know that you've had a really long night, so we appreciate you, Anna Dai-Liu, joining us and good luck printing those papers. Thanks so much, with the Daily Bruin there. So as those protests play out in the U.S., America's top diplomat is in Israel, ramping up the pressure for Hamas to accept a proposal for a new ceasefire deal. Antony Blinken has just wrapped up a one-on-one meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Earlier, he met protesters pressing for the release of hostages. They were gathered outside the venue where Blinken met Israel's president and Blinken assured them that the U.S. will not rest until all the hostages are back home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONY BLINKEN, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: Bringing your loved ones home is at the heart of everything we are trying to do, and we will not rest until everyone -- man, woman, soldiers, civilians, young, old is back home. There is very strong proposal on the table right now. Hamas needs to say yes and needs to get this done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: Deal or no deal, the Israeli prime minister is holding firm on plans to invade the southern Gaza city of Rafah. CNN's Jeremy Diamond joining us now, live from Israel -- from Jerusalem. So, then what does this mean in terms of a potential hostage release and ceasefire deal if Netanyahu is saying we are still going to invade Rafah?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, that is the words that came out of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's mouth. But I think you have to view them through the kind of political lens through which they were delivered. And that is to say that Benjamin Netanyahu is coming under considerable pressure right now from his right-wing, ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir, both members of the right wing of his governing coalition, are basically threatening to collapse the government if the war ends, if there is a ceasefire deal, a long-term ceasefire deal that does not involve going into Rafah with this major military offensive.

And so publicly, the Israeli prime minister is very much trying to say that Rafah will happen, the war will not end before Hamas battalions in Rafah are eliminated. But the reality of these negotiations and what I am hearing behind the scenes from Israeli officials is that if indeed there is a hostage deal, a ceasefire proposal that obviously means that at a minimum, a military offensive in Rafah will be delayed and it could perhaps be inevitably delayed if this Egyptian framework actually becomes a reality. And that is because the framework on the table would not only call for several weeks of ceasefire to see the release of 20 to 33 hostages, but it would also bring about a longer- term, at least a one-year ceasefire as part of the current deal that is on the table.

Now, as this proposal is being considered and debated in Israeli politics, it is also still being reviewed by Hamas' leadership and we haven't yet actually heard an official response from Hamas. But Secretary of State Tony Blinken, as he was in Israel today, meeting not only with Netanyahu, but also Israeli President Isaac Herzog and the families of some of these hostages, he has been saying the ball is in Hamas' court. He says that he believes it is a good deal, a good offer for Hamas and saying that if there is not a deal, if these negotiations this week breakdown and fail altogether, he is saying that it will be Hamas' fault.

So as he is here, pushing the Israeli government to agree to this deal, to stand firm on its support for this latest framework, he is also ramping up the public pressure on Hamas, framing the potential failure of these negotiations as something that would fall squarely in Hamas' lap.

WALKER: All right. Jeremy Diamond, thanks so much. Live for us there in Jerusalem. CNN has gained exclusive insight into the types of missiles and drones used by Iran in its unprecedented attack on Israel last month. Our Fred Pleitgen has been speaking to senior officers of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, and he is joining me now from Tehran. Hi there, Fred. What have you learned?

[08:15:00]

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Amara. This of course comes only a couple of days really after Iran and Israel stepped back from the brink of what could have been an all- out war here in the Middle East with massive consequences for the entire region. But one of the things that the Iranians have been saying is they say that if Israel attacks them again, as they put it both Iran and its assets in the Middle East, that the Iranians will hit back hard, certainly seemed to us that they wanted to show us their capabilities. Here is what we saw.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): When Iran attacked Israel in mid-April, they fired hundreds of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones developed by the elite Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace forces.

PLEITGEN: So these two were used in the Israel operation?

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Now, the Revolutionary Guard showed us the types of weapons they used to strike Israel, including two ballistic missiles, the Emad and the other (ph) with a range of more than 1,000 miles, able to carry about a half-ton warhead.

PLEITGEN: How accurate are these?

BRIG. GEN. ALI BELALI, IRAN REVOLUTIONARY GUARD CORPS: Accurate, less than five meters.

PLEITGEN: Less than five meters, you can hit the target?

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Brigadier General Ali Belali was himself once a missile commander in the Revolutionary Guard. He says Iranian missiles managed to hit two targets in Israel, including an airbase, in retaliation for the bombing of Iran's embassy compound in Syria. While the U.S. and Israel claim to have shot down nearly all of Iran's missiles and drones, the general says Tehran showed the power of its aerospace forces.

BELALI (through translator): Today, our drones and missiles have become an important factor of strength and the execution of power in the world he says.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): He also showed us this cruise missile, a type also used in the strikes, and arguably, currently, the most infamous drone in the world, the Shahed 136.

PLEITGEN: Can you show me the warhead? I've never seen the Shahed warhead before.

BELALI: (Inaudible).

PLEITGEN: Yeah.

BELALI: And then it goes in the -- inside (inaudible).

PLEITGEN: Into the missile and then it explodes? OK.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): While the Iranians acknowledged using Shaheds against Israel, the U.S. and Ukraine accused Tehran of also giving hundreds as of these drones to Russia, Moscow using them to attack Ukrainian cities and energy infrastructure. The Iranians continue to deny those accusations. The general tells me that Shaheds attack in swarms, often fired off secretly from unmarked trucks like this one.

BELALI (through translator): Everything is preprogrammed, he says. The flight route is chosen according to the enemy's capabilities and blind spots of radars, and all the elements that can help us reach the target.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): While tensions between Iran and Israel have somewhat eased after they traded direct military blows for the first time, the general warns Iran has even more modern weapons at its disposal.

BELALI (through translator): The only path for them is to have logical and wise negotiations with us, he says. In our defense capabilities, we don't depend on anyone. We've had good progress in this field and we will progress more. There are achievements that have not yet been talked about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (on camera): There you see, Amara, it is a pretty tough talk there coming from the Iranians. Of course, the Revolutionary Guards saying that they don't want things to escalate here in the Middle East any further, but they also tried to make clear to us that they are ready if it does, Amara.

WALKER: A fascinating look there. Frederik Pleitgen, thank you so much. Live for us there in Tehran.

Still to come, it just became much harder to get an abortion in the southern United States. We will have details of an abortion ban that just went into effect in Florida. Also, disgraced Movie Producer Harvey Weinstein is expected back in a New York courtroom after his sex crimes conviction was overturned. What a new trial might look like, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:21:00] WALKER: At the stroke of midnight, the State of Florida's new restrictions on abortion took effect under a law that will make it very difficult to get an abortion anywhere in the southern United States. Florida had allowed abortion up to 15 weeks of pregnancy prior to this law. And for that reason, it was a destination for many women from parts of the southern U.S. with more restrictive laws.

But, the new Florida legislation now outlaws almost all abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before many women even know that they are pregnant. CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell is at a Florida abortion provider right now. Meg, you were at the clinic in the last hours before the law changed. What was that like?

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, there were a lot more patients scheduled to come into this clinic called the Women's Choice here in Jacksonville than they normally have. They said they scheduled two to four times as many people as they tried to get folks in before this law took effect this morning. Florida has been a key access point for abortion, not just obviously for people living in the state, but really across the south.

There were 7,000 abortions per month and Florida in 2023. That is about one and 12 nationwide and one and three that happened in the south. We spoke with a woman here yesterday, who was getting a medication abortion. She was in the process of doing so, she was only comfortable having her first name shared, Candace, and not having her face on camera.

She said she is already the mother of two and she spoke with us about what this ban means to her. Here's what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDACE, PATIENT AT ABORTION CLINIC: You know, I feel relieved I am able to get in and I feel lucky that, right now, I do have a voice and I have a right over my own body. But waking up tomorrow is devastating, knowing that my daughter and myself are waking up tomorrow with less rights than we do today. It is devastating.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

So, this law affects not just people living here, but the many people who over the previous years, especially since Roe v. Wade was overturned, have traveled across state lines into Florida from other states with stricter bans, approaching 8,000 last year. Now, the closest states with access beyond six weeks are North Carolina, which has a 12-week limit, but also a 72-hour waiting period, so that makes it difficult to travel to that state from other places, or Virginia for access after that. So people are having to go hours further.

TIRRELL: Now, this fight is not over here. There is a ballot initiative that will be on Florida ballots in November, so the fight on both sides will continue and we'll see how that goes. This clinic is just trying to stay open until then, guys.

WALKER: All right. CNN Medical Correspondent Meg Tirrell, thank you very much. And one more note about abortion in America, the Arizona State Senate is expected to vote today on whether to repeal a 160- year-old abortion ban, the civil war-era law hit the headlines around the world last month when the state supreme court confirmed that it was still valid and should be enforced. So if the old law is repealed, abortions will be allowed in Arizona up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Let's turn now to New York and disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. He is expected to be back in court today just one week after his sex crimes conviction was overturned. In 2020, Weinstein was sentenced to 23 years in prison for a criminal sexual act and rape, charges that he denied. The 72-year-old will now have a new trial with a new judge and prosecutor. CNN's Jean Casarez joins us now from outside the courthouse.

I mean, is that what the hearing is about? Hi there, Jean. Whether or not he will be retried?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think it is an issue because the prosecution said we will do everything in our power to retry Harvey Weinstein. So, is that a yes? Is that a no? So, we really are looking forward to seeing what they say in the courtroom and Harvey Weinstein will be there in person. It will be early this afternoon, he was brought down from the Mohawk Correctional Facility at the end of last week, actually went to Bellevue Hospital because of some medical issues.

[08:25:00]

CASAREZ: But if the prosecution is going forward, they could start to set a discovery schedule of when they will be trading documents back and forth. The highest court in New York determined that there were a lot of constitutional rights violated in this trial. The judge allowed just too much evidence that he didn't have the right to a fair trial, the due process was violated, and so many other constitutional no bedrock principals of constitutional law. But we have to remember that there were victims that testified before this court and the biggest conviction for Harvey Weinstein in New York was criminal assault, criminal sexual act in the first-degree.

Mimi Haley was the victim that testified in court for that. And she spoke out after the verdict was overturned about the fear, the emotions of coming to this courthouse right behind me to testify all over again. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIMI HALEY, TESTIFIED AGAINST HARVERY WEINSTEIN: People really don't know what I had to go through and what the other women had to go through in preparation for this and all the fears surrounding it, and all the different things. It is like insane, like it is grueling, it is hard, it is -- you know, you're living in fear for years, you know. This whole process took years and then you're getting harassed. I wish it was as easy as going, sure, I am going to do it again, but it is like, wow, you have no idea.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CASAREZ: Now, the trial court will have to follow what the highest court in New York has stated that there can be no prior bad act witnesses if this case is retried. So, Mimi Haley would stand alone, but her attorney Gloria Allred believes that the truth is there. The strength is there, and the fact is that Harvey Weinstein sexually assaulted her back in 2006. The defense, of course, would be vigorous. Amara?

WALKER: Jean Casarez, what a -- so many twists and turns that you've even been following on this. And of course, so many people from the #MeToo movement just horrified over this overturning of the conviction. Let's see how and if this moves forward. Jean Casarez, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, the law enforcement side of the unrest on college campuses across the U.S. and we will tell you what Donald Trump is up to today, as his hush money trial takes a mid-week bring.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:27]

WALKER: More now on our top story and clashes between law enforcement and protesters are breaking out at colleges across the United States. Many students are facing arrest or expulsion from their universities as they call on school authorities to divest from companies that support Israel and the war in Gaza. Police are on campus at the University of California, Los Angeles after a violent confrontation overnight between rival demonstrators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELAM (voice-over): The officers have opened the window, they have got in now. Officers have opened the window, they are now entering Hamilton Hall.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WALKER: And more dramatic scenes from the East Coast, New York Police have cleared protesters from a building at Columbia University, one of America's most prestigious schools. The police are expected to make a public statement about the protests in the next hour. Let's go live now to Los Angeles and CNN's Stephanie Elam. I know it is still dark there in California.

There were violent confrontations at the UCLA campus, and that is why police were called in. What is the situation now?

ELAM: Yeah, it is much different tone now, Amara. If you look behind me here, I'll step out so you can see. You can see that there's a strong police presence out here now. And just to kind of set the landscape for you, here on this side is where you would see the pro- Israel demonstrators. Then on the other side of that, there's a barricade. Then there's a walkway, which -- there were some security in there. I was out here all day yesterday. And then on the other side, there's another barricade and then the encampment for the Palestine supporters.

And what we saw and what you've seen in some of the video, it looks like people from one side are ripping apart the barricades and ripping at the plywood that was up in the encampments overnight. So we saw these clashes happening overnight, we saw that some of those security people in the middle were trying to pull the barricades and put them back into place. The police did not get here it looks like until after 1 o'clock in the morning local time. So, there were a lot of questions about that.

We saw that Mayor Karen Bass put out a statement saying that what she was seeing on the campus was abhorrent. We saw the chancellor put out a statement saying that this had now become unlawful and that students were now being stopped from some parts of the campus to get to their classes, to move around as they needed to.

I can tell you as I walked around on campus yesterday, the vast majority of campus was peaceful and chill. You wouldn't even know that this was going on. I saw people sitting on the grass reading books, studying. It looked very normal. This is the crux of the issue here. And I did see some police presence yesterday, but they seem to be staying in their cruisers, watching to see as people may have had little skirmishes, and then they were moving on.

But what we saw when we got out here, when we got out here, this barricade that's right next to me, right here, wasn't even here. We watched as the police started to put this barricade in place. They had a wall of law enforcement officers that were from different organizations that were here blocking this line. And then they effectively pushed some people out along this side over here, pushed them out. They kind of stayed around for a bit. But now, now as were getting to -- the sun slowly coming up, everyone from out here has pretty much moved away.

But by the time we got on campus overnight, Amara, it is definitely still a bit dicey here. We know now that listening to the Daily Bruin reporters, that's the school paper that is run by the students. They said some of their student journalists were out and were gassed and also assaulted while they were out here during the protests, according to those reporters there from the school newspaper. So definitely, a different situation overnight than what was happening during the day yesterday and what we are seeing now.

WALKER: Yeah. What will today hold and we also did speak with one of the editors from the Daily Bruin who said one of her reporters was taken to the emergency room with unknown injuries. Stephanie Elam, thank you so much for your reporting.

We are also watching for New York officials who are set to speak in the next hour. Let's bring in CNN's John Miller. John, it is great to have you and your perspective, obviously, because this is a huge challenge for law enforcement across the country. When it comes to, right now, UCLA, things are calm there, but what challenges do law enforcement face, especially when these are large-scale protests that are pretty unpredictable?

[08:35:00]

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, I mean, we saw an example of that last night at Columbia, as we reported earlier. It is a complicated factor where the college, the universities in general prefer not to have police on campus. They prefer to do those interventions themselves. But last night, they had to take back a building that had been seized by students in the early morning hours a day before, where they found refrigerators, vending machines, all pushed up against the doors to blockade the entrance to the building.

Apparently, students had put some people inside overnight, who then let other students in. Two guards called and said they were being held hostage. The university says they were able to negotiate their release. And then the building was essentially under student control. Now, Columbia University had been negotiating with students for a week and they wanted to clear them off the west lawn where they intend to hold commencement exercises.

But I think the red line here was the taking of the building, the destruction of the security cameras, the barricading, and destruction of other property where they called the NYPD. And what you saw was NYPD with hundreds of officers and every kind of specialized unit to deal with any kind of obstacles they encountered.

WALKER: For the takeover like Hamilton Hall, I mean, how do police determine who they take in to process it and what kind of charges might some of these students or outside influences face?

MILLER: Well, Amara, I mean, there's the students who ringed (ph) the building outside, locking arms saying you're not getting past us. So they got the legal warning which is, this is an illegal assembly. We've been asked to move you out by the college. Those who are going to stay will be arrested. Those who want to walk off can walk off now. So what you saw was, one group that was pushed off the campus through the gates.

And then you saw those who remained, who were arrested peacefully and largely without resistance. When they made entry into the building, that's a whole other story. They used flash bangs or distraction devices because they didn't know what was waiting for them on the other side of that barricades. But at the end of the day, they found between 40 and 50 students, and possibly non-students inside the building the ground floor. They searched the other floors, which all were barricaded, all the doors were locked and chained with bicycle locks and other things, chairs propped up against them.

But they didn't find additional people there. So, it really -- because of the massive number of officers that were brought there, and that's such a stark contrast to what we are seeing at UCLA. The whole operation was over in about two hours. You had about -- over 200, maybe 240, 250 arrests from Columbia, taken down through a mass arrest processing system where they go through an assembly line. And now, that's going to be in the hands of the district attorney.

WALKER: Do you expect some of these protests to dissipate towards -- as we get closer to graduation season? I ask that because Columbia, as you know, is asking the NYPD to stay on campus after even -- a couple of days after its graduation ceremony, which is scheduled for May 15.

MILLER: So Amara, I think what we are seeing here is, Columbia tried the path of least resistance, one could argue. When the students took over the quad, they negotiated with them for a couple of days and then they called the NYPD and then cleared it. And then campus life was supposed to go back to normal and then another group came with more intents (ph) and took over the west lawn again. And they negotiated with them for a week and then on Sunday told them, look, you're all going to be suspended and you're going to be moved out of here. And that's when they took the building.

So the question is, if you keep taking the same ground, it is almost a military analogy which is unfortunate in a college environment. If you keep taking the same ground and you don't then hold the ground, you're just going to be going through Groundhog Day, so to speak, with this being repeated. So, they've asked the NYPD to maintain a presence and they're really figuring out today, well, what will that presence look like? Is it going to be barriers with a few cops around it to keep that lawn available for the commencement exercise? Or is it going to be a small force, a large force, something in between, with a holding force standing by just off campus, but nearby? Those are the details they are literally putting together right now while were speaking.

WALKER: Yeah, as it is a very fluid situation. John Miller, always appreciate you having -- having you on, CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst. Thank you.

MILLER: Thanks, Amara.

[08:40:00]

WALKER: All right. Let's cross over to Columbia University in New York where our Gabe Cohen is standing by. We do expect officials to give us an update in the next hour. What is happening now?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Amara, you heard John Miller just talk about the NYPD presence here and what it is going to look like in the days and weeks ahead. We are getting our first look at it. If you look next to me, you can see this group of NYPD officers who have been stationed here outside one of the main gates. Behind me, you get a sense of the restricted access to the campus that were seeing right now, students, faculty lined up trying to get in. We've seen several of them get turned away. There seems to be a lot of confusion about who is allowed on campus right now.

We are standing outside Hamilton Hall. That's this building right here where we watched this dramatics seen play out last night where NYPD officers were making their way into this building from the second floor through that second floor window, Amara. It was a dramatic scene inside the building and on the campus, where there were a lot of officers. One of the issues though is it is a closed campus. Media was not allowed onto the campus last night as this was playing out.

Even the student press, which had been allowed on campus, if you were watching our CNN coverage last night, you would have seen that those members of the student press were asked to leave by NYPD officers, as they were entering the campus, getting ready to clear the protesters. They did arrest more than 200 of them, many led out in plastic ties. It'll be interesting to see how many of those are students from Columbia or from other schools around the area.

We heard Mayor Eric Adams just yesterday talk about professional outside agitators, concerns that more than half of the protesters, according to city officials, they believe were not Columbia students, not affiliated with the school. We are likely to find out more about that, who these people are in the next few days as they're arraigned in court and potentially charged after being arrested here. A lot of questions, Amara, but again, as we give you another look at the police presence here, there are expected to be officers, NYPD officers here at Columbia until May 17 after graduation.

And students who I've spoken with here seem divided, even torn for some of them about what happened here last night. I spoke to a freshman just a few minutes ago, who was heading out he said to get his first bite of food in 12 hours because the campus was on lockdown as this was playing out. I asked him what students were talking about, what they were feeling on this campus as it was playing out. He said he was in his dorm and that the area the students around him were really divided on the issue. Some did not want police on the campus.

They feared for the safety of those students and protesters who were here. Others wanted to see that cleared, wanted to see those protesters cleared out, many of them who had concerns about how Jewish students were feeling, fears of safety here in recent weeks. So again, it is a divided campus, a divided -- lot of divisive issue, Amara, and it is going to be interesting to see what happens in the hours ahead. If there are any protesters who return, any actions here on the campus, but as you can see, a lot of officers, a restricted campus at the moment and we are going to see how it plays out.

WALKER: Yeah. Exactly. Gabe Cohen, really appreciate you there, being there. Thank you so much.

All right. Still to come, Donald Trump gets back on the campaign trail. The message he will bring to his supporters, when we come back.

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[08:45:54]

WALKER: The New York judge overseeing Donald Trump's criminal hush money trial warned the former U.S. president that he could face jail time if he continues to violate the gag order in the case. On Tuesday, Judge Juan Merchan handed down a $9,000 fine for nine violations. After court, Trump criticized the punishment and called the gag order unconstitutional.

He could face more fines for other alleged gag order violations after hearing on the matter tomorrow. And as his hush money trial is on a break today, and the Republican presidential candidate is using the opportunity to hit the campaign trail. He is traveling to Wisconsin and Michigan, key swing states that could play a big part in determining who wins the White House this fall. It is his second visit to Wisconsin in a month.

Let's go now to CNNs Steve Contorno with more. So Steve, Trump is back on the campaign trail. I think I know what his message will be, but tell us more.

STEVE CONTORNO, CNN REPORTER: Yeah. And this will be his first rally since the trials have started. He has not campaigned much since the trial began, even on the days where he is not required to be in New York. But today, he'll be in Michigan and Wisconsin. These are of course critical battlegrounds and on paper, his campaign says, look, we want to talk about the issues that we think are going to be decisive in this race, that's abortion -- excuse me, immigration and crime and as well as --

WALKER: OK. All right. Unfortunately, Steve Contorno's shot is not so good. So keep going, Steve, I think we have your picture back. It is all in one piece.

CONTORNO: OK.

(LAUGH)

CONTORNO: So Trump's remarks will focus on some of those kitchen table issues. Of course, though this tree trial is going on, he often talks about all the legal issues and in cases that he is facing, he is often want to go after the judges, the attorneys, the witnesses, the defendants, everyone sort of is potentially in the range of fire. It'll be interesting to see how that might change given what you said about the gag order and the fine that was levied against him yesterday because he did delete several of the posts that were flagged by prosecutors as violating the gag order, and how he sort of pivots now is something that we will be closely watching and I am sure the prosecutors in his hush money case well be watching that as well.

WALKER: Absolutely. Steve Contorno, thank you so much. Still to come, Mexico's biggest ever election is a month away. How a wave of political violence has put the country's democracy in the crosshairs, plus how laborers in South Korea are marking May 1st International Workers' Rights Day.

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[08:50:12]

WALKER: Mexico is battling a surge in political violence as it gears up for the biggest election in its history. Political candidates across the country are being assassinated with staggering frequency as organized crime groups use violence to impact the vote. CNN's David Shortell takes a closer look at the attacks in the lead up to next month's vote.

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DAVID SHORTELL, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE PRODUCER (voice-over): Gisela Gaytan was running to lead the city of Celaya, Mexico, where she had spent her whole life. In recent years, crime had engulfed the city. We are survivors she says in a campaign ad, together we are going to find the strength to confront our fear. She would never get the chance.

Authorities say Gaytan was shot dead by men on motorcycles as she processed on the street on April 1. This was the first day of her campaign. Since the federal election process began in September, at least 20 candidates from across the political spectrum have been killed in Mexico, according to Votar entre balas, civil society election monitoring project.

Security Expert Sandra Ley studies how organized crime in Mexico has increasingly used violence to influence elections over the past 20 years.

SANDRA LEY, SECURITY PROGRAM COORDINATOR, MEXICO EVALUA: This is how organized crime has become de facto rulers in these communities, trying to capture politics, economics, and social -- the social life of these territories.

SHORTELL (voice-over): I know where you are, watch your back.

This is a recording of a threat made in March against Jesus Corona, the candidate for municipal president in the city of Cuautla, a couple of hours outside of Mexico City.

JESUS CORONA DAMIAN, CANDIDATE, CUAUTLA MUNICIPAL PRESIDENT (through translator): They want me to drop out of the campaign, he says. They don't want me to participate. They want to continue this corrupt government.

SHORTELL (voice-over): Organized crime nearly got their way. Corona was driving home one night in March when two men on a motorcycle sped past and opened fire.

SHORTELL: He is showing us the bullet holes. There were three up here that you can see on the front of the car.

SHORTELL (voice-over): Corona now campaigns under armed escort, part of a security program run by the federal and local government that experts say can at times move too slow to keep up with the threats that candidates are facing.

In Celaya, just hours before she was killed, Gisela Gaytan telling reporters we have asked for protection. Let's see if we get a response today.

In the wake of her death, Mexico's president vowing to make it easier for candidates to apply for protection.

ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): If it is necessary to eliminate procedures to make support more expeditious, we'll do it. We can't hesitate with this.

SHORTELL (voice-over): With one month until voters head to the polls, devastating calculus for the candidates here who are putting their lives on the line.

CORONA DAMIAN (through translator): I was born here. My grandchildren were born here. I am going to continue fighting. If it is necessary to risk my life, I'll risk it.

SHORTELL: You're not scared?

CORONA DAMIAN (through translator): I am scared. I am a human being. But that same fear lifts me up to move forward and trusting God.

SHORTELL (voice-over): David Shortell, Mexico City.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WALKER: After months of gang violence that left the capital of Haiti in shambles, the country's transitional council has named a new council president and proposed a new interim prime minister. The nine- member council has several immediate tasks, including choosing a new cabinet, coordinating the arrival of a multinational security force to reclaim Port-au-Prince and eventually holding elections.

Haiti's gangs say they oppose the council. Since February, gang violence at the Port-au-Prince international airport and seaport has disrupted vital food and aid supplies, and left millions suffering from acute food insecurity.

May 1st is a day dedicated to highlighting labor rights and workers in cities around the world are on the march. Take a look at these pictures from South Korea. The country is marking the day with a union-led protest in Seoul. Many workers from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions are protesting long work hours and what they say are declining workers' rights.

And before we go, in the Philippines, drought conditions are bringing something old back to the surface, a nearly 300-year-old settlement that has been submerged beneath a major dam is re-emerging as scorching heat dries up the reservoir. After months without rain, part of a church, tombstones, and a town hall marker have resurfaced in Pantabangan Dam. The area was deliberately flooded back in the 1970s when the dam was built.

An engineer with the country's irrigation administration says the community has resurfaced several times before, but never for this long. Remarkable pictures there.

[08:55:00]

WALKER: And that is our time. Thank you so much for joining me here on "CNN Newsroom." I am Amara Walker. We are waiting to hear from the New York mayor about the protests and arrests at Columbia University. "Connect The World" with Becky Anderson will have all the latest. Stay with CNN.

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