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Laura Coates Live

Sean "Diddy" Combs was Arrested in New York City After a Grand Jury Indictment; CNN Reports the Latest Update on Attempted Assassination of Trump; Will Congress Force Changes to the Secret Service?; Trump Blames Democrats for Second Assassination Attempt; Springfield, Ohio Resident Speaks Out. Aired 11p-12a ET

Aired September 16, 2024 - 23:00   ET

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

[23:00:00]

KRISTEN SOLTIS ANDERSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, REPUBLICAN POLLSTER: -- I believe leading up to the holiday season, had an ad featuring a number of bright stars, Martha Stewart, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Taylor Swift, and Donald Trump, all in the same commercial.

(LAUGHTER)

SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO PRESIDENT TO PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH: The amount of legal -- the amount of legal fees --

ABBY PHILLIP, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Amazing.

JENNINGS: -- for the commercial is amazing.

(LAUGHTER)

SOLTIS-ANDERSON: They've all been on the same journey.

PHILLIP: You know what? It's amazing. The red tie is still there.

UNKNOWN: Right.

PHILLIP: It's almost like it could have been --

(CROSSTALK)

UNKNOWN: Some things don't change.

PHILLIP: Wow. Everyone, thank you very much. Thank you for watching "NewsNight: State of the Race." "Laura Coates Live" starts right now.

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST AND SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: We start with the late breaking news tonight. Sean "Diddy" Combs has now been arrested. CNN is learning he was taken into custody by federal agents at a Manhattan hotel tonight. Now, it's unclear what the specific charges are against him or what they might be, but he has been the subject of a federal investigation into sex trafficking for months which, of course, led to a high-profile search of his homes in L.A. and also in Miami.

He has also been facing multiple civil lawsuits, nine directly accusing him of sexual assault. One was from his ex-girlfriend, Cassie Ventura, who he settled with in November. And back in May, federal investigators were preparing to bring some of his accusers before a federal grand jury for testimony. These lawyers say the rapper moved to New York last week in anticipation of being charged and said in a statement -- quote -- "We are disappointed with the decision to pursue what we believe is an unjust prosecution of Mr. Combs by the U.S. Attorney's Office."

I want to bring in John Miller, CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, and Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor and president and co-founder of West Coast Trial Lawyers.

John, let me begin with you here. Diddy apparently relocated to New York (INAUDIBLE) actual arrest. What are you hearing about how all this went down?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, at 8:15 this evening at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Midtown Manhattan, according to sources, agents of the Homeland Security Investigations or HSI came to the hotel, had located Mr. Combs staying there, and took him into custody.

He's being held tonight by HSI agents, will be brought to the United States Marshal to be processed tomorrow, and then transferred to the United States Court in the Southern District of New York where he will be scheduled for an initial appearance, where they'll deal with unsealing an indictment, a federal racketeering indictment, we are told by sources who understand the case, and those charges will be presented to him, and then his lawyer will have to deal with prosecutors about whether he should be allowed out or remanded to prison.

COATES: What do you expect, Neama, about those charges that might be forthcoming? Are they going to write charges in expansive?

NEAMA RAHMANI, FORMER FEDERAL PROSECUTOR, PRESIDENT OF WEST COAST TRIAL LAWYERS: Laura, I do expect a RICO indictment, and we're going to see a criminal enterprise. And we know that it doesn't have to necessarily be the mob or the cartel or street gang, but any informal association of people. So, I expect to see Diddy, maybe some of his associates, charge.

And those RICO predicate acts, those racketeering acts, I expect those to be sex trafficking, drug trafficking, and maybe even gun charges. Some of those carry some pretty significant sentences, up to life in prison, and including mandatory minimum sentences of 10 years or more in federal prison.

COATES: This is an extraordinary possibility, what you've just described, both of you. I want to bring in CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson. Joey, you've heard what might be forthcoming. There has now been an official arrest. He relocated to New York expecting he would be arrested. What does it say to you that authorities move forward with the arrest now despite, by the way, the Combs team thinking that he might be able to surrender?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Yeah, it says quite a bit. I mean, the federal government doesn't have to have you surrender, have your client surrender. They do things on their timetable. Apparently, they've been in touch, Laura, with his team inasmuch as he has relocated to New York.

But I think there's very significant things here. Number one, the fact that he has been indicted is very important. It's important because an indictment certainly is only an accusation, only an accusation, and you're innocent till proven guilty. But what it means in a majority of 23 grand jurors, right, at least 12, have heard evidence with respect to federal crimes and felt that there's reason to believe that a crime was committed and he committed it.

Number two, we know that they raided his home in California in addition to Florida. And as a result of that, who knows what evidence they were able to piece together and discern with respect to his activities.

[23:04:55]

The third thing I'll say is that the difference, Laura, between a federal prosecution and a state prosecution is that the state generally arrests you, and then they build their investigation to establish their case. The federal government has been investigating for some time that does not at all mean he's guilty, but it certainly could mean that they have compelling evidence which would suggest that he is, in fact, the focus target and now criminal defendant involving federal crimes.

Last point, and that is in terms of the federal crimes, we know that the lawsuits against him, lawsuits are civil, they're not criminal --

COATES: Uh-hmm.

JACKSON: -- but those lawsuits speak in various activities in terms of coercive sex allegations, drug allegations, lying of -- you know, male prostitutes here or there for these, you know, parties that he was having. All allegations, of course --

COATES: Right.

JACKSON: -- but I think it says a lot that the Southern District has found that they're going to build a case around.

COATES: John, I mean, when it comes to fighting a case like this, and again, there is a presumption of evidence -- in a sense, excuse me, there's a burden of proof for the evidence to come in. We don't have all the charges at this point in time. But what are Diddy's lawyers telling you, John?

MILLER: Well, Marc Agnifilo, who is the lawyer who we expect to see in court with P Diddy tomorrow, and Diddy's entire family, who has come to New York to be with him and support him for this event, is going to probably examine the facts that are contained in this racketeering indictment.

But as Joey said, a lot of the bulwark here that comes together to make this case has been probably laid out in the civil allegations about drugs and guns, including a shooting that occurred in California, assault and forced sex. So, it's racketeering, sex trafficking and others that we can expect.

But I think part of the argument will be that Cassie Ventura, one of the key people behind the civil suits and one of the people who is expected to be a witness in this case as a victim, was with P Diddy for 11 years. And I think the lawyers will probably argue the point as to whether this stretches the application of the law, federal laws, about sex trafficking.

COATES: Hmm.

MILLER: But, I mean, let's take a step back. The architecture of this case, the legal architecture of this RICO case, will largely reflect the experience of the RICO case brought against R. Kelly for events that occurred in New York and Chicago that was put to trial across the river from the Southern District, in the Brooklyn Federal Court, Eastern District, in which he was convicted and received a long sentence.

So, I think that there is some precedent here, and we will have a better idea when that indictment is unsealed tomorrow as to what's in there. We do know from the search warrants that they took a tremendous amount of digital evidence, videos and other things from security cameras, to corroborate some of the things that were stated by these witnesses, whether they occurred, where they said, on the dates and times and so on. So, that's part of what took so long.

COATES: Yeah. You know, we just have seen him recently. There was a photograph taken of him in Manhattan just the other day, I think over the weekend. He had, of course, was at a restaurant, I believe, in the Manhattan area near the Hudson Yards zone. And, you know, we all remember, of course, the raids at Diddy's properties in Florida, connected to the sex trafficking probe, by the Homeland Security Investigations agency.

Neama, when you look at all the landscape of this, from the raids till now and, of course, the timing of that till now, we've been showing a lot of pictures of Cassie Ventura who had a civil suit that had been settled with the legal team prior to this, there are intimations and thoughts that this is all some part of a connected notion and indictment, although we don't know all the details. But how will this particular raid fit into the investigation and the indictment?

RAHMANI: Well, Laura, you and I talked in March when --

COATES: Uh-hmm.

RAHMANI: -- Diddy's Miami and Los Angeles homes were raided. At the time, typically, in most federal cases, an arrest happens shortly after the raid. But that didn't happen here. We thought, and I thought at the time, that prosecutors just wanted to get the video that was likely in those homes because, at least according to the allegations, if you believe Cassie and others, Diddy videotaped many of these sex acts. And reportedly, he had cameras throughout his home. Some of them were hidden. But it took months, six months for Diddy to be arrested and this indictment to be unsealed tomorrow.

So, the question is, what took so long? And I think prosecutors in New York were concerned that some of these victims, they might go sideways. They may take civil settlements. They may be bought off. Maybe they're intimidated by Diddy. So, I think we're going to see a lot of grand jury testimony in this case where victims have come forward. They've testified under penalty of perjury before the grand jury.

[23:10:02]

Because we know the grand jury has two purposes. Like Joey said, grand jury can indict, but a grand jury can investigate. And by putting those witnesses before the grand jury, now prosecutors have what they think is a bulletproof case because, let's be honest here, there's no deal that's going to be offered to Diddy, certainly not one he's going to accept and know would he take when he's beaten. State charges before there in New York essentially has unlimited money. This is a case that's going to go to trial, so prosecutors want to be ready for it.

COATES: Well, we will see how this all unfolds. Grand jury testimony being revealed at this juncture would be very rare but only allegations that would support what they believe to be the appropriate charges. We may very well see tomorrow. That could have a great deal of information to get the heart of this matter. Gentlemen, tomorrow will be a very important day. This is significant, even if it was expected. Now, an arrest officially made. Thank you all.

We also know a single assassination attempt on a presidential candidate would be enough to shake a whole nation to its very core. But we now in the United States are dealing with two in the very same election. And we're learning more about the moments right before Secret Service engaged with an alleged would-be assassin, a man by the name of Ryan Wesley Routh, who is the suspect, and how he may have been lying in wait for nearly 12 hours at Trump's own golf course.

Here's how it went down. Around 1:30 Sunday afternoon, Trump was moving across the fairway of the fifth hole. Routh was on the public side of the fence near the sixth green. Now, about 300 to 500 yards away from Trump, that's where he apparently was. And a Secret Service agent who was visually sweeping the area of the sixth green saw the suspect, and then opened fire on him. Now, Routh, he did not get off any shots at that point. He actually fled. And tonight, we actually have new bodycam videos showing his arrest moments later.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Two steps to your right! Take two steps to your right!

UNKNOWN: Take two steps to your right!

UNKNOWN: Driver, walk straight back!

COATES: Now, that arrest you're seeing happened minutes after Routh ran. A tiny fraction of the time he may have spent actually camped out in the trees. He got cell phone data that showed he could have been there for nearly 12 hours. And when he fled, he left behind a trove of evidence --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

-- including a SKS-style rifle with a scope, a backpack, a digital camera, and a plastic bag with food. Now, as for that rifle, he shouldn't have had it in the first place. He has an extensive rap sheet, including a felony conviction back in 2002. And federal law prohibits a convicted felon from having a firearm. On top of that, the rifle serial number was actually unreadable, obliterated.

Both of those facts weigh to the two federal charges that he is now facing, revealed during his court appearance today. Possessing a firearm as a felon, it actually brings a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. And having a firearm with an obliterated serial number? That has a max sentence of five years.

But that may not be the end of any of this because police are getting search warrants for his car, for his phone, for any devices he may have, and also interviewing family members and people who knew him. And that means that, potentially, more charges could come, depending, of course, on what they find. Now, as for Trump, he's giving his first account of the apparent assassination attempt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE (voice-over): All of a sudden, we heard shots being fired in the air and I guess, probably four or five, and it sounded like bullets, but what do I know about that, but the Secret Service knew immediately it was bullets. And they grabbed me. We got into the carts, and we moved along pretty good. I was with an agent and the agent did a fantastic job. There was no question that we were off that course. I would've loved to have sank that last putt --

(LAUGHTER)

-- but we decided 'let's get out of here.'"

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: He's also giving his explanation as for why it happened, he believes. One word, rhetoric. And he's pointing the finger at Democrats. Got a lot to get to tonight, but I want to start with the investigation of all of this. And joining me now, Reginald Moore, retired Secret Service special agent in charge for the Atlanta field office.

Thank you so much for being here, Ray. I mean, this is a second time. This summer alone, frankly, you've had an attempted assassination of an American former president. And the acting service director said that there was no sweep of the perimeter of the golf course before Trump began playing. I wonder, when you hear that, do you think it's appropriate that they did not scope out the course before he arrived?

[23:15:01]

Is that what happened?

REGINALD "RAY" MOORE, RETIRED SECRET SERVICE SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE OF ATLANTA FIELD OFFICE: Well, I think the event was a spontaneous event for them going to the golf course. It was off-the-record movement. So, when you do an off-the-record movement, you bring your assets with you, and you move along. I'm sure there were a patrol on the outside street. But when you conduct an off-the-record movement, you bring your assets with you, and they brought those assets along when they arrived at the golf course.

COATES: One of the questions that many people have, Ray, is, how would this person have known where to find Trump? I mean, a golf course, expansive, obviously supposed to be an area that has a great deal of land and acreage. How would he have known to wait outside of this course for 12 hours? Were the president's movements known?

MOORE: Well, again, this is an off-the-record movement, so it wasn't printed. But I guess a lot of people in South Florida know, when he's in Florida, he goes golfing, and he likes to go golfing at his golf course. So that's why the suspect probably decided to sit out there. And after learning he stayed there 12 hours, it appears he was quite determined to conduct this activity.

COATES: You know, you have to wonder with that determination. And we still don't know all of the factors. The investigations continuing to unfold. But we know that he claimed to support Trump before becoming disillusioned. He has a long rap sheet in North Carolina as well. What else will investigators be looking at as they search for evidence of obviously motive of -- if anyone else was assisting him, if -- for any reason, and knowing that they've already been able to talk to him. I think he has already asked for an attorney, so they'd be limited in their communication.

MOORE: Well, what I think they will do -- again, the FBI will be conducting the investigation. The Secret Service will be on the sidelines because now it is the FBI's responsibility to conduct the investigation.

They are going to do historical investigation. They're going to find out who he has been talking to, who he has been dealing with on the internet. They're going to search his phones. They're going to search his computer, any and all electronics. They're going to track his movements based on his phone, which is a good thing because they tracked his phone that showed him --

COATES: Uh-hmm.

MOORE: -- staying there for over 12 hours. So, they're going to do an extensive historical investigation on this subject. And like you said, they've already found out about his 2002 arrest. So, all those things will come into play.

COATES: And yet Ray, everything we've described is reactive. How and what can they do to ensure that they've given the highest level of protection and be proactive, especially covering somebody who is known to golf to be in these large areas? Obviously, he had already had a second -- this is now a second assassination attempt. How do they become proactive specifically given the literal landscape that he will cover even as a campaign and candidate?

MOORE: Yes. Golf course is an outdoor event, so the most difficult to cover --

COATES: Uh-hmm.

MOORE: -- because there's a lot of unknowns. What it's going to take is more assets. And I know the acting director is asking for more assets. And I know the secretary of Homeland Security has promised more assets. So, when those things come into play, we get more bodies, more people, more equipment, more technology. Everything will be better.

I know at this event, they had more post standards than they've had before. They had more tactical assets than they had before. And another good asset that they had, I understand that the sheriff loaned the Secret Service a helicopter which would fly over the golf course to do an aerial surveillance. So, these things are coming into play, a lot coming into play, after what happened in Butler.

COATES: And thankfully, there was no injury. There were no deaths in this scenario. The coverage, obviously. But thinking about the idea that a Secret Service agent would happen to be looking towards a fence, happen to see a rifle before the former president gets that particular location, is very unsettling for so many people in the landscape we are right now. Ray Moore, thank you so much.

MOORE: Thank you very much for having me.

COATES: Up next, we're going to take a closer look at why the suspect is currently charged or not charged with attempted murder. Plus, is Congress going to step in and force the changes to how the service actually operates? One of the members of the bipartisan task force investigating the attempt joins me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[23:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

COATES: Well, right now, the suspect in the apparent assassination attempt of Donald Trump only faces the two federal gun charges. No others as of yet. You may be wondering at home, why is Ryan Routh not facing a charge like attempted murder or assassination? Well, state attorney for Palm Beach explains why those charges may be more difficult to prove.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE ARONBERG, STATE ATTORNEY, PALM BEACH COUNTY: Generally, when it comes to like attempted murder, that's more a state charge than a federal charge. But also, I think you need more than you have right now. You really have to get into his state of mind. He's got to take a substantial step into taking an action. I mean, it's always a possibility, but generally, those kinds of charges are really at the state level rather than the federal level. But make no mistake, I think this guy is in a whole world of hurt. He's going to be facing many years in prison.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: With me now, Congressman Glenn Ivey, a Democrat from Maryland. He is also a former federal prosecutor and member of the task force investigating the first attempted assassination of Trump, and that's just this summer.

Congressman, thank you for being here. I want to talk to you about your legislative activities in a moment, but I want you to put back on your prosecutor hat. For many people who are laymen and not familiar, they may say to themselves, well, this isn't automatically going to be a no-brainer charge. There are certain steps to get to from point A to point B. Do you expect more charges might be investigated and developed?

REP. GLENN IVEY (D-MD): Well, there's certainly going to be more charges investigated. What develops out of that, I think we'll have to see. But there are substantial charges already.

[23:24:59]

You know, he has a previous offense carrying a gun at the federal court. I think that was up to 15 years, potentially. He had an obliterated serial number on the weapon as well. So, I believe that's a max of five. So, you know, those alone keep him in jail for quite some time.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

IVEY: But, you know, the comments you just heard a moment ago, substantial step, that's with respect to a state charge. But, you know, he had an AK-47 out there, he had been waiting for 12 hours, and I think a lot of jurors might think that would fall in the substantial step category. But right now, it's in federal court. I expect it to stay there.

COATES: Uh-hmm.

IVEY: We'll see what develops out of that as the FBI concludes its investigation.

COATES: There are a number of agencies that may be involved in just talking about this particular aspect of it, not the least of which, obviously, is also a different branch of government, Congress, legislative branch looking into this. You guys have been busy focusing on the first assassination attempt. What is the nature of the investigation and what is the legislative purpose of trying to give a deliverable of some kind to the American people?

IVEY: Well, for the Butler, uh, shooting, I think that's -- there are sort of two goals. One is to figure out accountability with respect to oversight of the Secret Wervice who messed up that day because it's clear that, uh, that's not the way it's supposed to work. The president was -- the former president was shot. A spectator was killed. Two others were injured since, you know, the Secret Service didn't live up to its, uh, performance level on that day to say the least. So, I think we have to make sure there's accountability for that.

Secondly, though, I think we have to make sure that whatever -- the protocol changes or resource changes or personnel changes need to be made to make sure that elected officials, spectators and others are safe going forward, and we have to make sure that happens as well.

COATES: How does Congress do that? I mean, what is the -- is the matter of more agents a part of the concern? Is that much of the investigation and much that we're seeing right now can be very reactive? What resources can be provided to prevent?

IVEY: Well, additional agents could be certainly useful in preventing these sorts of efforts. As we saw yesterday in Florida, there was an agent out there that preempted the shooting at that point. You might want to have other resources out there available, say like drones, for example, if you're going to scout that area.

Personally, I think there needs to be front-end decisions made about whether you should be going out to a site like that at all. When we went to Butler, the first thing I thought when I got out was there were too many rooftops, you got a water tower, too many places you need to cover where a shooter could stake out and have a good shot. This is similar to that. Why go play golf on a public golf course as opposed to golf on a military base or maybe let's find another way to do R&R that's not in such an exposed environment. So, I think we can look at all of those kinds of things as well.

COATES: It's very telling about the restrictions given where we are two and two months, an assassination attempt and an investigation. What's different about this from what happened before, you've got a living suspect in custody.

IVEY: Yeah.

COATES: Does that impact the nature of your congressional investigation?

IVEY: Not necessarily. It certainly would impact the FBI's investigation. I know they're trying to run down whether there are any connections to this guy with anybody else, if there's any sort of coordination or, you know, accomplices or the like. I think that's critical. That would impact the congressional investigation to the extent we want to make sure we don't get in the way of the FBI criminal investigation -- COATES: Uh-hmm.

IVEY: -- because making sure they get anybody that's involved with this right away is, I think, the highest priority from that side. The other highest priority is with Secret Service, making sure that they get the protection in place going forward.

COATES: Is it --

IVEY: We've got -- we've got, you know, foreign officials coming here, I think it is next week, for a summit. Secret Service is on the line as far as protecting them as well. So, they're going to be stretched pretty thin, providing protection for our elections, but also for these foreign dignitaries that are coming, too.

COATES: Is it very tense behind the scenes at these sort of task forces when fingers are being pointed about what's to blame? Trump is saying it is rhetoric on the left that's causing things like this to happen. What's happening behind the scenes in your ability to work together for a solution?

IVEY: So far, it has been good. We've got seven Republicans, six Democrats. We've worked well together so far. We picked staffs that are working very closely together, and I think that makes them more effective and efficient. And we need to be because we're supposed to generate a report by December 13th.

COATES: Hmm.

IVEY: But that's not just -- that's not the most important deadline. The most important deadline is making sure that nothing like this happens between now and then, making sure we got the assets and, you know, resources available so that they can provide the protection that's necessary now.

COATES: Hmm.

IVEY: And so, it's like fixing a car when you're driving down the highway, but we've got to do it that way.

COATES: Every day becomes a deadline. Congressman Glenn Ivey, thank you for joining. Always great to have you on.

IVEY: Thank you.

COATES: Up next, is it the rhetoric that's to blame for this culture of political violence or is it something more and something else?

[23:30:03]

My panel joins me next to discuss. Plus, Springfield, Ohio tries to turn the corner from a climate of fear. A first-hand account of what it's actually like in the city right now is still ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FAROKH SARMAD, INTERNET PERSONALITY (voice-over): This was the second attempt on your life in under two months. What do you make of that?

TRUMP (voice-over): Well, there's a lot of rhetoric going on.

SARMAD (voice-over): Right.

TRUMP (voice-over): A lot of people think that the Democrats, when they talk about threat to democracy and all of this.

SARMAD (voice-over): Uh-hmm.

TRUMP (voice-over): And it seems that both of these people were radical lefts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[23:34:59]

COATES: Donald Trump breaking his silence to say who he blames for the latest assassination attempt. A message echoed, by the way, by his allies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. J.D. VANCE (R-OH), U.S. VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: No one has tried to kill Kamala Harris in the last couple of months, and two people now have tried to kill Donald Trump in the last couple of months. I'd say that's pretty strong evidence that the left needs to tone down the rhetoric.

REP. CORY MILLS (R-FL): It was President Biden who made the comment that it is time to put Trump in the bullseye. This is the type of dangerous rhetoric that has led to this type of thing.

SEN. THOMAS HAWLEY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): Somebody needs to step to the plate and at least act like you care about a Republican candidate. But they truly don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I want to bring in former Washington, D.C. chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence, Donell Harvin, CNN political analyst Zolan Kanno-Youngs, and CNN political commentator David Urban. Also here, Democratic strategist Chuck Rocha. Glad to have all of you here.

Chuck, let me begin with you because you see the finger pointing already. We've all heard about this word "rhetoric." It's being used all throughout the day and, frankly, for quite some time now. What is your response to the accusation that rhetoric has caused what has happened?

CHUCK ROCHA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST, FORMER SENIOR ADVISOR FOR BERNIE SANDERS'S PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGNS: You know, I've been thinking about this a long time. And this morning, when I woke up, I was reflecting back on -- I've been doing this a long time. And I've always made attack ads against Republicans. And I've said some pretty ugly things that are on me as a guy who makes ads. That's what I do for a living.

But what has really started to see something change was the internet. I'm not blaming the internet. I'm just saying misinformation and ugliness. Everybody has got a little ugly in them. And when you put them on the internet, it just exposed a lot of things that a lot of people are saying.

Maybe not tied to Donald Trump or even tied to the vice president, but just for folks that are just going through their regular day lives, who are just kind of getting off the edges of the internet and just seeing enough until their baby starts crying again. They may believe some of this stuff that's really, really ugly that's out there.

And I think all of that is really the difference in what's happening today than when I was making an ugly ad back in the 80s or 90s, which is the same ads, but the internet is what has really changed a lot of this.

COATES: David, you're nodding. You agree?

DAVID URBAN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR, FORMER TRUMP CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISER: Look, I mean, as to who's to blame, right, in terms of, you know, the people to blame are the people who pull the trigger, the people who are laying their weight in the bushes. You know, my mom used to say, you know, you're responsible for your own actions, no one else. And I think that's true today. These people who are -- who are the would-be assassins, both would-be assassins, obviously have mental illness. And I don't think they're ascribed to any political philosophy.

But then, again, I hold that same view as to the folks that stormed the Capitol on January 6. I don't blame Donald Trump for that action either. Those people, they're grown men and women. They're responsible for their actions. They're responsible for breaking windows and knocking police in the head. The same way that these people are responsible for their actions, laying on a rooftop in Butler, hide in the bushes in West Palm, you know.

So, everybody needs to dial back the political rhetoric, I think. I think it needs to tone down. Everybody is like, well, I'll do it when you do it. Somebody got to be first. Someone got to be the first one to do it. I'm not sure how that gets accomplished.

But look, Trump got a right to blow off a little steam and be a little (INAUDIBLE), right? He just literally within -- he's going for the Gerald Ford record of 17 days, but two people just tried to take his life within 30 days. It's pretty amazing.

COATES: Well, by the way, he talked about and said earlier, I'm quoting here, he could use inflammatory language, too. Far better than they can, he says, but I don't. But here's a clip of what he said in front of tens of millions of viewers just, what, last week, not even a week ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: She has destroyed our country with policy that's insane. Almost policy that you'd say they have to hate our country. I probably took a bullet to the head because of the things that they say about me. She goes down as the worst vice president in the history of our country. If she becomes president, this country doesn't have a chance of success.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: And then, by the way, there is the social media, Elon Musk, who put on X, and no one is even trying to assassinate Biden, Kamala. They had a thinking face emoji. You also heard Senator J.D. Vance talking about this and suggesting, well, no one is trying to harm Kamala or Biden.

The idea of rhetoric is going to play, but also the idea of retaliation can be a real concern. If people believe that somebody is to blame, unlike what David is talking about, then that could have as dire consequences.

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES: This is something that I've been hearing from Homeland Security officials, federal law enforcement officials, for really some time now, beyond just this year, and that's that the fear of political violence becoming sort of the new normal.

COATES: Hmm.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Us getting used to one political act motivated by rhetoric and then retaliated against as well. Just in 2021, DHS warned about violence rising and being tied to politics. Just last year, the Homeland Security Department released another report --

COATES: Uh-hmm.

KANNO-YOUNGS: -- warning specifically about this election as well, violent acts being perpetrated around this election.

[23:40:00]

It seems like we're starting to see this more and more. Let's remember, we're not just talking about two attempted assassinations here against the former president. We're also at a time where members of Congress are taking funding away from their campaign and trying to get private security to protect themselves amid a rise of threats against public officials as well. It's becoming too normal now and what was long feared seems to be becoming the reality.

COATES: We talked about this in the past. You and I have had many a conversation now about, you know, the idea of political motivation or violence being the real threat in the United States at this point, which for many people makes the country unrecognizable at that point. When you see all that's happening and you hear the conversations, what is going through your mind as to how they're going to be proactive to stop it and also effectively react to know the cause and cure? DONELL HARVIN, FORMER CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: You know, all these things are symptoms, right?

COATES: Yeah.

HARVIN: The patient is sick, and we've talked about this over the last year. The patient is sick because a lot of individuals think that political violence is not only acceptable but can be rewarded. Let's go back to the fact that Donald Trump and many people on the right call the J-6 rioters that are sitting in jail, patriots and political prisoners. And so, when you're sitting behind bars, you're giving these people that type of platform, it shows that it pays.

I also think that the fact of the matter is you don't need a political ideology to do some of the things we've seen.

COATES: Yes.

HARVIN: Some of these people are just plain nut jobs. And so, I think since we don't know the actual motive of the shooter, this would-be shooter, potentially, from this weekend, we'll find out more. But I think that, to your point, you remember, just days after the Pennsylvania incident, DHS put out a bulletin about retaliation. So, I think we're going to see more of that.

URBAN: Chuck said, too, you know, what things have changed dramatically is the internet and social media. The velocity at which this stuff travels is almost instantaneous, right?

ROCHA: It's even more than that because I can't make an ad. Folks at home should know this. I'm an ad maker. I can't say that my Republican that I'm running against is doing this, this and this, or that they are stealing babies, that they're doing -- whatever the worst thing in the world is, the law won't allow me to do that because I can be sued. The television commercials, TV that own the TV commercials, won't allow me to put that on TV because lawyers have to look at an ad before it goes up so nobody gets sued. That don't matter on the internet.

URBAN: Yeah, and I was going to say also, remember that our adversaries want to see this all happen. They love it. What do you think the Russians, the Chinese, the IRGC, the Iranians -- they love this. You heard Governor DeWine today saying that these bomb threats, a majority of them originated from overseas, right? So, our adversaries love to see this. And it's just a little drop of pebble in a pond, and you watch the ripples go out.

And that's what's happening here, I think, to a large extent. We need to be very, very aware of that. As we look forward to cast aspersions on each other, may not be -- it may not be a Democrat or Republican, maybe the CCP or the IRGC.

COATES: I also -- when you hear about rhetoric, yes, rhetoric is maybe part of the story, but we're also talking about normalizing or being desensitized to gun violence. I mean, we have had school shootings. There have been mass shootings. We've got violence all across this country. And now, even twice, the former president of the United States having had an assassination attempt.

And this is the point that former congressman, Gabby Giffords, actually made in her op-ed today. I'm going to quote a little bit for it. She said, "But the through line here isn't former President Trump. The through line isn't the Secret Service. The through line isn't heated rhetoric. The through line is, as it always was, the guns."

Zolan, this is the overarching conversation about the prevalence of guns in this country, about how people have been desensitized, and that the conversation about rhetoric, I think, can become the equivalent of thoughts and prayers --

KANNO-YOUNGS: Uh-hmm.

COATES: -- and not focusing on the additional issues that it raises.

KANNO-YOUNGS: And the failure to pass gun legislation. When you talk to many members of Congress, advocates as well, survivors of gun shootings, also speaks to the divisive nature of our politics, the fact that you can continue to have violent acts like this carried out. But members of Congress also can't come together to pass reasonable solutions. That's something I hear a lot from advocacy groups, from voters themselves, almost as a prime example of sort of the dysfunction of Congress as well.

COATES: An obliterated gun serial number, though. Tell me about why that's so significant even if you have laws to protect.

HARVIN: Well, I mean, clearly, this is individual either bought it from someone who didn't want to be traced back to them or didn't want the gun be traced back to him. And so, I mean -- I think that -- well, once again, not getting ahead of the investigation, that doesn't necessarily point to anything other than the fact that, you know, this individual was able to get a gun, go cross border, cross border, state borders, and set up shop. I think that, you know, at the end of the day, the proliferation of guns, we have 450 million guns for everybody.

[23:45:03]

This is a never-ending conversation that we're having. I think that --

URBAN: But also, let me just kind of counter that. I grew up in western Pennsylvania, home of the deer hunter, right?

COATES: Uh-hmm.

URBAN: People didn't go to school when it was first day of deer season. I grew up guns laying around which today, by today's standards, would be unacceptable. Nobody shot their parents. Nobody went into school, shot people up. What has changed in society that kids now feel like they can walk into a school and shoot their classmates up, or that somebody can pick up a gun and commit a mass shooting? What has changed in society?

Guns have been around this country for a really long time. People have had access to guns, probably more access to guns in the past than there are today. Easier in your neighborhood kind of thing, right? But there's more gun violence. What's the issue? The root cause, I think, is much more important to get at than the guns. The cause of all the craziness? I'm not quite sure what it is.

COATES: If I had the answer to that question, we'd be sitting here talking about records being broken by Asia Wilson and Caitlin Clark tonight as opposed to a second assassination attempt of a former American president. Thank you, everyone.

Up next, Springfield, Ohio paralyzed. Schools closed. Events canceled. And now, a dramatic action being taken to calm fears. The question is, will it be enough? Hear it not from a pundit, but from a resident of Springfield live with me next.

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[23:50:00]

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COATES: The story of what's happening in Springfield, Ohio isn't just about the disgusting lie being perpetuated about pet-eating Haitian migrants. The story isn't just about politicians repeating those lies for some kind of political gain. The story is also about what the lie is doing to the very community that is victimized by these lies. A community of migrants fleeing a politically unstable country that are lawfully here under the TPS program in a town trying to thrive in spite of insufficient resources.

The story is about the fear. The fear that, you know, today was Picture Day at Kenwood Elementary School in Springfield, Ohio. The school didn't even last the full day. It was evacuated yet again due to a bomb threat, just one of several schools that were affected.

Now, in a world where our kids are already having active shooter drills, what is the story we tell our children about this? That it's okay to create stories regardless of the consequences? How would I, as a mother, explain this to my children? Explain why an annual cultural celebration was canceled? Why two colleges even decided to go remote? Because this is a story about how a lie can plant a diabolical seed. When you're now forced to look over your shoulder every minute of every day, wondering whether you or your family is safe, or that people think that you're some kind of a monster, even afraid to speak out.

You know, a religious leader was supposed to be my guest tonight, but changed their mind because they were afraid for their life if they even spoke out. Imagine not having the faith that you will be safe if you tell the truth. And can you blame them? I mean, this is so out of control that the Ohio State Patrol will now sweep city schools every single morning so that parents and kids can feel safe. Every single morning.

Parents, try to picture that. Picture what that conversation feels like with your own kids. And here's the thing, the bomb threats being called in, they're all B.S., according to the governor. They're not even coming from the town, let alone this country.

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GOV. MARK DEWINE (R-OH): These threats, uh, have all been hoaxes. None of them have panned out. We have people, unfortunately, overseas who are taking these actions. Some of them are coming from one particular country. We think that this is one more opportunity to mess with the United States.

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COATES: I want to bring in Viles Dorsainvil. He is the executive director of Haitian Community Health & Support. Viles, thank you for being here this evening. This story to me is so much about the fear that is being inflicted. We've seen video of Proud Boys walking the streets of your city. Tell me about the fear that your community is experiencing right now.

VILES DORSAINVIL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, HAITIAN COMMUNITY HEALTH & SUPPORT CENTER: Yeah, the fear that they have experienced kind of paralyzed them over the past week because of all that has happened. They're afraid of calling even Uber because they do not know who might come for them. They are afraid to go shopping or go to buy groceries. It's a very painful situation because they never know that -- what will happen.

And the other thing, some friends that I spoke with today were asking me question if there is no potential mass shooting that can occur in the community. So, these are things that people come up with in the city out of fear for their lives.

COATES: I can understand the fear and what it must be like to try to hold your child's hand as you're walking somewhere and not knowing if you're going to be safe.

[23:55:01]

I mean, not to be able to know who might pick you up in a car. This is a real tangible threat. I understand you even have a friend who's going to sell his home, but you convinced him to stay in the community.

DORSAINVIL: Yeah, I try to ask them to be patient with themselves while we are trying to navigate this chaotic situation. I ask them just to give themselves some days as we try to speak with leaders in the community.

And the thing is there have been so many good leaders standing with us in this situation, trying to bring some word of courage to us as a community and tell us that we are in this together. It is really chaotic, but their solidarity is very appreciative to the Haitian community now because we need to hear words of encouragement just to keep going.

COATES: I can only imagine what the community there is going through and what else you need for support. I'm glad to know that there are some words of encouragement coming in a world where there are also such vile statements being made as well. Viles Dorsainvil, thank you so much for joining.

DORSAINVIL: Thank you so much for having me.

COATES: Thank you all for watching. "Anderson Cooper 360" is next.

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