Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Live Event/Special
Military Parade Underway, Honoring Army's 250th Birthday; Manhunt For Assassin After Minnesota Lawmaker Killed, Another Shot; Police Dispersing Protesters In Los Angeles; Israel, Iran Exchange More Missile And Drone Attacks; Interview With Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH); Tensions Rise In L.A. and N.Y. Amid "No Kings" Protests. Aired 7-8p ET
Aired June 14, 2025 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[19:00:31]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We're following breaking news this hour. I'm Boris Sanchez alongside Brianna Keilar in Washington, D.C.
And right now, an unprecedented celebration is taking place in the nation's capital. A military parade commemorating the U.S. Army's 250th birthday. Tanks and thousands of soldiers are rolling through the city streets. But just blocks from the parade, protesters are holding demonstrations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Go now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Trump must go now.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Trump must go now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANCHEZ: There you see protesters criticizing President Trump with signs that read, hold your oath, and protect and defend the Constitution.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: All of this taking place as millions join the so-called "No Kings" protests across the country, rallying against the president's policies.
CNN's Kristen Holmes is joining us now live from Washington, where the president is watching the parade.
And Kristen, this is something, of course, this huge parade we do not typically see in the U.S. What are White House officials saying about today's festivities?
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and Brianna and Boris, it's also been incredibly controversial, given particularly the politicalization of the military, that we've seen a lot of military officials worry that this gives some kind of credence to politicizing the military, particularly given the fact that Donald Trump, the president, wanted this kind of parade, but also because it is Donald Trump's 79th birthday. So this could be seen by some as a way to celebrate his birthday.
Donald Trump, the president, being somebody who has long wanted a parade like this in the streets of Washington, D.C. Back in 2017, he went to France when they had their military parade. He told the president of France, Macron, that they were going to do the same thing. And then he had his aides start working on it. Now, at that time, there were a lot of generals and a lot of people around him who were worried about the optics of such a parade, but this really gave the perfect opportunity to do it, given that it is the 250th anniversary of the Army.
And I do want to point out one thing since the last time I saw you guys, I have gotten a number of e-mails from people who say that they are veterans and that they're very appreciative of this display of what they say is respect for the men and women who serve, that they've never seen anything like this. And the fact that the president wanted to do that is something that means a lot to them.
The reason I'm pointing that out is, of course, I've been listening to your conversations. I know that you've had various viewpoints on, but that's what I am hearing from these people who are viewing at home, who are watching this parade, who say that they are grateful as veterans that this is happening.
So where we are now, we've seen millions of pounds of tanks coming through the streets, military hardware. We've seen soldiers from various eras, the Gulf War, the Korean War, the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, all of them wearing those traditional older uniforms as well as carrying the older weaponry. I think you can just see a giant tank just rolled right behind me. I'm not sure what this one was.
There was an aerial showing earlier. They ended up pushing all of the planes to the earlier side of the parade because of the weather. This is really a race against the clock. It keeps coming in and out. But the crowd around where we are, they've been chanting USA. They have been very happy and of course we're even been told by White House officials that Donald Trump himself is very happy with the way that this turned out.
Of course, again, it is his birthday. It is also something that he has wanted to do for a long time, but it is also the anniversary of the Army.
SANCHEZ: Kristen Holmes live for us in Washington, D.C. Thank you so much.
I want to get to some live images. This is breaking news straight out of Los Angeles, where it appears that protesters are coming face to face with law enforcement over a highway overpass. Moments ago, we heard that there were some tense moments. And as it appears right now, law enforcement is slowly walking to move those protesters away from the overpass. Our reporter on the ground, Mike Yoshida, is heading to this. We will,
of course, keep an eye on what we're watching unfold there and get to Michael as soon as we can. Meantime, we are watching a major manhunt underway right now out of Minnesota. The breaking news there, law enforcement officials looking for 57-year-old Vance Boelter, who is suspected in the assassination of the top Democrat in the Minnesota state house, as well as the attempted assassination of a state senator, also a Democrat. Police believe that the shooter was dressed as a police officer at the time of the attack.
KEILAR: And according to Minnesota officials, Boelter worked at a security company. Pictures on the company's Web site show the type of equipment that it uses.
[19:05:02]
We should note this image is a stock photo just to be clear here. The Web site also shows the types of vehicles and gear that resembles police equipment. Boelter serves as the company's director of security patrol, and likely would have had access to that equipment, according to authorities, who have not said if the company's equipment was found at the crime scenes.
SANCHEZ: And just a short time ago, we heard from President Donald Trump on the investigation as he was departing the White House for the military parade.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely terrible, absolutely terrible. And they're looking for that particular man right now. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: CNN correspondent Veronica Miracle is with us now.
And Veronica, what's the latest on the investigation?
VERONICA MIRACLE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Boris and Brianna, the FBI says they are using every available resource so they can find Vance Boelter, the suspect. They also have released that they have a $50,000 reward for anyone who has information leading to his arrest. Now they believe that he's possibly in the Twin Cities area. He was last seen on surveillance video at a business in Minneapolis.
This morning he was wearing a cowboy hat. He had some kind of dark bag, and they released that photo. They're hoping that somebody in the area has seen him. He was actually spotted at multiple different locations on cameras. They didn't release all of them, just that one there as part of their investigation. But they believe he could be in the area.
They have also alerted all of this to the U.S.-Canadian border facilities, Border Patrol. They are concerned that potentially he is trying to flee the country. And that's about a seven -- less than seven-hour drive from Minneapolis to the border. So certainly there is high alert all over the region border -- Boris, Brianna.
KEILAR: All right, Veronica Miracle, thank you so much for that.
SANCHEZ: Yes. Let's bring in former FBI deputy director and CNN senior law enforcement analyst Andrew McCabe to walk us through this kind of investigation.
Andrew, thanks for being with us. I wonder what you make of officials saying that the suspect is no longer in the Brooklyn Park area. The shelter in place there is lifted. But I wonder what you see as the radius of risk for folks in the region.
ANDREW MCCABE, CNN SENIOR LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes, that's a really hard thing to estimate at this point in the manhunt, Boris. So by lifting the shelter in place order, they're basically conceding that he is not thought to be in the immediate area, in that immediate residential neighborhood in which the last shooting took place. And actually, if you look at that neighborhood, they originally put in the shelter in place in a three-mile radius around the golf course. That would incorporate literally thousands of residences.
It's a very densely packed area with large tons of structures, residential and business structures, things like that. So many, many places where he could potentially hide. But clearly law enforcement thinks he is on the run. They are sighting him at cameras, which is a good thing. His appearance on the doorbell camera at one of those residences in which they suspect he was wearing a rubber mask to essentially pass himself off as someone who was bald, he's not bald, of course, in real life.
All of that indicates that he went into these attacks, planning on changing his appearance immediately after the attack so that he could facilitate his exit from the area and not match up with the description that was originally put out. The, you know, the raid jacket, or, I'm sorry, the Kevlar vest and the blue uniform pants and shirt. So he's obviously put a lot of time into this, a lot of thought into it.
He is unfortunately one step ahead of them right now. But their investigation will focus on contacts, associates, vehicles, things that he absolutely will have to rely on to keep moving forward. Access to credit cards, cash accounts, things like that. Because at some point, he's going to have to start reaching out to people for help or rely on those sources of support, vehicles, cash, what have you that are known to authorities.
And it's by establishing a clear surveillance net over those sources of support that law enforcement is going to get its best leads as to where to catch up with him.
KEILAR: I wonder, Andy, and it is hard to wrap your head around just how horrific what has happened is. We should also note that this target list that was discovered had dozens and dozens of other names on it, right? And when law enforcement encountered this suspect at the Hortman residence, where they went after Senator Hoffman and his wife had been shot, they went there proactively, it seems like perhaps they surprised him there.
You know, he then ran off on foot and left his car. They found the "No Kings" flier. What do you think he had planned beyond this, knowing that he had that target list?
[19:10:07]
MCCABE: Brianna, it is chilling to think about and let's give a lot of credit to the Brooklyn Park Police Department. That sergeant who we know heard about the shooting in the next town over, and then instinctively sent his patrol out to do a welfare check at the representative's home. And it was only because of that really forward thinking work that they just happened to run into him in the driveway.
Had they not gotten there in time, he would likely have committed that double assassination and then gotten in his vehicle and left, and we would have had really very little idea who we were looking for. So that was a great piece of police work, but had that happened, you know, anyone else on that list of targets might have been next in terms of his deadly rampage.
This is a person who, at that point in the morning, he's already shot four people today. Two of them lethally. You don't get a much more dangerous fugitive, somebody who is on the run, who you know is armed, who's changed their appearance. This is a very, very highly dangerous person.
KEILAR: Yes, really, really unbelievable police work, as you said, in that case. Andy, thank you so much for that.
MCCABE: Sure.
SANCHEZ: Joining us now is Minnesota State Representative Sydney Jordan, who sat next to Representative Melissa Hortman on the floor.
Sydney, thank you so much for being with us. I'm so sorry for your loss. I wonder what is going through your mind right now.
SYDNEY JORDAN (D), MINNESOTA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Thank you. It's just an absolutely gut-wrenching day for myself, for everyone in Minnesota. And to answer the question about what's going through your mind, it's almost like there's no words. There's no real way to think about this. It's just a devastating loss for those of us that knew her as our colleague, those of us who are lucky enough to count her as her friends, for her family, and for every single Minnesotan whose life she undoubtedly made better.
SANCHEZ: As I noted a moment ago, you sat next to her literally through some of Minnesota's most difficult moments in recent years. What do you remember about her personally? What was she like?
JORDAN: You know, I sat next to Speaker Hortman this year. Most of my memories of her are actually on top of the speaker's dais, and she did lead us through, you know, as our leader above our House floor, making sure that everyone in the House had their voices heard and were able to represent their constituents. I think about her guidance when we were struggling with the COVID-19
pandemic, when she gave personal guidance to us as we were reeling from the murder of George Floyd and the civil unrest that impacted my city of Minneapolis. What we've done when we had strong political debates, but sitting next to her I think about my friend that was very funny. I think she had a very wry sense of humor and was a very direct person.
She could tell you very -- she was not someone who was going to, you know, candy coat what you needed to do. She was somebody who gave you that direct advice and told you what you needed to hear in that moment. And some of that guidance and that gentle but firm ideas that she would give people is the kind of leadership that is rare and is so needed. And it's an unspeakable loss.
SANCHEZ: I wonder if, given the nature of this horrendous attack, you feel safe right now.
JORDAN: I'm safe right now. I'm in a safe location with family members who are making sure that we're safe. I hope that, you know, all of my colleagues in the Minnesota House and everyone around our state is safe. It's undoubtedly a really scary moment. And it's a moment where I wish we had Melissa to tell or Speaker Hortman to tell us what to do. But I am safe right now and I hope my colleagues are safe as well.
SANCHEZ: Given the rhetoric and political violence that we've seen in recent years, what do you think needs to be done to address extremism?
JORDAN: Thank you for that question. It's, you know, Speaker Hortman was somebody who always believed in debate and believed in things like protest and made sure that people's voices were heard. But in a time where there's political violence of this sort of magnitude, there needs to be more that's done to make sure that there is room for healthy debate and disagreement. But this kind of violence cannot happen. This kind of violence against our community can't happen. And we need to make sure that it stops.
[19:15:00]
And anyone who is in a position to call out and condemn extremism needs to be doing that right now because it doesn't matter what party you're in, where you live, what you look like, what you believe, this violence is unacceptable.
SANCHEZ: Representative Sydney Jordan, our sincerest condolences to you and the loved ones of the state representative. Thanks so much for being with us and sharing her story.
JORDAN: Thank you.
SANCHEZ: Stay with CNN. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:20:09] KEILAR: We're looking at some pictures from moments ago. A police trying to clear protesters from a "No Kings" demonstration in Los Angeles. You can see there, there's smoke, smoke grenades, I guess, pepper spray that appears to be being detonated there in the area as they're trying to move people away from this specific area.
Jamie, this is a bit of a split screen that we are seeing between this parade going off in Washington, D.C. and protests around the country. But now some pictures like this coming in from Los Angeles.
JAMIE GANGELL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. I think we should say that apart from this scene, the other protests we've seen around the country have been peaceful, at least as far as we know. This is the first one that I've seen that looks like this. And this is a big concern, I think, for the people who helped organize these protesters. They have asked for peace. They asked for discipline.
No question exactly this kind of scene is a concern. You never know what the intent and motivation is of people who show up at protests. People come for different reasons, but this is exactly what they didn't want to see at a protest.
SANCHEZ: Donell, talk to us about what you're watching unfold. Obviously as a security official, you have a view and understanding of the tactics that police are employing here. What do you think they're trying to achieve given the vantage point that we have?
DONELL HARVIN, FORMER D.C. CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE: Well, I just want to underscore what Jamie said. There's over 2,000 of these, I wouldn't call them protests, First Amendment protected activities planned all across the country. This is the first one we've seen kind of devolve. And that was the fear of many officials that it would start off as peaceful protest and at some point it would devolve into violence.
Now, why would this happen? Generally, when these protests, when these marches are permitted, they're allowed certain areas, certain spaces to walk. If individuals start getting a little unruly, they start walking into the streets or the highways, the problem is, law enforcement can't let them block streets for emergency service and traffic. But more importantly, if you think of the other threat, you don't want a vehicle ramming into these individuals.
Law enforcement cannot protect them when they're on the road, and so they try to push them or, you know, put them into where they're supposed to be, and then you'll have violence like this unfortunately.
KEILAR: There was particularly a concern moving them over an overpass. What did you think of that? Can you give us an idea of what that means when officials are doing that?
HARVIN: Well, you know, overpasses mean having high ground, throwing things down. We saw that in L.A. last week. And they want to stay away from that. Impeding traffic. You know, these roads, these highways, what we call those -- they're categorized as critical infrastructure. These are necessary infrastructure for the movement of people and things to make cities work. And you can't have them impeded by demonstrators.
SANCHEZ: It's important to give context to what we're watching unfold. Again, there were literally thousands of protests planned for across the country. Demonstrations planned for across the country.
As far as we've seen, this one in Los Angeles, a degree of movement by police against protesters, some tense moments. But this is the only one so far that we've seen escalate to this level. And it appears that we're watching several uniformed officers with batons and helmets moving toward a group of people. One of them appears at least to be a photographer of some kind.
General Marks, I imagine that protests are not necessarily your forte, but given that a lot of this has to do with President Trump mobilizing the National Guard and Marines into this area, excuse me, under the auspices of helping ICE officials do their work, I wonder what you make of the response that you're seeing.
MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I need to tell you that back in '92, I was the senior intel guy during the L.A. riots. Pretty significant. Now, what we saw back then was very broad, sadly, very deadly. Close to 60 citizens or maybe more than that within the city of Los Angeles lost their lives.
What I can tell you is when the Marines showed up and when the Army showed up, we linked up and within 48 hours violence went away. There were very strict rules of engagement. There were what we call Army orders. You don't walk into an incident, you want to de-escalate, et cetera. So we were able to separate those warring parties, if you will. The violence dissipated very quickly when those I would say very objective military forces showed up.
[19:25:00]
What we're seeing here today certainly is entirely different. These are, except for what we're seeing right now, very peaceful protests. I mean, this is why you live in America. You want to say something, you go say it and it's great. Abide the rules and everything is fine.
The fact that the president last week brought U.S. forces and mobilized National Guard forces was because, in his mind, and legally supported at that point, although it's been challenged, he could federalize the National Guard with the intent of eliminating the violence, not allowing it to expand. I think what we're seeing here is it's a juxtaposition, but this is an entirely different circumstance.
KEILAR: Jeff, how is the White House seeing the split screen today of these various events? So many protests against the president as he is hosting this huge celebration and military parade.
JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Look, the White House in some respects has been surprised I've been told for the last several months at the lack of protests. An entirely different scene, really, from eight years ago at the very beginning of the first Trump administration. There were protests in the streets. We're seeing Santa Claus or something there of the kind. But look, there's a lot of pent- up anger and frustration.
But the White House was not eager, pleased at all to see the "No Kings" demonstrations today. And the president has talked a lot about not wanting to see a split screen moment in Washington. He said if there is any protests at this parade this evening here in Washington, the military parade, he had very strong language for how that would be handled.
What some officials who have been in the government and around Washington for a long time have been worried about is what if there is some type of demonstration tonight in Washington, which we've seen nothing of the kind, and we're looking at Los Angeles now, we should point out. But what if there is a Tiananmen Square like moment where someone stands in front of a tank? What kind of image would that be?
Now it's very heavy security downtown in Washington, so I'd be surprised if that happens. But the White House obviously likes the images of the law and order on immigration. But we've seen a dramatic shift in the president's immigration policy just in the last couple of days where he is saying, let's let up on farm workers and hotel workers. So this is very much an evolving situation. But as for the protests all day long, I think the White House and the president are more focused on the parade tonight than any worry about liberal protests in big cities.
SANCHEZ: And it appears that officers are moving into some kind of formation. Some tense moments in Los Angeles amid largely peaceful protests, not only there but across the country today.
A lot of breaking news to cover this evening. We have not only this on the streets of cities across America, but also the Army's 250th anniversary in a parade in the nation's capital, as well as news overseas and a manhunt underway in Minnesota.
We're going to take a quick break. Stay with CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:32:23]
KEILAR: This hour, growing concerns around the world over the escalating attacks between Israel and Iran.
Sirens alerting Israelis to more incoming airstrikes as Iranian missiles penetrate the Iron Dome and in Iran, state media now reporting that Israeli airstrikes overnight struck the Iranian Defense Ministry headquarters in Tehran, causing what it describes as minor damage.
SANCHEZ: CNN's Clarissa Ward joins us now live from Tel Aviv. Clarissa, what's the latest from where you are? What are you hearing about these operations?
It appears that were having some signal issues with Clarissa Ward. We just lost her signal. But we will do our best to get it back.
KEILAR: That's right, we have been, as we do, try to reestablish it. Let's just talk a little bit about what we've been seeing.
We've been seeing those Iranian missiles just kind of obviously try to overwhelm those air defenses in Israel. And in so many cases, as we see here, you have the ability of the Iron Dome to stop those ballistic missiles, but not everyone. And that is why we are hearing about some casualties. We have been able to reestablish Clarissa's signal. Let's get back to her now.
Clarissa, tell us the latest.
CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna, I actually lost signal then, because just as you were about to come to me, an alert came through on my phone and to the phones of every single person in Israel of the detection of possible missile launches towards Israel. The alert, citing a number of places that might be told soon to take shelter, Jerusalem among them. We don't have any more information than that at this stage, but this is the first time, I would say, in three or four hours that we have received this kind of warning early on in the evening.
When we heard a similar warning, there were a number of Iranian missiles falling down around Haifa in the north of the country, and particularly on an Arab town called Tamra. Now, we know from Israel's emergency services that in that town of Tamra, at least two women were killed, one of them in her 20s. There were reports as well of multiple injuries of at least one four-story building on fire.
We know that a number of people were also taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. We haven't been able to get a huge amount of footage from the scene yet, but some has been coming in from social media where you can really see the ferocity of those strikes when they hit.
And earlier today we were actually able to visit the site of one strike from last night outside of Tel Aviv, a residential area, and you could just see the damage that is inflicted when one of these ballistic missiles does make impact when the Iron Dome is not able to intercept it.
[19:35:28]
There were multiple houses completely destroyed. The cars on half of the block were like crumpled Coke cans. And for many Israelis, this is something they haven't seen before. This is not the Katyusha rockets or mortars in terms of the types of munitions that they're familiar with seeing. So, there were a lot of people who were kind of gathering in the area, standing back at the police cordon, trying to sort of crane their necks to get a better glimpse of the destruction that had been caused by this one impact.
So, people now in various parts of this country will be keeping their phones very close as they wait to get more guidance from the Home Front Command on whether it will be necessary for them to take shelter in the coming minutes and hours.
KEILAR: All right, Clarissa, thank you so much. So glad we were able to reestablish that connection. Obviously, things can get dicey here as they are getting alerts and there are sirens going off.
Also, happening right now, a military parade that is taking place here in the nation's capital, commemorating the U.S. Army's 250th birthday. Moments from now, we expect to hear from President Trump as he takes part in a re-enlistment ceremony.
Let's talk about this now with Republican Congressman Warren Davidson of Ohio. He is a former Army Ranger. He's a member of the house foreign affairs committee. Thank you so much for being with us today. It's a big day for the Army.
REP. WARREN DAVIDSON (R-OH): It's an exciting day, 250th birthday, one year older than the nation, frankly and you know, for everyone I've talked to served, it's a great way to honor our military and those who served.
KEILAR: Yes, a lot of people telling our reporters that they are happy for this parade. You, of course, are hearing the critics as well. They're saying that the President is celebrating himself and not the Army. What do you say to that?
DAVIDSON: Yes, I think it's a lot of bunk. I mean, you know, people want to look for every way possible that criticize Trump. And frankly, those are the people that I've seen be critical of it. And the other thing is, frankly, it's a great dress rehearsal for the 250th birthday for the United States next year. So, I think we should rightly celebrate our Army, and I think we should rightly celebrate our country.
KEILAR: So there are, as well, folks who have concerns about the cost. You've heard this from a number of people up on the Hill within your own party. So, let me ask you, is it responsible to have a $45 million parade when we are seeing cuts to food assistance that military families rely on in that BBB bill that you and House Republicans voted for, you've got a quarter of military families reporting experiencing food insecurity in recent years. Is this money that could be better spent?
DAVIDSON: Yes, I mean, it's a complete red herring. I mean, the same people throwing out those criticisms are disappointed. We're not funding transgender operas in Colombia, so, I think it's complete non- sense.
KEILAR: No, these are your Republican colleagues.
DAVIDSON: No, I haven't found Republican colleagues critical of this. I mean, you know, some former Republicans -- who has --
KEILAR: Of the cost, a number of them, Senator Susan Collins, Ron Johnson, there's really a lot of them Republicans who are critical of the cost of this.
DAVIDSON: Well, you can't do it for free. I mean, the reality is you can't do it for free. It's worth doing. It does take money to bring troops there. They're going to get paid for doing the job, whether they're doing it in Washington, D.C. or elsewhere. But it does take an effort to transport all this equipment there to organize the event, to provide security for it. But it's worth doing. And I think next year were going to spend a lot more celebrating the United States of America 250th birthday and I think we should.
KEILAR: Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, a Republican, says, you know, one of the issues he has is more the way it's being done. He says, were a lion, and a lion doesn't have to tell you it's a lion. What do you think about that?
DAVIDSON: Well, I don't think we're showing our teeth very much here. I mean, we do that in other ways. And, you know, a lot of our most lethal things aren't even on display. But it really is honoring the history of our country and the history of our, our Army. So, I think it's worth doing personally. And, you know, I really feel like it's a distraction to be critical of it. And, you know, the momentum for our Army is just tremendous.
I mean, you look at the leadership Pete Hegseth provided becoming Secretary of Defense, saying, look, we need to have a military, an army in particular, but a military that's focused on fighting and winning wars. Not all these other distractions. And they are focused. And I think this is a great way to celebrate it and it just happens to be 250th birthday.
KEILAR: What do you expect for this to do for recruitment? And we should note that recruitment has been going pretty well. So, there's this argument of it needs to be done for recruitment but it has been going pretty well.
[19:40:20]
DAVIDSON: Yes, I think it helps build that momentum. I mean, you look at the esprit de corps and the pride. I mean, you know, I look at some of the units that I've seen, you know, served in myself. The old guard I served, I saw the salute gun battery giving the president of the United States a 21-gun salute. It was an honor to command that salute gun battery when I was a young lieutenant.
And you look at other units around the country, people say, well, who does this, that or the other thing? Once I found out who jumps out of the airplanes, I wanted to be an army ranger. I hope it inspires young men and women to join our Army in particular, but our military and serve our country.
KEILAR: Do you know if any of the soldiers participating have interrupted pre-deployment preparation, or if they're fresh off deployments and this is interrupting their reintegration? Is the parade creating any potential readiness issues? That's one of the issues that your fellow former Army Ranger Jason Crow, raised on the program last hour.
DAVIDSON: Yes, it's an interesting take from Crow. No, I don't think that's likely. And frankly, we're too committed everywhere else in the world. We need to be focused on America first. And I think that's another great way to send this message, is to focus on our own country and to secure our own borders. KEILAR: But that's the with the military. I mean, in terms of it being
domestic enforcement, I mean, can you explain that to me?
DAVIDSON: I mean, securing our borders is a fundamental purpose of a country. You should have a secure border. We've treated a lot of our border security as law enforcement in interior law enforcement is part of our country. But securing our nations border is a fundamental responsibility of the federal government. I think there's encroachments in our border in every way imaginable, and I think there are times when our military should be the security.
KEILAR: But what does that have to do with this parade?
DAVIDSON: Well, you're talking about readiness and I'm, you know, Jason Crow probably wants to go to several other wars and other places, and I don't we need more --
KEILAR: I don't think he said that.
DAVIDSON: We need to focus on our country. Where are they going to deploy? I mean, are we at a in a state of war? We haven't declared war against anybody. So, where exactly we're they headed to with such imminent urgency that Jason Crow is losing sleep at night?
KEILAR: Well, as you're well aware, there are servicemen and women who are on deployments all around the world. But I take your point on what you're saying. Perhaps you don't want them there.
DAVIDSON: That's exactly my point. They shouldn't be all over the world. They should be defending our country.
KEILAR: Well, you know, they're in Korea. They're in Japan. They're underway. They're not in the Army but, you know, the military in general.
DAVIDSON: Does North Korea going to roll over the border over the weekend? I don't think so. And if they did, we have enough force posture to handle it.
KEILAR: Congressman Warren Davidson, great to have you. Thank you so much. Thank you so much as well for your service. Really appreciate it on this big day for the Army.
DAVIDSON: Yes, thank you. It was an honor to join you.
KEILAR: And coming up, we're looking at some live pictures from Los Angeles where there was a tense moment amid one of these No Kings protests just moments ago. You did see law enforcement trying to move protesters back, perhaps from an area where they were not supposed to be.
They were on an overpass, which is obviously something law enforcement does not want to see. But you're looking there. You see people wearing goggles and some protection from pepper spray and that kind of thing. If they're anticipating that. And were looking at pictures happening now, we're going to take a quick break. We're going to come back and tell you exactly what is happening there on the ground in Los Angeles.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[19:48:37]
SANCHEZ: We're following breaking news out of the Middle East, where we are seeing several missiles visible in the skies over Tel Aviv. This is from moments ago. This barrage of missiles, only the latest wave of attacks coming from Tehran, as the IRGC puts out a statement saying that the offensive operations of the armed forces of the Islamic Republic will continue with greater force and scope. If these hostilities and aggressions persist. An IRGC spokesperson they're referring to Israeli strikes on fuel production facilities for fighter jets and energy supply centers.
We are working to get our reporter, Clarissa Ward, who is there in the region, for us up and running. Obviously, some signal difficulties and also safety considerations at play when you have a situation like this.
KEILAR: And Clarissa Ward is available now as we are hearing some sirens there moments ago. Clarissa, tell us what you've been experiencing there in Tel Aviv.
WARD: So, essentially, as you mentioned, right after those sirens we started to see on the Iron Dome, firing off, some interceptions took place. And we're trying to turn around that video and get it back to you to so that you can play it to our viewers. But some interceptions taking place over there. We also heard a number of explosions to the south.
We've actually moved locations from where our last live shot was, Brianna. And when we came down the stairs to get to this other balcony that has a better vantage point, we noticed, of course, like many of the hotel guests are all sort of hunkered down in the stairwell waiting to see when it will be safe to move out again, and we haven't yet heard the all clear or anything like that. So, people presumably still inside shelters or inside stairwells. But again, this was well, I think it's the first we've heard tonight here in Tel Aviv. It started out the original warning was more for people in Jerusalem than we heard those sirens, red alert, at which point we started to hear the Iron Dome firing off those intercepts.
[19:50:46]
Now, the question will be whether any of those missiles were able to get through and were not intercepted and actually made landfall. Earlier on today, we were able to see the impact firsthand of one of those Iranian ballistic missiles and it was -- it was a huge amount of damage so early on in the evening as well in the north of the country, you had a number of Iranian missiles raining down, making landfall, particularly in one Arab town of Tamra, where at least two women were killed, a number of people injured.
So, essentially, waiting now to find out more details as to the nature of the explosions that we heard to the south, whether those were in fact impacts, whether there have been any casualties or damage or destruction as a result of that. And when we will hear the announcement that it is clear for people to come out of their shelters again -- Brianna and Boris.
KEILAR: All right, Clarissa Ward, thank you so much for that report. Live for us from Tel Aviv.
SANCHEZ: We are also tracking millions of people taking to the streets across the United States and what is being called a no-kings set of demonstrations.
Over the last hour or so, tensions have escalated, specifically in Los Angeles. We have a team of reporters on the ground across the country. We have Michael Yoshida in L.A. for us, as well as Shimon Prokupecz, who is in New York.
First to Michael, just moments ago, we saw police dispersing irritants into a crowd of people. It appeared that they had gotten close to an overpass and there were blocking vehicles. What are you seeing from your vantage point now?
MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, there Boris, we're right near one of the federal buildings in downtown L.A., which has been the focus of so many of these protests. You can see as we step forward, I'm going to have our photographer come right up here. Were at a bridge kind of overlooking. You can see we have a line of law enforcement on horses right behind them. More law enforcement, looks like the sheriff's office just beyond there in that intersection with Maine and Temple. I believe.
You can see protesters still in the streets, you talked about a few minutes ago, some of those irritants, some of the gas being fired. I can tell you it's still very strong odor in the air as we were walking and making our way through here. This all follows what's been a relatively where we were throughout this "No Kings" protest, which started over several -- we're right next to City Hall -- actually, at this point earlier today, a very peaceful protest. Thousands had turned up.
Obviously, as the day has gone on, we've seen some of these higher tension moments start to happen. I can tell you that we believe, based on all of the debris we've seen on the ground, some of the signs and other materials that they got close to the federal building, which had been the focus. I'm going to have our camera swing around, and then we were pushed away from there a few minutes ago, have now been pushed up, probably can hear the flashbang going off.
Excuse me, more of the gas starting to make its way over here. Again, this is like if we can pan back a little bit. Just want to show people we have city hall right off to the left here.
So just on the other side, that's where we were live with you just about an hour ago. Grant Park over there, that's where most of this day's festivities have been going on. Obviously, a group has made its way further north here and now it seems we have law enforcement in front of us. I can tell you off to the right side of the screen, there is another heavy law enforcement presence as they're starting to even move in from the left side as well.
So, something we're following and continuing to watch as obviously tensions just starting to rise here in downtown L.A.
SANCHEZ: Michael Yoshida, please stay safe out there for us, bringing us the latest in Los Angeles. Let's go live to Shimon Prokupecz who is in New York for us. And, Shimon, I understand things have escalated there in the last few moments.
SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it's the same area where things have been escalating almost every night that we've been out here. Were also outside a federal building here in Foley Square. It's actually where the ICE offices are, as well as where the FBI is.
And just a few moments ago, as we were coming here, a rush, just a crowd of officers just came through that street here and into this crowd here, and they went and grabbed a couple of people, but they all put on their helmets and they rushed in, grabbed a couple of people, and they're now loading them. They've arrested them and they're now loading them into this van.
[19:55:31]
It's been kind of a back and forth here with the police and some of the protesters here. You can look around here, Bob, just show Boris here some of the sights. There are people standing around. They've been yelling at the police and the police, for the most part, have been letting them stand here and yell and do what they're doing. But at times, things, the tension just increases. And then the police will move in and they'll arrest someone, and then the crowd will start running, and then more police will come in.
But you could just see the enormous police presence here, Boris, I'm going to have Bob swing over this way as well and show you here just officers all lined here in the middle of the street. As many of the protesters are just here in this square. They've been here for, you know, the past few hours.
But this is a very key part of the city, right? This is where all the courts are. But this has been an area where there's been the most tension because the ICE offices are here. This is where ICE, this behind me here is Federal Plaza. This is where ICE will bring detainees, people they detained, they will bring here.
So, that is why so many of the protesters have been gathering here. But also this is why you're seeing this kind of response from the police here. Obviously, they don't want anyone going anywhere near the building, but this is going to go on. You know, this is back and forth here, back and forth, protesters and police. And then at some point, just the police get tired of it, and then they move in and start arresting people.
KEILAR: All right, Shimon, thank you so much and we are watching those pictures behind you there. And as were seeing also in Los Angeles, we started to see some people who were beginning to taunt law enforcement coming after a day of thousands upon thousands of people there in the downtown area to exercise their First Amendment rights, protesting peacefully as they are doing in almost 2,000 protests all around the country.
These protests in Los Angeles have been going on all day. We are starting to see situations where police are trying to clear certain areas and they are firing some of that gas irritant to towards some of the crowd. We do again see some people taunting, but it appears to be a limited number, although police are certainly not standing for it.
You're also seeing vehicles, you see the problem here, as Donell has been pointing out to us, having these people in the middle of the street where you have traffic is a potential recipe for disaster, and police are trying to make sure that that does not happen.
SANCHEZ: And, I wonder as you watch this and as we heard Shimon say, that at a certain point there's a limit reached with law enforcement, and they decide to act. Talk to us about what goes into that decision when it's time to sort of mobilize and get certain protesters that appear to be getting agitated out of the way.
DONELL HARVIN, FORMER DC CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE: Yes, marches are really tough because people are walking, right? And so they have to have control over where they're walking. Look at the difference between where Shimon was in New York and where L.A. is right now.
Shimon, there was bike track, people were on the roads. NYPD was really controlling that. Here, it's uncontrolled. And so, what happens is that state and local law enforcement are in a really precarious situation in which they have to protect the city and assets from demonstrators who may become violent, but they also have to protect the demonstrators from other people who may want to try to come and hurt them.
We've seen that time and time again with vehicle ramming, and so, this is this is not a controllable situation. That's the limit where law enforcement comes in and they step and they try to clear the roads and get people back on, at least on the sidewalk where they can control traffic through and make sure everyone's safe.
KEILAR: And tell us what you're watching here, Donell, just give us a sense. We're seeing these chemical irritants that are being fired. Just kind of describe what you're seeing play out there on the streets.
HARVIN: You see cars trying to get around people that shouldn't happen. You know, we, you know, and I don't want to get political but we saw Governor DeSantis just a few days ago, right. Think about this saying someone doesn't feel comfortable, they don't feel safe. They can run over a crowd of demonstrators.
And so, this is what police have to protect against. Chemical irritants are used to spread the area. We also saw mounted officers, those are really, really effective. If you've ever been around an eight foot horse who's walking sideways, you're going to get out of the way whether you like horses or not. And so, they really just have to get control. This is concerning for me as a homeland security, a former official.
Generally, we don't see lawlessness in the breakdown of this type of civil disobedience until the nightfall. And so, seeing it early means that these officers may be in for a long night.
SANCHEZ: If you're just joining us on CNN, a historic night with major stories happening not only here at home but also abroad as well. We're watching tensions rise in L.A. and New York amid "No Kings" protest.
There have been chemical irritants dispersed in Los Angeles to try to get crowds to move at the same time we're watching the President himself address the 250th anniversary of the nation's Army. A huge reception for the President there, with a number of demonstrations of the United States Army and its military might. The president addressing the crowd and addressing the nation.
[20:00:52]
