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CNN NEWSROOM
Ferguson Fallout; North Korea Power Shift; Ferguson Calm Amid New Protests; Al Qaeda Hostages Rescued in Harrowing Raid
Aired November 27, 2014 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Right now in the CNN NEWSROOM: Ferguson fallout. Dozens of protesters try to disrupt New York City's Thanksgiving Day Parade, as details emerge of an alleged terror plot targeting key figures in the Michael Brown case.
Daring raid. U.S. commandos go deep into a terrorist stronghold to rescue al Qaeda hostages, including an American. And we're learning new details about the mission. That includes a deadly firefight.
And North Korea power shift. Kim Jong-un's little sister steps into the spotlight, suddenly taking on a surprising role in her family's iron-fisted regime.
I'm Brianna Keilar. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.
That's a chaotic scene nearly disrupting one of America's most treasured holiday traditions, dozens of people protesting the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Missouri, trying to disrupt Thanksgiving Day Parade there in New York.
They were chanting no justice, no peace, and justice for Mike Brown.
And CNN's Miguel Marquez is in New York.
Tell us about this, Miguel.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this was a protester promise made after two days of protests here, and they made good on it today.
Around 37th Street and Broadway and between Broadway and Sixth Avenue, just where the front of that parade was starting to get to that two- and-a-half-mile parade route of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, protesters started throwing bottles at certain stores, and then they rushed the barricades. The police had set up barricades along the way to the parade route, also very, very heavy crowds coming in to watch those parades.
They tried to rush those barricades, get over them on to the parade route in order to, it sounds like, disrupt the very start of the parade. Police were at the ready, though. They knew this was a possibility. They knew that protesters had been talking about this on social media for several days.
This demonstration and this frustration on the behalf of protesters becoming more about economic justice, those Occupy Wall Street sort of concerns, moving away in some ways from the only just the justice in the Michael Brown issue. A lot of frustration among protesters here, but police were at the ready. They believed they could turn it away and they certainly did.
That is not deterring protesters, though. They already have another planned for tomorrow. Where? Herald Square, where Macy's is located -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right, we will be watching. Miguel, thank you.
We're also learning new details of an alleged terror plot tied to event in Ferguson. Sources tell CNN targets included the Saint Louis Arch and two officials.
CNN justice correspondent Pamela Brown is working the story for us.
This is interesting, Pamela, and very alarming.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
We're learning some new details, Brianna. Law enforcement sources say the FBI used a sting to set up a purchase of what the men thought was a pipe bomb and now we're learning from law enforcement sources that the men allegedly had plans to bomb, as you said, an iconic landmark in Saint Louis and kill two men who played key roles in the Michael Brown shooting investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN (voice-over): Federal prosecutors say the plan, if carried out, would have terrorized Saint Louis and Ferguson and thrown the grand jury investigation in the Michael Brown shooting into chaos.
Sources say even before the grand jury decision and this week's riots, the two men were plotting to blow up the iconic Saint Louis Arch, as well as murder two key figures in the Michael Brown case, prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch and Ferguson Police Chief Tom Jackson.
CNN has learned Olajuwon Ali Davis and Brandon Orlando Baldwin were stopped by an undercover FBI sting operation after allegedly buying what they believed was a pipe bomb. Investigators say the men planned to buy more bombs when they got more money.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am Olajuwon Ali.
BROWN: A law enforcement officer says Davis was a member of the New Black Panther Party. In a statement overnight, the group said reports one of the men confessed to anything illegal are -- quote -- "baseless and have no merit" and the reports -- quote -- "only serve to confuse the issue and heighten an already tense situation in Ferguson."
Federal sources tell CNN the alleged plot was amateurish at best, and that it's unlikely the men had the ability to carry out the attacks. So far, they have only been indicted on federal weapons charges after allegedly buying weapons at a store outside Saint Louis.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And authorities expect more charges to be filed against the duo relating to the alleged bombing plot -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Pam Brown, thank you.
Let's get the latest about Ferguson now. Let's get the latest about the situation there with CNN's Sara Sidner. She's covering it for us.
What's the mood like in Ferguson today, Sara?
SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Let me give you some idea.
We saw on Monday night an aerial view of this very area here, where there are lots of cars being sold, and they were on fire. This is what it looks like now in the daylight, as we're able now to get to some of the areas we were unable to get to because the streets were blocked off.
This is West Florissant. And it's actually in Dellwood, which is a community that is very close to Ferguson, but not in Ferguson itself. Certainly, there is an investigation under way trying to figure out who is responsible for the criminal activity.
And that's exactly what it was on West Florissant, South Florissant and here on this part of Florissant, when people came out on Monday and part of Tuesday and damaged the city.
I do want to talk to you a little bit about what we're hearing from Darren Wilson and his attorneys. They are now talking quite a bit after months of silence and after months of Darren Wilson basically being in hiding, trying to keep out of public view.
Here's what his attorney said about his life now after we have heard quite a bit about what's happened with the Brown's family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEIL BRUNTRAGER, ATTORNEY FOR DARREN WILSON: He has had to learn to live in a way that makes him completely unnoticeable. And so as a consequence of that, there are several techniques that he utilizes that make that happen. And it's an odd way to live your life, but it's -- for him, for him it's all about his family. It's all about safety.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIDNER: And for Michael Brown's family, they have said after hearing from Darren Wilson himself in his very first interview and hearing from his attorneys that they don't believe a word he says and, in their words, at least he still has a life, unlike their son.
Obviously, there's a lot of sorrow and bitterness on their part about what has happened and how this has all unfolded. But certainly now we're hearing now from Darren Wilson and his side of the story for the first time publicly. Also want to talk to you, because it is Thanksgiving, about some of
the things going on here that don't have anything to do with destruction, about rebuilding, about trying to get this community to grow yet again. We were able to go over to Cathy's Kitchen, which is a very fun spot that lots of people like to go in, a restaurant that is wonderful by this husband and wife who the husband is also a basketball coach in the community, knows a lot of the young men in Ferguson.
They reopened less than 24 hours after having their windows smashed out, but they also were able to reopen because the protesters stood in front of their building and made sure that none of the looters got inside -- Brianna.
KEILAR: It's so important. Many have wondered if parts of Ferguson could become economic deserts. And it's great to see that they are reopening. We wish them the best of luck.
Sara Sidner, thanks for your reporter in Ferguson, Missouri.
President Obama followed these developments. He's continuing to follow them in Ferguson from the White House, where the first family is celebrating Thanksgiving and many people are wondering whether the president himself will visit Ferguson.
CNN's Athena Jones is at the White House for us today.
Athena, what does the president say about this and what is going on there today?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Brianna.
Well, after days of protests, not just in Ferguson, but in cities across the country, the president is using his weekly address to talk about one of his favorite themes, which is looking out for one another or, as he likes to say, being each other's keeper. And in what sounds like a reference to Ferguson, he also talked about justice and equality. Let's play a clip of what he has to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's easy to focus on what separates us. But as we gather with loved ones on this Thanksgiving, let's remember and be grateful for what binds us together, a love of country, our commitment to justice and equality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: Now, you mentioned, Brianna, a lot of folks are asking whether the president himself will go to Ferguson. And the White House hasn't said yet whether he will travel to that city.
The president was asked this earlier this week and he basically dodged the question. He said let's take a look and see how things are going. He has also pointed to the fact that Attorney General Eric Holder has been to Ferguson, along with a whole team from the Justice Department. As you know, the Justice Department is in the midst of a federal civil
rights investigation into Michael Brown's shooting. And they are also investigating allegations of unconstitutional policing practices or patterns by the Ferguson Police Department.
Those investigations are ongoing and could take a while. But in the meantime, in addition to having the Justice Department look into the incident in Ferguson, the president also asked Attorney General Holder to host a series of meetings, regional meetings around the country to look at ways to improve relations between law enforcement and the communities they serve to make sure that law enforcement is applied fairly and justly to everyone in the country.
And so, as part of that, we know that, next week, they are going to be -- the administration officials are going to be meeting with state and local officials, community leaders, faith leaders to discuss some of these specific steps to improving relations -- Brianna.
KEILAR: Yes, because this is an issue that stretches so far beyond Ferguson. Athena Jones at the White House, thank you.
And, next, we will talk about all of this with community activist John Gaskin. He is in Ferguson right now.
Plus, disturbing news for anyone who flies -- the growing threat that drones are posing to commercial airliners. We have details of a sudden surge in near-collisions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: The fallout from the Ferguson grand jury decision far from over, as dozens of protesters tried to disrupt the New York's Thanksgiving Day Parade. They were stopped by police in a sometimes tense confrontation, but, in Ferguson itself, relative calm after three days and nights of protests.
Let's get more now with community activist John Gaskin. He's in Ferguson, joining us now.
And I wonder. We have seen things calm down, John, but do you think that we're going to see any violence tonight?
JOHN GASKIN, NAACP BOARD MEMBER: I don't think so.
I think the community will be passionate. This is the first Thanksgiving that Michael Brown's family will sit down at their dining room table without their son. My sympathies go out to his family and to his friends as they go through one of the most difficult holidays, especially when you have recently lost a loved one.
But I believe that, tonight, people will be peaceful. If protests continue, they will remain peaceful. And I certainly hope and pray that people will stay home and consider what the family has said to act in a dignified way.
I do know that, tomorrow, there are a number of boycotts planned across the country, and especially here in the Saint Louis area, encouraging people, hands up, don't shop, in a boycott, really honoring -- I guess honoring the memory of Michael Brown and calling upon some of the area businesses to take note on what has taken place here.
KEILAR: We have seen, obviously, some of the violence. It's very important to note that you had a lot of peaceful protesters in the last few days in Ferguson trying to deter or certainly discourage people from looting, from being violent. They've been protesting for months now. But where do they go from here, John? How do they turn the protests into something more?
GASKIN: Well, where we go from here now is hoping that leadership, like the mayor, like the county executive, like Governor Jay Nixon will take the courageous route and step out and meet with many of these protest leaders to bring them to the table to begin to have a discussion regarding systemic changes, regarding education reform, regarding police reform. To begin to have those discussions on what we do to move past this.
You know, the looting happened Monday night. Now, it turns into what I would call a healing process. And in order to heal, we've got to begin and get people to work, provide resources within the communities that are struggling most.
And like I said, begin to really talk about working with law enforcement to recruit minorities, to be on police forces and to really improve the image that African-Americans and people of color have of law enforcement within their communities. We have to begin to, you know, bring legislation about.
There is a march to Jefferson City, I believe, on Saturday where groups like the NAACP will be marching to the governor's mansion to demand that the governor put forth a bill for police reform here in the state of Missouri. That's how we move past the protests and into legislation so that we begin to see real changes.
If you look at the civil rights movement -- yes, the civil rights movement and the boycotts and protests, yes, they were important, but it made a difference when they took those efforts to Washington, D.C., and to the state capital and began to have legislation like the Voting Rights Act, that's the only way we will move past the unrest and the protests unless we go to legislation. That's the only way we're going to do it.
KEILAR: I want to get your reaction to something we're hearing. Some tension between local officials there in the Ferguson area and federal officials. We've been hearing from some local officials who say that they felt some of the violence on Monday night happened because there was a lot of scrutiny and they were very much encouraged by federal officials to take a softer approach. I guess they felt that it ended up being more lax. You have federal officials who are saying, that's not the truth. What we wanted was for there to be smarter policing.
I mean, where do you come down on that dispute? GASKIN: Well, I have some mixed emotions about that because, to be
quite frank with you, the governor had very little communication with the prosecutor's office. You know, he issued -- and many people here will tell you that, many elected officials will tell you that there was very little communication between the officer of the state, the prosecutor, and the governor of the state. The governor issued a state of emergency days before the announcement was even made. To be quite frank with you, I don't think his office knew when the decision was going to be made.
As it goes to softer policing, you know, I can understand that to some extent, but I would hope that the federal officials of this area who have, in my opinion, been absent the vast majority of the time but I would hope that they were not advising anyone to take a softer approach, because as you look behind me, it's quite obvious they took a very soft approach because the town was torched.
KEILAR: You think they took a softer approach and maybe not a smarter approach? Do you think people were just hell-bent on causing trouble?
GASKIN: Well, I think that you had -- you know, if you talk to the business owners here, for example, North County Incorporated, which is a coalition of business owners in that part of town, they will tell you, they met with law enforcement and they were promised that the National Guard would help to protect their businesses.
You have one part of Ferguson that is predominantly white, where the police station is, where you saw Lesley McSpadden and her husband over there when the announcement came. The only real damage that was over there was broken windows. Just down the street here, which is where the African-American part of Ferguson is, those buildings were completely torched. Many were burned to the ground, as the one behind me.
So, you had -- I believe you have police protecting one part of town and the other part of town where there was -- where there was no much effort. You had businesses and malls here in St. Louis where the National Guard was located and they were nowhere to be found when it came to the businesses and the African-American community.
You know, to be honest with you, I have no idea why the National Guard would be in a completely different part of town protecting businesses when there were no people in those areas. So, you know, there are many questions here, many business owners obviously are hurt that their businesses were burned down, but they also have many questions regarding the leadership of this community and federal leadership regarding the fact that they were promised that the national guard would protect their businesses. And as you can see, there was not much protection there.
KEILAR: All right. John Gaskin, thanks for being with us. Happy Thanksgiving to you as well. I know you're going to have your Thanksgiving dinner now with your family. We appreciate your time.
GASKIN: Same to you.
KEILAR: All right. Thanks, John.
Coming up, more drones than ever in the skies over the U.S. and how a sudden surge in near collisions with planes could affect air travel. What kind of dangers are flyers now facing?
Plus, Kim Jong-un's sister takes on a surprising new role in the North Korean regime.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: New details are coming out about a harrowing mission to rescue al Qaeda hostages, including an American from a remote stronghold in Yemen.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr has the latest on this.
Barbara, you're learning some things from your sources. Tell us what you're hearing.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Brianna, it all starts with this -- al Qaeda in Yemen is one of America's most dangerous enemies and U.S. commandos walked right in to their territory.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STARR (voice-over): It was a daring raid deep into the mountains of Yemen. U.S. Special operations Commandos and Yemeni forces moved in under the cover of darkness into this remote al Qaeda stronghold into the eastern part of the country. Sources say the rescue mission was launched after intelligence showed the location of Western and other hostages being held by al Qaeda, including an American.
The Pentagon didn't want to talk about it on Tuesday just hours after the mission ended.
REAR ADM. JOHN KIRBY, PENTAGON PRESS SECRETARY: I will just tell you, we continue to support Yemeni counterterrorism efforts and would refer you to them to talk to any operations.
STARR: But today, CNN has learned more details of the raid. The Yemeni military says more than a dozen hostages, including Yemenis, an American and possibly others were being moved into a cave into the remote area. The hostages were chained and covered with blankets in pickup trucks.
Acting on that intelligence, the mission was launched. Special Forces wearing night vision goggles were dropped in from helicopters some four miles from the al Qaeda hideout before hiking to the cave on foot. Just 100 yards from the cave a fire fight suddenly broke out. The U.S. and Yemeni forces eventually killing all of the al Qaeda fighters.
LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: When you're talking about caves where hostages are moved repeatedly and in a standard pattern, it becomes extremely difficult because it's hard to practice. STARR: Eight hostages were found but CNN has learned just how close
the mission came to rescuing the rest. Five hostages, including the American, had been moved away just two days earlier.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STARR: Now, CNN agreed to a request from the Pentagon not to name the American hostage until he is rescued and, yes, U.S. troops and U.S. intelligence agencies are continuing to look for him -- Brianna.
KEILAR: All right. Barbara Starr, thank you.
And coming up, a scary new report about how close civilian-operated drones have come to causing potential disasters in the sky. Could that lead to a new federal restriction? Our aviation expert Richard Quest will weigh in on that.
Plus, there are now two Kims for the United States to worry about. Kim Jong-un puts his sister in a key position in power in North Korea. What's behind that move?
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