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Capitol Police Weighing Possible Federal Charges in Omar Attack; Couple Says Alex Pretti's Research Saved Veteran's Life; Bill Belichick Snubbed for Hall of Fame; East Coast Braces for Potential Bomb Cyclone. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired January 28, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Turning back to one of our top stories, Capitol Police now considering charges against the man who sprayed Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar with a liquid believed by police to be apple cider vinegar. This is the moment.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): Kristi Noem must resign or face impeachment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: This incident happened at a town hall where Congresswoman Omar condemned actions by ICE agents in Minnesota. She was unharmed, but here's what she told CNN after finishing the event.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OMAR: I've survived war and I'm definitely going to survive intimidation and whatever these people think that they can throw at me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: The Council on American Islamic Relations, the largest Muslim advocacy group in the U.S., has condemned the attack, calling for increased security for Congresswoman Omar, her family and the community. We're joined now by Jaylani Hussein. He is the executive director of CARE in Minnesota. Jaylani, thank you for being with us.

You have said this attack did not happen in a vacuum. Explain what you mean.

[14:35:00]

JAYLANI HUSSEIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COUNCIL ON AMERICAN-ISLAMIC RELATIONS MINNESOTA: I think most Americans have been waking up to almost every single day since perhaps in November, where the president continuously has attacked and specifically singled out Congresswoman Omar in tweets after tweets after tweets, using demonizing, dehumanizing language and almost making it excusable for people to target her. So that's why, unfortunately, it's not surprising. and regrettably for a president himself who has faced multiple attacks and failed assassination attempts against him, to continue to target her in this manner. Sadly to say this was unfortunately expected and I'm glad that this incident is not what it could have turned out to be.

But we are calling for additional security, and we are calling for the president to take responsibility for his behavior that continuously targets Democrats, including the congresswoman.

KEILAR: Law enforcement has not mentioned a motive at this point. We are still waiting for some of that information, but the president's words about Ilhan Omar go back years, right, certainly before November. He's not taking -- he's not taking any responsibility for his words about her.

He actually told ABC News, quote, she probably had herself sprayed knowing her. And I hear you saying you want him to take some responsibility for his words, but how do you wish the president would see his role in this environment where a politician has been targeted. A politician that he has repeatedly targeted rhetorically, including with lies that she married her brother and professed love for Al-Qaeda and also with vitriol. He's called her garbage.

He said that she should be sent back to Somalia. How do you want him to see his role in this environment?

HUSSEIN: Well, he needs to understand that he himself went through a failed assassination. And I think, I don't know if he forgot about that, but during that and after that, he talked about the consequences of political violence. In Minnesota ourselves, in our state, we lost the speaker, Mr. Horman and her husband, and we're still dealing with the aftermath of that.

And this unfair targeting of Congresswoman Omar and particularly the Somali-American community has been now, you're right, it's been going on for a long time, including the first Trump administration. But since November, it has been something we have not seen ever happening to a community where every single tweet or every single Truth Social post has some false and targeting of our community. We have seen the consequences of that when videographers and bloggers are coming to our town with almost disgust and almost targeting our community.

And we are bracing ourselves in this moment because we know political violence is something that has happened and continues to happen in this country. So I don't know where the president and those obviously who are advising him are telling him. We know they have lied about everything.

They've lied about the murder of Ray Good. They've lied about the murder of Alex Pretti. And I think the Americans are waking up to this moment to realize these lies have significant consequences and they have to be held up too.

And so we're not asking just the president -- I know the president may not necessarily respond the way we want to, but we need other leaders across the country to condemn this, including Republican leadership. From the state of Minnesota who have also egged on Trump's attack against a congresswoman and the Somali-American community. And there is consequences to this type of behavior.

As we learn more about this incident, no one is surprised at the fact that the congresswoman is under threat, her family and her community.

KEILAR: I want to ask you about the community because we have heard fears previously from local elected leaders about people feeling that they need to carry their papers to prove their citizenship. And there has been a change here of the leadership on the ground. Gregory Bovino of CBP is out.

Tom Homan, the border czar, is in. This appears to be an effort by the administration to bring down the temperature. Have you been hearing from people that they're seeing a shift in the conditions on the ground?

HUSSEIN: Well, I think for Minnesotans and particularly the Somali- American community, you know, we are more resolved every single day. I am so encouraged and honored to be a Minnesotan and love this state and the people here. We have bonded in this moment in ways that we never thought would be possible.

We have come a lot closer than ever before. You know, I've been encountering random people in the streets and we're giving each other hugs and we believe that we are right now standing up for all Americans in this moment. And so what we're seeing is the beginning of the end for ICE.

I think Minnesota is the state that's going to stop it. We have the playbook of how to stand up and it's as simple as a whistle and a phone and a warm heart on a cold street.

[14:40:00]

That is what we are showing the American people. But here's to your earlier point, the fact that they targeted and came to Minnesota to target the Somali-American community was in itself the biggest lie because Somali-Americans at 98 percent are, you know, U.S. citizens or green card holders. So the fact that they came for that community we knew was a false.

And in fact, the numbers that they have shown that the people that picked up there in the teens and they're even having a hard time and now they're targeting lawful refugees who came here through long vetted process. I think the demotion and the de-icing as we call it here in Minnesota of Bovino is a tremendous victory and the rest of the country should know that this is not a change at the guard.

This is the end of these ICE operations for the rest of the country. We don't want, as Minnesotans, we don't want ICE to leave here and go to any other community. And that is why as you see the rest of the country continuing to stand up and wake up.

There's a national shutdown on Friday that is happening. So people are organizing, people are waking up and they took two incredible people from us. Renee Good and Alex Pretti. Every single day we learn about how incredible these two people were and how the lives of the federal government are waking up to really face a great hypocrisy to MAGA supporters and others who have lied about ICE, but they can no longer lie about that. And I'm hearing from folks who have supported Trump and others who are unable to stand with these lies anymore. And I think the country is moving in the right direction because the people are organizing.

And I think that is a testament of the Minnesota strong that you're seeing coming out of Minnesota at this moment.

KEILAR: Jaylani Hussein, thank you so much for being with us -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: We're learning more about 37-year-old Alex Pretti, the ICU nurse at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center who was fatally shot by federal agents in Minneapolis. He's being remembered as a compassionate helper and a hero. A Minnesota couple, Dan and Karen Goedken, told CNN that Dan suffered a serious illness last year and was diagnosed with sepsis.

They credit Pretti's research for saving his life. CNN's Sara Sidner sat down with them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR AND SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: When you learned that Alex Pretti was the person that ended up being killed by federal agents here, what did you think, knowing what the impact that he had on you because of his research?

DAN GOEDKEN, MINNEAPOLIS RESIDENT: Exactly. When I first understood how sick I was and discovered the power of the clinicians at the Minneapolis VA, there was a certain amount of providence to that, medically and spiritually. And these were all, for the most part, strangers to me, much like Alex Pretti. But that's the way life is sometimes.

It's the help of strangers that make the most amount of difference in our life. So I'm eternally grateful for my care, but the indirect way in which he powerfully had an impact on my recovery.

SIDNER: When you heard, wait, Alex Pretti was shot and killed, isn't that the same researcher that helped find the thing that helped keep your husband alive?

KAREN GOEDKEN, MINNEAPOLIS RESIDENT: It is. And the sequence was slightly different. He was killed and I started reading more about him because I'm a nurse, I graduated from the University of Minnesota, he's a nurse, he graduated from the University of Minnesota, so I was going deeper.

And then I saw that he had been very impactful in the very research that created my husband's ability to be alive today. And I'm still kind of in shock that there's such a connection for us in terms of community that we really have to understand that we all impact each other. And sometimes we never know how we've impacted each other. And that's such an important lesson for the world.

SIDNER: It's like the saying of dropping a pebble, right, in water and the ripple effects that happen. And you all had the ripple effect of his research. And now you are here to say goodbye to him?

K. GOEDKEN: Yes, I felt really compelled to come down here today and just be here for a little bit. It feels very, very sad. Such a talented and such a giving person, it feels very sad.

[14:45:00]

But we really appreciate when his parents said that he won't be here to see the really big impact that he has made.

D. GOEDKEN: In many big ways, we all continue in our legacy to have an impact on people. So I don't know if it's even a goodbye as much as a continued gratitude for his work, for the kind of way in which he impacted on other clinicians, not only at this VA, but other medical centers around the country. So life goes on and that legacy is long lasting.

SIDNER: Long lasting, life saving. And the work that he did, we've heard for others, was the same. Thank you both. Appreciate it.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANCHEZ: Our thanks to Sara Sidner for bringing us part of that conversation. You'll see more of that tonight during a special CNN Town Hall "STATE OF EMERGENCY, CONFRONTING THE CRISIS IN MINNESOTA." It's hosted by Sara Sidner and Anderson Cooper as well.

It airs tonight at 8 p.m. Eastern only on CNN and streaming on the CNN app. Stay with NEWS CENTRAL. We're back in just moments.

[14:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANCHEZ: It is the snub heard around the sports world. Bill Belichick, a six-time Super Bowl winning head coach, not a first ballot Hall of Famer.

KEILAR: The move shocked many in the NFL, its fans and several reporters, some pointing to a couple of scandals as possible reasons here. But his record in the big game, well, it speaks for itself. CNN's Don Riddell is with us now.

All right, what's the reaction from Belichick? Has he said anything?

DON RIDDELL, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: You know, a lot of people have found this to be absolutely baffling. I mean, if you win six Super Bowls as a head coach and two more as a defensive coordinator, how could you not be a first ballot Hall of Famer? Belichick himself reportedly told an associate six Super Bowls isn't enough. His star quarterback, Tom Brady, said it was ridiculous, adding that if he's not a first ballot Hall of Famer, then there's really no coach that should be. It seems as though some voters decided they were going to punish him for the Spygate scandal in 2007. Here's how the voting works.

You need 40 out of 50 votes from the Hall of Fame committee, which is made up of media members and other football experts. So that means that at least 11 people did not vote for Belichick. Earlier on Wednesday, a pro football Hall of Fame voter gave some details on the process and the discussions surrounding Belichick on The Dan Patrick Show.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ARMANDO SALGUERO, FRO FOOTBALL HOF VOTER: So the way it works, Dan, is I present and then there's the, you know, discussion slash debate. And in that discussion slash debate, there was definitely signs that this was going to be somewhat of an uphill battle. There were there was one voter who said outright, I'm not voting for him and because of Spygate.

I think that Spygate was the factor that we're sitting here today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: People all across the NFL sounding off on this, Patrick Mahomes tweeting, "Insane, don't even understand how this could be possible."

JJ Watt also posted on X. "I can't be reading this right. This has to be some knockoff Hall of Fame or something. It can't be the actual NFL Hall of Fame. There is not a single world whatsoever in which Bill Belichick should not be a first ballot Hall of Famer."

Even LeBron James chimed in saying, "Man, there's no way I read that right. Right. Ain't no way Bill Belichick ain't first ballot Hall of Fame. That's impossible, egregious and quite frankly, disrespectful.

The 2026 Hall of Fame class will be unveiled at NFL Honors in San Francisco ahead of the Super Bowl. And presumably, guys, Bill Belichick will not be there.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

KEILAR: Ain't no way.

SANCHEZ: Stunning. Some stunning stuff. I know you have really strong feelings about this, Brianna.

KEILAR: I don't like things to be unfair, and it seem that --

SANCHEZ: I mean, Spygate seems pretty unfair. We won't let our personal bias.

KEILAR: I mean, I have some issues, but that's not the point. The point is, if we just look at this on the merit. Anyways.

SANCHEZ: Shout out to Drew Brees, Larry Fitzgerald, Terrell Suggs, Eli Manning, likely to be first ballot Hall of Famers and also Don Riddell. Thank you so much for bringing us that story.

Still ahead, the East Coast cannot seem to catch a break. Another winter storm threatening to bring more snow to the region. We've got the potential for a bomb cyclone.

Looks like a fun forecast and it's coming your way straight ahead.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: The death toll from last weekend's enormous winter storm is now up to at least 30. And this weekend, another winter blast could strike the East Coast.

SANCHEZ: And here's CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar with the current storm track.

ALLISON CHINCHAR, CNN METEOROLOGIST: One of the main things helping this next system is all the cold air that's going to be in place. Every single one of these dots you see here on this map represents a potential record low at some point Friday all the way through Monday. And some of these locations could end up breaking record lows multiple days in a row.

Now, we've already got that first wave of cold air in place, but it's the second one, the real reinforcing shot of cold air that comes down this weekend, even as far south as Florida. That's what's going to put that cold air in place so that when that low pressure system starts to arrive, it's going to bring significant snow to some areas. Now, the real question is how close does it get to the coast?

Here's the thing. We have one track model that has a more westerly track, which means all of the areas you see here in pink could end up getting some significant snow. But the other weather model has it a little bit farther to the east, which means only some folks will get to see snow and others farther north may in turn not really get much precipitation at all.

Now, the two things we are very confident in is the fact that the temperatures are going to be bitter cold and also the winds are going to be very strong up and down the eastern seaboard. You'll see as we head through the weekend, a lot of these areas you're talking 30, 40, 50, even as high as 70 mile per hour wind gusts. That alone could cause some problems with power outages and trees coming down simply from the strength.

Now, here's a look at the European model. Again, here's the center of that storm as we head into the latter half of the weekend. But notice only the extreme coastal communities end up getting some significant snow from this. However, the GFS, or the American model, pushes it a little bit farther to the west, allowing some of those folks to get slightly higher ...

END