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Hundreds of Protests Planned Nationwide in Response to Deadly Minneapolis Shooting of Renee Good by ICE Agent; Iranian Government Cracks Down on Protestors as Country Experiences Internet Blackout; Most Recent Update from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Indicates Flu Activity Still Elevated across U.S.; Indiana Hoosiers to Play Miami Hurricanes in College Football's National Championship Game; ExxonMobil CEO Says Venezuela Currently Uninvestable at Roundtable of Oil Executives Hosted by President Trump; New York City Court Hearing Preliminary Arguments in Trial of Former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro; Local and State Officials in Minnesota and Oregon Expressing Distrust of Federal Law Enforcement regarding Investigations into ICE Shootings. Aired 2-3p ET.

Aired January 10, 2026 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:01:07]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Hundreds of protests are underway or planned nationwide today in response to the deadly Minneapolis shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent. Protests are already happening at a federal building near Minneapolis, where some ICE detainees have been held. And overnight, hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside a hotel they believe was housing federal agents.

Police declared an unlawful assembly and arrested more than two dozen people. And today, the mayor of Minneapolis urged demonstrators to keep the protests peaceful and warned that those who don't will be held accountable.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS: The vast majority of people have protested peacefully. To the few that have caused damage to property and/or harm to others, need to be very clear we're not going to let that happen. You cause damage to property or put others in danger, you're going to be arrested.

We are a safe city. We will not counter Donald Trump's chaos with our own brand of chaos here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Omar Jimenez is joining us now from outside that federal building near Minneapolis. Omar, tell us what's happening there. OMAR JIMENEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So we're here at what is really

a small protest at the moment, but this has really been where a lot of the protests have happened over the course of the past few days since Renee Good was shot and killed.

What you're seeing right now is it seems like a group of people walked up to sort of the entrance to this federal facility, and they're speaking to some federal agents. And kind of what's happening is every time agents pull out, as you're seeing here, protesters get especially angry, yell at the vehicles as they are leaving this particular area. You see how close they're getting, actually, as these vehicles are pulling out. And that has sort of been what we have seen at least today, and pretty similar to what we've seen over the past few days.

Now, I will say that just by sheer numbers, what we're seeing at the moment is a little bit lighter than what we had previously seen. But earlier today, we had three members of Congress, including Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who represents the Minneapolis area, try to come and do an oversight visit here to this federal facility. And they said they were let in, but only briefly, because not long after they received notification that they had to leave. But they said that they observed 20 detainees there as they described it.

And so that just adds to a little bit of the back and forth that we've seen here. Again, you have members of Congress coming in here trying to do some of that oversight. They say they weren't allowed to do so in the way that they deemed appropriate, Fred.

WHITFIELD: And then what about last night? What are officials saying about the protests that have continued?

JIMENEZ: Yes, I mean, we've been seeing protests pop up in places all across the Minneapolis area. So you have this one outside this federal building, as you see them still shouting as vehicles come in and out. But last night we were in downtown Minneapolis, and that's where we saw firsthand hundreds of protesters in the streets marching, centering on hotels where they believed federal agents may have been staying at points. And there was a point when we were out there, we didn't see any law enforcement, as they were sort of banging on drums, singing, blowing whistles. And then they showed up almost all at once. And so the police chief in Minneapolis was asked about that dynamic today. Take a listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF BRIAN O'HARA, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: This, what you saw last night was a disciplined and restrained response. I think it was highly professional, and I'm thankful for the members of the community who understand our need to keep things peaceful, and I'm thankful for those officials and others that are continuing to call for peaceful protest and assembly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[14:05:05] JIMENEZ: And to that point, while there was damage done to some of some property, as we understand from police, it really wasn't until law enforcement then showed up what seemed like all at once, not only Minneapolis police, but state police, even Department of Natural Resources, as it was described as well. And they made 29 arrests, but not before making multiple warnings that we heard over the loudspeaker ourselves, declaring those an unlawful assembly.

And so the mayor is encouraging more peaceful protests. But as we understand it, over the course of today, there will be a number of protests in the Minneapolis area channeling that same anger we've seen since the day of the shooting, and even before that, wanting federal immigration enforcement agents out of Minneapolis, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And in that area, as well as across the country, there are people who are gathering for what many are calling a weekend of action. Omar Jimenez, we'll check back with you there in the Minneapolis area.

All right, more than 1,000 protests are expected this weekend nationwide, as folks are rallying against ICE in their communities. A coalition of advocacy groups coordinated the "ICE Out For Good" events in response to both the fatal shooting of Renee Good and the, quote, "pattern of unchecked violence in marginalized communities," end quote.

CNN's Camila DeChalus is joining me right now from outside the White House, very rainy Washington, D.C., there, but it doesn't appear to be much of a deterrent for a lot of people who have gathered. What's happening?

CAMILA DECHALUS, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: That's right. We're outside in D.C. We're walking with protesters. I spent just a few hours just talking to some of the protesters that came out here today, and a lot of them said that despite the weather, it was very important for them to come out, show their support of this protest, and most importantly, send a message that what just transpired in Minneapolis with an ICE agent shooting and killing Renee Good is unacceptable.

Now, I talked to some protesters, one of which was actually even from Minnesota, and he said simply that he was shocked when he heard the news. Now, I asked other protesters that came out in attendance today what their thoughts is and what do they want lawmakers to do in light of what just happened? And they said something pretty notable. They said that what they witnessed in these past few months since President Trump has came into office, they say that they really do think that lawmakers need to do more and implement more reforms when it comes to federal agencies that handle law enforcement. And they think that this really, what just happened has really shone a light, that it's more important now than ever for members of Congress, not just Democrats, but Republicans as well, to band together now and implement more reforms when it comes to federal agencies that play a big role in what's happening in this country right now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CLAUDIA SCHUR, PROTESTOR: The Republicans are just spineless, spineless. They're kowtowing to Trump, and I don't understand why. He's out of control. And we need to put these agencies, I mean, Kristi Noem needs to be chucked, and everybody needs to be -- there needs to be some control and some rules, and the rule of law. They need to listen to the courts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DECHALUS: Now, as you can see, there's more people that are joining this protest now. And a lot of them are holding up signs saying "ICE must go," saying that that President Trump himself must go. And a lot of them feel that attending this protest today is really sending a clear message, not just in Washington, but across the country where these protests are happening, that what has happened is unacceptable and that they will no longer stand by and just witness what is happening, that they really want to feel that they are attending a movement, joining a movement to really spark change.

WHITFIELD: All right, a boisterous and voluminous crowd right there in Washington, D.C., as it continues to rain, but certainly not stopping the protests and their feelings right there. Camila DeChalus, thank you so much.

And this breaking news now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SHOUTING)

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WHITFIELD: Authorities say schools in parts of Iran are expected to close tomorrow as the government crackdown on deadly protests intensifies. The country has also been in a near-total internet blackout since Thursday. CNN's Paula Hancocks has more. Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that there is a crackdown by authorities on these protests, which are gaining momentum and are larger than we have seen in recent years. Now, one of the NGOs and human rights groups within the country says they believe at least 65 people have been killed at this point. We know that hundreds have been injured. We can't independently verify these figures, but there are raising concerns of a potential brutal crackdown on protesters, more so than we are seeing now, because of this Internet blackout, which was put in place by authorities late on Thursday night.

[14:10:08]

Now, we are also hearing from the exiled Reza Pahlavi. He's the eldest son of the late shah, who was deposed back in 1979. He's trying to position himself as an alternative to the Islamic regime. And he has been very publicly calling for nationwide protests. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REZA PAHLAVI, EXILED IRANIAN OPPOSITION LEADER (through translator): I ask all of you today and tomorrow, Saturday and Sunday, this time starting at 6:00 p.m., to come into the streets with flags, images, and national symbols, and to reclaim public spaces as your own. Our goal is no longer merely to come out into the streets. The goal is to prepare to seize city centers and hold them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, it is unclear how many within Iran will actually hear that message, given the fact there is that internet blackout. And it's also unclear exactly how much support he still has within the country. We have been seeing, though, chants on some of the social media, posted videos saying, "This is the last battle. Pahlavi will return."

We also have heard from the supreme leader in response to what we heard from the U.S. president, Donald Trump, saying he will intervene if peaceful protesters are killed. He has blamed the U.S. for trying to stoke these protests. He's talking about rioters and foreign mercenaries, and also says that Trump should focus on the problems of his own country.

There are concerns, though, that this crackdown could intensify in the coming days, and we're certainly seeing no signs that the anger and frustration on the streets of Iran in the 100 plus cities across the country is going to wane any time soon.

WHITFIELD: All right, Paula Hancocks, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, mission aborted. SpaceX astronauts are headed back to earth early after a medical issue in space -- when they're expected to splash down.

Plus, quote, "un-investable." That's how one oil executive described Venezuela after a meeting at the White House. What it means for Trump's $100 billion oil plan.

And award season, it's officially on. The A-listers, the blockbusters, and the must watch shows facing off at tomorrow's Golden Globes.

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[14:16:43]

WHITFIELD: All right, welcome back. For the first time in 25 years, new maps show there are no dry areas in California. That's according to the U.S. drought monitor. After years of extreme dryness, record storms, and back to back wet winters have erased drought conditions across the state, and no areas are abnormally dry. Experts say the turnaround is remarkable, but warn the state's water challenges are not over with climate swings becoming more extreme.

And we're learning when the NASA SpaceX crew 11 astronauts will return to earth from the International Space Station. Their mission was cut short because of a medical issue with an unnamed crew member. NASA says they will undock no earlier than Wednesday with a splashdown expected early Thursday. It's unclear what kind of medical issue led to the mission being cut short by more than a month, but NASA says the person is in stable condition. This is the first time a crew has ever come home early from the ISS over a health concern.

And the Washington National Opera is cutting ties with the Kennedy Center after more than a decade. The opera board voted to leave, citing in part the center's policy changes under President Trumps hand-picked board, including requiring production to be fully funded in advance. A spokesperson for the Kennedy Center blamed the split on a, quote, "financially challenging relationship," end quote, with the opera. The opera says it will scale back its spring season and move upcoming performances to new venues around Washington, D.C.

And now to brand new data on the flu. After a record week of flu activity in the U.S., hospitalizations and deaths continue to rise. CNN's Meg Tirrell has details.

(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)

MEG TIRRELL, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Flu activity is still elevated across the United States in the most recent update from the CDC. We do see that activity possibly may be coming down a little bit, but the CDC warns it's not clear that the season has peaked yet because those declines could be potentially due to delayed holiday reporting.

What we do see is that hospitalizations are still rising from the flu -- 44 jurisdictions are currently reporting high or very high levels of flu activity, with five reporting moderate levels of flu activity. The CDC has said that this is a moderately severe flu season. Of course, we know that there is a lot of additional activity because there is a new strain of the flu known as subclade k that's been identified, and it arose in the United States after the flu vaccine had already been designed. So there was a bit of a mismatch between the flu vaccine and that strain.

However, experts point out, and some data have shown, that the flu vaccine still does provide protection against the flu, particularly against severe disease. And so experts are still recommending that folks who haven't been vaccinated can still benefit from getting a flu shot. The CDC estimates that so far this season, there have been 15 million illnesses with the flu, 180,000 hospitalizations, and 7,400 deaths. We also saw in the most recent data from the CDC an additional eight pediatric deaths from the flu, bringing the total so far this season to 17.

[14:20:03]

The CDC says elevated flu activity is expected at least for several more weeks. Of course, flu isn't the only respiratory virus going around this time of year. We are also seeing activity levels rising for RSV, respiratory syncytial virus, and COVID-19 as well, although if you look at hospitalizations for those three different respiratory viruses, by far flu is contributing the most to that severe level of disease. So folks are saying be careful out there, get vaccinated if you

haven't been. Antivirals are available, of course, for flu and for COVID. So getting tested early in the course of the illness is always recommended.

(END VIDEO TAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, all great advice. Meg Tirrell, thank you so much.

All right, still ahead, President Trump escalating threats to take over Greenland, quote, "whether they like it or not."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: If we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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[14:25:18]

WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk a little college football. The Indiana Hoosiers will now face off with the Miami Hurricanes in college football's national championship game. The number one seed remains undefeated after dominating the Oregon Ducks in last night's semifinal. CNN's Andy Scholes was there to watch it all unfold.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, the dream season just rolling on for the Indiana Hoosiers here at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta. Now, before this season, Indiana was the losingest team in college football history. But thanks to head coach Curt Cignetti, they're now 15 and zero and a win away from their first ever national championship after just dominating Oregon here in the semifinals.

And it was just a sea of crimson here at the Peach Bowl as it seemed to be 90 percent Hoosiers fans. And they got to explode out of their seats on the very first play. D'Angelo Ponds intercepting Dante Moore's pass, taking it back for a pick six. Now Oregon battled back with an impressive drive, but after that, Indiana just hitting the Ducks with an avalanche. Moore fumbled twice in the second quarter as the Hoosiers defense was all over him. And Heisman trophy winner Fernando Mendoza, meanwhile, just as sharp as ever. He threw three touchdowns in the first half with just one incompletion. It was 35 to seven at halftime. Mendoza finished with five TD passes. The Hoosiers roll 56 to 22, punching their ticket to Miami. And I caught up with Mendoza on the field after the big win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: How's it feel to be going to the national championship game?

FERNANDO MENDOZA, INDIANA QUARTERBACK: I love it. I mean, what a great honor. It's my hometown. It's a lot of other players on our teams' hometown -- 305. What a great, Miami. Just what a great city. What a fantastic city, known for its football. Great opportunity to play the national championship. God is good.

SCHOLES: I mean, 15-zero. What makes this team so special?

MENDOZA: Its the synergy that we have. The locker room is truly special. We're so tight, not only on the field, but off. God bless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: And Mendoza is from Miami, and now the Hoosiers are heading there to January 19th with the national title on the line against the Hurricanes. Now it's going to be a home game for the Canes. But Fredricka, these Hoosier fans are coming, and the ticket prices are reflecting it. The cheapest ticket to get into the Nati is going for around $4,000. And if that holds, it's going to be the most expensive college football ticket ever.

WHITFIELD: Wow, like a Super Bowl. All right, Andy Scholes, thank you so much.

We'll be right back.

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[14:32:07]

WHITFIELD: All right, new today, President Trump signed an executive order protecting Venezuelan oil revenue being held in the U.S. That came just hours after the president held a meeting with oil industry executives on investing in Venezuela. It also capped off a tumultuous week that saw the U.S. capture Nicolas Maduro from Venezuela, and Trump threatened Mexico and Greenland with military action.

CNN correspondent Julia Benbrook is near Mar-a-Lago. Julia, take us through the latest on Venezuela.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there is a lot to unpack here, Fred. It's been a week since President Donald Trump confirmed that the United States was behind explosions in Venezuela, and that the ousted Venezuelan leader, Nicolas Maduro, had been captured and taken out of the country. He is now in New York and faces drugs and weapons charges.

Trump has said that the United States is working with, is in communication with Maduro loyalists and Venezuela's vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, who now is serving as acting president. And he recently said that he sees Rodriguez as an ally, quote, "right now." Now, he also confirmed that he has plans to speak with representatives from the country sometime soon and that he does not believe a second wave of attacks will be necessary.

Now, when it comes to the opposition leader, the Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado, Trump early on said that he does not believe that she has the support and respect in the country to lead right now. We have learned that she will be traveling to the United States, likely sometime next week. And Trump has said that he looks forward to saying hello to her.

Now, these big developments came yesterday as Trump hosted a round table with about a dozen energy executives, and they were working to convince those executives to reinvest in Venezuela. As Trump left the White House to travel here for the weekend, he did categorize this as a good meeting. He said that they had sort of come to a deal. Those executives, though, have been more skeptical and have largely declined to commit at this point. In fact, Exxon's CEO called the country un- investable during that roundtable yesterday, it was un-investable in its current state, he said.

Now, also related to Venezuela, lots to go through here, we did see this week that five Republicans in the Senate joined Democrats in advancing a resolution that would limit future U.S. force in Venezuela without congressional approval. And that move surprised even some Democrats, as they weren't sure where those GOP votes were going to fall.

[14:35:02]

Now, this could show that as Trump's second term continues on and he makes some of these more sweeping moves, that some members within his party are getting a bit more comfortable in challenging some of those decisions.

WHITFIELD: And of course, that's evident in more questions still being asked by a lot of Republicans about where Trump might deploy U.S. military forces next, including possibly Colombia or Greenland. And so what is Trump saying to that?

BENBROOK: Well, starting with Greenland specifically, Trump has continued this escalating rhetoric. In fact, just yesterday he said that if he's not able to make a deal to acquire it the easy way, then he will have to quote, "do it the hard way." I want you to take a listen to those remarks.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: We are going to do something on Greenland, whether they like it or not, because if we don't do it, Russia or China will take over Greenland. And we're not going to have Russia or China as a neighbor, OK.

I would, I would like to make a deal, you know, the easy way. But if we don't do it the easy way, we're going to do it the hard way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And then on Colombia, just last weekend, Trump made several strong statements, even calling the president a, quote, "sick man." Those two leaders have since spoken on the phone, and Trump is expected to host him at the White House early February.

WHITFIELD: All right, Julia Benbrook, thanks so much.

All right, lets talk further about all this as Venezuela and the U.S. take the first steps to renew diplomatic ties potentially between the countries. The legal case against ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is moving forward. Maduro faces charges of narco-terrorism, conspiracy, and possession of machine guns, among other charges.

With me now is Laurie Blank. She is the director of the International Humanitarian Law Clinic at Emory University, where she is also a clinical professor of law. Welcome to you.

LAURIE R. BLANK, CLINICAL PROFESSOR OF LAW, EMORY UNIVERSITY LAW SCHOOL: Thanks for having me.

WHITFIELD: So what will be critical in how the U.S. proves its case against Maduro and his wife?

BLANK: So there's a couple of different questions here in terms of the crimes that they're being charged with. On some level, this is really a, you know, criminal case. The prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are very experienced in cases of this type.

The challenge here is whether or not the case can go forward at all, whether or not former president Maduro has what's known as head of state immunity, which would mean that he cannot be prosecuted, he cannot be brought into a U.S. court at all. And that's, of course, what his lawyers are going to argue. They hinted to that in that first appearance when he stated that he's the president of Venezuela, and international law protects heads of state and heads of government from this type of -- any kind of prosecution or civil cases in order to enable all leaders to do their job to engage in diplomatic relations with other countries, to be able to travel and not face the threat of arrest or harassment, regardless of whether they have engaged in bad acts or not. It's really key to stability in the international system. So we'll see whether they succeed in that regard.

WHITFIELD: Yes, and it's clear that Maduro and his defense team want to make that front and center. He tried to bring that up with the judge. The judge said there will be another opportunity for you to kind of make the case on that. But there is some precedence, right, going back to the case of Manuel Noriega, the Panamanian leader who was captured by the U.S., who was ultimately tried. He was declared a prisoner of war by a federal judge. So do you see real parallels here on these cases?

BLANK: Well, there are a lot of similarities, but one important difference here that ultimately the court is going to have to dive into is that Noriega was not actually the head of state. He was the head of the military. He was not the head of state at the time. And Panama did not make any requests for immunity for him. So they, the country of Panama, the government of Panama, did not view him in that regard when he was facing prosecution.

We have a different situation here. You know, we have questions about whether Maduro was a legitimate head of state because we know there's a lot of evidence that he obviously failed to concede at least one, if not two elections.

[14:40:02] The U.S. did not recognize him as the president after that. And a court is going to have to examine whether that question of legitimacy undermines and, you know, it gets rid of his argument about being head of state. So it's a bit different from Noriega.

WHITFIELD: But then quickly, I wonder, will that be a problem for the U.S. in its case, because the U.S. is OK with his vice president being sworn in, you know, as acting president. And if the argument is he's not -- that he is illegitimate, then why is the same argument not being made for the vice president? And will prosecutors be held to that?

BLANK: I think this is a big hurdle for the prosecution in this regard. We also have different statements immediately after the operation last week, referring to him as the leader of Venezuela after he was taken into custody. And of course, the, current interim president, Rodriguez, of Venezuela, has called -- has said that he is still the legitimate president. So the government of Venezuela appears to view him that way.

Courts tend to defer to the executive branch here with regard to head of state immunity questions because the president and the executive branch generally have the authority to recognize governments, to recognize other states. But this one is particularly complicated, and I think it's going to be a real issue for the courts.

WHITFIELD: All right, Laura, thank you so much, of Emory University. We'll have you back because this really is just the beginning, isn't it? Thanks so much.

BLANK: Thanks for having me. Yes, it is. Lots to watch for.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

All right, tomorrow David Culver has a full hour report on what comes next for Venezuela's future on "The Whole Story" 8:00 p.m., streaming next day on the CNN app as well.

All right, coming up, a growing distrust between federal and state officials and local authorities after the ICE shooting in Minneapolis, the fatal shooting in Minneapolis. I'll speak to a former police commissioner about what can be done about the widening rift.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:46:40]

WHITFIELD: All right, let's turn now to that deadly shooting by an ICE agent in Minneapolis, where there is growing distrust stemming from how federal authorities immediately placed blame on the woman who was shot, and outrage conveyed by city leaders and protesters. The distrust led to the unusual move by the Justice Department to block state law enforcement from participating in the investigation.

The trust issue is playing out as well in Portland, Oregon, where two people were shot and injured this week by federal agents. Here's what officials in both cities are saying about all of these things.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JACOB FREY, MINNEAPOLIS: Is it deeply concerning that this administration, from the very get go, is drawing the conclusion that they may ultimately come to? Of course it is. And if you've got nothing to hide from, then don't hide from it. Include local experts in the process. We've got nothing to hide from here. All we want in Minneapolis is justice and the truth.

GOV. TINA KOTEK, (D) OREGON: Trust is essential to maintaining community safety and the rule of law. Federal agents at the direction of the Department of Homeland Security are shattering trust. They are hurting people, and they are destroying day by day what we hold dear -- our sense of safety.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know what the federal government says happened here. There was a time when we could take them at their word. That time has long passed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, joining us now is Tracie Keesee. She is chair of the Center for Policing Equity, a former deputy commissioner in the New York Police Department, as well as a former Denver police officer. Thank you so much for being with us.

TRACIE KEESEE, FORMER DEPUTY NYPD COMMISSIONER: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: So, you know, while these are separate situations, when you hear the governor of Oregon, the mayor of Portland speaking out about not trusting federal authorities, and then the mayor of Minneapolis say coordination between locals and feds is imperative, how striking is this to hear about this level of distrust or concern?

KEESEE: Well, at first I would tell you that it's not striking, because we've been here before. We've heard these same words used, whether it was 2020 with what we had going on there, and even historically, right. So these are not new, nor are they striking.

I think what's concerning is that we know we've had a history of cooperation with all levels of government, which you're not seeing here. And that cooperation is what's part of helping communities and even those in power understand and trust what they think should or should not, you know, should have happened.

I think what's also interesting here is the use of the word "trust," right. So we hear that used quite a bit. And we often assume that trust is in existence now, right. So we think that we have to either come back and get it or try to build it up, when a lot of cases in some communities trust really never existed.

WHITFIELD: But those are different things, because true, we have for a very long time been talking about the trust or lack thereof from communities as it pertains to law enforcement that serves those communities. [14:50:08]

But now we're talking about and hearing elected officials who are talking about a level of distrust between agencies that are supposed to be coordinating with one another. There's an expectation that federal, state, local law enforcement might be on the same page in their search for truth and the facts of a case. But then listen to, you know, what President Trump said recently about officials in Minnesota as an example.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you believe that the FBI should be sharing evidence with state officials in Minnesota?

DONALD TRUMP, (R) U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, normally I would, but they're crooked officials. Minneapolis and Minnesota, what a beautiful place, but it's being destroyed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So how do you characterize that?

KEESEE: Well, you characterize it as by providing a label or describing a group of people or individual peoples that can help uphold what you believe so you can move forward with what you want to do, right. So if we label people criminals or we label them terrorists, its somehow justifies what's going on now.

And those who are in government and know how this works historically, irregardless of who was sitting in that seat, there was a relationship and an expectation of cooperation, especially when things like this happened.

And so the easiest way to get away from that is to say, well, we don't trust those particular people to do a good job, when we all know that the folks that are closest to the ground, and that means all of the experts, all the folks who do these investigations on a continuous basis, have the skill set to do what needs to be done. In fact, it absolutely enhances that investigation and brings multiple views to what happened.

WHITFIELD: Do you believe that there will be a collective conclusion as it pertains to federal and local authorities as they dissect what happened to get to the bottom of what happened, how, and why?

KEESEE: Well, I, and I would say it's not more what I believe. It's what the community is going to want to see and understand. And I would tell you that everyone hopes that we would get there. But when we hear the rhetoric and we hear the conversation, we lose that hope that we're going to be able to have any kind of truth telling, and let alone a sharing of information and evidence. And so I'm hoping, much like I'm assuming everybody else is, that we will get there. But right now it doesn't feel that way.

WHITFIELD: All right, Tracie Keesee, thank you so much for your expertise. And joining us this Saturday. Thank you so much.

And we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:57:11]

WHITFIELD: Welcome. This breaking news, days after that fatal shooting, ICE related shooting in Minneapolis, there have been protests across the country, including in the Minneapolis area, only this time we understand there is some activity happening outside a federal building. CNN's Omar Jimenez is there. Omar, fill us in.

JIMENEZ: Yes, So right now we just saw these federal agents come out, because as vehicles have been coming out of this federal facility here, people, protesters have been pelting them with snowballs. And they really had gotten into this street here where there were not any agents prior to just a few minutes ago. I'm going to bring you a little bit closer here, as you guys follow me. But you can see the amount of protesters that are here at this point.

And right now, you see they've got crowd repellant in their hands right now. They're coming out yelling commands. But this is a confrontation that started really in just the last few minutes or so. A few minutes prior to this, there were not these agents. They came out, started throwing what sounded like flashbang, at the very least, loud noises is what we were hearing. They shot pepper balls at some of these protesters. They were in the street a few moments ago.

And again -- and again, as vehicles would come out, the protesters would pelt them, would pelt them with snowballs here. And we're not sure exactly what caused this confrontation to jump the way that it did, but we even saw one person as a vehicle was trying to come out, attempt to stop that vehicle with their hands. And so, look, these protests here have been happening every day. We're seeing some vehicles either come out or -- let's see what happens here. You see these black vehicles as they come out. That is when we've actually seen some of those vehicles get pelted with snowballs, or at the very least, when they were in the street, they were trying to block some of those vehicles from getting out. That does not seem to be the case now with this added enforcement. It does seem these vehicles are able to get out.

But it's been a daily occurrence here since the shooting and killing of Renee Good. We've seen protests throughout the city, but this particular area has always been the most confrontational, mainly because the subjects of the protests, federal agents, have been the most visible enforcement at this particular facility.

The confrontations to this point, and they've got even more law enforcement coming out right now as well. You see some of the flashing lights, you see even more black SUVs. Last hour when we were talking to you, this crowd was just a dozen or so, maybe 15 to 20. You can see it swelled pretty quickly over the last hour. And come over here just a little bit. You can see there's a little bit of strategizing right there among the officers, clearly trying to figure out what to do. But, Fred, this this is just -- I want to say it's a daily occurrence

because it swelled and shrunk over the course of -- over the course of these days. But this is among --