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The Situation Room

Interview with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA); One Officer Killed, One Wounded, Attacker Dead at U.S. Capitol; Damning Testimony by Senior Police Officer Caps First Week of Witnesses in Chauvin Murder Trial; CDC: Fully Vaccinated People Can Resume Travel at Low Risk, Non- Essential Travel Still Not Recommended. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired April 02, 2021 - 18:00   ET

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

[18:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: We're following breaking news on a deadly new attack at the United States Capitol just three months after the bloody insurrection there.

A police officer named William Evans was killed. Another officer was wounded and is fighting for his life right now. The 25-year-old attacker is dead. We're learning more about him this hour. Stand by for that.

Authorities say Noah Green, 25 years old, was shot by police after he rammed into the police officers with a car, hit a barrier, and then jumped out of the vehicle waving a knife. CNN has learned that, weeks earlier, he had posted on social media about his fears that the U.S. government was targeting him with -- quote -- "mind control."

The D.C. National Guard was deployed in response to the attack immediately. And the U.S. Capitol was put on lockdown. It's all a reminder, sadly, of the ongoing threat here in Washington since the January 6 insurrection.

Let's go the CNN's Brian Todd. He's up on Capitol Hill right near the scene of the attack.

Brian, the police officer, sadly, was killed. The attacker, he is dead as well. They have both now been identified and this investigation is under way.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, Wolf, and still a lot left to find out in this investigation.

I can tell you, just a short time ago, police towed away the vehicle involved in this attack, a blue sedan that had struck that barricade clearly with significant force. As Wolf mentioned, the officer killed in this attack has been identified by U.S. Capitol Police as William "Billy" Evans, an 18-year member of the police force here and also a member of the Capitol Division's First Responder Unit.

Tonight, we have new details on the suspect and on how this attack unfolded.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (voice-over): A suspect in a car rammed two Capitol Police officers at the security barrier at the Capitol Complex, then got out of the vehicle wielding a knife, police say.

YOGANANDA PITTMAN, ACTING U.S. CAPITOL POLICE CHIEF: He did not respond to verbal commands. The suspect did start lunging toward U.S. Capitol Police officers, at which time U.S. Capitol Police officers fired upon the suspect.

TODD: At least one of the officers was stabbed, an official tells CNN. One officer died from his injuries, William Evans, an 18-year veteran of the force. A second officer was injured.

PITTMAN: I ask that you keep our U.S. Capitol Police family in your thoughts and prayers.

TODD: The suspect, identified by sources as Noah Green, age 25, is dead as well. He was not familiar to Capitol Police, authorities said. No initial indication of ties to terrorism, but the motive is unknown.

ROBERT CONTEE III, METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT CHIEF: Clearly, this was someone who was actively trying to just get at whoever, whatever. We just don't know.

TODD: A unit from the National Guard was immediately deployed to assist. Members of Congress are mostly out of town during the break. Authorities say they're not aware of a particular lawmaker being targeted, but an emergency lockdown order was issued for the complex.

The incident comes amid an increase in reported threats to lawmakers in recent months and a debate over removing more of the fencing around the Capitol in place since the January 6 riot targeting lawmakers and reducing the National Guard deployment.

Some members on both sides of the aisle had been chafing in recent weeks.

REP. SCOTT DESJARLAIS (R-TN): It's really discouraging to see the razor wire, the fencing, the image that it sends to the world. So, if threat, it no longer exists, I would hope that we can return to normal.

TODD: Today's incident could reverse that debate.

REP. ADRIANO ESPAILLAT (D-NY): What it shows is that there are people out there that want to hurt us. And so we got to do more and we got to do better.

TODD: In today's case, praise for the response by the police.

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE (RET.), U.S. ARMY: Unfortunately, we lost Officer Evans today. But, by and large, that system worked. The Capitol Police responded. They stopped him. The system worked.

(END VIDEOTAPE) TODD: And we have this just in.

For the first time, we are seeing images of the suspect involved in this case, a picture of 25-year-old Noah Green. He is identified by sources as the suspect in this attack at the barricade at the Capitol, Noah Green, 25 years old. We were told earlier today by acting U.S. Capitol Police chief Yogananda Pittman that, at this time, there was no indication of any particular nexus to any specific member of Congress.

But, again, officials still piecing together more information about Noah Greene's alleged motive. I can also tell you, Wolf, that the flag on the East Front of the Capitol just over my right shoulder was just placed at half-staff just a few seconds ago.

BLITZER: To honor William "Billy" Evans, the police officer 18 years with the Capitol Police force. Appropriate, indeed.

Brian, I want you to stand by. I'm going to get back to you shortly.

But I want to bring in our senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez.

Evan, you and your team, you have been doing some new reporting on the Capitol attacker. Tell us what else you're learning.

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, according to social media postings that the suspect is believed to have made in the last couple of weeks, you get a picture of someone who's clearly troubled, going through a lot of issues, including what he says was mind control from the U.S. government, again, a portrayal of a troubled man.

[18:05:13]

And as recently as two hours, a couple hours before this incident, before this incident at the U.S. Capitol, he was on Instagram. And he was talking about the fact that the -- well, he believed that the U.S. government is the number one enemy of black people.

He talks about suffering afflictions from the FBI, from the CIA, and from other government agencies. These are things that he talked about on Instagram and on Facebook. He said that he was a follower of the Nation of Islam, and of its leader, Louis Farrakhan.

These are things that he's discussing in his social media postings, Wolf. At this point, the investigation is still only beginning. We know that the Metropolitan Police is leading this investigation. The FBI is assisting. They're trying to reach family members, people who knew the suspect to try to get a picture of what he was thinking, what he was saying, perhaps, in recent days.

He talks in some of these postings, Wolf, that because of these mental afflictions, these medical issues that he was having, he was -- he lost his job. And so he's suffered a lot recently. He says: "To be honest, these past few years have been tough. These past few months have been tougher. I have been tried with some of the biggest, unimaginable tests in my life," again, a portrayal of a young man who was struggling mightily before this incident happened today at the Capitol.

BLITZER: And it's interesting that, in one of these comments that he made on social media, Evan, he said -- and I'm quoting now.

He said: "I have suffered multiple home break-ins, food poisonings, assaults, unauthorized operations in the hospital, mind control."

That's significant there. It would suggest that this is an individual who had some serious mental problems.

PEREZ: Right. Exactly.

And I think that's one of the things that, in talking to law enforcement, they were a little confused at first as to what to call this. He talks about the fact that he believed that the U.S. government was the number one enemy. And so that's perhaps why he came to the U.S. Capitol, the seat of the federal government, to carry out this attack.

We don't know. But one of the things that we have heard recently, Wolf, from what law enforcement is the concern -- I think you heard this from General Honore -- that, because of what happened on January 6, there are people who are sitting at home watching and seeing hundreds of people essentially take the building, sack the building, and perhaps being inspired.

Maybe some of them are not doing well. And they think they can do something like this to strike at the U.S. government. So, this young man, it appears, believed that this is a way he could get back at the U.S. government for what he believed were these delusional -- these delusions that he had that the U.S. government was exerting some kind of mind control.

Again, the picture that law enforcement is trying to put together now is still only beginning, but this is definitely at the center of it. Whether, again, he had some kind of political motive, whether it was a mix of mental health issues, all of this is coming into play now.

BLITZER: Yes, that mind control -- I think we have a specific quote we can put up on the screen of what he was saying about mind control.

He said: "I have suffered multiple home break-ins, food poisonings, assaults, unauthorized operations in the hospital, mind control."

And he said -- he said he was "unemployed after I left my job, partly due to afflictions, but ultimately in search of a spiritual journey."

I want to bring in Chief Ramsey, Charles Ramsey, the former chief of the D.C. police force, the former commissioner of the Philadelphia police force.

So, what's your reaction when you hear Evan Perez report on these social media -- these postings that this individual was putting forward? Hold on a second, Chief Ramsey. I'm not hearing you. You may have to

unmute over there, but stand by for a second.

Let me get Andrew McCabe, the former deputy director of the FBI, into this.

What's your reaction, Andrew?

ANDREW MCCABE, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Wolf, it's not uncommon to have people who are suffering from some form of mental illness or emotional distress to show up at places like the Capitol or the White House or FBI headquarters, for that matter, demanding to talk to people, trying to air out some of these delusions or concerns that they have.

In October of 2013, there was a woman named Miriam Carey who drove from a residence in Connecticut down to the White House and tried to kind of drive her vehicle through a checkpoint there and ended up in a tragedy. She was shot. A lot people have concerns about it, the way that was handled.

[18:10:02]

But, nevertheless, a similar situation, somebody unbalanced and bringing those concerns to the symbols of government.

I think what's different here is, you're seeing the playing out of not just a mental illness, but a grievance against the government. And I would suggest that that is a result of -- one of the results of what we saw on January 6. The Capitol has taken on a new role as a primary target for anyone really with a grievance or anger towards the seat of government.

BLITZER: We are getting some encouraging news. The second police officer, Andrew, who has not been identified, he's now described as being in stable condition in a non-threatening condition, which is encouraging. indeed. He's in a D.C. hospital with that.

Charles Ramsey, I think we have reconnected with you, Chief Ramsey.

CHARLES RAMSEY, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT ANALYST: Yes.

BLITZER: But give us your reaction to what we're learning from these social postings from this individual, this killer.

RAMSEY: Well, I don't know if I can add much more than what Andy just said.

But I was going to say -- and I, unfortunately, had myself muted -- that I was checking on the second officer. And he is stable, multiple injuries, broken bones and the like. He is currently getting a CAT scan.

But the person who I spoke to, a senior official at the Metropolitan Police Department, actually saw the video. And it's very hard to watch. He said the car came at full speed, struck both officers, literally knocked them into the air, and then got out of the car, of course, after he crashed into the barrier, with the knife, that no officer was stabbed.

I know that was a earlier report that one officer had been stabbed. He told me no one had been stabbed. The injuries were sustained as a result of the vehicle, actually, striking them at a high rate of speed. And other officers at the scene are the ones that were able to successfully neutralize the individual as he got out of the car armed with a knife.

So that's the status right now, as far as that goes.

Ironically, Wolf, I got an e-mail today from someone who I don't know and who -- I don't know how he got my e-mail. I have absolutely no idea. But it was very similar. I mean, he was talking about all these grievances with the government, that the CIA put a chip inside of him and tracking him and they're monitoring, and they're -- I mean, seriously mentally disturbed, clearly.

And it appears that maybe this is what we're looking at here with this individual. There's still an awful lot that has to be done, obviously, to find out whether or not that's the issue. Was there another motive that we don't know about right now? Was he there to really try to assault the Capitol, Capitol officers, or what have you?

So they will unravel all that. But there are a lot of people out there with mental illness. And I agree with everything that's been said so far. After January 6, it seems like the Capitol itself has taken on a different type of symbolism than previously, because it is now associated as being like the seat of government.

And anybody who's got a grievance against the government, that's the building that they look at. They attack the building. They have attacked the government. And that, unfortunately, seems to be what's going on. So, Congress has to take security around that building, in and around that building very seriously. Status quo is not acceptable.

We will never be 100 percent certain that we can totally prevent anything from happening, but, certainly, we can do a lot better than we're doing right now.

BLITZER: Because he does write in one of his social postings, this killer, Chief Ramsey, he says: "The U.S. government is the number one enemy of black people."

But then he says this. He says: "My faith is one of the only things that has been able to carry me through these times. And my faith is centered on the belief of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as Jesus, the messiah, the final divine reminder in our midst."

He adds: "I consider him my spiritual father. Without his guidance, his word and his teachings that I have picked up along the way, I would have been unable to continue."

So, what does that say to you, Chief Ramsey? RAMSEY: Well, I mean, listen, there are a lot of different

motivations. But I don't think that that by itself is a reason to attack the U.S. Capitol. I mean, that he's expressing his own personal beliefs, but it doesn't really get at a motive in terms of why there, why now?

And so there's an awful lot of work that has to be done in this particular case, starting with a background check to find out if he's got any kind of criminal history or anything else. I'm sure right now they're probably executing search warrants. They're talking to friends and relatives.

They're really trying to get a more complete picture of what this guy was all about. And it's really too early to tell whether or not that or anything else played a role in this.

[18:15:04]

BLITZER: Yes, I think you make an important point.

Stand by for a moment.

Congressman Ro Khanna is joining us right now. He was one of the few lawmakers who actually was up on Capitol Hill at the time of the attack. The House and the Senate are not in session this week.

Congressman, thanks so much for joining us.

Tell us where you were when this incident unfolded. What went through your mind when you first learned that this horrible situation was going on?

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): Well, first, my heart goes out to the family of the officer who we lost. And I just want to express my sincere appreciation to the Capitol Hill police for what they did to keep us safe today and what they do every day.

I was in my Cannon office. I had just gone out to get lunch. I was coming back. And I got frantic calls for my staff saying that there's a huge incident at the Capitol. I heard sirens. They had locked down the Cannon Office Building. I had an officer who kindly said, get into your car.

And so I went into my car, locked it. And, of course, my thought went to January 6 and what had happened. And I was relieved to learn that the suspect had been apprehended and then, of course, killed, and that the Capitol Police had protected us.

But they really risk their lives every day. And these barriers I have to go in every day. And I see how vulnerable these officers are. I mean, anyone can get up to that barrier. Sometimes, you see people harassing them or not being very polite, and I have always been concerned for their safety.

BLITZER: As a member of Congress, you obviously interact with Capitol Police on a nearly daily basis multiple times a day when you're here in Washington.

You have expressed your gratitude to the department. Certainly, all of us are grateful to those police officers.

Can you talk about the pressure they're under right now, especially as this second fatal event occurs in, what, just three months?

KHANNA: Well, I think it's taking a toll. When I was coming back in my office, I was in an elevator, and there was an officer there.

And it was clear he was very shaken up. I mean, he lost one of his colleagues. That family's life is never going to be the same. The officers who knew him are never going to be the same.

So, it has taken, I think, a toll on them emotionally. There is huge pressure on them to keep us safe. But I hope that politicians, regardless of ideology, today, every member of Congress and senator can say two things. One, there is no justification for violence or any attack on the Capitol, regardless of ideology.

And, two, we really do honor those who serve to protect us, the Capitol Police and others who are law enforcement officers. I don't think those are controversial statements. I feel like, if everyone says that, maybe we can get some peace and resolve of healing in this country.

BLITZER: Do you feel safe right now up on Capitol Hill, Congressman?

KHANNA: I do.

But I never thought when I was elected to Congress that coming to work would be a dangerous workplace. And, in candor, it has become a dangerous place. When you go outside and you're coming back, you're on guard. You're looking. You're wondering what's going on.

And it's really sad, because, I mean, one of the things I love about my job -- I'm going back to my district next week -- but when school kids come and visit us, eighth graders, 10th graders. And all of that right now is on hold, and it's hard for people to come to the building.

I do think they're going to have to rethink probably the perimeter and the security of the entire complex, with the Supreme Court, Library of Congress, Capitol, and really think how they can keep it safe, but allow Americans to still visit.

BLITZER: Yes, it's going to be a tough, tough challenge.

Congressman Khanna, be careful out there. Thanks, as usual, for joining us.

KHANNA: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, we're working our sources here at CNN. We're getting more information that's just coming in right now.

We will take a quick break. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:22:56]

BLITZER: We're getting White House reaction to the violent, deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Our White House correspondent, Arlette Saenz, is joining us right now.

So, I take it President Biden has spoken out?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, President Biden has issued a statement, where he said he was heartbroken to hear of this attack outside of the Capitol.

The president is spending the weekend at Camp David. And he was actually already away, already there when this attack was under way. Now, I want to read you just a portion of what the president had to say.

He said: "We send our heartfelt condolences to Officer Evans' family and everyone grieving his loss. We know what a difficult time this has been for the Capitol, everyone who works there and those who protect it."

He later added: "I want to express the nation's gratitude to the Capitol Police, the National Guard immediate response force and others who quickly responded to this attack."

Now, over the course of the afternoon, the president was briefed by his homeland security adviser, Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall. He will continue to receive updates as this investigation is under way. And the president also ordered that the flags at the White House be lowered to half-staff.

As you can see right behind me, that has been done a little bit over an hour ago. This is the fourth time that the president has lowered those flags, just another tragedy that he is dealing with since taking office -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, stand by over there at the White House. We will get back to you.

Jim Sciutto is still with us, our chief national security correspondent.

Jim, you and I had a chance to speak to retired General Russel Honore in the last hour. Let me play this clip. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HONORE: Capitol Police responded. They stopped him. The system worked.

The transition we have to make in our minds, that the Capitol is a target. Many members challenged the recommendations, some of the recommendations we made, in terms of barriers and hardening of the Capitol, while keeping the Capitol open to the public.

[18:25:02]

And the challenge was, they would tell me, hey, we're going to the SCIF, General. We're not seeing any threats to the Capitol.

We have got to accept the fact that, 24/7, the Capitol is a threat to domestic, foreign and criminals who might want to attack the center of our leadership of the United States. And it has to be ready 24/7. The Capitol Police have to be ready at 1:00 in the day, as they were today, or 1:00 tomorrow morning. They have got to be prepared to protect that Capitol.

And, right now, we are blessed to have the National Guard there as an immediate response force, which we recommended. And many people wanted to send all the National Guard home. And thank God the senior leadership on the House and the speaker, and as well with the support of the National Guard in the Department of Defense have kept that immediate reaction force there to be able to back up the Capitol Police.

The Capitol is a target. We need to adjust to that. We need to take those recommendations we made and get them funded up to about $2 billion and get it done, because our Capitol must be protected. And we must give the men and women of the Capitol Police what they need to get the job done.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: And, Jim, it's, of course, critically important to remember that General Honore was brought in to take a look at security at the U.S. Capitol by Speaker Pelosi in the aftermath of the January 6 attack, and he came up with a whole series of recommendations.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: That's right, some very serious ones, including hundreds more officers to protect members at the Capitol, in their home districts, but also a retractable barrier around the Capitol, not just at vehicular points of entry, right, that stopped this car, but around the Capitol entirely.

Those are the kinds of recommendations that they're looking at very seriously right now. And I will tell you, Wolf, in the wake of January 6, I talked to a whole host of national security officials, law enforcement officials, and their concern was that the Capitol would become more, not less of a target post-January 6 because of what it represents.

Of course, it's always been a target to some degree, right, because it's the U.S. Capitol. But after being attacked on January 6, terrorists, whether they're with organized groups or even lone wolf actors, look at it as more of a way to attract attention.

That's the way these people think. That's the way they work, whether they want to carry out something that's organized or something like this one that may not have been organized, may have been more spontaneous. And this may be a demonstration of that, right?

And, now, when you look at the postings of this particular attacker, and he's talking about things like mind control, et cetera, you say, OK, this is a crazy lone actor.

But keep in mind, right, that those kinds of theories, right, government conspiracy theories, have gone from the fringe to almost the center of the conversation. I mean, you have QAnon conspiracy theorists that are currently serving members of Congress that have in the past espouse theories like Democrats wanting to traffic in children, et cetera, sex trafficking, et cetera, with no basis.

And the problem is that those crazy theories have now come to the center and, therefore, present a real risk, I mean, one of them being, of course, the theory behind the January 6 insurrection, that the election was somehow stolen, and they were claiming it back for the American people.

So, today's event -- and we don't know the real motivation behind it. There's a lot of investigation to come. But today's event shows that the threat to the Capitol can come from a number of directions. And that's why steps to further secure the Capitol are very serious right now. And folks like General Honore are taking them very seriously.

BLITZER: Yes. And we're grateful to General Honore for all the work that he has done.

Gloria Borger is with us.

Gloria, you and I have covered Capitol Hill for a long time, a symbol of our democracy, but now a target of attack from individuals with very different perspectives.

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes, it is, Wolf.

And I think, to follow on what Jim is saying, is that what I think may be occurring, unfortunately, at the Capitol is that it is becoming a magnet, more of a magnet, after January 6 for people who might have grievance, whether it's grievance against democracy, whether it's grievance against the government, whether it's grievance against agencies of the government, that, after you see people attacking the Capitol and getting in and charging up those steps of the Capitol, you may believe in your own mind, no matter how demented you are, that that is something you should be able to do if you too have a problem with anything that the government has done.

[18:30:03]

And I think there is a real conflict here and a real problem here from members of Congress who serve at the behest of the people and work in the people's House, which is what the Capitol really represents and you want to be able to have people to have access to the Capitol. You want journalists to be able to have access to Members of Congress. And you know how important that is, Wolf, to have that give and take and to be able to have long conversations with people who work in the Capitol. And the more this occurs -- and we hope it doesn't happen again -- but the more this could occur, the less interaction like that you're going to be able to have. And so you're going to have to keep people out of the people's House, and that is not what it should be.

BLITZER: Yes, that's really important, Barbara Starr is our Pentagon Correspondent. Barbara, we did see immediately National Guard troops, armed, ready to go with shields, deployed to deal with this crisis. Tell us about that.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Today, we have the video, we have the pictures of dozens and dozens of National Guard troops moving very rapidly through the hallways of the Capitol complex out onto the streets, going to their guard posts at various perimeter points around the Capitol.

This was the so-called immediate response force. This is several dozen National Guard troops that are actually, for the last several weeks, embedded with the Capitol Police in the Capitol complex.

So what was different today is nobody had to call for help, they were already there, they were already on scene. They provided backup to the number of National Guard troops that were already on the street. They needed more boots on the ground. They were able to respond very, very quickly and get out there on the streets and basically do security patrols.

So why did this work so well? Because back on January 6th, as you'll remember, Congress, the sergeants at arms, the leadership was asked, did they want help in advance to have January 6th, what turned out to be an insurrection, what was hoped to be a relatively simple demonstration. Did they want help before January 6th? They said no. And by the time everybody realized they were in dire straits on January 6th, it took time to get the National Guard there.

Did it take too long? It really doesn't matter. The point was they weren't there, they weren't prepositioned. Today they were. This is how it is supposed to work.

These National Guard troops are now scheduled to be there until mid- May under a decision made by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. The Capitol Police are supposed to embark on a program, as you've discussed that all day long, for improved security, more Capitol Police man power. But the National Guard have extended their deployment at Pentagon orders. They are there to provide the kind of backup and security that they did today. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right Barbara thank you. You know, Jim Sciutto, I wouldn't be surprised if those National Guard troops are there a lot longer than just May, but you've done a lot of reporting on this. What are you hearing?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, one of General Honore's recommendations, following January 6th, is have a permanent Quick Reaction Force, QRF of national guardsmen and women in D.C. posted on call 24/7 going forward, so that after May they would have the ability to call those forces in to threats like this one. It's one of the key recommendations. We'll see if Congress provides the funds and the approval to do it.

BLITZER: I suspect Congress will provide the funds and do it.

Preet Bharara is with us, our Senior Legal Analyst, also a former U.S. Attorney from the Southern District of New York. Preet, I'm really anxious to get your thoughts on the awful situation that occurred today.

PREET BHARARA, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: So it's very tragic and the loss of life is always horrible and our prayers go out to the family of the fallen Capitol Police officer. Law enforcement has their hands full. We had the events of January 6th and then we have the events of today.

And I think the people who occupied the positions that I used to and the people I used to work with have to be thinking to themselves, going forward, do we have the tools and resources and surveillance capabilities consistent with privacy and private rights to make sure that we can capture evidence of people trying to do this in the future?

As some of the people who already said in your -- hour have commented on, the Capitol is increasingly becoming the kind of target for domestic terrorism, even though in this particular case, that word has not been applied.

We had a similar sort of situation in New York with respect with respect to foreign terrorism, what used to be the World Trade Center. There was the bombing in the early '90s and then, of course, the tragic events of 9/11.

[18:35:03]

And you worry if you're a law enforcement and otherwise, if the Capitol is becoming the place where people who have some grievance against the government, or some belief that the government isn't working for them, or who want to intimidate folks into doing something that's politically favorable to them, that the way to do that, the way to make protest and the way to make a name for yourself is to go to the Capitol and engage in violence.

And so the concern is do people think that they're doing enough to stop the next person from doing what happened today?

BLITZER: You know, the problem is though that, for a variety of political reasons, various individuals, many of them mentally ill, are going to say, Preet, you know what, if I go to the Capitol, if I go to the U.S., go to Capitol Hill and do something awful, I'll get some publicity. And that's such a serious threat to our democracy.

BHARARA: It is. You hope that the lesson learned is one of deterrence, because the person who did that today, and, again, I know there have been suggestions that there are mental health issues, but the person did that today was shot and killed. He is no more. And so you hope and expect that people who are thinking about engaging in some copy cat enterprise take the opposite lesson and don't come to the Capitol and don't do it. Look, I don't know what the ultimate plans of this person were today.

On the one hand it was not a success. Congress was not even in session, didn't seem to breach the perimeter. He was stopped at the barrier. But a police officer is dead, another one in serious condition in the hospital. So depending on what the macabre plans of the person were or future people are, you worry about the lesson that they draw from it.

BLITZER: You certainly do. Preet, thank you very, very much. We're going to stay on top of this story.

And let's pay our respects right now to this police officer who, sadly, was murdered today. There you see him, William Billy Evans spent 18 years on the Capitol Police force. Our deepest, deepest condolences to his family. May he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:40:00]

BLITZER: We'll, of course, have much more on the situation at the U.S. Capitol following today's deadly attack that left one Capitol Police officer dead, another seriously wounded. The suspect is dead.

But let's get an update right now, on one of the other major stories we're following tonight, the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, which just capped off a very dramatic week of testimony.

CNN's Sara Sidner is covering the trial for us in Minneapolis.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): The man who says he has been a Minneapolis police officer for longer than anyone in the department makes no bones about it, kneeling on someone's neck is deadly use of force.

MATTHEW FRANK, PROSECUTOR: Have you ever been trained to kneel on the neck of someone who is handcuffed behind their back in a prone position?

LT. RICHARD ZIMMERMAN, HOMICIDE OFFICER, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE: No, I haven't.

FRANK: Would that be considered force?

ZIMMERMAN: That would be the top tier, the deadly force.

FRANK: Why?

ZIMMERMAN: Because of the fact that if your knee is on a person's neck, that can kill them.

SIDNER: And that is exactly what prosecutors say former Officer Derek Chauvin did to George Floyd on May 25th, 2020.

Lieutenant Richard Zimmerman, who leads the department homicide unit, also testified he was called to the scene to make sure it was preserved. And he was questioned about police procedure, which he could recite without hesitation.

FRANK: As an officer, according to the training, you handcuff somebody behind the back. What's your responsibility with regard to that person from that moment on?

ZIMMERMAN: That person is yours. He's your responsibility. His safety is your responsibility. His well-being is your responsibility.

SIDNER: Floyd was handcuffed. He had a knee on his neck and he was pinned down on his stomach in what is known as the prone position.

FRANK: What has your training been specific to the prone position?

ZIMMERMAN: Once you secure or handcuff a person, you need to get him out of the prone position as soon as possible because it restricts their breathing.

FRANK: What is your view of that use of force during that time period?

ZIMMERMAN: Totally unnecessary. First of all, pulling him down to the ground face down and putting your knee on a neck for that amount of time is just uncalled for. I saw no reason why the officers felt they were in danger, if that's what they felt. And that's what they would have to feel to be able to use that kind of force.

SIDNER: Chauvin's attorney then questions Zimmerman's recent field experience, since he hasn't been on patrol in decades, arriving at crime scenes only after an incident occurs.

ERIC NELSON, DEREK CHAUVIN'S ATTORNEY: It's fair to say that since 1993, you've not -- other than perhaps for ceremonial reasons, you've not worn a uniform on a daily basis.

ZIMMERMAN: Well, I don't know if I would call it ceremonial.

NELSON: You're not out patrolling the streets, making arrests, things of that nature?

ZIMMERMAN: No.

NELSON: All right. Your experience with the use of force of late has been primarily through training?

[18:45:06]

ZIMMERMAN: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE) BLITZER: Sara Sidner reporting for us. Thanks to Sara for that report.

Joining us now, CNN legal analyst Joey Jackson.

Joey, thanks for joining us.

You just heard this veteran police lieutenant testify that Chauvin's use of force, in his words, was totally unnecessary. So, how damning is that testimony?

JOEY JACKSON, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Extraordinarily, Wolf. Good to be with you. Let me tell you why.

What you're looking at are three separate charges. And I think his testimony went to the heart of all three of those charges how.

The first charge, you have to show there was an assault that lead to death. If you can demonstrate that there was an assault that lead to death, and guess what, that gets you murder in the second degree. How did the testimony do that?

Well, if you're using a technique, that should not be used, if you're doing it in a way where you're out of control, when you're not reasonable and it violates police protocol and procedure, you shouldn't be engaging it in the first place. If you do and you're assaulting them and there's a death, it gets you on that charge.

But let's say this, Wolf, let's say that the jury is not convinced that you should go second degree murder. What other testimony that he showed that show third degree murder, which is depravity?

He indicated that laying someone on a prone position, face down on your chest, you have to get that person up because it would restrict breathing.

And we know that he had him there, that Chauvin had Floyd for a prolonged period of time. You have to turn the person over so that they can breathe. If you have him there for a prolonged period of time, doesn't that demonstrate depraved heart?

Finally, Wolf, let's say that the jury is not convinced of the first count, second degree murder, second count, which is the depraved heart, they could say, well, he was at least negligent. How does the testimony do that? Because it indicates that you are on notice of your training, of the policies and protocols of the jail, and of the various -- excuse me, of the department and as a result of your knowledge of those protocols, he didn't follow them, so would not at least be negligence?

And if it is, it gets you manslaughter. I think his testimony went to the heart of those three charges, and that's why it was so damning.

BLITZER: Now that the first week of testimony, Joey, in this trial is wrapped up, what strikes as the most impactful moments at least so far? We heard from a lot of eyewitnesses including some children, from his girlfriend and a whole lot of other people. JACKSON: So, there were several, but let's start here. When you go

back to the crowd that was there, that was a crowd that wanted to be helpful. There was an empty, emergency medical technician who was off- duty. She begged and pleaded to assisting. Police said get on the sidewalk.

There was another gentleman calling the police a bum, and saying this stuff. The other saying, what are you doing? He was rebuffed, get on the sidewalk.

There were little children and a child 9 years old testified said she feels mad and she feels sad because he was restricting his breathing. And when EMS came, he would not, that is Chauvin, allow them to treat, you know, Floyd. That's problematic.

Now you add on top of that the girlfriend who goes to show what is Floyd all about? The defense would have you think that Floyd is this person who's this vicious drug user, and a denigrate to society, not so. The girlfriend testified the reason he was on drugs because he had an opioid addiction.

Well, doesn't that resonate with so many people? He had an injury and he started taking pills and he got hooked? That makes him a person who unfortunately, you know, got addicted and nothing more.

So the issue of trying to demonize him, it brings him out of that, which the defense will like him in. And finally, Wolf, with respect to the testimony you just played, you have a police officer who is the most senior officer on the force who indicates that this was wrong, he was out of control, he violated the use of force continuum, the force was disproportionate to the threat posed, that's damning, that's compelling, it was a very big week for the prosecution.

BLITZER: So you think the prosecution is at least right now, at least two or three more weeks of this trial anticipated, you think the prosecution is feeling confident in the case they put forward?

JACKSON: I do and let me just in backtracking say this, cause of death is very relevant, self-defense is very relevant. As I mentioned, the demonization of George Floyd to the defense is very relevant.

When you get to the issue of cause of death, I just want to remind everyone, that you don't have to establish that the knee on the neck was the sole factor. Just that it was a substantial cause of death. The defenses going after the drug use, saying that he had in March an overdose. They're saying that he got off of drugs and got on drugs and as a result, he could've had a reaction.

When you see Floyd in the store, Cup Foods, when the incident first began, over the alleged counterfeit $20 bill, he looked perfectly fine. So are you arguing that he would've died an hour later but not for that? And that's not a substantial factor. That's powerful evidence to overcome as it relates to cause of death.

And then finally, Wolf, if you go to the issue of the self-defense argument, well, we've also heard testimony that you have to reassess. So let's just say that initial force is appropriate, it's proper, it's lawful.

If you continue that force without a reassessment, without seeing whether he's okay, that is Floyd, then you know what? You didn't do your job, in fact, that job not -- failing to do the job led to the death and that's problematic. Very powerful week for the defense, many compelling moments in this trial.

[18:50:03]

BLITZER: We'll continue our coverage next week.

Joey, thank you very, very much.

Just ahead, an important change in CDC guidance for fully vaccinated people who want to travel a bit. We have details when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: Tonight, new guidance from the CDC that people who are fully, fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can in fact resume travel at a low risk to their health.

CNN's Alexandra Field has more now on our nightly report on the pandemic.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go!

[18:55:00]

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just in time for the Easter holiday weekend, new guidelines from the CDC. Tens of millions of fully vaccinated Americans can now celebrate indoors without a mask, and get back to traveling at low risk to themselves.

DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY, CDC DIRECTOR: The science on COVID-19 is constantly evolving.

FIELD: The CDC says the people who are at least two weeks past their final dose of the shot don't need to test before travel or quarantine after. For those traveling internationally, a negative test is required to return back to the U.S. A second test three to five days after arrival is recommended.

WALENSKY: All travelers, regardless of vaccination status, should continue to wear masks.

FIELD: Steps forward but not quite a green light.

WALENSKY: While we believe that fully vaccinated people can travel at low risk to themselves. CDC is not recommending travel at this time due to the rising number of cases.

FIELD: New COVID 19 cases continue to climb partially fueled by variants, 79,000 new COVID-19 cases reported Thursday, with about half of the states in the country continuing to see in crisis in the past week.

GOV. CHARLIE BAKER (R), MASSACHUSETTS: Like many places around the country, we've seen an uptick in new cases, and as I mentioned earlier this week, the largest new growth in new cases in our state is occurring in people under the age of 40.

FIELD: More vaccines can fix that. Today, a milestone, more than 100 million Americans with a least one dose of the vaccine, an average of 2.9 million shots now going into arms every day.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're vaccinating more people than any other country on Earth.

FIELD: Today, Johnson & Johnson begins a clinical trial of its vaccine for children ages 12 to 17. That on the heels of big announcement Pfizer, data from its small clinical trial shows its vaccine is 100 percent effective among children ages 12 to 15.

DR. VIVEK MURTHY, SURGEON GENERAL: The good news is that the vaccines that we have up to date have proven to be safe and effective including against the variants.

FIELD: But with so many unvaccinated, vaccinations infections are still spreading and perhaps more quickly than we know.

DR. JEANNE MARRAZZO, DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES, UNIVERSITY OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: This is happening in the face of us generally testing less frequently. We diverted a lot of our resources from testing to appropriately ramping up vaccination.

FIELD: Testing across the country falling down to an average of about 890,000 daily tests. That's less than half of the testing high point we hit over the winter.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: CNN's Alexandra Field reporting. Thanks, Alexandra for that.

Joining us now, CNN medical analyst, Dr. Leana Wen.

Dr. Wen, the CDC now says, as you heard, vaccinated people fully vaccinated people can travel at low risk to themselves, but nonessential travel is still not recommended.

What do you make of this new guidance?

DR. LEANA WEN, CNN MEDICAL ANALYST: Well, the new guidance in general makes common sense and some scientific sense. We do know that after your fully vaccinated, you are well-protected yourself from getting very ill, and there's really evidence that you are pretty well- protected from transmitting it to others as well.

So, I think this is in line with what I hope the CDC will generally do. I hope they will say, we're not trying to get to zero risk, but the activities that we thought were high-risk before, once you're vaccinated, it's not much lower risk, and you should absolutely go about resuming those things.

BLITZER: The CDC also says fully vaccinated people may gather indoors without masks for Easter this weekend. Do you fear this could potentially lead to some confusion especially compared to more strict travel guidance?

WEN: Well, I think people should know whether they are fully vaccinated or not, so meaning at least two weeks after both doses of Pfizer or Moderna, or two weeks after Johnson & Johnson. If you are fully vaccinated, you can get together with other individuals who are fully vaccinated also.

But if they're mixed vaccinated individuals in your household or in another household that's not vaccinated, ideally, you should see them only outdoors only, with physical distancing. And so, I think we should stick in there a little bit longer, keep up our guards, but also know that vaccination does give you substantial advantages, including to now be together indoors with other individuals that are also fully vaccinated also.

BLITZER: In your view, Dr. Wen, what type of guidelines should the CDC be releasing right now?

WEN: I think the CDC needs to be a lot more explicit about what it is that fully vaccinated people can do. I think the travel guidelines today do go some part of the way. I think they should've offered guidelines weeks ago, because again that's common sense.

But I think they should be saying, here are all the activities that are high risk if you are not vaccinated. When you are vaccinated, those that are high risk will become medium risk or very low risk category. I think that we should be actively encouraging people who are vaccinated to go about life as usual, still wearing masks and being careful in public, but I think we need to give people an understanding of why vaccination is so important.

That's the incentive that it's going to get to get many people to get vaccinated.

BLITZER: Good advice from Dr. Wen as usual. Thanks so much as usual, Dr. Wen for joining us.

And to our viewers, thanks very much for watching.

I'm Wolf Blitzer in THE SITUATION ROOM.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now.