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The Situation Room

Mark Zuckerberg to Testify in Social Media Trial; Interview With Jesse Jackson Jr.; School Shooting Survivors Take the Stand. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired February 17, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news: student survivors on the stand, the emotional moments playing out in court this morning in the trial against the shooter's father.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And remembering a civil rights pioneer. We're going to speak to Jesse Jackson Jr. about the life and legacy of his father.

We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

BLITZER: And we begin this hour with the very sad breaking news about the death of civil rights icon Jesse Jackson, his family announcing his passing this morning at age 84.

Jesse Jackson was certainly a towering figure, not only in civil rights, but in American politics. He ran for president twice in the 1980s and helped pave the way for future leaders like Barack Obama and Kamala Harris.

And joining us now is Jesse Jackson's son, Jesse Jackson Jr.

Jesse Jackson Jr., thanks so much for joining us. Our deepest, deepest condolences from all of us here on the passing of your loving father.

I want to begin with his legacy.

How, in your mind, will your dad be remembered?

JESSE JACKSON JR., SON OF CIVIL RIGHTS ICON JESSE JACKSON: It is my sincere hope that his legacy is a living legacy of activism, of care and concern and respect for the Constitution of the United States, of advocacy for civil rights.

About three months ago, when dad could verbalize a lot better than he was towards the end, he was very prayerful and very hopeful that he had completed the assignment that had been given to him, not only by Martin Luther King Jr., but by Reverend -- by other ministers, but also by God. He was very close and reflective that he had more work to do, that he

thought he had more work to do, and that Dr. King's legacy had endured and he did the best he could to keep that flame alive.

BLITZER: And, as you know, well, Jesse, your father -- for your father, civil rights and politics almost always went hand in hand. Tell us a little bit more about that mix, very important mix, an influential mix in his life.

JACKSON: Dad did not see himself as a politician. He saw himself as a public servant. He believed in servant leadership. He saw himself as a seminarian.

He saw politics as a way to carry out the ministry of feeding the hungry, of clothing the naked, of providing health care for those without health care, of providing food for people who could not eat and resurrecting the spirits of people.

And so the broadest possible platform that was available to my father in the American context was public life. And true to that, Dr. King, Martin Luther King Jr., the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and subsequent public housing legislation led a generation of ministers and activists into the idea that we had to register our people to vote, that we had to create a new space for Hispanics and African-Americans and women to be able to represent people on the floor of the Congress in legislatures around the country.

And I might add that, at the conclusion of his life, he was profoundly concerned with the Robinson v. Callais decision and the decision that could undermine Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, cutting the Congressional Black Caucus and the Hispanic Caucus in half within this own election cycle.

And so, if Reverend Jackson were here with us, Wolf, he would be registering people to vote, he would be inspiring people, because he believed in living the dream, not just talking about the dream, but living it.

And I don't know a person in this country, Wolf, put in more time, more effort and more work to make that a reality.

BLITZER: Yes, good point.

How did he see our country in recent years, as it became more and more polarized?

JACKSON: He was deeply troubled.

I know that he had two communications with President Donald John Trump, encouraging him to look at men and women who paid their debt to society in full, of course, excluding -- and I was very specific about that, to the extent that he was willing -- excluding his son.

On this journey, he heard and saw men, 70 million men and women, who paid their debt to society who need to be emancipated after they paid their debt to society. One of his last communications to the president of the United States was about tenor. It was about tone. It was about spirit, energy, and it was about the unique challenge before the president of the United States to bring all Americans together.

And it's -- and we see it on a daily basis, the failings of the administration to do just that. And so he was hopeful that his unique relationship with the president might bring a different tenor and tone.

[11:05:06]

And, unfortunately, he was never the recipient of a return phone call from the president of the United States. But it's never too late. It's never too late to do right. And my father sincerely believed that.

BLITZER: How do you think he would like the country and indeed the world to remember him?

JACKSON: As someone who cared about people, as someone who came from humble beginnings, as someone who was rejected in the formative years of his life because he was born out of wedlock, as someone who was called a bastard at his birth.

But he said: Just because I was born in the slum and born under difficult conditions doesn't mean that the slum was born in me. He said: I am somebody. He said: Respect me, protect me, never neglect me. I am God's child.

That was his mantra, not only for himself, but it was his mantra publicly. But he believed it deep in his own core, because, in so many ways, Wolf, it told his personal story.

And, Wolf, if I might, please let me -- allow me to end on this. I stayed on the couch last night next to my father in his -- in his bedroom. And about 12:35 this morning, I heard him take a deep sigh, even as he was connected to oxygen.

My father expired this morning officially at 1:52, when the nurse came and declared him deceased. But Dad let the ghost go at about 12:35 this morning, between 12:35 and 12:37 Central Standard Time. And it was a powerful moment for me to recognize that, for 84 years, this man had breath. He had life. He had spirit energy.

And, even today, when the president of the United States referred to him as a force of energy and nature, make no mistake about it. Jesse Jackson was unique in American history. And I hope that his legacy lives on a new generation of Americans who might draw from that energy, understand our Constitution, engage our system and commit themselves and their lives to making a difference.

BLITZER: What was -- what do you think his greatest contribution was, at least in your mind?

JACKSON: Oh, I think it's my brothers and sisters.

I think his greatest contribution was helping people and giving light to people who found themselves in dark places. I guess I could probably look at the issues that met the cover and the headlines of the newspapers, from rescuing hostages.

But that wasn't Dad. My father spent time, real time, with people in hospitals. He spent real time. Every Christmas, as far as I can remember, we were not allowed to open our toys and our gifts. We spent it at Cook County Jail with men and women who had been locked in and shut in. And Dad would always share with us: "But for the grace of God go I."

His legacy was that Jesse Jackson was authentic. And he called us to an authenticity, not to a politic, not even to a political party. He called us to our authentic selves. And I hope that people will see the genuineness in who Jesse Jackson -- it's hard for me to say it, because my -- my father is now -- is now a was and not an is.

But -- but -- but he gave it -- he gave it his all. He gave it his all. And he reached out to everybody that he could -- that he could, Wolf. He didn't care what color.

And I'm so sorry. And he was so concerned that people might have ever misinterpreted him. He tried to do the best that he could for all of us.

BLITZER: Our deepest, deepest condolences to your loving family, Jesse. We send our love to you.

I got to know your dad well over many, many years, interviewed him many times. He was a colleague and a friend here at CNN. He had a show on CNN. We spent some quality time together. He was a very, very good man, did important work.

And, as we say, may he rest in peace and may his memory be a blessing.

Jesse Jackson Jr., pass along our love to your family. Thank you so much for spending some time with us.

JACKSON: I promise I will, Wolf. Thank you so much.

BROWN: Thank you.

Oh, my heart just sunk...

BLITZER: Yes, me too.

BROWN: ... when he says, you know, "My dad is now a was, not an is."

And just coming to that reality is so hard.

BLITZER: It's so sad, yes.

BROWN: But we honor his memory and his legacy.

Great interview there, Wolf.

Still ahead: emotional testimony in the trial of Colin Gray, whose son carried out a school shooting in Georgia. What we're hearing from the students who were injured that day as they take the stand.

And Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is set to take the stand as a jury weighs whether his social media platforms are designed to be addictive.

I will speak with a former whistle-blower about what she says was happening behind the scenes.

Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:14:44]

BROWN: Happening now: Jurors are listening to emotional testimony in the trial of Colin Gray. He is the father of Colt Gray, the teenager who allegedly carried out a mass shooting in 2024 at a high school in Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MELANY, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I remember standing up, and I turned around. And I didn't know if I was shot, but I was. But my body was telling me to, like, hold my arm.

[11:15:08]

So I was holding my arm and (OFF-MIKE) I think I was in shock and scared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And were you afraid for your life that day?

NAUTICA, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And take your time, Nautica.

NAUTICA: I remember my teacher telling me to stay awake, because I was really, really tired. (OFF-MIKE) at the bottom of my leg. (OFF- MIKE) and wrapped it around my leg. And then I passed out after that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you remember about what he did?

TAYLOR, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: He, like, stood there and then he started shooting at us.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What did you do when the shooting started?

TAYLOR: We all jumped to the floor.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you remember when you realized that you had been shot?

TAYLOR: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And tell us about that.

TAYLOR: After I got shot, I turned to my friend Landon (ph) and I asked him to hold my hand because I was scared.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And did he hold your hand?

TAYLOR: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where were you when you asked him to hold your hand?

TAYLOR: I was in the classroom floor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: And we just want to note we're not showing their faces because they're minors.

With us now is CNN correspondent Jean Casarez and attorney legal affairs commentator Areva Martin.

Good morning to you both.

Jean, I want to start with you.

We have heard this just extremely heart-wrenching, emotional testimony in this trial already. How is the jury reacting to this?

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we just heard from Isabel Rosales in the courtroom is that, with the last minor that took the stand, that one juror was just shaking her head in disbelief as she was testifying. Another looked away.

There are photographs that are being shown to them of these children's injuries. Now, they are testifying not just to testify. There are 20 counts of child cruelty, cruelty to children. And these are felony counts. And these children are so brave, because they have to take the stand and testify what happened to them.

One thing that we heard yesterday and when now we have heard from her today, one of the minors, she was shot in the classroom. And when the gurney came to take her into the ambulance, she herself told the vice principal: "Don't cover me with that sheet. I'm not going to die."

And then she was put into the ambulance and she felt so much pain. And we learned today that her gunshot wounds were in her upper chest, in her arm, and a very serious shot to her wrist. She was in the hospital from September 4 through September 23. What she feared for the most was her father had a heart condition, and she was afraid this was going to affect him so terribly.

She made it through. She still does not have use of that wrist and that -- the arm and the finger as she should have. She cannot do the sports she'd like to do. But the significance of this is, yes, there were four fatalities, there were four people killed, two teachers, two students, but these children that were injured will be injured potentially forever.

And PTSD has been diagnosed with them and they are still living that trauma.

BROWN: And of course they are.

I want to play some more of her testimony for you. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NATALIE, SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I saw (OFF-MIKE) he was on the floor (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He had you ever seen him before?

NATALIE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Did you know who he was?

NATALIE: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.

NATALIE: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you think when you saw him?

NATALIE: I saw red. I was very mad. I hadn't even processed it, because I thought (OFF-MIKE) I was thinking it was an angry parent, some kind of alumni that was -- really how bad experience at high school, terrorist attack, anything. I did not think another student that had no reason to be my school with a gun.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you say anything to him when you passed him?

NATALIE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you say to him?

NATALIE: (OFF-MIKE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, ma'am.

NATALIE: You (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (OFF-MIKE) (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (OFF- MIKE) I said a lot of (OFF-MIKE) I was very angry, especially at the time, because I thought (OFF-MIKE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[11:20:10]

BROWN: Our reporters have noted that at least one juror was crying during testimony.

Areva, talk to us about how emotional testimony like this can influence a jury.

AREVA MARTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: It's beyond belief that these jurors are going to be able to separate the emotional testimony from these children, from these minors. They're going to have to do that. They're going to have to listen to this testimony, feel it, obviously, but then listen to the law that will be read to them when it's time to deliberate.

This is a very emotional case. We're not just going to hear from these minors, as we're hearing. We're going to hear from the parents. We're going to hear from teachers and law enforcement. Some of those witnesses have already been called. These cases are just horrific.

Families struggle to understand how someone can allow their child to have access to a weapon, particularly when we have seen cases like the Michigan case involving the Crumbley family, when parents were prosecuted for allowing their son in that case to have access to a gun, and he engaged in similar conduct in a Michigan school.

So these cases are just hard to wrap your head around, Pamela, because we have seen them. We have been here before. This is not new. Unfortunately, we continue to see parents engaging in this conduct.

BROWN: And, of course, he says he is innocent here, but there is this body camera video from the Jackson County Sheriff's Office.

I want to -- this is something I want to play for you. I believe we have it. And this is when the sheriff's office spoke with Colin and Colt Gray prior to the school shooting. Let's watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLIN GRAY, DEFENDANT: I don't know anything about him saying any (EXPLETIVE DELETED) like that. And I'm going to be mad as hell if he did. And then all the guns will go away and they won't be accessible to him.

You know, we -- I'm trying -- to be honest with you, I'm trying to teach him about firearms and safety and how to do it all and get him interested in the outdoors. Like, on my phone...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And get him away from those video games.

COLIN GRAY: Exactly right. And whatever you all are telling him, please instill in him that what -- if this is -- whatever or wherever this is coming from, it's no joke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

COLIN GRAY: Like, it's no joke.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it wouldn't be here if it was.

COLIN GRAY: No, I know. I know. And I'm telling you right now we talk about it quite a bit, all the school shootings, things that happened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So did your dad kind of explain everything to you?

COLT GRAY, DEFENDANT: He said something about shooting up a school.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you say something about a school shooting?

COLT GRAY: Never. I just told him, I don't know what -- maybe they misheard somebody else. I don't remember saying that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BROWN: What do you think, Areva? How important is this evidence when it comes to Colin Gray's culpability here?

MARTIN: Well, what we're seeing in this case, we have seen in the opening statements, the prosecution presenting a case that the father ignored clear warning signs that his son had mental health issues, that his son was fascinated with school shootings, that he had a shrine in his room to the Parkland school shooter.

And then we heard the defense make the counterargument that his son led a double life, that he hid his intentions from the dad, that the dad had no knowledge that he could be a danger to students at the school and that he was going to plan this kind of attack.

The jurors are going to have to decide, was this a father that engaged in reasonable conduct? Was his conduct reasonable as it related to giving his son access to a gun, which he's apparently admitted to? Was this father reasonable with regards to following up on mental health issues, getting referrals for his son, protecting his son from this kind of conduct?

And that's really the crux of this case, is criminal negligence. Did this father engage in unreasonable conduct as it relates to access to a firearm and ammunition?

BROWN: All right, Jean Casarez, Areva Martin, thank you both.

And we will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:28:20]

BLITZER: We're getting new details as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is getting ready to take the stand in a trial that could completely reshape how social media companies are held responsible for their impact on the mental health of their users.

Meta and YouTube are facing a lawsuit from a woman who claims they created features that deliberately hooked her on their platforms when she was a child. The suit alleges it ultimately harmed her mental health.

BROWN: This also marks the first time Zuckerberg will testify about youth safety claims in front of a jury. Meta has said it disagrees with the allegations and the lawsuit.

So with us now to further discuss is Frances Haugen. She was a whistle-blower for what was then Facebook and linked a trove of internal documents indicating the company knew Instagram had a toxic effect on teen girls. She wrote a book about her experiences called "The Power of One: How I Found the Strength to Tell the Truth and Why I Blew the Whistle on Facebook."

Zuckerberg's testimony -- on Facebook. Zuckerberg's testimony is expected to focus on whether Meta has done enough to protect young users. How do you expect he might answer those questions?

FRANCES HAUGEN, FORMER FACEBOOK PRODUCT MANAGER: Was that directed at me?

BROWN: Yes, that's for you, yes.

HAUGEN: So -- sorry. I don't have visual cues. I'm...

(CROSSTALK)

BROWN: I know. It can get a little confusing.

HAUGEN: The -- I -- we have seen him take the stand repeatedly before Congress. We haven't seen him as often, though he is occasionally on other civil trial trials as well.

We should expect to see him express a lot of emotion, but not give us necessarily a lot of content. He's going to talk a lot, but he's not going to take responsibility, because, if they take responsibility, then they're going to have to change their business model and how they do business.