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Armed Man Arrested Near Trump Rally; Jury Selection Begins in Indiana Murders; Harris Slams Trump; Jimi Hendrix Items up for Auction. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired October 14, 2024 - 09:30   ET

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

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[09:30:13]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new this morning, federal officials say former President Trump was not in any danger following the arrest of a man near his campaign rally in Coachella, California. Authorities have identified the man as 49-year-old Vem Miller, who was found to have had several weapons in his possession, including a shotgun, a loaded handgun, and a high-capacity magazine.

CNN's Camila Bernal is with us.

You've got new details this morning, Camila.

CAMILA BERNAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, John.

Yes, the man arrested, he is denying any claims of attempting to harm the former president, and expressing his support for Donald Trump.

Now, federal officials also telling CNN that there is no evidence that he was attempting to assassinate the former president. But here is what we know. Vem Miller, a 49-year-old old man from Las Vegas, he was arrested near the rally on Saturday. And he was arrested for illegally possessing a shotgun and a loaded handgun. Now, keep in mind, these are state charges. So, we also know he had multiple boxes of ammunition for both of these guns. And the Riverside County Sheriff saying that he had multiple passports and drivers licenses with different names.

He was driving an unregistered car with a fake license plate. And he told authorities that he was a journalist, that he had VIP passes for the rally. And authorities said they were not able to verify that.

Now, the sheriff's department says he was allowed to go through an outside perimeter, but was then stopped at the inside perimeter, which was a lot more thorough. And that's where the deputies found the fake license plate, the guns, the multiple IDs. And this was still a distance away from the entrance where the U.S. Secret Service does their checks. And it was also before the president even arrived. He was arrested and he was later released on a $5,000 bail. And he's since posted a video online defending himself.

Here's part of that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VEM MILLER, ARRESTED ON GUN CHARGES AT TRUMP'S COACHELLA RALLY: That I decided to come to Coachella after receiving a special invitation from members of the Nevada Republican Party.

I will fully transparently let them know that in the trunk of my car I carry two firearms. One is a Glock. One is a shotgun. And these two firearms that I carry with me are simply for protection.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERNAL: And again, he expressed his support for the president. The campaign, on Sunday, thanked law enforcement for securing the rally and the site and ensuring the safety of the president.

John.

BERMAN: It seems like just due diligence here.

Camila Bernal, thank you very much for your report.

Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, sir.

It has been more - it's been more than seven years since the mysterious murders of two teenage girls in Delphi, Indiana. And now this many years later the man charged in their deaths is headed to trial.

Richard Allen was arrested in October of '22 in connection to the deaths of 13-year-old Abby Williams and 14-year-old Libby German. The two best friends were hiking after school in 2017 when they disappeared. Their bodies found the next day.

CNN's Jean Casarez is joining us now.

Jean, this has been a long time coming.

JEAN CASAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely.

It was 2017, February 14th. You know, "The Indianapolis Star," which really is the newspaper of record in Indiana -

BOLDUAN: Yes.

CASAREZ: They're saying this is one of the biggest trials in Indiana's history. And it was on that day that two young girls, Abigail Williams and Liberty German, they were dropped off by their family at the Monon Trails in Delphi, Indiana. Well, they never saw them again. And they were found - their bodies were found the next day, but everybody was saying, what happened to them? Who would do this to them?

Once forensics found their phones, they found the phone of Liberty German. She had actually recorded a man that was on the bridge, it's believed it's minutes before they were murdered.

I want you to listen to the picture in the audio that law enforcement released nationwide to try to find out who did this. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys. Down the hill. Guys. Down the hill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CASAREZ: And that's what law enforcement had to work on. It took quite a few years. They have had other suspects. They released two artistic graphics. But they finally arrested this man, Richard Allen.

Now, the girls were found with their throats slit according to a defense expert who testified at a hearing. They were not sexually assaulted that we know. The defense has come in saying that this was a ritualistic killing from the Odinist Nordic religion because there are Odinists in that community.

And law enforcement started to go that route and then they stopped. The judge is not allowing it in. But the defense is saying you have the wrong man.

[09:35:05]

But the fact is, Kate, that a bullet was found between the two bodies. And that bullet was traced to a gun from Richard Allen. But at this point, we do not believe they were shot. There were branches over their bodies. And a defense expert said that was a sign of ritualistic killing. Blood smeared on a - on a tree. But the jury won't be hearing that.

But the jury is going to be selected this week. End of the week will probably opening statements in the Delphi area. The jury's being selected out of that community because it's so close to them.

BOLDUAN: Wow. I mean this is going to be a huge, huge weeks ahead for -

CASAREZ: A month.

BOLDUAN: Yes, a month.

CASAREZ: Yes.

BOLDUAN: It's good to see you, Jean.

CASAREZ: Thank you.

BOLDUAN: Thanks for bringing us up to speed.

Sara.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new this morning, Vice President Kamala Harris on the campaign trail and calling Donald Trump, quote, "dangerous" and "unfit to be president."

And good news for Jimi Hendrix fans. Rare memorabilia from the legendary guitarist will be auctioned off very soon, including some never before published music. We have details on what's on the list and perhaps the price tag.

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[09:40:54]

SIDNER: With just 22 days to go until Election Day in America, a brand new CNN poll of polls showing a virtual tie between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Harris is responding this morning and over the weekend to the dark rhetoric and fearmongering Donald Trump has been using.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think the bigger problem is the enemy from within. Not even the people that have come in and destroying our country. And, by the way, totally destroying our country. The towns, the villages, they're being inundated.

But I don't think they're the problem in terms of Election Day. I think the bigger problem will be people from within. We have some very bad people. We have some sick people, radical left lunatics.

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE U.S. (D) AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Because you see, Donald Trump cares more about scaring people, creating fear, running on a problem, instead of what real leaders do, which is to participate in fixing problems.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SIDNER: Joining us now, Pete Seat, former White House spokesperson in George W. Bush's administration, and Democratic strategist and former White House director of message planning, Meghan Hays.

Thank you both for coming on this morning.

Pete, I'm going to start with you.

Donald Trump using rancid language against fellow Americans, calling them sick, calling them lunatics, saying they're bad people. He's not talking about politicians necessarily, he's just saying this sort of in general. And how does the campaign defend the rhetoric that has been long used by autocrats?

PETE SEAT, FORMER WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON, GEORGE W. BUSH ADMINISTRATION: Both campaigns are running on effectively the same message, Sara, and that is fear. Donald Trump is stoking fear of illegal immigration and what he calls the far left to motivate those low propensity voters to come out and vote for him. And Kamala Harris is trying to stoke fear of Donald Trump. Just look at the rhetoric that Democrats use when they talk about Donald Trump. It's the same thing, trying to get those low propensity voters out. So, we've got to recognize both sides are doing this, both sides are playing the game of fear, because that's how they think they're going to win this election.

SIDNER: It clearly is not the same way and saying the same things.

Meghan, what do you think of what Pete just said?

MEGHAN HAYS, FORMER WHITE HOUSE DIRECTOR OF MESSAGE PLANNING: I mean, I tend to agree that both sides are using fear. I do think Donald Trump's language is a little bit more divisive and more harmful. But this is Donald Trump being on message. His party wanted to talk about immigration and not talk about some of the other things and throw personal jabs. So, he is doing that, whether or not it's, you know, going to be effective in the way he's saying it and the fear tactic that he's using and the sort of dark cloud that comes about when he talks. Whether that works with independent voters and, you know, in the battleground states is yet to be seen and it - you know, it is really terrible that this is where our political system is.

But, you know, it does resonate with his base and it is resonating with people. Will it resonate with the right people to win the election? I think that's what we're - you know, 22 days and we'll all see.

SIDNER: All right, Meghan, the Harris campaign is seeing the polling numbers showing there is some erosion of black male voters and Latino voters' support. I want to take a look at the poll and what we've seen. And you're seeing those numbers there overall, Harris, 78, Trump, 15, women, 83 percent among likely black voters, Trump 12. Men, 70 percent for Harris, 20 percent in this "New York Times"/Sienna College poll for Donald Trump, which is a - it's a big number.

What do you attribute this slippage towards Donald Trump from the black community?

HAYS: I think that the Democratic Party has been seeing a shift in men - male voters for a long time and for a few cycles now. And I think that it's just catching up to us in a - a really critical moment. I think that part of the problem is the campaign is - has yet to find its footing in addressing this group of folks with, you know, with authenticity and a genuine message to them. So, I think that that's part of what she's doing today, releasing some policies directed - directly at black men. So hopefully that will resonate in doing some - like the Roland Martin interview, the Charlemagne tha God interview, to - to reach out to those folks.

But I think this is something the Democratic Party has been seeing over time.

[09:45:03]

And it's just - it's a lack of finding a genuine voice, an authentic voice, and to reach this group of folks. SIDNER: Pete, what do you attribute this to? The Republicans, and certainly Donald Trump, has been trying to go after, for example, black males and talked about, I think he said the word, I love black males during one of his speeches. What do you attribute sort of this trickle of people that are going over to Donald Trump from the Democratic Party?

SEAT: Well, I think both, with Latino voters and black voters, Trump is overperforming and Kamala Harris is underperforming because of the economy. That is the number one issue. Look at "The New York Times"/Siena poll from over the weekend. Latino voters rated the economy as fair or poor, 80 percent of them did. Fifty percent said it was poor. That is driving movement in Donald Trump's direction.

Also, we can't forget resentment. The fact that these voters have been taken for granted by the Democratic Party for generations. They're expected to vote for a Democratic candidate. And if they're not seeing results in their wallets, in their pocketbooks, they're starting to turn towards Donald Trump, towards the Republican Party, because they want to see their families lifted up.

SIDNER: Meghan, where do you think the Democrats have the best hold, because there was a lot of talk about Pennsylvania and how important Pennsylvania was. But Michigan is also, we heard from Debbie Dingell saying, no one so far has taken Michigan.

HAYS: Yes, I think that's right. I don't think anyone has - has a hold on any state or any (INAUDIBLE) the blue wall I don't think is necessarily a guarantee for the vice president. I think this race is back right where it was supposed to be. I think she got a nice bump after she came to the top of the ticket in the convention and then the sugar rush sort of wore off and we're back where we're supposed to be.

And I think a lot of folks are now tuning in and looking at their different policies and their character. I would not underestimate how important character is going to be in this election. And the - the contrast that the vice president and the campaign are drawing is crucially important. And you'll see her cris-crossing into these battleground states to sort of get a hold and to - but this is going to be razor-thin and, you know, I was there in 2020 when we didn't decide the election until Saturday. So, I would expect something similar this time around, which, you know, it's going to be down to the wire for both of them.

SIDNER: Pete, what is your concern if this is as razor thin as the polls are showing between the two of them that we may not have a result right away?

SEAT: I think it's a foregone conclusion that we won't have a result right away, and we all need to brace ourselves for that. There's going to be a lot of mail-in ballots, absentee ballots. It's going to take time to count these votes and get a final victor.

This is a divided nation. It's going to be a very close election. And we need to be ready for that. Hopefully we know by the end of November, if not the middle of November. SIDNER: All right, Pete Seat, Meghan Hays, thank you both so much for coming on and having this chat with me. Appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, how you can get your hands on never before heard tracks from the legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix.

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[09:53:04]

BERMAN: That's Jimi Hendrix covering Bob Dylan's "All Along the Watch Tower." So good. And for the first time ever, unreleased Jimi Hendrix tracks that have never been heard by the public, they could be yours.

All right, CNN's Anna Stewart is with us with the details.

Good morning, Anna.

ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, John.

You have one month to find a few extra hundred thousand dollars so that you can take part in this auction. A load of unheard tracks, as you say. Now, these are versions of songs that you probably already know. One of the master tapes going up for sale has "Up From the Skies," "Ain't No Telling" and "Little Miss Lover." But these are very different versions we're told from what people know. They are more guitar heavy, I'm told. And currently that particular lot is estimated to go for $260,000.

Also, if you're a real Jimi Hendrix fan, lots and lots of little added extras. We're talking about pay slips, handwritten forms, requesting a birth certificate from Jimi, dry cleaning bills. One for his green velvet jacket, and gold suit and some orange trousers. And also, I think this is my favorite part of one of the lots, a note from Hendrix's record company informing him that he is being evicted from Ringo Star's London flat on account of a lot of complaints from the neighbors. All this going on sale in one month's time.

BERMAN: So, they were OK with Ringo. So, Ringo banging on the drums wasn't a problem.

SIDNER: Perfectly fine.

BERMAN: But Jimi playing the best guitar of all time was an issue for the neighbors?

STEWART: Can you imagine the parties?

BERMAN: I - hmm.

BOLDUAN: I can imagine. Yes.

BERMAN: Now that you mention it.

But the dry cleaning the tabs. I mean, who's going to buy like a dry cleaning receipt?

BOLDUAN: I would, just to highlight how much more expensive dry cleaning is compared to 1976 or whatever.

BERMAN: It's a good point. It's -

BOLDUAN: It would be cool to see. It would be cool. It would be.

BERMAN: But I do like the use of the phrase orange trousers, Anna. I do appreciate that.

SIDNER: I knew you (INAUDIBLE) about that. And the green jacket with the gold - with a gold belt or -

BOLDUAN: Stop describing my wardrobe.

[09:55:00]

STEWART: Gold suit.

SIDNER: I know. Fancy.

STEWART: (INAUDIBLE) specialist (ph) dry cleaning for this, right?

BERMAN: It sounds fantastic. Oh, and there's the music in the background.

Anna Stewart, thank you very much for playing along. We appreciate it.

BOLDUAN: She's like, get me out of here quickly.

SIDNER: She's like, please.

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much for joining us. This is CNN NEWS CENTRAL. "CNN NEWSROOM" up next.

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[10:00:01]

JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: The fight for Pennsylvania. Both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump holding events today in the key battleground state. Democratic Senator John...