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CNNW CNN July 4, 2024

Threats and calls for violence. Fears today that jurors and judges tied to trump cases are at risk as the former president s legal battles grow. What were learning about those threats and whos behind them. And we have new details about when donald trump is planning to turn himself in to face those charges in georgia as we learn he is now plotting Counter Programming for the first gop primary debate. Plus, new focus on a Power Company facing lawsuits over mauis wild fires and anger growing over response to the tragedy as officials warn that 1,000 people or more could still be missing. We are following these major developing stories and many more all coming in right here to cnn news central. The Fulton County, Georgia Sheriffs Office now says it is working with other agencies to track down where the threats to Georgia Grand Jury members are coming from. A Law Enforcement source tells cnn, quote, people are being threatened to be killed for doing their civic duty. This comes days after the grand jury voted to indict former president donald trump. Their purported names, photos, even home addresses were published on far right Message Boards linked to violent extremist attacks. Some anonymous users are calling for violence against those jurors. Meantime, in texas, a woman has been charged with threatening to kill a federal judge overseeing Donald Trumps January 6th Case after police say she left a voice mail message saying, quote, you are in our sights. We want to kill you. Cnn chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst john miller joins us now. John, lets begin with that dangerous threat to the judge. What do you make of all that . Well, the threat comes from a phone call that comes from places a town called alvin, texas. Federal protechive Service Officers from the department of Homeland Security went to that address, interviewed the women who made that call allegedly, abbie joe srier. She said im not going to go there and shoot anybody. I was drinking when i did it. Her father testified shes a nonviolent alcoholic. And, yet, they brought this charge because the recent Court Decisions really say as long as the person has a conscious disregard to the idea that their threat would be taken seriously and cause fear in the person its directed at, thats still a crime. And thats a federal rime when youre threatening a federal judge. So she went in front of a different federal judge and was denied bail while they sort out what those conditions are going to be. John, how about the jurors in Fulton County . The grand jury members whose personal information was apparently leaked online. What kind of protection can be offered to them . So, you know, with the resources of the Fulton County Fulton County sheriffs office, pat labat and his team probably dont have the resources to put a police car or a Security Team on 20some odd members of the secret grand jury and protect them indefinitely. What they are talking about is directed patrols, which is to have a Police Presence around their homes. A car that sweeps by every few minutes when it is not answering the call that its back there, that they have a hotline to the police where if they see something and they call, they will get an immediate response. And remember the back end of this, which is as threats may be coming in, those threats are going to be traced back to an ip address or to a phone number or to a social media post or to a message board. Subpoenas will go out. Individuals will be identified. And that could be another set of arrests and prosecutions under a Georgia State law that carries a 20year sentence for threatening a juror or a member of a grand jury on account of a charge, an indictment or a verdict. We will keep an eye out for more potential charges ahead in Fulton County. John miller, thank you so much. Jim . We have learned that trump plans to surrender at the Fulton County jail. Those are live pictures there in georgia next week. Of course, thats the first week that we will see the first republican president ial primary debate, a debate he is not expected, at least for now, to attend. So president former president plans to turn himself in next week, not show up at the debate. So what are his other plans perhaps . Right. Well, jim, there could be a Collision Course here because we are hearing that hes going to surrender next week. Im told that the Fulton County District Attorneys Office and Donald Trumps lawyers in georgia are expected to continue their talks and negotiations around his surrender into next week. Very quickly from there, once they have a plan, i think they will quickly see him head to georgia for his surrender. So there could be some sort of Collision Course with that debate on wednesday. But like you said, jim, hes not expecting to be on the debate stage on wednesday. And instead, donald trump himself has been personally throwing out ideas about how he might want to Counter Program it, including a Potential Interview with tucker carlson, as well as calling into different cable news shows. His team has been coordinating with trump surrogates about having them there to represent him in the debate room and members of Donald Trumps team. Even if trump isnt there, there is expected to be some sort of Trump Presence at the debate and in the spin room that night. And we have seen the former president do that before, seek friendly outlets, as opposed to being staged on a debate stage. When we look at the debate stage, a couple different markers to get you on that stage in terms of fundraising and polling. Do we know what the final will look like . It could change between now and then. But five candidate met the Donor Threshold and the Polling Threshold that states that they would ultimately support the eventual republican nominee. That includes nikki haley, Governor Desantis and governor tom scott. There is three candidates as well who have qualified for the Polling Thresholds as well as the Donor Threshold that have not signed the pledge. Thats chris cristie, mike pence and of course former president donald trump. I am told mike pence said he is expected to sign that pledge. I do think you will end up seeing some of those three on the debate stage next wednesday. Thanks so much for us. Weve got a lot to talk about. Lets dig deeper on that conversation about potential Political Violence with Elliot Williams and jonathan wakro. Job than, i want to start with you because there is a serious challenge when it comes to protecting a judge in such a highprofile case. It is not just her. Her family was threatened as well. Yeah. Boris, what you are raising is a problem that just keeps metastasizing and getting bigger and bigger. What were seeing is the deliberate targeting of not only judges but were seeing prosecutors. Were seeing jurists now in the favorite foil of the former president , which is the fbi. But how do you protect them . It is a challenge for Law Enforcement to assess the means and the intent for individuals who are making those threats to actually transcend from political rhetoric into violent acts. But were seeing that speed of rhetoric to violent action shortening. Most recently we have seen an individual who was picked up by the Secret Service by obamas residence that took messaging off social media and tran sended that into a call to action, specifically a call to violence. We saw it with paul pelosi. So this isnt all of the realm of possibility. When were seeing these threats, were seeing them materialize into violence very quickly. In a perfect world, these threats would not impact the case in any way. But were in the real world, and it could potentially have an effect. I mean, yes and no. Most federal judges dont have any sort of protection around the clock at home. I worked for two different federal judges, and they carry on and do their jobs and in the face of near constant threats. Maybe not all of them actionable, but certainly people that are unhappy with the decisions they make. I would think that nothing really slows the case down. And at least on the judges perspective. Certainly jurors or people in the public are seeing this information and maybe getting frightened about what might be looming out there. But i really do think most judges are able to put this noninnocn nonsense aside and do their job. We have seen the job talk about not tainting the jury pool in the context of Donald Trumps social media post. Could this move things along faster . I think she would be more likely to speed things along if it were coming from the defendant himself. If the defendant was tainting the jury pool, then certainly that could be the case. But in terms of crazy people outside in the public threatening judges and Court Personnel and so on, its, sadly, far more common than it ought to be and judges are used to that kind of thing. I want to dig deeper on something you noted, and thats the fact that in this voice mail, this grotesque voice mail that the woman in texas left for the judge, she claimed to police she was e neebuated and didnt take any steps to carry it out. Could that be relevant at all . How does Law Enforcement view that . Well, you know, as they said, boris, there are three major pillars of how they will look at this threat. It is the means, the opportunity and the intent, right . So we have to look at does this individual have the opportunity to go and cause harm to the you know, to the judge . Making a threat in itself is a crime, especially against a federal prosecutor. But, listen, this individual didnt just do that up on her own, right . She was influenced by something else. And we have to look at the forums where these discussions are being held. We are, you know violent political rhetoric is metastasizing and this is taking place in increasing volumes in different pockets of the internet. A lot of them have a long history of being linked to violent extremism. Theyre basically the safe harbors for violent rhetoric. And the issue right now is this Borderline Content is rapidly being amplified. And were amplifying it and seeing the consequence of that amplification. But were really seeing violent extremism move from the margins to the middle right now because of that amplification. And thats the biggest threat i see right now. That is just a tragic development for democracy in general. Elliot, quickly to you, we talk about how this kind of intimidation could or could not impact the judge, but what about jury members . Were seeing the grand jury in Fulton County, georgia, their information allegedly posted online. Yeah. One of the great tragedies of the internet age is that its brought us altogether. A lot of things you can say lawfully on the internet might be quite threatening or frightening to other people. Posting addresses by itself isnt criminal, but it could lead to somebody getting hurt or threatened. Far more than Court Personnel or politicians, jurors could be influenced by having their names or information out there. Or somebody with the same name. Elliot williams is a common name in america, and, you know, somebody could post something about a juror and just be wrong. It is problematic all around, and there is no place in society for it. The other thing about these forums, so much of it is anonymous. What an important conversation. Thank you both for joining out. Jim . Lets big deeper into the extent of these threats against Public Officials that extends beyond judges. Last week fbi agents shot and killed a utah man they were trying to arrest after he allegedly threatened to kill President Biden, along with several prosecutors who brought cases against trump, including Manhattan District Attorney alvin brag and new York State Attorney general Letitia James and fbi Christopher Wray calls these instances unprecedented. Last summer a man wearing body armor, carrying an ar15 allegedly tried to break into an fbi office in cincinnati after posting online that he wanted to kill fbi agents. He was killed in a standoff with responding police. Also last summer, a man carrying a gun, knife and zip ties was arrested near the home of Supreme Court Justice Brett kavanaugh. The suspect told police he wanted to kill Brett Kavanaugh and himself because he was upset about the leaked Draft Opinion that overturned roe v. Wade. And in october, a man that broke into the home of then House Speaker nancy pelosi attacked her husband paul with a hammer. For the assault, he echoed a question shouted by many january 6th capitol rioters, wheres nancy . Boris, these are not isolated incidents. Were seeing them more and more often. It is part of a troubling pattern as jonathan just shared. Still ahead this hour, were taking you to hawaii where more than 1,000 people are still missing and a handful of the victims that have been recovered have even been identified. The latest on the Recovery Efforts there. Plus, what sales at walmart and target are telling us about the Bigger Picture with the economy. And more on the tuwys. What the couple is saying about former nfl michael orr. An awkward and icky fight bebetween these two when we com back. Its true, though you wont overpay for glasses if you shop at americas best. They offer two pairs and a free, quality eye exam starting at just 79. 95. If you shop at americas best. The exam alone is worth at least 59 bucks. I can see from your pression that you find that shocking. D youre actually speechless. Aaaaaaaaand, you dont have ears. Two pairs and a free exam for just 79. 95. Book an exam today at americasbest. Com. Its true, though you wont overpay for glasses if you shop at americas best. Limu emu doug what do we always say, son . Liberty mutual customizes your Car Insurance. So you only pay for what you need. Thats my boy. Now you get out there, and you make us proud, huh . Bye, uncle limu. Stay off the freeways only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Its been more than a week since the catastrophic wild fire in maui. Officials have still not accounted for more than 1,000 people. The official death toll has climbed to 111. Sadly, some of those are children, officials confirmed to cnn. Authorities are released the name of five of those confirmed dead. They are 71 to 90 years old. All were from lahaina. Four more people have been identified, but officials are holding off releasing their names pending family notifications. Sad fact, boris, were going to see a lot more of this. And a lot of remains that will likely remain unidentified. That means in total only 9 people so far have been identified by authorities. Potentially years as the road to identification continues to move forward. Those who made it out alive, though, are facing a daunting reality. Listen so what the State Senator who represents the area had to say. Think about this for a second. You have lost not only your home. You have lost your business and your income, which was pointed to earlier. You lost your school. You lost your day care. You lost your grocery store. You lost everything that creates what is known as a life. And now you are expected to rebuild it. Meanwhile, you have chaos going on all around and you still cant get into the areas. There is no plan. Lets take you now live to lahaina with bill weir. Bill, take us there. What are you seeing today . Reporter well, jim, you really told a lot of the story with the numbers, breaking down just how difficult a task this will be forensically. The burn area behind me is over three square miles, and they have 40 dogs here that need a break every 15 minutes or so because of the heat and to protect their paws from hot spots as well. And it takes a real skill, a forensic skill to spot maybe a bone shard in all of this, you know, scorched devastation around there. So this will take a very long time. And your heart breaks for people that are in limbo right now. We met some of those folks that submitted dna samples who know in their heart they have seen what was left of their motherinlaws house and what they have to hold on to hope as long as they can until they get that official confirmation. The fact that theyre opening up the main highway in for folks whose houses didnt burn down is a big Stress Relief just on the community there. But there is so many questions about the alarm system, conflicting reports about whether they didnt work from the governor, but then the head of the

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