and good evening. a busy night, including breaking news, the number of people willing to give criminal evidence against florida congr congressman matt gaetz has grown from just his former wing man to now include the congressman's ex-girlfriend. we begin with major developments in the death of ronald greene. a black man who was punched, repeatedly tasered, kicked, dragged by his feet, while handcuffed, by louisiana state troopers two years ago. cnn has now obtained video from the incident. here is a portion of that video we had yesterday. and we do want to just point out, it is terribly difficult to watch, especially in light of all the cruelty that transpires on video throughout the fatal encounter. >> let me see your [ bleep ] hands, [ bleep ]. come here, [ bleep ]. >> okay. okay. okay.

okay. okay. i'm sorry. i'm sorry! i'm scared. i'm scared! officer, i'm scared. i'm your brother. i'm scared. >> well, he had reason to be scared. in a moment, we'll talk with ronald greene's mom, as well as our law enforcement analyst in louisiana's mitch landrieu. but first, randi kaye's report. >> reporter: the new video obtained by cnn is 30-minutes long and offers a different view from the louisiana state troopers' body camera than the video obtained earlier by "the ap." it shows ronald greene following a high-speed chase near monroe, louisiana, on the ground, face down, and struggling to turn over. >> don't you turn over. don't you turn over. lay on your belly. lay on your belly. >> okay, sir.

>> do you understand? >> yes, sir! >> reporter: greene apologizes and, politely, calls the officer, sir, even as they continue to berate him. the video shows greene's legs shackled, and his hands cuffed behind his back. when he cries out in pain, even calling on the lord jesus, the officers continue to restrain him. louisiana state police kept this video under raps for two years. greene's arrest, and subsequent death, occurred back in may, 2019. this is what the family says louisiana state police, initially, told them happened. >> that he was in a car accident. and that, he -- he hit his head on the steering wheel. and that's how he died. >> reporter: the family says, police, initially, made no mention to them of the arrest or

use of force. now, revealed on the body-camera videos. another police report said greene was taken into custody, after resisting arrest. and a struggle with troopers. and that he died on the way to the hospital. his family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit. >> this has been a coverup, from day one. they were out to kill him. he had no chance of living. >> reporter: in the video, it's not clear if greene is offered medical attention, as he lay on the ground, moaning and gurgling. >> i was going to sit him up but didn't want him spitting blood all over us. >> reporter: at one point on the new video, a medical technician arrives and is clearly concerned. and when it was over, in previously-released video, obtained by "the ap," one trooper can be heard on his body-camera audio boasting about beating greene. >> i beat the ever-living [ bleep ] out of him. choked him and everything else trying to get him under control. spitting blood everywhere. and then, all of a sudden, he

just went limp. yeah, i thought he was dead. >> reporter: cnn has, also, obtained the autopsy report. it lists greene's cause of death as cocaine-induced agitated delirium, complicated by motor-vehicle collision, physical struggle, inflicted-head injury, and restraint. according to the autopsy, injuries included a fracture of the sternum or breastbone and a torn aorta, the body's main artery. the autopsy notes that greene had alcohol and a significant level of cocaine in his system. these postmortem photos of greene released on the naacp baton rouge facebook page show the extent of his injuries. and the autopsy notes, lacerations of the head, inconsistent, with motor-vehicle collision injury. instead, finding these injuries are most consistent with multiple-impact sites from a blunt object. >> i mean, randi, multiple-impact sites from a

blunt object, not compatible with injuries from a car crash. i know, the louisiana state police had a news conference tonight and they actually made a lot of news. can you just run through some of what they said? >> sure. that was the superintendent of the louisiana state police speaking late-this eej, and really was trying to be transparent about what went on that night and the changes they are trying to make on that force. he said they do plan to release all of the video from the body cameras from that evening. they are also trying to get rid of bad apples, as he called them. they are going to put some new training and policies in place. new troop commander, who he is very excited about. he said this guy's going to make a lot of changes. he also has mandated that all use-of-force be reported. they are now banning chokeholds on the force ooze well and they are going to be increasing diversity training, anderson. so certainly, he is trying to make some of these changes in light of what has happened with ronald greene. >> but just to be clear, i mean, they have held on to this for two years. they have known about this for

two years. it's only that somebody leaked this video out that we even know about this. and so now, they are making exchanges based on the fact that someone leaked this. >> right. and as the family says, they have been asking and asking for information. and asking for the videotape. they say that they -- they have not been cooperating with them. the media has been asking for it. so now, we finally have it. but yes, as you said, it wasn't until wit was leaked that now, e will be getting all the video. >> randi kaye, appreciate the report. thank you. joining us now, ronald greene's mother, mona hardin. also, greene family attorney, ron haley. ms. hardin, i am so sorry for your loss and i am so sorry to be talking to you under these circumstances. as more video surfaces showing the night your son was killed, have you been able to watch these videos? what -- >> no. no. no. >> i can't imagine. did -- >> what i saw last year, the little bit they gave me. but i, clearly, saw, last year,

that they were planning to kill ronnie way before the car ever stopped. that was their goal and they succeeded. they hide sure he didn't live to tell anything. everything we have shows that. what they say. their narrative was -- was the narrative that they use on a lot of the killings that go on. and all i can say is what we have, what we see, the videos that are shown. and they took pleasure in torturing my son. they took pleasure in hurting him, beating, and killing him. and letting him stay on the ground. putting him in shackles. what kind of a human -- these are -- these are state troopers. this is the behavior that the state of louisiana, they endorse, because these troopers,

for two years, have not been dealt with. >> what were you told? or what were other family members told had happened to your son? >> that he was -- there was a high-speed chase. he hit a tree, and he died from the head injuries from that. car going into the tree. and of course, we saw -- we were there nine days. and in our time there, we were able to see the car that ronnie drove. and there was no damage to it. we were on the road where they stated that he hit a tree. we had footage on that, to where there's -- there's no damage. there was -- there was no tore-down tree bark, chain-link fence still up. it was -- nothing was damaged as they described. >> i think we have a picture of

the vehicle. they say that's the car that they say hit the tree. and that's the -- the impact on that is what, they say, killed your son. >> yeah. there's no impact, though. the engine, the hood, everything, was -- was not dented. there was nothing, no damage to the -- it was that little, side scraping. where the officers do what they do to block cars in. because on that video, you show ronnie, where he is behind the wheel. he's tortured before he's even allowed to get out. >> i bet -- >> threatening him to come out, while they're torturing him. >> i -- i've seen videos of people who have been kidnapped and tortured. your son. they were torturing him. i mean, there -- you can hear the officer, the enjoyment in his voice, in speaking to your son. saying that hurts, doesn't it? >> it's -- it's unbelievable.

this is two years. this is two years. it's -- it's been a battle, from the moment we heard of it. the whole all of last year, all the year before. it's -- it's -- it's absolutely degrading. it's shameful for the state of louisiana and all those who run that state. we were told, from the very beginning, you are going to have a long -- this is going to be a long battle for you. because the state troopers run the state of louisiana, not the government. it's the state troopers. >> ms. hardin, the superintendent of louisiana state police said a short time ago all-video evidence surrounding your son's death will be released tonight. i mean, again, this has been two years that they have had this video. the idea that, you know, he used the term bad apples. that this is just some bad apples. and i understand that argument, which is made very often. but there is an awful lot of people, on that force, who knew

about these bad apples. and who knew about this video for the last-two years. >> a coverup, from the very beginning, from the top down. it's organized crime. within the state of louisiana. especially, troop f. >> did -- if this video had not been leaked, initially, to "the associated press", we wohave no received parts of it, 30 minutes or so of it. if it had not been leaked, there is no telling if any of this would have ever come to light. >> well, we -- we were able to have statements. and we were able to have house cameras that shed more light on this. not to mention just the [ inaudible ] from the fact that no one called us. we called them. the only-initial phone call was to tell us that, because of a high-speed chase, ronnie got

killed after his car ran into the tree. that was it. >> mr. haley, just from -- from a legal standpoint, what -- what happens, now? because i mean, it just seems like there is an awful lot of people, who have an awful lot of questions that they should be made to answer. >> well, there's what's going to happen and what should happen. what should happen is everyone that put their hands on ronnie greene should be arrested. and two minutes after they are arrested, anyone that participated in the coverup should follow them right into a jail cell. >> and what do you think is gonna happen? >> listen. we're here for change. you know? george floyd showed us that -- that he was the exception. that the rule is what happened in cases, like ronnie. well, we are here to make ronnie's case the exception. and other cases in louisiana and around this country, that involve police coverups of

excessive force, murder, and torture, that we call them out. and that we demand accountability. transparency isn't enough. we need to hold folks accountable to make sure things, like this, do not happen. this is beyond just a civil-rights violation. this is a human-rights violation. what happened to ronnie greene was inhumane. and the pleasure, that these officers took in inflicting unnecessary pain, is ridiculous, it is evil, immoral, and is illegal. >> mr. haley, have you -- i mean, i, often, think -- you know, there was a civil-rights worker, whose last name was cheney. he was from meridian, mississippi. he was killed and buried in a shallow grave in philadelphia, mississippi, during the civil rights struggle. and i often wonder -- you know, he was pulled over the side of the road at night with two others. and i wonder, often, what transpired in those minutes? what people said to him, as they were killing him. and watching this video, it --

that came to my mind. and i'm not comparing the -- the -- the two people. but to actually see this, have you ever seen a video like this? >> what struck me, anderson, was the inhumanity of it. the fact that he was -- it's not just the physical punishment that's jarring. it's the fact that we had a man begging for his life, in the most polite way possible. >> while they are joking about wiping blood off their hands. i mean, they are literally talking about wiping blood off their hands while he is on the ground, crying for the lord. >> it's ridiculous but guess what, anderson, the blood is on their hands and they are not going to be able to wipe this off. we are going to demand justice. and justice just isn't a check, in this case, anderson. folks need to go to jail behind this and not just those that put their hands on him. who participated in the coverup? and a bigger -- another issue that just vexes me is that the louisiana state police is the

law-enforcement agency that investigates 99% of the use of fo force cases throughout our state. other families in louisiana want to know they can't get answers about their cases. well, the reason why is this. that the folks that are in charge of investigating this. this is what they do within themselves. so what do you think they are doing in cases related to other agencies? >> ms. hardin, do you believe that there will be justice for your son? >> oh, yes. oh, yes. oh, yes. my strength is my son. my -- my strength are my children. and ronnie will forever be with us, in spite of what they did to him and the horrific way he died. he -- he was -- he was such a happy guy. he -- he survived so much. and i just -- i just hate that -- the way he loved people.

he was killed at the hands of people who hated the hell out of him. and killed him because of that. just for the sheer pleasure, and because they -- they get away with that. they weren't even worried about repercussions. they weren't even worried about -- because, god knows what they got away with before ronnie. and the fact that these guys was on payroll and still on there. you know? since ronnie. it says a lot. it says a lot. about the state of louisiana. >> one of the things he said to the police. i couldn't tell if he was still in the vehicle when he said this, or not. but you could hear the terror in his voice. but he said, you're my brother. or -- or we're brothers. >> you're my brother. >> yeah. and clearly, he was saying it to people, who did not view him as a brother, certainly. if a human being, at all.

>> didn't view him as a human being. >> but you know, it's -- it's gut wrenching. i'm sorry. >> no, it's okay, ms. hardin. it's gut wrenching. >> it is. it's so gut wrenching. i don't know if i will ever be able to see the complete videos because it's hard to sleep with all i have seen last year. and all i can say is the state of louisiana and all of the damn folks that run it are continuing to let my family suffer. and i'm -- i'm -- i'm -- there's no words for how mad i am. i'm disgusted. and the fact that they, still, hold seats there and they continue to let this -- to let this run its course. and they want to just let it die away. even those that retired. you know, because they didn't want to face what they did. those that have retired. those that have died. you know, they're still part of this.

it's -- it's disgusting. and -- and there's -- there's -- there's no rationalizing the murder that's caught on film. >> ms. hardin, before i let you go, if you could just, for folks who this is all they know of your son. that, this is all they have heard of him. that's the only time they've heard his voice. can you just tell us a little bit about your son? >> you know, ronnie was a survivor. ronnie. he did so much in life. he wanted to do so much in life. i hate that his to-do list, his checklist was left incomplete. of so much. and through him, we hope to continue. his love of the kids, his love of his daughter, the family, his friends. it was unstoppable.

even folks that he didn't get along with. he went back to -- to speak, to say hi. there -- there was no bridges burnt. you know? he always went back and -- and everyone out there who knows ronnie, knows what i am talking about. he's -- he's someone that -- that it's -- it's horrific. what they did to him. it's just horrific. we'll never get over this. he was such a good guy. >> mona hardin, i appreciate you talking tonight and i can't imagine how difficult it is. and how difficult the last-two years have been. and i -- i just -- i appreciate your strength and thank you for your words. and ron haley, appreciate it. thank you very much for filling us in on the legal side. >> thank you so much, anderson. i want to -- i want to get some law enforcement perspective on what these troopers did as opposed to what they are supposed to do. joining us is cnn law enforcement analyst, charsles ramsey. also, former new orleans mayor and former lieutenant governor

of louisiana, mitch landrieu. chief ramsey, you said last night on this program that what happened in louisiana was clearly an excessive use of force. we have now seen even more video. what do you think? >> well, i mean, there's no justification for what took place. it is an excessive use of force, from excessive use of the taser. to punching and kicking the individual, leaving him in a prone position for an extended period of time. dragging him by his ankles. i mean, it's just one thing, after the other. that, this is just, totally, unjustified. now, they allege he was in a high-speed pursuit. but even if he was in a high speed pursuit, there is no excuse for that kind of behavior and that kind of conduct. i don't know if this superintend pt o superintendant was the person in place but the leadership of that agency has to be held accountable, as well. this may be the first time we are seeing this tape.

it's not the first time they saw the tape. and so, my understanding is it was some minor discipline that was handed out. they couldn't do that unless they saw the tape and if you look at that tape, there is no way you can think this is anything, other than a very serious, possibly even criminal, case that you're -- that you are dealing with. and they need to be held accountable, as well as the governor's office because that's who the state police works for. >> mayor landrieu, you know, as you know, i love louisiana. and -- and i have a lot of friends who are police officers in louisiana. you served as lieutenant governor there. you know how the state police is structured. what -- when you see this, what do you think? and what can be done? >> well, couple of things. first of all, pms. hardin, i am profoundly -- for the loss of your son. that videotape is -- is horrific. i completely agree with commissioner ramsey. there are a couple things, anderson, that i would like to say. first, what we do know. the limited amount that we do no

that we saw is clearly an excessive use of force. notwithstanding the fact that there was a high-speed chase. the state police are really trained to stop high-speed chases, as carefully as they can. but once that stops, there is no -- there was nothing necessary about the excessive use of force. let me tell you what we don't know. we don't know what they tried to cover up and we do know that they lied about what they thought the injuries were when they brought him to the hospital. here's what we should know. there should be a full-blown, open investigation. and chuck ramsey knows this. he is the best in the country about this. the more open, the more transparent, the quicker you get information out. and then, you make sure people are held accountable. it's critically important. that behavior that those police officers used was a besmirchment to every other man and woman in law enforcement and i think the governor needs to take a really strong stand on this and actually basically, go through the hiring practices. the training practices, use-of-force practices and impose standards for police officers to interrupt behavior of other officers as well

because this has been going on for a long time. and i don't think anything short of that is really going to suffice in this particular instance because we are two years into this. >> that's the thing, mayor landrieu. you just think about all the other incidences like this, probably, that have occurred and we will never know about them. because the initial-police reports, i mean, we have seen in the george floyd case. we have certainly seen it here. the initial-police reports are lies. you know, apparently, the coroner didn't even have an incident report from -- from the officers. that -- that wasn't forthcoming. it just seems like, this is just -- goes on and on. >> well, think about this. what -- what if -- what if there wasn't a body camera? do you know how many instances, you know, take place that we don't even capture? that's one of the reasons why i think every police officer should be wearing a body camera so we can know. also, the initial police report in the george floyd case didn't come close to describing what happened that day so i think chuck and i agree on this. we have talked about it before. there has to be really serious

retraining of police officers. they have to -- we have to get to a very important point where we actually hire the right people, supervise them correctly, and then hold them accountable. and the use-of-force policies have to be revisited in every department in the country whether it's in a big city or whether it's in a rural county in the country. >> mitch landrieu, appreciate it. charles ramsey as well. still to come tonight. someone once close, very close, to former congressman matt gaetz is now talking with federal prosecutors. what she is saying and what a former associate has already told authorities investigating the florida republican on allegations of sex trafficking. and later, we are going to keep ted cruz honest. the republican senator, well, used a slur while fawning over the russian-male physique. even retweeting right-wing, russian propaganda to disparage women in the u.s. military. yeah. it's a lot.

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we have breaking news now on the federal investigation into republican congressman matt gaetz. people familiar with the matter tell cnn authorities have now skurd the cooperation of a key witness. someone once very close to gaetz, who may be able to shed light on activities now under scrutiny. also, former close associate, joel greenberg told authorities as part of a recent plea agreement with the justice department. o pamela, what have you learned? >> anderson, this could potentially be a damaging development. his ex-girlfriend, a capitol hill staffer, has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators. and here is why that matters. she is viewed by investigators, as a critical witness, who has been linked to gaetz as far back as the summer of 2017. and as we know, that is a key-time period, investigators are scrutinizing. she could help investigators understand the relevance of

hundreds of transactions they have obtained as part of the investigation, including those involved-alleged payments for sex, these sources said. speaking to my colleagues. so, this is a significant development in the gaetz investigation. and it shows that this investigation isn't over, anderson. >> also, we are learning, i understand, more about matt gaetz's former associate, joel greenberg. who -- what -- what he has told investigators. >> that's right. in recent days, anderson, the justice department formally entered in a plea agreement with joel greenberg. his entanglement with young women first put investigators on the radar. congr congressman aits gaetz and at least two other men are sexual contact with a 17-year-old girl. that allegation by greenberg described to cnn by multiple people familiar with the matter is referenced, briefly, in this 86-page plea agreement that a federal judge accepted monday.

but prosecutors did not include any names in the court filing so the sources told us one of the names is gaetz. as you know, congressman gaetz has repeatedly denied he ever had sex with a minor or paid for sex. a spokesman for gaetz says congressman gaetz has never had sex with a minor, and has never paid for sex. mr. greenberg now pleaded guilty to falsely accusing someone else of sex with a minor. that person was innocent. so is congressman gaetz. anderson. >> so, do we have any sense of when charges could potentially come down and what kind of timeline the gaetz investigation is on? >> well, sources tell us, anderson, that the investigation, the timeline, has actually been elongated potentially through the summer. that even as of this month, they are speaking to new witnesses. they want to get more information on the transactions and communications of -- of gaetz and other people that they are looking at in this investigation. now, of course, ultimately, it will be the public-integrity section investigators there, prosecutors there, at doj, to decide if they have sufficient evidence to bring an indictment. but we are told that the timeline has been extended, as

they speak to new witnesses. anderson. >> pamela brown, appreciate it. thanks so much. perspective now from elie honig, former assistant u.s. attorney and cnn senior legal analyst. so, elie, how big a deal is it that matt gaetz's ex-girlfriend is now cooperating with investigators? >> it is a huge deal, anderson. joel greenberg's cooperation, already, was bad news for matt gaetz. but this could be even worse. this could be truly disastrous and here's why. joel greenberg is a brutal-cooperating witness. i've dealt with dozens of cooperators in my career. some really bad guys. but given the conduct that joel greenberg has now admitted and been convicted of. he is a really tough witness to bank a case on. i mean -- >> when you say brutal, you mean he's -- when you say brutal, you mean like he's so sleazy that he -- his credibility's such a bad issue for prosecutors? >> exactly. exactly, anderson. his cross-examination will be a nightmare for prosecutors. because he is their witness, now. now, none of that applies to this ex-girlfriend. she hasn't pled guilty to criminal conduct. she hasn't -- she doesn't have

any, serious credibility issues that we know of like joel greenberg has. and if she testifies consistently with joel greenberg, she will reinforce and corroborate his testimony so this is a major development for the prosecutors. >> so, right. if she corroborates claims from joel greenberg, even if his -- joel greenberg's credibility is, you know, hard to swallow. what would that mean, though, for how prosecutors proceed? i mean, if she does have corroborating information? >> yeah. exactly, anderson. they are going to be -- if they are mutually reinforcing, that's a key thing you argue to a jury. you stand up and say, to a jury, look, joel greenberg's a horrible guy, no question about it. should you take him at his word? not necessarily. but if he is backed up by someone like the ex-girlfriend, who is reliable. or importantly, by documents, by texts, by photographs. and those are all referenced in joel greenberg's plea agreement. then, you can say to a jury, now, you can bank on joel greenberg has unseemly as he is. >> and as pamela brown reported,

greenberg told investigators that gaetz and at least two other men had sexual contact with a 17-year-old. how does that impact the overall investigation? >> this is really important to understand. once prosecutors are at the point that they're at now, with joel greenberg. he has signed as a cooperator, they have signed a cooperation agreement. they are all in on joel greenberg. that means as a prosecutor, you have decided, you credit, you believe you can support everything he's told you. it's not a case of, well, we believe 90% of what he said but we don't credit the other-10%. so, if he has told prosecutors that about matt gaetz's conduct with a minor. that means prosecutors believe it and are ready to bank on it. >> and gaetz, obviously, has denied any wrongdoing. has not been charged with anything, at this point. do you have a sense of how quickly charges could come down? because the family was saying they may be extending the timeline through the summer. >> yeah, that makes sense, anderson. as i read the joel greenberg cooperation papers, they are so detailed. my prosecutorial instinct told me they are getting close.

they have a lot of information. on the other hand, investigations have a way of spiraling and standing. and you may be now cooperate the ex-girlfriend. she may lead to other leads. so, one of the nice things about being a federal prosecutor is you do have the luxury of time. they are not up against any statute of limitations here. so they can build their case up. i think summer, mid-summer, end of summer sounds, to me, like a reasonable and likely timeline. >> elie honig, appreciate it. thanks. senator ted cruz taking incoming fire from veterans after touting a right wing propaganda video, comparing russian to american troops. retired american three-star general joins us. keeping 'em honest, ahead.

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land o' frost premium. fresh look. same great taste. one of the many perks of this job is being able to highlight the intelligence, compassion, decency, and courage of our elected officials. and then, there's tonight and ted cruz. when last, we caught up with the junior senator from texas his constituents were freezing. some dying in dark unheated homes during the state's worst winter disaster in recent memory. as for the senator, he just high tailed it to a seaside resort in cancun. lying about why he was leaving, and at the same time, blaming his 10 and 12-year-old daughters, which is kind of amazing, still. i still think about that. then, when the outcry got loud enough to hear over the roar of the ocean, back home with police protection. father's day, by the way, june 20th. these days, the man, whose own

colleagues don't even bother trying to say anything nice about him has found a new way of showing contempt for the people he serves and who serve us, all, in uniform. he retweeted a tiktok of a russian man doing military training with a u.s. army video aimed at showing a very-american notion that our troops, in this case, a woman raised by same-sex parents, come from all walks of life. and this is a source of strength. holy crap. perhaps, a woke, emasculated military is not the best idea. according to a researcher quote in "the washington post," the video has actually been circulating for some time on far-right social media. he tells "the post" the clip appeared repeatedly in channels. so, that's where, maybe, senator cruz got 'em. but not content to carry water for this country's enemies. senator cruz then decided to go for the old, anti-gay slur. we have the greatest military on earth but dem politicians and woke media are trying to turn them into pansies.

a word, i'm quite sure, he is familiar with from his youth. to which one military mom tweeted a photo replying my son, the pansy, is pictured here, furthest right. now, keeping him honest, that is one photo you will never see ted cruz in because he thought about it. then, thought the better of it. >> i did. considered it a number of times. in fact, in college, i will say, it's something i always regretted. i -- i wished i had spent time in the service. it's something i respect immensely. >> i bet he does wish he served because it would be better for him, politically, now. but spent a lot of time in college imagining himself in a uniform? well, maybe that. but probably not to actually serve. he was clearly too busy in college, involved with other, manly, un-pansy-like pursuits. in the daily beast, former

classmates recall him wandering halls with a paisley bath robe. and while he didn't join rotc, he did join princeton university's american wig debate panel and he was a member of the colonial eating club. then, when he graduated, he went to harvard law school. joining us now, mark hurtling. general hurtling, i mean, i always, for somebody who -- i -- you know -- when somebody doesn't serve, i don't know that it's a great idea to be attacking people, who did serve. even if you're -- don't think they should be in the military. or don't think that their parents should have had them. he's promoting the russian military, at the expense of the american military. it's -- what do you make of this? >> anderson, you know, my -- my initial reaction when -- i don't follow senator cruz on twitter. but a couple of soldiers who i serve with do. and they sent me the tweet. my initial thoughts. i had a visceral reaction. this is senator cruz, as you

said, using a propaganda video, produced on a dark website using russian soldiers from a draft army. as a model of what real soldiers look like. it's senator cruz insulting what has been a very successful army-marketing campaign to recruit new soldiers. when he doesn't understand how those young soldiers think or how those young civilians who think who are thinking about coming into the military. it's senator cruz, as you just said, who hasn't served in uniform. disparaging the military. you -- you said it right -- right, anderson. you know, when you -- when i hear someone says, oh, you know, i really would have liked to have joined the army but, you know, i just didn't get around to it. or, gee, i wish i could have served with you. you know that's a tell they really didn't even think about it when they were younger because they had better things to do. but finally, it's senator cruz insulting an active-duty army soldier. who has volunteered to defend our country, by all rights, by everyone who says something

about her says she is a supersoldier. and she serves in the patriot missile battery. and one of the soldiers who wrote me said they thought that corporal could likely kick senator cruz's ass. i shouldn't repeat that because that's pretty unprofessional. but also, as you said, cements what many of senator cruz' colleagues say about him, and that he has had a very successful personality bypass operation. >> yes. i mean, he was basically saying a woman who graduated at the top of her class who happens to have two moms, somehow, isn't tough enough to be in the united states army. and by the way, is sort of praising russia's army, which has an atrocious human-rights record. not only for how it treats in places it serves. but for the way it treats its own troops. i mean, it is legendarily awful and torturous for their own soldiers. >> yeah. they have -- it's interesting because i spent some time with

russian-military units when i was commanding in europe. and what i found was, they -- they usually have a one-year commitment. it is a draft army. all of them -- truthfully -- well, i can't say all. but the soldiers i talked to absolutely hated being in the military. they only were there -- they only stayed past a year, if they didn't have any other way to make money. and it is a military, whose discipline is, truthfully, horrible. that's the assessment that, i think, most-military commanders will make that has ever -- that have ever dealt with the russian military. so, yeah. comparing them to the russian military. senator cruz doing that was not a good idea. not real cool. >> cruz's office in a statement to cnn said, quote, senator cruz passionately supports the brave men and women of the united states military and has repeatedly expressed concerns that democrat politicians, left-wing bureaucrats, and the media are politicizing our armed forces to promote a fringe-woke

agenda based on identity politics. our military should be focused on winning wars and we endanger our national security and service members when they focus on anything else. i mean, certainly, the argument for the military. i remember, back in the '90s, those arguments going on and those arguments were being made that this is distracting from the mission. you know? and it's weakening american forces. has any of that proven true? >> no, it has not. and -- and this is the interesting piece, because my visceral reaction was focused on the tactical reaction that i had. but when you look at, what is the strategy of senator cruz and others of his ilk? it's attacking the diversity and values in the military, which they really don't understand, all that well. and which has made us one of the better militaries in the world. and interestingly enough, because of the divisiveness that people, like senator cruz, have seeded throughout the country. we are seeing more and more recruits coming in with a

radical approach. some extremist views. racism and sexism context. as they arrive in the military. and one of the things that we attempt to do build force cohesion and unit cohesion, very quickly. because that's what the military needs to do. so, what cruz is really doing is he is attacking secretary austin and those who are trying to understand how do we better build a force that is koecohesi ready to fight, and oh, by the way, also prepared to live by the military values. you know, anderson, i have stories from soldiers throughout the years, whose service to the nation. and what -- why they joined would bring tears to your eyes. >> yeah. >> their loyalty. their dedication. their selfless service. their respect for others, their courage. all of the things we have seen go by the wayside, recently, in our society. we are trying to continue to build, in the military. but we're doing it, in a force that comes from our own society.

so it takes a little bit more effort to make sure those kind of views come together in a cohesive unit. >> yeah. lieutenant general mark hurtling, appreciate it. attacks on jews being reported in this country even as a delicate cease-fire between israel and gaza appears to be holding. the latest on these assaults, in a moment. makes it brilliant. the visionary lexus nx. lease the 2021 nx 300 for $349 a month for 36 months. experience amazing, at your lexus dealer. cal: we've saved our money, and now we get to spend it our way. val: but we worry if we have enough to last. for retirement planning, investment advice, and more, look for a cfp® professional. cfp® professionals can help you craft a complete financial plan that gives you confidence today and tomorrow. find your cfp® professional at letsmakeaplan.org. cal: our confident forever plan is possible with a cfp® professional. ♪

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a short time ago president biden says he's praying the cease-fire between israel and palestinians will hold. despite clashing today after friday prayer. where 20 were injured. the violence lasted eleven days. the truce does appear to be holding. according to the hamas-run ministry of health, 66 children died in militant fire. the conflict also appears to have led to anti-semitic attacks in the united states including one near times square during a protest. a 29-year-old jewish man was punched, kicked, and pepper sprayed on thursday. people yelled anti-semitic comments. and participated in the attack.

one arrest has been made. here is the latest on how the violence overseas appears to have fueled attacks at home. >> free palestine! >> reporter: pro-palestinian demonstrations turned violent. in new york city, a 29-year-old man wearing a yarmulke beaten by individuals on thursday, some chanting "f" jews, "f" israel. >> they were wailing on my head. one 23-year-old is under arrest, facing numerous charges, including one related to a hate crime according to a law enforcement source. in los angeles, police investigating a possible hate crime after a pro-palestinian demonstration turned violent with some protesters shouting "death to jews" and israel kills children. one witness telling cnn pro-palestinian protesters started throwing bottles at diners seated outside who were jewish.

a fragile cease-fire between israel and hamas may bring the temperature down here. but protests and allegations of anti-semitism on a sharp rise according to the antidefamation league. in vegas, miami, tucson, and long island, protests and reports of hate crimes as tension and violence a half a world away continues to incite anger here. >> we're literally tracking more than a 50% increase in anti-semitic acts over the past week. >> reporter: the council on american islamic relations says there have been incidents of violence against muslims as well and condemns anyone on any side of an issue who engages in hate speech, intimidation, or violence. the new york police department says that in total in new york last night, 26 people were arrested. some of them pro-israel, some of them pro-palestinian. the hope is, if that cease-fire holds in the middle east, the anger here, the violence here, will also calm down.

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there's growing evidence tonight that believers in the conspiracy movement known as qanon have also established something of a foothold with at least some members of the christian evangelical community. wrapped up in christian nationalism. at the same time some pastors are fighting back, saying it has no place in what they preach. cnn correspondent donie o'sullivan has been investigating and files this report. >> this was the flag that went into the senate when the doors were broken. the christian flag. >> amen! >> they thought they were doing the work of god because pastors and leaders have lied to them. nothing in scripture leads us to claim a political system in the name of christ through force. >> i don't like to get off track and off the bible but as a

pastor i do have to guard the flock. and so the one that i wanted to speak to as far as conspiracies is the qanon conspiracy. >> reporter: is qanon compatible with christianity? >> no, because it's a false belief system, almost a religion, but it's not. true christianity is that jesus christ is our ultimate hope, not "q," not donald trump, not any other person. >> reporter: months after the january 6 insurrection, qanon lives on, and it's more popular than evangelicals than people of other religions. do you think particularly for people of faith, that there is a specific appeal? >> the biblical world view is that there is a god who is in control of the whole world and one day jesus is going to come back. he's going to judge the wicked. then you look at -- my understanding of qanon belief is there is a "q" who knows everything and donald trump is going to come back and judge the wicked