and we know with respect even to the federal charges, we heard wanda cooper jones said let's not thnkwe can't do anything but i think applaud wanda cooper jones for her tenacity and the way she persevered for this case. that shouldn't be the way federal civil rights cases have to come to trial. we rely upon our justice department to prosecute those cases, particularly cases like this where the racial animus is so evident. so hopefully there will be more prosecutions but hopefully it will send a message to the justice department to do its job. >> that racial animus would not have come out if the federal trial hadn't happened. none of that was in play. >> she's amazing. she has been amazing during this whole process having to fight for justice for her own son. jury deliberations are going to begin today in the federal trial of the three former minneapolis police officers involved in george floyd's murder in 2020. how strong a case did the state make? >> well, they took a different turn with respect to this case than what we saw in the case of derek chauvin. these officers are pointing t

because of marcus, so we'll take a few of your questions, but this moment really belongs to wanda cooper jones and marcus arbery. you will hear first from the queen, wanda cooper jones. all right. >> i want to first say thank you to everyone who stood by us for this fight for justice for ahmad. it's been a very long, stressful fight, but the members of the community, for the city of brunswick, the state of georgia, for the people who stood with us through the nation of the united states of america, we couldn't have -- we wouldn't have this -- we would not be standing here today without each and every one of you. i want to address -- i now want to address the members of the doj. i'm very thankful that you guys brought these charges of hate crime, but back on january the 31st you guys entered a plea deal with these three murderers who took my son's life. marcus and two of ahmad's aunties stood before the court and begged the judge not to -- to take a plea deal that the doj -- that the doj went before the judge and asked them to take a plea deal with these guys. attorney ben crump just called her

this is because of wanda and marcus, we'll take your questions but this moment really belongs to wan da cooper jones and marcus. >> i want to first say thank you to everyone who stood by us for this fight for justice for ahmaud. it's been a very long, stressful fight for the members of the community, for the city of brunswick, the state of georgia, for the people who stood with us through the nation of the united states of america. we couldn't have, we wouldn't, we would not be standing here today without each and every one of you. i want to address, i now want to address the members of the doj i'm very thankful that you guys brought these charges of hate crime, but back on january 31st, you guys accepted a plea deal with these three murderers who took my son's life. marcus and two of ahmaud's aunties stood before the courts and begged the judge not to take a plea deal. that the doj, that the doj went before the judge and asked them to take a plea deal with these guys. attorney ben crump just called these women, her name kristen clark, as i went to brunswick on that sunday afternoon, i spoke to kris

my heart goes out to his parents, miss wanda cooper-jones, and mr. marcus arbery senior for the unimaginable hurt they have endured. upon its founding after the civil war during reconstruction, the justice department was tasked with bringing to justice those who used terror and violence to prevent black americans from exercising their civil rights. the white supremacists who carried out those acts assumed that they could operate outside the bounds of the law. modern federal hate crime laws have enhanced the justice department's authority to prosecute violent acts motivated by bias. throughout our history and to this day, hate crimes have a singular impact because of the terror and fear that they inflict on entire communities. the justice department does not investigate or prosecute people because of their ideology or the views they hold, no matter how vile. but the justice department does have the authority and will not hesitate to act when individuals commit violent acts based on bias or hate. no one in this country should have to fear the threat of

wolf, you had wanda cooper jones on your show several times.shown without, she keeps fighting. she said this is not over yet. the d.a. involved in this case faces a court date of her own. this entire family is rallying behind this. and let's not forget, tomorrow is the two year anniversary. the family plans to march more, they want to continue fighting in the name of ahmaud arbery. >> ryan young. excellent report, thank you very, very much. joining us, ben crump, the attorney representing ahmaud arbery's father. thank you as usual for joining us. you were there. take us in the courtroom, ben. what was it like for the arbery family as the verdict was being read? >> well, it was awfully emotional. his mother wanda wept. his father marcus had an audible outburst if you were sitting close to him, he said thank you, god. wolf, this has been a two year journey for them to get to this point where they can tell their son as they look up in heaven we did it, we got you justice. >> this case would never have been heard as you well know, ben, had it not b

prosecution to accept a plea deal and would not have this trial but ahmaud arbery's mother, wanda cooper jones see who the men were who killed her son because those social media posts and text messages that you're talking about, bianna, were not really included in the state trial. the state focused on that viral video of the killing of ahmaud arbery. they didn't dive deep into the racial aspect and his mother, ahmaud arbery's mother, said the world needs to know who these men are and who they were when they killed my son. that's why we have this federal hate crimes trial. so the impact, the significance of having a family dialled in and talking to the prosecution and being vocal mattered so much in this particular case. to your second question, bianna, about the impact of social media and text messages, it shows the jury who these men were, not just on the day that they encountered ahmaud arbery but for the years leading up to them. it showed them the 20 witnesses that the prosecution brought forth who also could corroborate those statements that they made and text messages and the social medi

you can hear wanda cooper jones saying they will continue to fight moving this case forward. was sitting behind them in court, you could feel their emotions. marcus and wanda cooper jones as each guilty verdict was read. on the other side of the court, you could see the mcmichael family crumbling. even some of the jurors became emotional. ryan young, cnn, brunswick, georgia. >>> in washington, former u.s. president donald trump has lost the latest legal battle to keep the records out of the committee investigating the january 6th insurrection. the u.s. supreme court decided on tuesday it would not hear the case. >>> a winter storm is pushing temperatures below freezing for much of the u.s. right now. pedram javaheri has the latest forecast just ahead. >>> over 10 million americans underneath wind chill alerts in places where you expected 25 to 50 below in places you don't expect in northern texas, parts of northern oklahoma as cold as 15 below. we'll break this down with details coming up in a few minunutes. i hit a patch in my life where we lost our homeme, we lost our clothe

attorney general merrick garland was asked about wanda cooper jones' criticism of the da.t to go back to the doj. i told the doj that, yes, they were prosecutors. one thing they didn't have, they didn't have a son that was lying in a cold grave, and they still didn't hear my cry. >> i cannot imagine the pain that a mother feels to have her son run down and then gunned down while taking a jog on a public street. my heart goes out to her and to the family. that's really all i can say about this. >> so you heard the ag there getting emotional but not directly answering back to the criticism from ahmaud arbery's mother. this isn't over. the family says they'll be watching the case of the former district attorney. we saw jackie johnson facing charges now because she decided not to move forward with an investigation and charge the three men originally when ahmaud arbery was initially killed. dana? >> nadia romero, i heard ben crump, the attorney, say this is the first time the federal hate crimes law has been used where you are in georgia. a small piece of justice for ahmaud arb

his mother, wanda cooper jones, saying this. >> i think it's going to be a long, long, hard trial. a whole lot of hard evidence is going to come into play, so i got to be prepared for that. >> it is a big show, and we've got a lot more to come on all of that tonight. our clarissa ward is going to join us in a little bit. i want to bring in general wesley clark. thank you so much. we appreciate you joining. >> good to be with you. >> let's talk about russia has an estimated 130,000 troops along ukraine's border, and pentagon spokesperson john kirby says that putin has added at least a half dozen landing ships in the black sea with the purpose of putting troops onshore. they are talking diplomacy but advancing into attack positions. >> right. this is a moment of maximum pressure against ukraine. so he's got the military machine moving. he's moving it to its attack position. the world is on edge. people in ukraine are starting to take this seriously. it could be very damaging. what he wants is the collapse of the government in ukraine or president zelensky say, we give up on nato, or

you heard a short time ago, wanda cooper jones taking the moment to tutput the department justice onng for the plea deal. it's something merrick garland addressed, seeming to choke back tears of emotion. >> i cannot imagine the pain that a mother feels to have her son run down and then gunned down while taking a jog on a public street. my heart goes out to her and to the family. that's really all i can say about this. >> reporter: after the verdict, wanda cooper jones said this message was more important than just brunsbawick that this sent message to the world that racism will not be tolerated. i asked what kind of message does this send to the district attorney who was charged for covering this incident up, refusing to prosecute this case, initially. she said that to jackie johnson, you covered up a murder and her attorney ben krump added we're coming for you next, jackie johnson. >> thank you very much. >>> we have more on the breaking news from washington. president biden announcing new sanctions on russia after vladmir putin ordered troops into parts of ukraine. stay with us.

because of marcus, so we'll take a few of your questions, but this moment really belongs to wanda cooper jonesueen, wanda cooper jones. all right. >> i want to first say thank you to everyone who stood by us for this fight for justice for ahmad. it's been a very long, stressful fight, but the members of the community, for the city of brunswick, the state of georgia, for the people who stood with us through the nation of the united states of america, we couldn't have -- we wouldn't have this

. >> reporter: arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, angry the justice department initially agreed to that would have let the mcmichaels serve the first part of their sentences in federal custody. the judge took it off the table after the arbery family objected, saying the conditionse in federal prisons are safer. prosecutors describe the men as vigilantes, motivated by racial hatred. defense attorneys suggested they chased arbery only because they suspected him of a crime. attorney general merrick garland today calling the verdict a victory against hate. >> all of us have a moral obligation to combat the hatred and bigotry that motivates those crimes. >> reporter: tomorrow will be two years since arbery was killed. cooper-jones says she's relieved by the verdict, but for a mom, there is no healing. when are the hardest moments for you, wanda? >> waking up every morning, knowing that ahmaud is gone, and he's not going to be here today, like he wasn't here yesterday. >> reporter: arbery's mom told me it was difficult to sit through a second trial, to see the evidence all over again and

. >> reporter: arbery's mother, wanda cooper-jones, angry the justice department initially agreed to a plea deal that would have let the mcmichaels serve the first part of their sentences in federal custody. the judge took it off the table after the arbery family objected, saying the conditions in federal prison are safer. prosecutors described the men as vigilantes motivated by racial hatred. defense attorneys suggested they chased arbery only because they suspected him of a crime. attorney general merrick garland today calling the verdict a victory against hate. >> all of us have a moral obligation to combat the hatred and bigotry that motivates those crimes. >> reporter: tomorrow will be two years since arbery was killed. cooper-jones says she's relieved by the verdict but for a mom there is no healing. when are the hardest moments for you, wanda? >> waking up every morning, knowing that ahmaud is gone and he's not going to be here today like he wasn't here yesterday. >> reporter: arbery's mom told me it was difficult to sit through a second trial, to see the evidence all over aga

wanda cooper jones, thank you so much. >> thank you. >>> meanwhile, stocks are tumbling, oil prices are of the crisis in ukraine. what will all of this mean for you? that's next. over nine acres. when we started, we grew a quarter of an acre. now i'm taking on new projects on the regular. there are millions of ways to make the most o of your lan. learn more at deere.com nenew vicks convenience pack. dayquil severe for you... and dadaily vicks super c for m. vicks super c is a daily supplement with vitamin c and b vitamins to help energize and replenish. dayquil severe is max strength daytime, coughing, power through your day, medicine. new from vicks. getting the incredible ione 13 without t-mobile, makes as much sense - as playing hide-in-seek... - ready or not, here i come. ...in the desert. really guys? t-mobile has more 5g bars in more places. and now, when you switch, you can get iphone 13 on us at t-mobile. your shipping manager left to “find themself.” leaving you lost. you need to hire. i need indeed. indeed you do. indeed instant match instantly delivers quality candidates matc

that was one of the selling points when the department of justice was trying to convince wanda cooper jones this was a plea deal that she should look forward to because she would finally get to hear the truth about the racial motivations of these men but as she said from the courtroom today, she gets no benefit of hearing how racist these men were. she has the outcome she's looking for. these men are serving the rest of their lives behind bars and she doesn't want to do them any benefit. she didn't want to do them any favors allowing them to transfer to their preferred location. >> lee, thank you so much. best to the family. appreciate you appearing. >>> two police officers in bridge port, connecticut suspended for mishandling the investigations into the deaths of two black women. activists are pointing to a bigger problem within the police department. custom gear from custom ink can help make the most of these moments. we've developed new tools to make it easy for you. custom ink has hundreds of products to help you feel connected. upload your logo or start your design today at customink.c

as i said, wanda cooper jones will be with us probably next week. a mishap last moment, and couldn't be with us tonight. up next, my final thoughts. stay with us. up next, my final a place where dirt stays outside. and floors are protected. where standing is comfortable. stay with us es a mark. it's spotless under the sink. and kids can be kids. order your american made products at weathertech.com. i heard they're like a peach a little bit. is tim okay??? we got the new my gm rewards card. so, everything we buy has that new car smell. -stahp. -i will not. food's here! this smells like a brand-new car! yup. best-in-class rewards, and a great way toward your next chevrolet, buick, gmc or cadillac. and with all those points on everything we buy... ...we're thinking suv. with leather! a new kind of appreciation with that new car smell. >> as i preached at the church that i grew up in an activism this morning, the baptist church in brooklyn, reverend adolfus lacey. i was meant to meet reverend william jones. i prayed for the people in ukraine, but i also

joining me now is wanda cooper-jones, ahmaud arbery's mother, and mark maguire, attorney for ahmaud arbery'sly. thank you both for joining us. miss cooper-jones, i'm so happy that you're here. i'm honored that you're here. and watching you today was just amazing. how are you feeling? >> i'm exhausted, but i'm thankful. >> yeah. the evidence in this case was damning. it took the jury just a little over three hours to determine the three men pursued and murdered your son, sadly, because of his race. how are you feeling tonight about the verdict? >> again, very thankful that the doj presented the case very well and they came out with a very good verdict. >> yeah. you know, this trial almost didn't happen. and really it happened because of you. you pushed back after the justice department accepted a plea deal with the mcmichaels. tell us why it was so important for you to have the full trial. >> the criminal trial actually showed everyone what happened on the streets of satilla shores on the 23rd of february. but this hate crime trial actually showed the world what was going on in the minds of t

attorney general reacting to today's verdict and wanda cooper jones' comments on the doj. >> the justicehen gunned down while taking a jog on a public street. >> and remember, today's decision and the previous convictions almost did not happen. glen count apolice and local prosecutors did not arrest or charge arbery's killers after they chased and fatally shot him on february 23rd, 2020. when the video bryan recorded of the encounter came out nearly 2 1/2 months later, the georgia bureau of investigations intervened and arrested the mcmichaels first and later arrested bryan. >> we waited without any arrest for 74 days and now today that we're actually here with another guilty verdict, i mean, it's great. >> john, you know, in the state case, you got to see this play out across the world, but in this case, it really was up to us, the reporters, to tell you what happened in court. as i was sitting back in the rows, i'd can see travis mcmichael almost bend over when they said guilty after guilty. then i focused on ahmaud's family. you can see the pain and at the same time the joy they were

georgia, and they have been racial -- but there was no federal hate crime verdict ever until, as wanda cooper jones said, 22, to 2022. she called it super tuesday because it was so significant, you finally have a hate crime conviction that we pray will set a new precedent to have more of these cases brought, where we know that race is a motivating factor. >> ben, i think a lot of people followed the first trial. we saw a lot of the footage of it. we saw a lot of the coverage of it. but we did not know what really was transpiring behind closed wall of the court today. and i read this accounting of what happened inside the courtroom as the verdict was read. this is from the washington post. the jury foreman, a black man from dublin, georgia, was visibly crying as u.s. district judge lisa got b would ask each juror to affirm their votes in the brunswick, georgia courtroom. the man's voice caught as he said, yes, and tears ran on to his face mask. i also heard accounts the prosecutors were crying. can you just tell us what it was like inside the courtroom at this moment in history as you call it? >> it

so this case almost ended with a plea deal fit weren't for his mother wanda cooper jones.e, when you're a federal prosecutor, you're often thinking about very sort of glib phrase of a burden hand worth more than two in a bush. what i mean by that is because there hasn't traditionally been a very difficult burden to prove a hate crime, i suppose they thought if they could secure a guilty plea and evade having to actually try the case, they would able to convey a kind of justice the family in the end. the family was quite resolve. i think they were right to be so. in thinking to themselves, no the reason we have hate crime laws on the books is because they are a different crime. they target with an eye toward somebody's race. it could be you. it could be i or anybody who has a certain characteristic. and for that reason, we codify our discussions about this. we codify the injustice. we codify in the form of saying, hey, we will hold your feet to the fire in a larger, you know, idea about how to secure that verdict. but the prosecutors were likely very reluctant about this no

that means for wanda cooper jones, more hurtful information she would have to sit through. >> she's nonger interested in hearing what they have to say concerning their motivations. we know their attempt to transfer to federal prison is an attempt to avoid the harsh reality of prison life in georgia. federal prisons are less crowded, better funded and generally more amenable to inmates. >> reporter: so now that jury selection begins on monday, it's going forward with this very interesting factor that two of them had intended to plead guilty and they have withdrawn those pleas and they are going forward with a jury pool that has the knowledge that he did actually plead guilty. that raises questions in terms of what that might mean in terms of tainting the jury pool. >> i'm sure for arbery's mom, this only prolongs her grief having to deal with the loss of her son over and over again with these trials. thank you. we appreciate it. >>> ice, snow and even tornadoes up next. we'll look at this massive, powerful storm and concerns about the texas power grid. powerful storm and concerns about

moving forward with a plea deal that involves the significant sentence for these men but for wanda cooper jonesn state of georgia prisons. she knows that time is a little more difficult than what is known as club fed. >> let me ask you this, because there seems to be a discrepancy, you made it clear here on cnn for the state trial that the family opposed a federal plea deal. this is what we heard from the doj from the prosecutor here in which she says that she checked with the attorneys for the family before signing is proposed agreement reflecting the defendants confessions to federal hate crimes. the civil rights division consulted with the victims attorneys. the justice department entered the plea agreement only after the victims attorneys informed me that the family was not opposed to it. to that, you say what? >> we certainly spoke with christine clark. she's an excellent head of the civil rights division and an excellent civil rights attorney. we had a misunderstanding is how we define it. we were familiar with the sentence. the family is fine with the sentencing but transferring confinem

we are that wanda cooper jones was very much against any sort of plea deal., she made a promise to her son that she would get him justice. and she has had to go through an awful lot to get the out comes that we've seen so far and she has repeatedly said if it shows going to court every three years to deal with these men on appeal or several trials after today, and there are additional accountability, she is looking to the trials through the attorney general's office, she is willing do it. >> and a quick piece of context to this, of course pleading guilty would mean that they would admit in open court that they were racially motivated when they chased down and ultimately killed arbery. and i asked would that have brought her any sort of comfort. he says that at this point, she is so adamant that they serve time in a state prison and not be transferred to federal custody. and that is what the plea deal would have allowed. and she says even hearing that had mission in open court would not bring her comfort. she want to see them going to trial. >> thank you. >>>

. >> before we go, you also represent wanda cooper jones, ahmaud arbery's mother.ederal hate crimes trial, and whether it shows a racial motive. >> i believe as wanda and marcus parents have said all along, they lynched him because he was jogging while black. everyone from a 911 call the all of the text mentions say that this was a racially motivated murder, and they should be convicted of a hate crime. >> ben, thank you very much. and again, our thanks to ebony and kai. we appreciate you joining us. best of luck. keep us updated. we want to know what happens. >> thank you. >> absolutely. >>> so the nfl is facing a class action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, so what do they do? they lawyer up. and take this they're going big. they're hiring the first black female attorney general in u.s. history, loretta lynch. it's time for the ultimate sleep number event on the sleep number 360 smart bed. what if i sleep hot? ...or cold? no problem, the sleep number 360 smart bed is temperature balancing so you both sleep just right. and it senses your movements and auto

i remember wanda cooper jones basically saying she would not stop until the killers of her son were broughtthat happened. the jury found the three men guilty. now there's this federal court case. i'm not sure how we move forward on monday because there's jury selection but everyone in this community knows there was a plea deal that the judge basically rejected. that plea deal was pulled back but at one point -- they pulled those pleas back. and ahmaud arbery's father spoke about wanting justice for his son. >> i just got one word to say. all we want is 100% justice to the arbery family. that's all we're looking for. god be the glory. >> so you think about this, ana. this court case will start on monday with jury selection. the last time jury selection was tough here. i talked to the community members before court today. they were telling me they were so happy with the way court moved forward the first time and how this community came together to see justice served. this will happen again as community leaders are going out to the community to make sure they understand how this entire process

outside the courthouse after the verdicts were red, arbery's murder wanda cooper jones said nothing can for that loss. >> healing? i as a mom will never heal, and they gave us a sense of a small victory, but we as a family will never get victory because ahmaud is gone forever. >> reporter: the convictions mean all three men will likely spend the rest of their lives in prison. thamargaret coker, editor in chf of a nonprofit news organize, covered the trial. this jury did not take long to reach their verdict. tell us what it was like inside the courtroom this morning. >> it was extraordinarily emotional, first off, because it's been such a struggle for the arbery family to see justice. two years ago when awe maude was murdered -- ahmaud was murdered on a sunday afternoon on a jog, it took 74 days for anyone to be arrested in large part because local law enforcement, both police ant the district attorneys here, accepted the version of events that the defendants, the killers had given them, which was that they were acting in self-defense. so the arc of justice has moved quite steeply since

and of course for wanda cooper jones, ahmaud arbery's mother, that's a very emotional thing. for proceedings today and likely won't be here throughout jury selection and will possibly come with the actual trial dwelting under way. when i spoke with her attorney lee merritt, he said yes, it's emotional, but if that's what it takes to get her son what she calls full justice, that's what she's willing to do. >> blayne alexander, thank you. >>> up next, new developments in the controversy surrounding joe rogan, spotify removing his episodes that contain racial slurs but saying that do not want to, quote, silence the podcast host. we'll dig into the latest next. ? cut. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. cut. liberty m... am i allowed to riff? what if i come out of the water? liberty biberty... cut. we'll dub it. liberty mutual customizes your car insurance so you only pay for what you need. only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪ - i'm norm. - i'm szasz. [norm] and we live in columbia, missouri. we do consult

cooper-jones, ahmaud arbery's mother. i want your reaction to the testimony in the federal hate crimes trial and whether it shows a racial motive. >> i believe, as wandaaid, all along, they lynched him because he was jogging while black. everything from the 911 call to all the text messages say that this was a racially motivated murder, and they should be convicted of a hate crime. >> ben, thank you very much. and again, our thanks to ebony and kye. we appreciate you are joining us. best of luck. look, keep us updated. we want to know >>> so the nfl is facing a class action lawsuit alleging racial discrimination, so what do they do? they lawyer up. and take this they're going big. they're hiring the first black female attorney general in u.s. history, loreta lynch. et t the e from the start. no expensive dealerships. no comommissions. no pressure. only buying a car on your time knowing the low price you see on our site is the low price you'll get. in fact, this is how our customers have saved literally hundreds of millions of dollars with us versus dealerships. at carvana, we don't just say we're going to save you money, we save you money. stuff. we l