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Morning News

Election 2000: Republican Recount Observers Scuffle with Police at Miami-Dade Recount Operations

Aired November 22, 2000 - 10:08 a.m. ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, just to add a little more drama to this whole situation, a scuffle took place in Miami. Republican recount observer had a little scuffle with police this morning as the recount operations were being moved to a new room in the courthouse. Let's take look at the video first.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Let us in! Let us in! Let us in!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: We're joined now by our Frank Buckley. He's on the phone with us.

Frank, what happened here? Was anyone arrested? What was the situation?

FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We've got, again, a quickly developing situation here in the Miami-Dade County building. That group, the Republican observers, who are protesting upstairs, were trying to get into the area where the canvassing board was moving its vote or ballot recount. It is an area that is glass-enclosed. And it is behind another office area.

The Republicans were trying to get into that area to see -- to observe what was going on. They were not being allowed in. Many reporters, including this reporter, were not being allowed in. Some reporters were able to get in, and the canvassing board was preparing to reconvene in that area.

Because of the great public interest, according to county officials here, they have now decided to move the canvassing board operation, once again, back down from the 19th floor, where they were moving their operation, back to the 18th floor. That information just coming from county official, who say because of the great public interest, and -- in responding to this public protest, they have decided to move their -- their canvassing operation, again, back down to the 18th floor, where they have been conducting it for the past two days.

Another development. We are now on the ground floor, where a Democratic attorney for the Democrats, Joe Geller (ph), has been surrounded by police, crime scene tape has been put up around him, and police are now interviewing him.

They've asked him to open his jacket because he was back in that office area and a Republican, by the name of Duane Gibson (ph), fingered him and said he has a ballot. The allegation that he had taken a ballot from the canvassing area and was trying to get on an elevator on the 19th floor. He was followed down to the ground floor, where police confronted him. He has now been surrounded. A Democratic Party spokesperson here just told me this is a false allegation. He does not have a ballot. He believes this is just a -- a moment of heated passion on behalf of Republicans. But, Geller refuses to open his jacket, saying he has a right not to be searched.

So this situation here has gone from a vote recount to a Democratic attorney here being surrounded now on the ground floor of the Miami-Dade County building, All of the Republican observers and now some bystanders are now gathering around this crime scene tape, as police interview this attorney, Joe Geller -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Frank, it sounds like you are in the middle of prison riot. Are you getting a feeling that this is out of control? This seems quite unusual. Everything has been pretty calm to this point.

BUCKLEY: We don't want to overstate what's happening. But clearly, this is a raucous crowd. It was raucous and confined crowd on the 19th floor with people trying to get into the room where the canvassing board was going to commence operations.

I am told by a county spokesman that the -- none of the ballots were opened at that -- as the canvassing board attempted to reconvene. They could clearly hear the crowd. The Republican observers who are outside yelling, screaming, chanting, they were chanting phrases like "The world is watching." They were also saying "Cheaters." They were saying "Let us in."

That group of Republican observers, these are the observers who have been a part of this process of observing the actual count, who are now being told, after the Miami-Dade Canvassing Board's decision to just look at the undercount, they were no longer need. Many of them were outraged and they wanted to continue to at least be able to observe the process. They felt they were being excluded. That's where some of this anger is coming from -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: All right, lots happening there, obviously, in Miami.

Frank, we are going to ask you to stand by, and we are going to check back in with you, as you are monitoring the situation.

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