HOT TOPICS | BREAKING: Ben Crump & Nolan Wells Family to Meet With DA!

Hello. Good morning everyone. Welcome to Hot Topics, 10 a.m. Eastern time. I have been in traffic this morning, so, um, pardon me coming to you a little bit late this morning, but I have lots to talk about. Hi everyone. How are you? Good to see you. Um, good to have you all here. I don't know what's going on. I'm trying to figure out. There we go. So, it's good to have you all here. Welcome to Hot Topics. Make sure you hit the like and the thumbs up because it does affect the algorithm and more people become aware of our conversation and our channel, and that's very important to us. Also, you can let us know where you're streaming from today. Uh, because I want to know where everyone is. Um, we have some very important news to share with you. And I want to follow up on something that we discussed yesterday. I'm trying to get my monitor to work here. Uh, I want to follow up on something that we discussed yesterday and because I think it's really, really, really important. And, um, people felt a certain kind of way about it. Most people felt like, hey, yeah, you know, you're right. This is what this is what we should be doing, uh, and how it should be done. Except for right now, it's not being done in that way. Okay.

So, welcome to the show. Like and subscribe and let's go. Okay, I just literally ran up from the car. So, yesterday on this show, I had a conversation with a friend of ours, you, you know, attorney Monique Presley, you guys know her. We talked about the Nolan Wells case, and I've been thinking about that ever since because there's been a very interesting response to it. Um, and so I've been thinking about everyone, every, ever since, I should say, pardon me, because I think I have to say that I don't agree with her on one piece, on, on one piece of this. Not that investigations take time. She's right about that. Toxicology takes weeks. U, that's chemistry. Nobody is arguing with chemistry. Where I think that she is operating off of an old playbook is on what silence costs in the media environment that we're actually in right now. We're in a different, a whole different type of media environment that I don't think people understand. Understand. Now, I want to talk to you, um, about the cost of that because I think that's really important in a media environment where that we're actually in that they don't really get it right now. And I want to spend some, some real time this morning explaining exactly what I mean because I think it matters for this case and I think it matters for every case that comes after this ongoing case. Everything. Again, like, thumbs up.

Okay. So, so here's the old model. You've got three networks, right? ABC, CBS, NBC, right? And you have a couple of, uh, national newspapers, and then you have mostly local newspaper papers, but those don't come out in real time, right? They have, they, you know, the information is presented later, and you know, you get the afternoon edition, the morning edition. There aren't even afternoon editions anymore. So you got a couple cable outlets, you got a newspaper, maybe two in every city. Um, if a sheriff's department stayed quiet for a week while they worked a case, the public just waited because that's how it was. There was nowhere else for the story to go. There was no competing version of events. Um, no competing version of events going was going to outrun the official one. You just had to wait because there was no infrastructure for a competing version to travel on. Do you understand what I'm saying? I'll say that again. There was nowhere else for the story to go. There was no competing version of events that was going to outrun the official one because there was no infrastructure for a competing version to travel on. Meaning there was no internet. There was no social media. There were no iPhones or cell phones. None of that. Silence was safe then. Silence was actually the responsible choice half the time because the alternative was putting out information before it was even confirmed. Now, I'm going to tell you that that's not necessarily the case anymore. And things move faster. That world, everybody, is gone. No matter how much we like it, I, I don't have a paper here. I love holding a newspaper in my hand and reading it. And then you realize it's the wind is blowing and or you're sitting on the train and you're trying to flip it, or you're on the bus, or whatever it is, and you're like, "Oh, I can just read this off my phone." But I still love reading the newspaper. And some people still do. All right? So I understand it. But that world where there's three different networks and you weigh all that is gone. It has been gone for years. And some parts of this country's institutions have adjusted, and some clearly have not.

So as we sit here and we wait, there is a press conference. We should say, and put up a, um, if you want to put up a chyron that says "Press Conference Pending in the Nolan Wells Case." So, there's a press conference pending after the DA's office interview or meeting that they're going to have. Ben Crump, family going to meet with the DA there. So, let me, let me tell you about the world that we're actually in. Can we just discuss this? Can we go about our, about this program discussing this until we get word that it's going to start? So, here's the world we're actually in. A phone gets a video of an argument on a boat. It is on Snapchat in an hour or less. It's on TikTok by that night or even before then. By the next morning, it has been clipped, captioned, and you guys know what clipping is, right? They clip it, everybody has it on their feeds, they share it, and so thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions of people have seen it and read it and heard it. And for them, that's a narrative. All right? So, by the next morning, it has been clipped, captioned, argued over, and turned into evidence in a case that a sheriff's department hasn't even finished processing. A photo from three weeks before Nolan Wells disappeared gets mistaken for a photo from after. And it takes a magazine. Now, think about this. Think about there. There's a, this whole law enforcement agency, investigative agency, and it takes a magazine, not a law enforcement agency, to pull together metadata, data to correct it. Rolling Stone pulled together metadata to correct it. Wasn't the sheriff's department. And by the time that correction gets out, hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people have already seen the wrong version and they've already formed an opinion about it. So that is not respons. It's not, you know, the internet being irresponsible. That's not that, that's not what that is. Some of it is, but mostly what it is is just what happens now when there is a vacuum. Information moves at the speed of a phone, a cell phone, whether or not, let me just say this. We used to say information moves at the speed of sound. You remember the telephone game, right? And so information now moves with a telephone. And but a telephone is not just a call machine anymore. It's a photograph machine. It's a video machine. It's a go live machine. It's basically a network, a high-tech computer. It is a, it is a network in your pocket. You can click on Instagram and go live whenever you want. You can click on YouTube and go live whenever you want. You can click on Twitter and go live whenever you want. Same thing with Facebook, and you can spread it to as many people watching it, watching it. That person's going to watch it. They may take a clip from it, or they may tell their friend, and so on and so on and so on. So that phone moves at the speed of sound or not, anyone, whether or not any official is talking. The only question is whether the fastest voice is the, the fastest voice in the room is credible. And so the fastest voice in the room or outside needs to jump into the room or speak up in the room as fast as possible. The question is whether the fastest voice in the room is credible. And if the sheriff's department isn't fast, they are not preventing misinformation by staying quiet. They're guaranteeing it because somebody is going to fill that silence, and it's not going to be somebody with a badge and an evidence log or credibility or history. It's going to be a stranger with a theory and a following.

So, here's the heart of the problem. This sheriff led better is asking the public for something. He wants that tipline number shared. He wants people watching this show, watching every show, whether it is in streaming or broadcast or cable. He wants everyone scrolling through every feed to see it and call if they know something. That is completely responsible and reasonable for him to ask. And so Andy, let's put that number up now. It's 228-769-3063. 3063. 228-769-3063. And so I think that's a completely responsible thing to do because I want those tips coming in too, right? But here's the thing. You don't get to ask the public for their eyes and their attention and their help and then tell the same public, in his own words, to a reporter that he won't be rushed by people who are clamoring for information. You can't. You can't conscript people's attention when it is useful to you and then treat their questions as an inconvenience the rest of the time and say, "We only respond to facts and not rumors." You, you can't do that because you're not, you need to respond to the rumors. That's an investigation. I believe that is trying to have it both ways. And here's what compounds it. This is the same sheriff's office that told the public in a, in the very first days that they weren't looking at foul play. What? Before the state autopsy was even finished, before the independent, independent autopsy had even happened, before anyone could possibly know that for certain it wasn't foul play. A former police chief, someone who ran departments in two major cities, went on national television, and they call that a, a poor choice of words. It is a poor choice of words. Now, probably didn't mean it, or maybe he did. Who knows? Maybe he did mean it. I don't know at this point. That man, that professional, I believe, was being generous. What it actually did was hand the public a conclusion before there was evidence to support one and then ask everyone to trust the process going forward. So what I'm saying is, and I hope you understand it because it's important not just for this case, it's important for the world that we live in right now. You can't frontload a verdict and then complain that people don't trust the process. So he said, "Hey, we're not, we're looking at foul play." And everybody's like, "Wait, whoa, what?" And then you're say, you're saying you're not going to respond to rumor and innuendo when you created some of that rumor and innuendo.

Now, let me talk about who is getting access, okay? Because you guys know, pow straight up shooter here, okay? Let me talk about who's getting access because I want to say this carefully and I want it to be direct. I want to say it directly. And this isn't about, you know, oh, the Don Lemon Show is about my ego. This is not about that. I'm not, I'm not an ego-driven person, and I'm not offended that someone has not responded to me. I just wonder about the logic of that, the credibility of that, and what that means for the public. Sheriff Led Better has done the interviews himself, a few local stations, Good Morning America, but I want you to, I want you to pay close attention to who those interviews have been with. Overwhelmingly, white media. I haven't seen, maybe there are, I haven't seen a Black reporter with him. In a case where a Black 18-year-old went to an island with a group of white friends, only he did not come home. Optics in this situation in particular matter enormously in a moment like this. And either the sheriff doesn't understand that, or he doesn't care, or he doesn't have the confidence to sit across from Black media and outlets that serve this community directly. None of those three options is acceptable for a public servant that this family is depending on. Now look, I'm not assigning him a motive. I mean, I, that I can't prove. I'm just telling you what it looks like. I'm telling you what I see, and I'm telling you my experience in a case like this. What it looks like is not a detail. It's part of the story. This story is about that what I'm talking about. And so if you don't have that understanding and that respect for the Black community, a Black family with a Black civil rights attorney, no Black media. Come on, bro. And I look, I got to be specific about what transparency actually means because I don't think it means what some people in law enforcement seems to think it means. I think they get it confused, or they say, as I say, don't get it twisted. I think that law enforcement and the legal people, I think they've gotten it twisted. Transparency does not mean announcing conclusions early. That's not what anybody's talking about. Trans transparency does not mean blowing up somebody's investigation. That is not what people are talking about. I don't know how people get that in their heads that this is, you're going to, um, you know, possibly taint an investigation, harm the investigation by being transparent. No one is asking that you go out there and you give the code to your phone, or to your safety deposit box, or whatever it is, or your social security number. That's not what, that's not what people are saying. Nobody's asking for that. Transparency means, if to, let me, let me explain it to you. Transparency means a predictable cadence. You guys know what I mean by cadence. Like we talk about that with the number of times in this profession that we post, how much we put on social media, what is the cadence of our posts, of when we're going to drop things, because sometimes you overwhelm people with things. Sometimes you're not there enough, and they can't, they don't, you're not predictable. Okay, transparency means a predictable cadence. Here's what we can confirm today. Here's what we can't confirm yet. Here's when you will hear from us again, and then actually showing up when you said you would. Addressing the public is not an inconvenience, and it should not be looked at that way. If, if addressing the public is an inconvenience, then you kind of sound like the, the, the MAGA administration that somehow the press is an inconvenience. It's like a fly. Oh, I got to get a mosquito. No, no, no, no, no. You must respect the press always. First Amendment of the Constitution, even before law enforcement. Even if a department genuinely cannot share much of the substance right now, just say, "We can't share much of the substance right now." Showing up on a consistent schedule and saying so is itself a form of transparency. It's, it is a concession. Is that the right word I want to say? Or an acknowledgment that shows the intent is real, even when the details can't be. And it costs nothing and it buys enormous trust. It means that correcting false information the day it surfaces, that you should correct false information the day it surfaces, the moment it surfaces, that you find out about it. Not letting a family do that for you on Facebook because you didn't want to dignify a rumor with a response. Quite honestly, that's your job. If you say that you don't respond, you respond to facts. Why do you respond to facts instead of rumors? Because if you're responding to facts, then that is actually letting on that you know something about that. If you respond to a rumor, you're a, you're not giving [ __ ] away. You're just saying this isn't real. I think it's more important to respond to a rumor at certain points than it is to a fact because you say, "Yeah, that's real. That's a fact." But here's what's not real. So Christine Wanssley Wells, a Wells Wanley, should not have had to be the one to say that we don't know Treyston. Why would she? Why does she have to be the one? She's not the investigator. That's not a mother's job. That's the job of the people running the investigation. And they let a grieving parent do it for them. Every police department in this country is dealing with some version of this right now. That's why I say we need to wake up to the moment that we're in. And I believe, look, for sure, folks in the Democratic party, maybe that's something that's in the Democrat's DNA. I don't know. Maybe they're operating on this thing that it's, uh, you know, we're in a time that we're gone by. Maybe that's the problem that they're, maybe it's why they're not winning. I don't know. So I look, every police department in the country dealing with some version of this now, whether they know it or not, this is not unique to Jackson County, Mississippi. If departments aren't getting real training on how information actually moves, how fast it fragments across a 100 platforms that don't talk to each other, how much it silos we're in, how much, uh, under the grip of the algorithm we are, how one ambiguous phrase becomes a headline for a week, then they're going to keep making this exact mistake, case after case after case after case. Family after family after family after fam family. And every time they do, the cost isn't abstract. It's not an abstract cost. Okay? The cost is a mother correcting the record herself. The cost is a friend getting death threats over a video where nobody in an official capacity ever stepped in or stepped forward to say calmly, "Here's what we actually know about that footage. And here's what we don't." I, I don't know if you guys are hearing me this morning. Maybe, maybe you don't want to hear this message. So Mon'nique framed it yesterday as as impatience, right? She said, you know, about in responding to the public, right? As a public, as this show wanting answers faster than the process can responsibly deliver them. I don't think that's what's happening. And I want to just draw, I want to draw that distinction. I want to be very clear about it because it matters. Nobody serious is asking the sheriff to announce a cause of death before toxicology comes back. Nobody's asking that. I said that at the top and I mean that. What people are asking for is a cadence, is some clarity, is to know when a commitment, something as simple as, "We will update the public every single day." Even if the update is nothing new to report, "We're working on the investigation. Please be patient." But we know it's important to the family, and not only to the family, but to the American people. They have a right to know. We're public servants. Because that single sentence that says, "Hey, nothing new to report," it said out loud. If you say it out loud on a schedule, it does more to prevent rumor than a month of silence ever will. Because here's the thing about silence, as I said about yesterday. I said it yesterday. It doesn't, people don't read silence as caution to the public. That's not how it reads. It reads as if you're trying to conceal something or that something is not fair. Whether or not that is true, that's how it reads. And in a case like this, a young man dead, a family in agony, a community that has every reason, given history, to wonder whether the full truth is going to be, if they're going to pursue the full truth with the same urgency that would be pursued if the roles were reversed. Silence is the single most expensive thing a sheriff's department can spend time right now. Time on right now. That's the most important thing because you know what it costs? Truth. And look, and once that trust or confidence is broken, I mean, once it is spent, no amount of "we won't be rushed" gets it back.

So today, as we have up there, we should put up that the, there's a, that press conference coming up. So today, finally, there's some movement, something is going to move. Nolan's parents and his attorney, they're going to sit down and meet with the Jackson County DA this afternoon. The first real conversation since their son's body was found 11 days ago. We're told that there's going to be a press conference that follows, and we will be there. It should be in a few minutes, if they're on time, at 11 o'clock. But these things, it's not like clockwork, right? We're going to be there, and we're going to bring you exactly what is said, and just as importantly, exactly what isn't said. So to Christine and Elmore, you should not have had to correct strangers on the internet about your own son's last hours. That should never have been your job. I'm sorry it was. And to Sheriff Led Better, the phone number goes back up right now. We can put up as we wait on this because we do want those tips. 228-769-3063. But asking this community for help and giving them silence in return isn't a strategy. It's not recognizing what year it is. A word from our sponsors. One of the biggest mistakes people make when they start a business is thinking that they have to be good at everything. Trust me, I've learned that that's impossible. I don't need to be the best graphic designer, web developer, editor, accountant, or marketing expert. I need to know where to find people who are. And that's why I like Upwork. Whether you need help for one afternoon or a long-term project, Upwork connects you with freelancers across more than 125 categories. You can review their work. You can compare experience. You can hire quickly, and even let AI help match you with the right person. The smartest business owners don't try to do everything. They spend their time doing what they can do. Visit upwork.com today and post your job for free. That's upwk.com.

Okay. Thank you to our sponsors. So, I'm just trying to check on the press conference and, uh, as I have been talking here, uh, someone jump on and tell me what's going on. They said it's going to start at 11 Eastern time. Correct. Um, >> It'll start at 11 if, if that's when the meeting is ended. It'll start after. >> And there will be a live feed of it. Correct. And we're going to put it on. >> Yes. The channel. Okay. Thank you, Nikki. Um, I want to play something that was a lawmaker because everybody's talking about this and, and whether this is, you know, a story based on race or is it, you know, is it fair to say that and how they feel about the investigation. Here's Jasmine Crockett. Congresswoman, I wanted to get your thoughts on the Nolan Wells investigation. Some people feel like it's racially motivated. What do you think? I mean, I think that, um, specifically as Black Americans in the United States right now, we are always going to question whether or not there is a racial motivation, but also if you know the history of Mississippi, >> I think that you'd have to be blind not to question potentially what is happening, especially in the case of an 18-year-old who ends up deceased without his cell phone, without any communication whatsoever with anybody. Um, prior to ending up deceased, and he was out with his Caucasian friends, and then law enforcement tells everybody there's no foul play to be suspected. Now, a blind man could see that there's something to investigate. And so I want to applaud the legal team, um, Ben Crump and his team, as well as his parents for not giving up and accepting no as an answer. >> Well, it sounds like you think it is racially motivated. I absolutely think that. I can tell you that we don't have any answers, but if you think that race is not something to look at, then you are not really trying to investigate. >> So, what do you think? >> Well, I mean, you know me, I'm a civil rights lawyer. I mean, I'm looking at it and I'm looking at the fact that these white kids deleted their social media accounts. It's not like they sat down and talked to law enforcement. It's not even like law enforcement decided that they wanted to sit down and talk to them. They decided, "Oh, the little Black boy ended up dead without his cell phone, without his friends going and telling his parents, oh yeah, we got the cell phone. They got to go and track down the phone and find the phone." It looks like a racial thing to me, but hey, maybe we'll find out that it wasn't. >> Well, what's interesting is we had his football coach on our TV show today, and he said that there was never any racial tension between any of the students or anything like that. So, I mean, that kind of points that maybe this wasn't racially motivated. I mean, I can't say what even the cause of death really is. We know that there's an independent autopsy that's going on, but I can tell you that race is absolutely playing a role. What role? Whether it had to do with his death, whether it had to do with the fact that maybe your friends left you to die, or your friends didn't care that maybe you did die. I do believe that there's a racial component, or if it's just in law enforcement not feeling as if Nolan Wells was worthy of an actual investigation, but instead decided that there was no foul play, seemingly with no evidence, without talking to any witnesses. That to me is where there are racial components to this for sure. But I will not say that I know for sure that race played a role in his death. Are you in the camp of if Nolan was white >> and his friends were >> Yeah. The friends listen, they would have absolutely been under the jail with no questions asked first. >> Really? >> But we for sure >> what do y'all think that he mentioned the football coach? So since he invoked the football coach, I think we should just play it and see what, um, what he says. So Tracy, um, my understanding is you were close to the family and you actually, you know, helped in the search, uh, for Nolan before his body was found. Can you give us a sense of what his parents, um, think happened here? Do they believe this was just an unfortunate accident, tragedy, or that it's something more sinister? Well, um, just to correct you a little bit, I didn't actually help for the search. Um, but I was, I was in Ocean Springs when it happened, and I was still in disbelief when I got the news that Nolan was missing. So, when I got, um, when I got all the details surrounding the, uh, surrounding the case that they told me he was out at Horn Island, um, and he came up missing or whatnot, um, I talked with his dad, and, um, and we just had a conversation that was kind of after the fact when they had found his body because I was just giving the family their respect that they deserve. And, um, when everything first took, uh, place, but I was sharing all the detail that the family was sharing, you know, just putting the word out there, and just so everybody could be on notice and everybody be paying, paying attention to what the parents was asking of the community. And, but I gave the family their space. But then when they found their body, you know, I pulled up to the house and just paid my respect, and, you know, me and the dad had conversations, and, um, we talked, and man, it's just devastating. >> What, when you say you talked to the dad, did he kind of accept this as an accident and tragedy, or was he more suspicious? >> Well, no, he was more so just searching for answers right now because it had just happened, and there was a lot of questions still unanswered. You know what I mean? And he, like the family, just want answers, want to know what happened, and, and what was going on because the questions that they've been asking have not, you know, truly been answered. And so we all now just sitting back and waiting on the autopsy to come back and waiting on the family to give more details about, you know, what they have received moving forward. >> Tracy, can you tell us, uh, just talk to us about Nolan? Um, obviously you, as he's a, uh, a high school football star, and usually high school football stars have a pretty close relationship with their coaches. Um, what can you tell us about just Nolan as a human being and, um, what you saw from him and how he interacted with other people in school, with his friends? >> Yes, Nolan was a, um, Nolan was a great young man, you know, with a big personality. Everybody gravitated to Nolan because of his smile. He just wanted everybody to be happy, and he was a joy to coach, a joy to be around. Um, to sum Nolan up, you know, long story short, Nolan is a guy that I would let date my daughter. You know, that's the kind of character he had, and that's the kind of person that his family raised. >> So, u, you know, getting to the, you know, the last time he was seen on the island. Um, I think just your point of view on his personality is interesting. I mean, there, there were rumblings that he may have gotten into an argument. Um, that there might have been a confrontation or something like that. I mean, was he a guy who would stand up, you know, where, you know, his hackles would go up, or was he more of a get-along type guy? >> He's more of a get-along type guy. Don't get me wrong. Now, if something happened, he'll defend himself, but I knew right then in that video that that was Nolan. But out of respect, the person that I knew who it was, I waited until he spoke about it. And then, you know, I told people though, yes, that's who that was in the video was another person, another kid that I, you know, taught at Ocean Springs. And I knew exactly that when Nolan at the, during that time. >> So, um, you know, there's been some talk about one of the theories is that, um, >> Okay, pause. So, that was, um, did you hear what he said? If, just back it up just a little bit, Andy, because I want to hear the explanation just a little bit. Um, that was an example of what I said in the monologue this morning about it wasn't the family's job. It's not even the friend's job to dispel misinformation. It's law enforcement's job. And he's saying, "I heard it and I knew it was somebody else's voice, but I wanted to wait for blah, blah, blah. Listen to it." >> The person that I knew who it was, I waited until he spoke about it. And then you know I told people though, yes, that's who that was in the video was another person, another kid that I, you know, taught at Ocean Springs. And I knew exactly that when Nolan at the, during that time. >> Pause. >> Um, so why have I mean, look, y'all, I'm not trying to stir up no [ __ ]. Right. I'm not trying to do that. But why haven't they talking to? Why haven't they spoken? Excuse me. Why haven't they spoken? Not talking. That's not a word. Why haven't they spoken to this man? And that was, remember my point where, um, I first, I told Daniel, our Washington DC correspondent, I said it's not smart for the, you know, to ever speak to law enforcement without an attorney or blah, blah, blah, blah. Okay, I get it. Unless you're like, that's if you're, if you're someone is, you're in the vicinity, as they say. That's if you're in the vicinity. If you're not in the vicinity, if you're just across on another boat, or you're just someone in the neighborhood, that's a whole another show. And so this man knew this, and he told people, "Why don't, why don't the popo know that? Why don't, why does the police know that?" I mean, am I wrong? It's a little weird. Keep go going. Now, there's been some talk about one of the theories is that, um, that he was drinking and that there was a rip tide that day and that maybe he got caught in a bad current out there. Um, knowing him as an athlete, uh, and we've heard that he did know how to swim, would that surprise you if he ended up in that situation? Um, just from what you know about him as an athlete? Yes, I mean, it would surprise me, um, you know, that that happened, you know, but like I said, man, I'm just waiting to the family, you know, give out, you know, details of what they done gathered, you know, since, you know, his body been recovered, and I don't want to, you know, put no information out there and speculate and add more fuel to the fire. So, I'm just really sitting back, you know, waiting on the family to give, you know, the public, you know, um, you know, more facts about the case because as sensitive as the case is, I don't want to start no rumors or have nobody saying that coach said this and, you know, that ain't true. So, now I'm just sitting back, you know, waiting on the family to, uh, to give the public, you know, details about it. And I think in due time that information would come out. >> And finally, >> why hasn't the, haven't the cops spoken to him? What? Somebody. Okay, keep going. >> Look, there, there's a reality to life these days. Um, was there racial tension, uh, at the school? I mean, you were certainly able to observe, and it's something people are talking about, you know, whether it's a factor at all or not. You know, was there racial tension at the school? >> No, I, I don't think it was no racial, um, intention at the, at the school, you know, from my experience. Um, cuz you, you, you have, you know, predominant white school, you have Black kids there, and they all, you know, played and grew up together and got along. And now, you know, some stuff might have happened that I didn't see. So, um, you know, I can't speak wholeheartedly on it, but from what I did see, it was a tight-knit community. You know what I mean? >> Yeah. Okay. Well Tracy, we really appreciate you sharing. >> He said there's no. Now they asked him if there were racial tensions, and then I think he said there were no racial intentions. So, I'm not sure that he understood the question. No shade. No shade. But I, I went to, you know, this was back in the day when I was in high school, and it was predominantly white, but there were a number of Black kids there. Um, and there were no racial, I believe, intentions, but there was racial tension. Do I want to say it that way? Like most people did not know. They didn't know if it was, uh, you know, if something was racist or not. I think when you're that young, people don't know. I'm just recalling my days in high school and, and, and my experience since of the very people I went to high school. Not all of them, but a large number of them, I wouldn't even want them petting my dog for the, the racist and bigoted and vile [ __ ] that they spew on on social media. I don't even read it, but people tell me, "Did you see what Ben said about you?" And I'm like, "No, I didn't." It's either racism or jealousy or both. Or ignorance. Do you guys with me? I think that, um, I actually think that racism is, um, is a mental health issue. I do. I think it's like, you, it's an irrational mental health issue. Now, we're awaiting that press conference. Uh, again, it's supposed to start now, but so far, no. Do we even have a setup? Do we have a shot of a podium yet? Anything? >> No, nothing yet. >> Nothing. Nothing yet. Okay. So, we're going to hear, as you guys know, the Reverend Al Sharpton has joined the case. We'll hear from Reverend Al Sharpton after this word from our sponsors.

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I think the priority must be, we must, uh, have an independent autopsy, which we have done, and we're waiting on the text, toxicology report, and we must have an impartial, independent investigation. Certainly the family, and I think with, with real, uh, reason, do not trust the local authorities that already determined there was no foul play. And I think that we need to have an independent prosecutor, uh, investigate the case, and we need the toxicology report as we prepare for a funeral, uh, that is going to be devastating for this family. And that funeral, as we have learned, as we reported, uh, first here, uh, the funeral is on Monday. We also reported this meeting with the DA as well, and our, uh, Lucky Lemon 7 newsletter that you can get. It's over on Substack. So, go check it out every, every morning at 7 a.m. And, uh, a lot of this information we are, we have broken right here on the Don Lemon Show. So, go check out our newsletter. It has some new information on that, um, and seven stories that you need to know before you start your day, or throughout your day, or at the end of your day, because we will update as well. Uh, but we talk about that, and we also talk about, um, you know, some other stories here in our Lucky Lemon 7, uh, newsletter. Okay. So, there was also, um, the, the, the ice story that we need to get to, uh, and cover as well. But that was the Reverend Al Sharpton speaking on, uh, program yesterday. I think it was TMZ about, uh, and he, uh, Reverend Sharpton was supposed to come on today, but he has a, in full transparency, since I believe in transparency, he says, "I love you, but I have a photo shoot for MS Now today." So, I get he must be getting his class pictures for the network, the new photographs. Um, so that's where he, that's what he's doing right now, but maybe he'll join us in a little bit. We're also going to be joined in, um, in, in a bit by Justin Pearson. You guys know who Justin Pearson is, a lawmaker. Uh, but then also, Reverend Al Sharpton was asked in the interview, uh, about unanswered questions. Is that, that's not the one we just ran, right? >> No, it's a different one. >> Okay. About unanswered questions. Here he is. >> I think they need to answer why they didn't go get the, uh, phone and the keys. Why did it have to be his father run it down? Uh, I think they have to answer why, uh, they, uh, immediately >> Can we pause, please? >> Rev. Thank you. I was wondering that. I was wondering why in an investigation where someone is dead, and I didn't, I did not verbalize that to you. I should have. Why is the family doing all this stuff and not the investigators? I mean, if there was, if, if your child died mysteriously, and even if the, maybe they just thought it was an accident, or that, and that was that. But you guys heard, um, yesterday from Miss Jefferson, who was on. She said that, you know, what it takes to be a coroner. Mo, the cause of death in Mississippi comes from the coroner most of the time. And, you know, what it takes to be a coroner is a high school degree, and then you take a couple classes. So why is the parent, why are the parents doing that? And why are the parents going to retrieve the keys and all that stuff? That should be like, all, everything is getting all mixed up and jumbled. People who should have been spoken to days ago have not been spoken to. Like, you know, what, is there some sort of forensics they'll do on the keys or on the phone? I, I don't know. They should be. That's, that's what it sounds like to me. Anyway, keep going. >> There was no foul play. I think they have to answer. Have they interrogated the three young men? I think they have to answer where there's a reported video of the young men and him, uh, him being Nolan arguing, and he said some about his freaking phone. What is on that tape? What are they arguing about? And how did you not question them about the argument? There's a lot of things that law enforcement would have to answer. He, Rev is right, and look at the end of all this, as we have said, it could very well turn to, it could turn out to be something that we don't know, right? It could very well turn out to be something that we don't know. It could turn out to be an accident. It could turn out to be a drowning. It could turn out to be a fight. It could turn out to be, um, somebody didn't like him because he was Black. It could turn out to be he was with a girl that they didn't like. Uh, and, you know, they were like, "Who are you? Why are you with her? Get away from my daughter, my cousin, or that young lady," and, you know, there was an altercation. It could be anything. But my, I'm telling you, there's something weird about this investigation. Maybe they thought like, maybe in that town or in that county, they think like, yes, we are the deciders. We get to decide. The coroner says the cause of death is it. Close book. That's it. We're done, and it's over. No, it doesn't. All it doesn't work that way. The Reverend Al Sharpton talking about, um, whether or not the sheriff has all the evidence needed. >> I think that, uh, the evidence that is needed, uh, to build on is already there. Uh, have they brought these three young men in for questioning under oath? Uh, have they, uh, gone through a search of, of fingerprints and other things on the cell phone? Uh, either they are doing policing or they're doing covering up. And, uh, that is why, uh, Ben Crump and, uh, Nash X Network and I got involved. Uh, the, the real unfortunate part is what this present administration in Washington, Donald Trump, you can't even say, as we've said historically, whether it was from Abner in the '90s to George Floyd a couple of years ago, we'll go get the feds. You can't get this Justice Department. What we can do though is going to state court and sue and depose these young men on what they were doing. So there's going to be a legal strategy that Ben Crump, who's the best at it, will do. I'm going to continue to stand with the family and mobilize people around the country so that this does not go off the minds of the American people. >> So Rev, thank you for that. Um, and Rev is right. Rev is right. So, I think we, because man, you guys are so engaged. You guys, would you like me to open up the phone lines? Let me know. Uh, I think we could get, get it going. Let's open up the phone lines and let's talk about this as we wait on this press conference. But, um, you know, the more I hear about this, and, you know, Rissi Colbert said it yesterday, there's a reason there's a show called The First 48, because that's the most important part of the investigation. And it seems to me like these investigators spent the first 48 hours having already decided, as he said, that they are looking at this as, um, an accident. That

is kind of mindboggling. I mean, think about it. Mindboggling whether race was a factor. Here's a reverend. I, I will say this. I do not know that race played a role, but I do not know race did not play a role. So, I think you've got to put all of that on the table. Uh, how does anybody say uh that, oh, no, race played no role unless you know the three guys and the three guys were forthcoming? I certainly think you got to look at the possibility of racism at different levels. One, were any of the three guys racist? All right. Two, were the prosecutors and enforcement when the body was found? Is there a racial double standard there? Many of us feel if there were three black guys and a white kid was missing, they would have held them probably in custody and certainly had them uh uh uh seriously under scrutiny. On if, if it was the reverse uh in, in our opinion, but the family has said they don't want to say race, but they don't want it taken off the table. How do we know? Particularly when you have a sheriff saying there was no foul play. Okay.

Uh, I want to go now to Asia from Las Vegas. Asia.

>> Hi, Don.

>> Good morning. Or, uh, yes, still morning in Vegas. Good morning.

>> Good morning. I'm calling because, um, there's one thing I think a lot of people are, are maybe forgetting or don't know. Um, like when Mo'Nique was on yesterday and she was talking about the, the rush for, uh, confirmation, the rush for law enforcement to release information and things of that nature. I used to be just like that. Um, especially like with that, with the case with the Idaho murders, is one case that I remember recently that I follow very, very closely because I'm really into like true crime and I was wondering why they weren't saying anything and the community was upset and there was a lot of, um, misinformation that was going around. Some of the families had hired private investigators and stuff like that, just like what's going on now. And what they didn't know is what law enforcement knew. But law enforcement weren't holding conferences just like they're doing now. I'm not saying, of course, it's the same because there's, I do believe there is race, um, being at play at this, at this time. But, um, I've learned since that case not to rush and rush to judgment and rush to misinformation or conspiracies because they knew a lot that we didn't know. And two months later, they had a suspect and an arrest that was, no, no one even knew anything about. And at that time, the, the family had to step back and they had to say, okay, well, you did know and they just weren't sharing. And maybe that's not correct. Maybe in this time, maybe that's not how things should be done. But in that case, I, it kind of pushed me back to say, okay, maybe we don't have to know everything at every moment and maybe we don't even need an update at every moment because they weren't even doing that. They were just saying, we'll let you know when we know. And they let us know when we knew when they knew and when they knew they knew. So, I don't know, um, you know, that will help some people, whatever. But also, one last thing I want to say is that the comments that I'm hear, I'm reading are kind of concerning because it seems like a lot of people would rather it be something nefarious that happened instead of just like Mo'Nique said yesterday. Hopefully, it was just a tragic accident. Like, I'm with Mo'Nique. I hope it is. It's a tragic accident, but it seems like if it is, will people even buy it? That's my question.

>> Well, um, thank you, Asia. I appreciate your perspective and that's why we have, have you guys calling in. Um, giving, having a cadence, as I said, and updating people, um, is not, I don't believe they have to give away information. They can just say, I can't speak to that, or we're going to be back with you tomorrow. We have no more new information. I know that you want it. It's, and that doesn't require a lot of effort at all. Most of the time, it just requires walking outside of your building in front of a, a group of press people, a group of reporters, and just standing there and talking and saying, "There's no update on this. I do want to tell you the thing, the photograph, uh, is not what you think it is. It was taken a week or whatever before." And so that rumor is dispelled. We have a young, yes. And we're aware of a young man who's been on, on the news. Yes, we are aware of that, but we have no update on that and we'll let you know as soon as possible. Thank you, guys. We'll see you tomorrow, uh, at noon and walk back in your office. That's it. Because I think the family deserves that and I think at least they should make some sort of effort in the case to try to, um, be public servants to the public. But thank you, Asia. Who do we have up next? Uh, wow, a lot of folks. Dawn, uh, calling from Georgia. Hi, Dawn. Dawn. No. Dawn.

>> Hello. Can you hear me now?

>> I can hear.

>> Hello. Hello. Can you hear me?

>> Okay. Hey, how are you? Um, so I'm calling. This is, this is what my question is. I understand what you were saying and I understood what Mo'Nique was saying yesterday. So, do we want the, we would be okay with the police officers or the sheriff's office or whoever it is coming out every day and just saying, we are investigated. We don't have any updates because in my, and that's the question because my thought process is that if he, if they did that every day, then people would get upset with that. And then my second statement would be, is if we're looking at, um, I understand people want to know in this day and age, they want to know everything about everybody right now. And if we look at, um, the stupid administration that's out there now, every time something happens with one of the, um, immigrants, they come out quickly and say something and then they got to, they got to bring it back. So, I mean, we all know that they're lying, but I'm just wondering, is that what we, is that what the people are asking for? That they want them to come out and say something every day, even if they then have to walk it back?

>> I think the people want transparency is what I think the people want in this case. And it's not, it's not a matter of walking it back. So, yeah. So, uh, if people get mad, they get mad. Okay. But I think that it's very important. I think the press serves a very important purpose in this society. And sometimes that purpose is to, to put pressure on, um, our leaders, the powerful, to be more transparent and to be accountable. So if you just sort of sit back and wait and say, "Okay, well, there's no, whatever. We don't need to investigate this." Then what is the point of the investigation? What is the point of having an investigative, uh, having investigative journalists? Many times information is forced because of that. Forced because the press.

>> Well, I'm not saying. Well, I'm not saying just wait. Just sit back and wait. I mean, you know.

>> Okay. Uh, we, we lost Don.

>> I understand what you're saying, Don. I'm sorry. We have to go. We got, we got breaking news and we have some folks. Thank you for calling in. Thank you for calling in. Um, I want to bring in.

>> Thank you.

>> Okay. Thank you. I appreciate it. Um, hang on. Okay, thank you. There's a lot of moving parts happening right now. Uh, representative, is the representative here? I just want to make sure.

>> He is. Okay. Representative Justin Pearson is here. Thank you, Rep. I appreciate you joining us. He's representative from T, from Tennessee, the state of Tennessee. Represented. Hi. How are you?

>> I am doing all right. Good to be with you. Uh, man, I'm going to get to serious. I'm digging the shirt though. But let's talk about this Nolan Wells case because I know you've been following it. And I think that there's a need for more transparency. That's just me. I think the more transparent the better. The more pressure put on the investigators, I believe, the better. Just like sometimes the more pressure put on our lawmakers, I think the better to force them to be transparent. At the end of the day, they're all you and the police, um, are public servants. Do you disagree with that?

>> No, I don't disagree with that at all. And you're absolutely right. We deserve more transparency. This family deserves more answers and an understanding about what happened to their beloved child. And right now, we're in this period and in this moment that seems so dark a lot for black Americans and for black people, whether it be Nolan Wells here in Memphis, Tyron Johnson, and several other people who've been killed by Trump's task force. Like, it seems literally like there's a war on black Americans and black young men in particular. And so more transparency from public servants is should be the expectation I think of the people in our communities and all across this country right now.

>> Especially with this, uh, well, not administration, this regime right now. And also, um, the FBI, I believe is on the ground there, uh, as well. And what influence that they might have in this investigation. It's odd that the FBI has chose this place and this story, uh, to be involved with, to insert themselves in. Strange.

>> It is strange. And some of the involvement that we've been seeing from this regime in local matters should give all of us pause. And so we have the unsafe task force here in Memphis and Shelby County. But we also saw in a fight against data centers, uh, here in Shelby County and in, in Denotto County, Mississippi, that the administration's Department of Justice asked for the court to ignore the Clean Air Act so that Elon Musk's XAI could be used to help kill people in Iran. Right? These things are not just strange. They're a usurpation of what a democracy and democratic institutions are supposed to be doing. And honestly, that's why holding the administration, holding people in power accountable in all of these cases matters so much.

>> Do you, do you have any feeling on how, um, long it took mainstream media a while to get up to speed, but folks on social media, folks in streaming were on this, um, immediately. I just wonder what, how you feel about the attention that some stories get with certain people, um, and the attention that some, some stories get, uh, don't get from because of certain people?

>> Yeah. I mean, let's be honest, uh, oftentimes a lot of the huge media conglomerates are run by billionaires who are controlling and want a particular narrative to be pushed forward. And sometimes our stories break through and oftentimes that does not happen because they have very specific lens in which they are trying to get, uh, viewers, trying to get subscriptions, trying to get, uh, money. And when it comes to black pain, that is not something that is oftentimes elevated. And we just have to be honest about that, which is why independent media and platforms are so important. Because they provide opportunities to break through, uh, those media conglomerates and really break to the stories that people need to hear and understand if they are going to see holistically what is happening in our country and how democratic institutions, lowercase D, are failing overwhelmingly communities that have been marginalized and have been oppressed and also are currently dealing with the travesty and the tragedies that come with systems that fail us over and over again and don't protect us or keep our communities.

>> Hey, uh, someone in the comment section, thank you very much. I, I would assume that to be true, but saying the island is federal and perhaps that's why the FBI is there. Um, but I would think, you know, the, the investigation is being handled in Jackson County and that's not federal. I'm not, I'm not too sure about that portion. But I do think we have to watch what and when this administration gets involved because people will use their privilege to silence, uh, the, the truth. And we've seen that happen over and over again by, uh, Donald Trump over the years. And we need to be skeptical, uh, and conscientious to that. The coach of Nolan Wells, who is a black man, said he didn't believe that there was any racial tension at the school. But does that, I don't know how that equates to what happened on the island.

>> Yeah. I mean, the reality is wherever you have people, there are going to be tensions. And at times you could have a situation where a coach may not see things, but a student is feeling it. You know, I've attended schools, uh, that have been white majority and you could say that there weren't racial tensions, but there were people who would say things, would do things, you know, stick bananas on your door, write the N-word in the bathroom. And that doesn't mean that that's everyone. But to just say there's a place where there's no racial tension, where racism does not exist, that's not this country. And that's not the socialization of people who are in this country, whether they be 18 years old or 88 years old. Now, if he went to an anti-racist school and they did anti-racist training at that, uh, school, that's one thing. But I don't know if that's going to be the case. And so, I think it, it's too soon to say that had nothing to do with what has happened to Nolan. Um, and I think it's the responsibility of everyone to be on the side of the family, on the side of his community, um, and fighting for justice for him, uh, against what has happened because he's gone and he should not be.

We're joined by Tennessee State Representative Justin Pearson here as we await. There's a press briefing that's going to happen now. Uh, the Wells Wansley family, and also Benjamin Crump, attorney, meeting with the DA. Uh, I would assume as we speak and they're going to come out to that microphone and tell us what they heard, uh, how, what they could share with us, and how that meeting went. So, um, what, what has stood out to you? What do you have most concerns about? I know you have some questions. I had questions about, well, where was the young lady that he was supposedly stayed back with? Why haven't they spoken to her? A lot of people are coming out speaking and said, you know, they're giving, I believe, very important information. And when the reporter or the anchor says, "Have you, um, have you been interviewed? Have you been contacted by law enforcement?" They say, "No."

>> What?

>> And that's frustrating, right? When sometimes the media accounts that you're getting from people who are approximate to this young man are more than what seems to be being sought after by the law enforcement officers. So I think in this moment, what I am looking for is the same thing the families are looking for, are answers from the people who were near him, the young, young adults who were there in his last day, his last moments of life, and to hear what happened because this isn't just about Nolan's story, although it's so important. There are so many other black children and black communities that have suffered from these disappearances, from these losses of life without any answers being given. And unfortunately, it's too many to count. And right now, I believe that all of those folks need to be interviewed to get a full picture of what has happened and who is accountable. And that isn't to put blame on the people or the kids that he was with, the young people he was with, but the truth of the matter is something happened and there, there isn't a lot of folks coming forward about what those consequences and those instances were. Kids lawyering up and their parents telling them to get lawyers as the first thing, uh, raises a lot of red flags where I think most people would be in mourning and and grieving in a very particular way. Um, in my mind, um, that doesn't seem to be happening in this case. And the fact that parents are already asserting, okay, what privileges do we have that we can exercise to protect our children without really seeming to understand the full weight of the grief of Nolan's family and what they could be doing to help them. Um, it does, it concerns me.

>> Representative, I'm glad you mentioned that because we did an entire show, well, half of our show yesterday was dedicated to what you said, missing children, um, people who, you know, were was declared a suicide and some of them had no autopsies. Um, I don't know if you're familiar with the Julian Foundation, which is a civil rights organization that investigates these things. And we had a whole conversation with Miss Jefferson. I think it's Jill Jefferson, um, but I know it was Miss Jefferson yesterday. Yeah.

>> I think that's really important. And I mean, you've seen those instances that really worried me where, you know, I've lost a brother tragically by gun suicide, December 1st, 2024. Call 988 if you're ever struggling. But there are these instances where black people are being hanged from trees, um, and they're said, you know, we're going to rule these things as suicide. And to your point, without autopsies, without there being real attention to detail about what were the circumstances leading up to this and full investigations being done. And so when cases like that continue to happen and now they don't just have local, um, ripple effects. We're hearing about them nationally. It should raise a lot of alarms and a lot of red flags for anybody who is of good conscience and goodwill. So, why aren't these being investigated the same way that it would be if this was a young white child? And I think ultimately the fear that people have of the way that law enforcement operates, DAs operate, is because they're not operating with the lens of equal justice under the law. Um, there, there is no colorblindness. Uh, overwhelmingly black families and black communities are prosecuted most, but then when we are the victims of crime, we get the least amount of support and benefits, um, uh, uh, to help us understand the processes and actually get justice. And I've worked closely with the family. Um, my classmate, you know, was tragically murdered, uh, in, in 2023 on January 10th. And I worked with his family to get justice. Um, but it had been a difficult, difficult process, um, because police officers weren't engaging. The DA wasn't engaging. And that's just the reality of what we were going through. Our pain and our suffering, um, it gets elongated by systems that don't listen to us.

>> Why do you think this story resonates so much, especially with black folks?

>> I think it resonates so much with black folks because this could be any of our brother, our nephew, our sons. Uh, and it, it, it is also that is a continuation of a longevity of pain that we've had as it relates to the loss of young black men, particularly in our, in our country and in our community. But you just got to remember a couple days ago, right? It was the 10th year anniversary of Sandra Bland's death. Um, the Emanuel Nine, Philando Castile, and we all still remember Trayvon Martin, right? And in Memphis, particularly, my, he feels like a godbrother now with Tyreek Nichols, um, is fresh on our minds every single day. I mean, it is because this is, unfortunately, it's really painful to say it like this, but this is a part of our life story, particularly in the 21st century, that young black men are going missing, are dying, are being killed by people, by individuals, but also by systems of oppression and people in power consistently and regularly.

>> Representative, thank you. I, look, I am, um, you know, I'm a huge fan and I'm very supportive of your work. Um, you make us all proud. And you, I say this without, I'm going to just use bad grammar. You ain't scared of nobody. And I'm not either. So, I appreciate that about you. Um, keep up the great fight. And also, I want to thank you for supporting independent journalism.

>> Absolutely. No gatekeepers.

>> Yeah.

>> Absolutely. Keep the faith. Keep the fight. I'll talk to you soon.

>> Thank you very much, Representative Justin Pearson. Okay. So, producers, I was just sending you, uh, if we should just leave the, the feed up because, uh, until there's a press conference or should we just redirect everyone? What do y'all think?

>> Leave it. I don't care. It's up to you. We can leave it.

>> I say we just leave it. Um, yeah, Nikki agrees. So.

>> Okay.

>> Let's leave it.

>> All right. All right. So, we're going to leave it. We're going to leave the feed up and I'm going to go prepare for another interview. Uh, I wish we had, uh, Daniel around because I could let him take over until we, you know, get something until the, the press conference happens. However, this is a really important event and I want to know what information that was, what information was shared with them and if this in some way, uh, offers them some degree of comfort. Although at this point, I don't know what can, when your child, uh, has died mysteriously and, um, and and you don't, you feel like you're not getting any transparency. So, yeah. So, uh, let's see. Is that, are they coming out? Let's, let's see who this person is coming out right now. Okay, that does not look like Ben Crump to me. Okay, guys. We're going to leave the feed up. U, we're going to be in the, in the questions. Hang on one second. I just want to make sure. Did, do we move our next guest or can we, do we know if our next guest can move or not? Uh, this is all happening in real time, just so you know. Can we move the guest to 12:30 in case something happens?

>> Yeah, we, we asked them and waiting to hear back.

>> I haven't heard.

>> Yeah, haven't heard back. Okay. Um, so I'll give it just a couple more minutes, but you, again, this was supposed to start at 11 o'clock. And as I told you in the very, very beginning of the show, that, uh, it's not like clockwork with these events, um, because you don't know what, what they're talking about, how long it's going to take, obviously, but also what's going to be the reaction from the family and from the lawmakers and whether this is, um, something that is, um, amicable. This discussion or, um, you know, it could be, there could be some animus here, uh, because of how the investigation, uh, is being portrayed. Now, the question is, if, if they come out of this and say there's going to be arrests or whatever, that would be a big deal. I don't know if that's going to happen though. I don't feel that it's going to happen in that moment, in this moment, because they are trying so hard, I feel, not to say anything. But hey, who knows? And according to the, um, former judge in Mississippi, was a former Mississippi judge, according to that judge, there is enough information that he believes, that he believes, um, should have led, led to an affidavit, to subpoenas, to search warrants, and ultimately to arrests. So, that's what he believes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, standby. Okay, here they come. So, there's the family. There's Ben Crump. Let's listen.

Good morning. I'm attorney Ben Crump along with attorney Lisa Park, attorney Eric Herz, Justin Preston, and Cliff Jones. We have the honor of representing the family of Nolan Wales. We have present with us his mother and father, Christine and Elmore. Um, we've just had an opportunity to meet with District Attorney Angel McGrath and some members of her team. We had a very respectful meeting. Uh, the thing, I, I assume some of you may know, the thing to announce, she shared with the family that there will be a grand jury that she will turn this case over to once they have, uh, collected all the information and finished their investigation. Um, we also agreed that we will have a mutual inspection of the cell phone with our experts and their experts. Attorney Eric Herz is helping lead the investigation team, uh, with former, uh, law enforcement experts who are going to help us, uh, with the cell phone download. So everybody will be able to see at the same time, uh, what the cell phone has. We also, uh, talked about trying to make sure we dot every eye and cross every T. I know that we're getting about, uh, 50 calls a day to 100 calls a day from people who were there on Horn Island, people who are familiar with individuals that were there on Horn Island. And so we continue to be steadfast and trying to get to the truth of why Nolan Wells is dead. At this time, we'll have attorney Herz say a few words and then, uh, Christine and Elmo will just talk about the homegoing services and celebration for Nolan and then we'll take a few of your questions. Attorney Eric Herz, thank you. Right now, there's a lot of unanswered questions. Um, we appreciate the district attorney meeting with us, but because of certain types of confidentiality that even the victims are not allowed to know, we did not get all the answers we want. We have an independent investigation going on that involves former law enforcement, federal agents that are going to be looking into all the different information we got. The calls are coming in and we're getting a lot of information. Some of the people that I spoke to are not talking with law enforcement here. We're going to be trying to get them to cooperate with each other because we want to make sure the narrative which has been put out that is false is going to be corrected. Um, so at this point, um, we just ask everybody to keep calling in if you have any information and let us know. And I personally, if it's, if we validate your a legitimate call, will call you and talk to you. And I thank you all for showing up today. And now, uh, Christine and Elmo will just share with you some details of the homegoing celebration for their son.

>> Hello everyone. So, um, the homegoing celebration, the funeral will be held at Center Point Church in Ocean Springs. It is going to be, uh, visitation will be 9 to 11:00 and then the funeral will start after that. Um, the plan is for the repass because again, we want to celebrate Norman and he would not, um, want us to be sitting around crying and eating. And so what we're going to do is kind of have a party, um, to celebrate him and that will be held at the Jackson County Fairgrounds. Um, so we really do want to keep it for family and friends. Um, we are going to allow media to come in as well. And, um, lastly, I just, teammates.

>> Oh, absolutely. Teammates. Um, we've already contacted, um, Coach Les George because we want to make sure that those guys are there. Um, former teammates from high school, middle school, teams that he played against. Uh, you guys are all welcome, but of course, you know, we want to make sure that our families for sure and close friends get there. So, I do want to just say for those of you again, if you are having protests, um, even the day of his service, I am asking you guys to just keep it peaceful. Nolan would never want any type of violence or anything like that. He was not that kind of person. So, if you guys would again, just, just be peaceful. And to the community, thank you so much. Um, just the outpouring of love, support. Um, we've had some local officials, uh, Mayor Casey Bond from Gocha has reached out to us. Oh my gosh, I, I can't even tell you. Um, he has, it's almost been every day. He's been texting to check on us. Also, Jeffrey Hull, thank you so much. He's been texting pretty much every day. Um, receiving a lot of stories from Nolan's teachers, which just warms my heart, his classmates, teammates. So, again, um, for those of you have donated to the GoFundMe, once again, I stress, if you are not financially able to, we're not begging for that money, okay? If you're not financially able to, we understand. We thank you for whatever you can give. But if you cannot, if you would just, just keep us in your prayers. Um, and to his friends, stay strong and please just take care of your mental health because I know this is a lot. It's a lot for us and I know you guys are feeling some of that, too. So, thank you all.

>> One more.

>> Um, are there any questions? Yes. Attorney Crump. Um, Skyler Henry here with CBS News. The last time that, um, you spoke in, in a setting like this, I know you guys were hoping to get results back from an independent autopsy. I know you mentioned that Dylan has been sent to Washington. Is there anything to share on that front?

>> Uh, not at this time, but we hope, uh, soon, very soon. Um, obviously, we're concentrating on, um, the funeral services. Uh, but hopefully shortly thereafter, we will be able to tell some findings of, uh, the preliminary autopsy. Uh, still waiting on some things. Uh, and I also, while we're talking about funeral services, want to thank Mr. Tyler Perry for, uh, paying for the funeral.

>> Absolutely.

>> As well as, uh, Colin Kaepernick for helping to shoulder the expense of the independent autopsy. And I, I thank, uh, Reverend Al for agreeing to officiate, um, the funeral services. Uh, yes, sir.

>> Aaron Gilchrist with NBC News. Uh, Mr. Mrs. Wley, you said from the very beginning that for you, this was really about getting some answers about what happened to your son. Do you feel like after your meeting today, you have any more clarity on, on what happened?

>> Well, it was just a meeting where she talked about the process. She didn't tell us any information about, uh, the investigation too much because those things are, as she said, her role and what she has to do. But they still have questions and that's not insignificant to this meeting. It's just, in general, every morning they wake up and there's a hole in their heart and they are trying to say, what happened to my son? Uh, obviously, you know, they feel strongly that he would not have just stayed behind. He wouldn't have left his cell phone. And so we're trying to get to those answers.

>> Terry Crump, uh, Brian Rose, Juicy Wire. I, there's been a lot of misinformation that's been spread online, especially the pool picture that was shared by you and you had said that.

>> Well, I didn't share it. I reposted it. We're reposting everything. Let's make it clear. We were posting everything because we're trying to get people to come in and call. And so we've said from the beginning, we're in a ferocious search for the truth. And so things out there, we are trying to post. Ask people, do you know something about this? Let us know. Just because we repost does not mean that we authenticate anything. Look at our social media. We have always been very careful to say this is a repost. And we almost always give a, a declaration that that's what it is, a repost. And so we want people to continue to call about everything. Videos, whatever interactions they saw. And thank God we are getting dozens of people calling every day saying, "I was on Horn Island. This is what I saw. I know these individuals. This is what we know." Uh, they said, we understand the sheriff's investigation has hundreds of people calling too. And so the hope is that when this is presented to the grand jury, all relevant witnesses and evidence will be presented to them so that we can have a fair and impartial investigation into the death of Nolan Wells. We were very honest and candid with the district attorney and she was honest and candid with us. Uh, our lived experiences tell us that we must question everything. Everybody's role, law enforcement's role. That is the lived experience of us as black people in America. And we would be not honoring the ancestors' sacrifices for us if we did not be honest every chance we got when we talk to power.

>> You mentioned, um, the false narrative out there. Well, I've seen quite a few of those. So, I was wondering if you could tell us which false narrative you're talking about so we can let people know.

>> Was there a particular false narrative?

>> There's a lot of narratives out there right now. And.

>> There's a lot of narratives out there right now. I'm not going to comment on any particular one, but whenever a case this big gets in the news, people try for whatever motivations, law enforcement or whoever, people that call in, try to set up a narrative so that people will follow the narrative. Our job is to cut through all the noise and find the truth. And the truth needs to be found by unbiased investigation as well as unbiased, um, lawyers and and all the people that are out here, all you investigatory journalists and everyone else. We just ask that you keep an open mind until we get to the truth. And, and one of the things I will say, we are trying desperately, uh, to figure it out. And we, uh, don't profess to have all the answers, but boy, we're trying. And so when people call and tell us this is this person, and then we get, uh, somebody saying that no, this isn't that person. We're trying to balance it all. So, we want to even be more careful ourselves to make certain that we're trying to get people to come forward. And there are a lot of people who have different perspectives. We're getting that just from the phone calls that people who were there at the same time are saying different things, but we're going to get there. We, we're going to get to the truth. Uh.

>> So, first, I just want to say my deepest condolences to you, Christine, and Elmore. I'm Mark Hur. I'm bringing the Hill all the way to Spirit Home. But I want to go on to ask you, Attorney Ben, you say that you were talking about the process and there with the DA, were any affidavit or possible prosecutions or criminal actions presented to her to be eventually?

>> Yeah. And, and as she said, she, her role is confidential at this point so she can maintain her prosecutorial independence. Uh, obviously, I stressed to her very strenuously to say, we want you to zealously, you and the sheriff's department to zealously investigate this matter. And and Christine and Elmore share their life experiences too. Um, we, we know, we know through our lived experiences and our life experiences that's, and she said that's not how our office operates, but we know in America, in the South, certain people are investigated differently. And we share that with her. We didn't, you know, ask that she understand our perspective, but we said we should mutually try to understand each other's perspectives where we're coming from. And we agreed that we will try to do that.

>> Where are we at in the investigation and autopsy? Supposed to get it back Friday.

>> Well, no, we, we, like we said, we're waiting. Let the doctors do what they do. They ain't got their autopsy back neither. So, we're trying to get it right. And then when we get it, we're going to share it.

>> Yes, ma'am.

>> On Friday in the press conference, you said that you hear on the video Nolan saying, "This is my freaking phone. What are you freaking doing?"

>> That's what a witness told us and that's what we reported out. Then another witness had come forward and said, "No, that was it for us." We have other witnesses who said there were other altercations. So, as Mr. Hurst said, we're trying to go through it all and so forth. And we'll be even more careful to say this is what a witness told us in the future.

>> Local.

>> No, we have audio people doing it, but we know certain people said it was him and then certain people said it was not him.

>> Are you worried about the, um, the death threats and the, >> violent kind of atmosphere on social media and how these fake videos and photos can play into that?

>> Oh my god, I saw a fake video. Friends getting death threats. And we don't want anybody's life to be in harm's way just because we're trying to get to the truth of what happened to Christine and Elmo's son. Uh, and I, we saw fake videos about AI generated videos of Christine and it's just god awful that as they're grieving and trying to fight for the truth, that they also having to deal with these, uh, fake videos attacking them, as they are just trying to literally bury their son next week. Um, but we want everybody to say that we can go through this journey together for the truth. And even though we may have different viewpoints, we can all agree that everybody wants the truth. And nobody's life should be threatened for seeking the truth. Nobody should be, uh, you know, presumed, uh, accountable until we have evidence. His mother and father only want, and Christine has said it multiple times, she only wants what you would want if this was your son. If this was your daughter, wouldn't you want desperately to get to the truth? Wouldn't you want people who were closest in proximity to what happened to be investigated and thoroughly investigated? We know that, you know, if it was Nolan, how would he be investigated? So, uh, one last question.

>> Really quickly. Um, just curious about the dynamic that you guys have had, Christina Elmore, with law enforcement up until this point. Have you all been able to speak with the sheriff, any of the lead investigators since what happened, um, last week?

>> So, that was actually clarified in today's meeting. Um, the DA's office wanted to take over that communications because they do have a victim advocate, which I appreciate, but of course, that wasn't what she, you know, took responsibility and accountability for. Um, but we were not communicated with that information. Um, so for us, you know, like I said before, the last time we actually spoke to someone with the sheriff's department was last Tuesday. That was via text message that I initiated just asking for an update. Um, so that's the biggest thing is, you know, I appreciate that she took accountability for saying, hey, that was actually our doing, but, you know, we have a setup now. And so the hope is that we'll have that open lines of communication.

>> So you feel like this was useful?

>> And attorney Herz has, uh, comment on that. There. Let me just say that under the law in Mississippi, a victim is entitled within, I think it's 72 hours to get an incident report and to have certain information shared. It's been more than 72 hours and that's part of the meeting here today to start getting the incident report and all that information that we came here to collect, as well as listen to the district attorney and what she had to say.

>> Did you get that report?

>> Uh, no, not yet. We, we are working with them to say there need to be better communications with the clients and so forth. So, the big things that we know, there's going to be a grand jury, uh, into the death of Nolan Wales. And number two, that we're going to have a mutual inspection of Nolan's cell phone. We just want to make sure everybody else's cell phone is also being downloaded. Thank you.

>> Really quickly, as far as when are the ongoing services?

>> Uh, Monday. How do I get this on? Okay.

>> So, that was, uh, attorney Ben Crump, uh, and the other attorneys there who work for the Crump firm. So much to say and, um, the Wells Wansley family. Now, you heard that family, the attorney at the end saying that, to get a victim report in Mississippi or in that county, it's 72 hours. They still don't have. Um, so when people like, so let me tell you this. I've been doing this for a long time. For since 1991, I've been in this business. So when people tell me some [ __ ] like, "Oh, we don't need updates. We don't need to know." In the press is like, "Yeah, if it wasn't for those cameras out there and those press people asking those questions, you would not have known that of that injustice. So, don't stop. Don't give me some [ __ ] about the media and all that and this. The family deserves this and other. We don't transparency and they can't be updating people." It didn't cost them anything to get in front of those cameras. It doesn't cost that sheriff anything to get in front of a camera and update people. That's how things come to light. Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Yes, they can investigate and they can give updates and briefings at the same time. They're not doing it because, as that woman, the, uh, who was it yesterday, Miss Jefferson said, maybe they just don't know what they're doing, or maybe something is going on. You have 72 hours that you're supposed to give a victim a victim statement in Mississippi. And a case of this high profile, 11 days later, they still haven't got it. And the mother has to contact you to ask you to be communicative, communicative with her so that she could get some answers. She, the first person you should have spoke to was the mama. What the hell is going on there? So when I tell you something is not right in Denmark, that something isn't right in Mississippi. So stop telling me that, oh, well, they don't have time to be talking to you. That is [ __ ] [ __ ]. And I am so glad that these folks are there demanding answers. The mom is being very nice and very, but I would not. I can't. Ben is Ben is gonna do it. He's the bad cop. Good cop, bad cop. I don't think that they, that was intentional, but she just wants to. This woman is just asking for transparency. Can you please start doing what they just did and updating the public instead of hiding, please? She's not even getting information on the investigation of her own son. This is some crazy [ __ ], y'all. This is crazy. And so I was like, okay, I wasn't even as upset as I am now after hearing that press conference, after hearing that man, after experiencing secondhand the disrespect that this law enforcement agency has for the family of a dead young man and the disrespect they have for the public. This is, this is the, it should not be this way. It's not supposed to be this way. And so that leads you to believe, if they haven't given the mama an, a, a victim report, if they are, have they've only given, I believe it was one press conference after it happened and you've given a handful of interviews to all white press that I can see. It's like what Arsenio used to say, things that make you go, hmm. So, and stop telling me don't jump to conclusions. If you are doing, look, if you are exhibiting certain behavior and it becomes a pattern, all I can do is jump to conclusions. What do you ask juries to do for even circumstantial evidence? This is circumstantial evidence of something is a file. That something is a file here. Even in a court of law, they jump to conclusions. If you're, so, if you're not giving me the right information, I'm going to fill the void in my mind. We got to get over this, uh, 1985, 1990s idea of what the media is and how they should conduct themselves and how law enforcement should be conducting themselves. People don't want that. They don't want that. Just like people are for, like the centrist corporate Democrats, nobody wants that [ __ ] anymore. You don't believe me? Ask Mo'Nique. Look at the people who are winning across it. Is young people who are demanding transparency and accountability. That's the energy that in this country right now. That's the energy in the Democratic party right now. That's just the way things are. That's just the way things are supposed to be. No. Then you never get answered. Incremental. Incremental. Every little bit helps. Hurts. Every little bit hurts. Let's don't ask too many questions. [ __ ] that. People are tired. Sick and tired of this. I love y'all, but I got to go. I have another interview. And turn, tune in at 5:00 if you think there's heat now. I'm really mad. I'm really, really mad. I'm mad as hell and I'm not going to take it anymore. As they said in the movie Network, and I hope you are too. That is the only way things are going to change is if people get feel something, some emotion. They feel something about what's happening. The inequities that we have going on in society, especially with black people. Look at what's happening with voting rights. Look at what's happening to civil rights. Look at what's happening to the civil rights division of the Justice Department. It is an atrocity. Stand up for something. Have something move you and motivate you so that people aren't being dragged out of cars and shot on the street because they think that they can do it with impunity because people just go, "Well, what are we supposed to do?" If you can help this family, there's a GoFundMe and you heard the mom say it there in the press conference. If you can, times are tough, right? So, there's the GoFundMe page. I don't know if we have it. Do we have it linked in the top of the chat? But that, there's the GoFundMe page and it's in loving memory of Nolan Xavier Wells. And I'm sure you can just go out and and search it on the internet. And if it's not in the top of the chat. Also, um, we're going to see you back here at 5:00 PM Eastern time. If you want to know anything about the show, you can go to donlemon.com. Everything you need to know there, including how to get tickets for DL and DL, how to become a member or a subscriber to the channel. Uh, how to subscribe to all of our channels and every place that we, um, stream to. Uh, as we were on here, I was in the, um, Instagram feed. That was me sending notes. There's my color bars. Old school. Um, they'll come back. So, thank you. I want you to be informed without being inundated until I see you back here at 5:00 p.m. Eastern time live here on the Don Lemon Show and the Don Lemon channel. Turn the TV off. Thanks for watching everybody. I appreciate you. Make sure you like, subscribe, and turn on notifications so you don't miss anything. We're live weekdays at 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Eastern with new content at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, sometimes at 8:00 p.m. So follow the Don Lemon Show wherever you are. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Twitch, Substack, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Apple Podcast. We are everywhere and we're there every day. And if you want a little more, join the Lemon community. Exclusive posts, behind the scenes, live chats. Just hit join or check the channel pages. All right, I'll see you next time.