a climate more conducive for generations of home grown acts of violent hatred but not everyone wants to confront the problem or even admit it. some people want to look away to not see the mass killings in el paso, pittsburgh, the rise in anti asian and driven mind set being cut from the same ugly cloth. today in the first congressional testimony since being confirmed dhs secretary made the connections and the threat clear. >> right now at this point in time, domestic violent extremism, the lone wolf, the affiliation of individuals following hate and other ideologies of extremism that are willing and able to take those ideologies and execute on them in unlawful, illegal violent ways is our greatest threat in the homeland right now. >> in that, and other vent statements the priority as the new administration embraces that the old administration tried to down play but important to mention professionals were also sounding the alarm. here is the fbi director testifying last september. >> racially motivated violent extremists over recent years have been responsible for the most lethal activity in the u.s. now this year, the lethal attacks domestic terrorism lethal attacks have all fit in the category of anti-government, anti authority, which covers everything from anarchy violent extremists to militia types. >> director chris wray last september warning as well in his written remarks that day to the top threat facing the country was racially, ethnicity domestic extremists. he repeated the warning in testimony earlier this month and today, a joint report put out by the office of the director of intelligence under scored it all quoting the ic, meaning the intelligence community assesses that racially or ethnicall ally motivated extremists and militia violent extremists present the most looethal domestic violent threats with racially motivated most likely to conduct mass casualty attacks against civilians and militia targeting law enforcement and government personnel and facilities. also out today, a gnanew report that says white supremacists nearly doubled last year with more than 5,000 cases reported averaging 14 a day across the country. also today, a new report on anti asian violence. according to the tracking group stop api hate, such attacks have risen dramatically since the beginning of the covid pandemic, which the former president even as recently as last night still refers to as the china virus. >> when we get hit by the, as i call it, the china virus. >> we'll speak shortly tonight with professional basketball jeremy lin, one of the few professionals to play in the nba, he himself was called coronavirus by a fellow player but as today's report by the director of national intelligence, such are not isolated and part of a climate that numbeeurotours violent extremism and conspiracy believing home grown violence but you've seen lawmakers trying to whitewash what you saw that day and continued today led by the congressman in some of his republican allies tried today to remove references to the insurrection in a resolution to give the congressional gold medals to police officers on duty on january 6th. and then there is senator ron johnson. not only trying to divert attention and right wing racist elements of the insurrection and on going threat they present he's been dabbling with racism himself and how he's making the case. >> i knew those are people that love this country that truly respect law enforcement, would never do anything to break a law so i wasn't concerned. had the tables been turned, joe, this could mean trouble. had the tables been turned and president trump won the election and tens of thousands of black lives matter and antifa protesters, i might have been a little concerned. >> a little concerned he says about a hypothetical attack by the largely non-violent movement which never occurred. but not concerned at all about the very real, very vie olent attack by domestic extremists in his place of work and the biggest eruption yet of everything the intelligence and law enforcement community warned of last fall and today and he com continues to claim those people love america and love law enforcement despite the death of one officer and the suicide following the attack by two. and the injury of dozens of other officers. that and of course, senator johnson through in a dash of racism which he denies but a colleague is calling out directly. >> look, i get no one likes to be called racist but sometimes there is just no other way to describe the use of bigoted tropes for generations threatened black lives by stoking white fear of african americans and black men in particular. >> that was senator bob menendez. i spoke to him before air time. senator, as you know, the senate is a traditional place breaking calling somebody a racist on the senate floor is a big step. can you talk about why you did it? >> well, i understand the crime of the senate but sometimes as late john lewis says, you have to get into good trouble. i just felt compelled to speak out about senator johnson's comments and it was crystal clear to me driven home by an african american member of my staff who served new jersey through different senators for three and a half decades, an incredible human being and tremendous staffer who is african american and told me about how hateful and harmful his comments were and so when he made these comments, in essence, you know, the racist trope that he would be more fearful of a black lives matter protest than the insurrectionists who stormed the capitol caused the death of three u.s. capitol officers and harmed and injured so many more. i just felt that, you know, decorum couldn't stand in the way of speaking out. >> should more be done? senator johnson continues to stand by. he wrote an op ed defending himself and tweeted out a compilation of what he appears to be saying acts of violence black lives matter protests adding with peaceful protests last summer, there were too many scenes like this and i'll condemn violence and riteoting. he doesn't sound like he's condemning so much or trying to whitewash it or minimize it repeatedly. >> well, he has an alternate view of the world. you know, he says that he wasn't afraid of the white supreme cystcests and insurrections that stormed the capitol because he knew they were law-abiding citizens who love their country. law-abiding citizens don't attack other police officers, don't cause the death of one and two others twho committed suicie as a result. hundreds injured and many scared in their lives for a long period of time. law-abiding citizens don't come and destroy federal property and desecrate one of the most significant symbols of our democracy and try to undermine the rule of law by stopping the official count. it's an excuse from what is clearly, you know, a racist comment and that perpetuates that white america should fear our fellow black citizens. >> there is a report from the anti defamation league that found white supremacist hit a high in 2020. they have been more emboldened now than ever. i know you're not calling senator johnson a white supremacist but the language he's using certainly is if not a dog whistle to them, it's certainly a hat tip. >> yeah, well, it's an amazing set of circumstances. we all know what happened here on january 6th. we saw the consequences, the nation saw it. and, you know, this is like some of the house members who want to honor the capitol police but don't want to recognize, you know, the insurrectionists that caused them to have to perform their duties, risk their lives and get injured. >> you're talking about louie gohmert. politico says he circulated a version of the bill to honor police but removing reference of the thing they are being honored for, defending the scene of democracy against an insurrection. >> absolutely. that's exactly what i'm referencing. so, you know, what is the problem with recognizing that white supremacists, those who storm the capitol with confederate flags and nazi symbols and shouted racial e epatats to our capitol police officers, what is the difficulty in recognizing that? that is the truth. that is the truth. not the alternative truth you're promoting. >> it also so just the history matters and how we remember history accurately matters and to at this early stage to try to be rewriting the first drafts of history, it just seems particularly gulling. senator menendez, appreciate your time. thank you. just ahead, everything we're learning about the atlanta killings and later, professional basketball player jeremy lin on the attacks asian americans now face. we'll be right back. out my grandparents that i never knew. i'm a lawyer now, but i had no idea that my grandfather was a federal judge in guatemala. my grandfather used his legal degree and his knowledge to help people that were voiceless in his country. that put a fire in my heart. it made me realize where i got my passion for social justice. bring your family history to life like never before. get started for free at ancestry.com retirement income is complicated. as your broker, i've solved it. that's great, carl. but we need something better. that's easily adjustable has no penalties or advisory fee. and we can monitor to see that we're on track. like schwab intelligent income. schwab! introducing schwab intelligent income. a simple, modern way to pay yourself from your portfolio. oh, that's cool... i mean, we don't have that. schwab. a modern approach to wealth management. priceline works with top hotels, to save you up to 60%. these are all great. and when you get a big deal... you feel like a big deal. ♪ priceline. every trip is a big deal. that's why at america's beverage companies, our bottles are made to be re-made. not all plastic is the same. we're carefully designing our bottles to be one hundred percent recyclable, including the caps. they're collected and separated from other plastics, so they can be turned back into material that we use to make new bottles. that completes the circle, and reduces plastic waste. please help us get every bottle back. as we reported at the temperature of the program the suspected atlanta mass shooter is in custody. the crimes, the victims and everything we know and do not know at this moment about what happened. >> do you have a description of him, ma'am? >> reporter: that quiet plea came from a woman hiding in one of three spas in the atlanta area where by the end of tuesday night eight people were dead and one injured. the killing spree in which most of the victims were asian american women happened in the span of a few hours. the suspect told investigators he had no racial motivation but that he targeted what he felt were temptations. a former roommate told cnn he was deeply religious and felt tortured and distraught but his sexual addiction and another roommate said he spent time in rehab for a sex addiction and a transition house. the suspect many you arpurchase gun this week. at 5:0 p.m. tuesday night, cherokee deputies were called to young's asian massage 30 miles north of atlanta. four people died at that location. about an hour later, atlanta 911 dispatch received two calls from spas across the street from each other where it took time perhaps across language barriers to comprehend what is happening. >> is it a male or female? >>. [ inaudible ] >> they have a gun, you said? >> reporter: they found three asian woman men killed at the g spa. first responders found another asian woman dead there. >> some guy came in and shoot the gun so everybody heard the gunshot and some lady got hurt, i think. everybody is scared so they are hiding. >> reporter: police say the suspect's family called in to help identify him from surveillance images. they tracked his cell phone. 150 miles south of atlanta in crisp county, state troopers intercepted him. investigators believe he was headed to florida to make similar attacks. while the suspect told investigators this attack was prompted by his sexual addiction. >> i'm taking that with a grain of salt. this is a man who murdered eight people in cold blood, so it's very difficult to believe what he says. i'll leave it up to the prosecutors to determine what other appropriate charges may be warranted as it relates to hate crimes but it's very difficult to ignore that the asian community is once again been targeted. >> reporter: whether or not this is called a hate crime, the asian american community says the fear is real. >> i think there's an enormous amount of fear and anxiety, particularly this crime that was not necessarily committed based on race, at least based on what we know so far, but that it was six asian american women who were shot and killed yesterday. in light of the broader context where we seen a spike of discrimination hate and violence against asian americans across this country. >> do investigators believe the suspect acted alone? >> yeah, anderson, i asked about that at a press conference today with the multiple investigating agencies about whether similar businesses should be concerned, if there is still a threat out there. i was told no, they believe this person acted alone. of course, it could have been much worse had they not stopped him on his way south. investigatiors believe he was headed to florida to commit similar acts there. we'll continue the conversation in a moment about the fear in the asian american community. regardless of the motives in this attack. asian americans seen a large number of attacks and racial slurs since the pandemic begin. basketball player jeremy lin joins us when we come back. want to save hundreds on your wireless bill? with xfinity mobile, you can. how about saving hundreds on the new samsung galaxy s21 ultra 5g? you can do that too. all on the most reliable network? sure thing! and with fast, nationwide 5g included - at no extra cost? we've got you covered. so join the carrier rated #1 in customer satisfaction... ...and learn how much you can save at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings. regardless of the motive in the atlanta shootings, the asian american community is on edge because of the racism since the pan pandemic and the commentary of the previous leader of the free world. >> i can name kung flu. before the plague from china came in, you know what that is, the china virus. i want to provide an update on our response to the china virus. kung flu, yeah. kung flu. medicine will e radicate the china virus once and for all. china and china and it came from china. when we got hit by the china virus as i call it. >> the last comment was last night, still doing it. again, after a year in which asian americans have been verbally harassed, randi kaye has more on the state of fear our fellow americans are living in. >> reporter: in san francisco last month on the edge of china town a 67-year-old asian man is suddenly ambushed at a laun laundromat. surveillance video shows the terrifying moments as he's dragged to the ground. the attack comes after police increase patrols following attacks in oakland's china town. oakland's china town is where this 91-year-old asian man was shoved to the ground. watch as his attacker rushes him from behind. police quickly identify the male suspect who was involved in two other assaults on elderly people. >> we have charged him with three counts of assault. >> reporter: in new york, this filipino american believes he was targeted because of his race. his attacker slashing him across the face with a box cutter. >> he slashed me from cheek to cheek. >> reporter: it all happened on the new york city subway during the morning rush. >> move! move! >> reporter: early in the pandemic, this asian man was also hard raassed on the new yo subway and when he didn't move, the suspect sprayed him in the face with fabreese. this 86-year-old thai immigrant died out on a morning walk when an unprovoked attacker charged him from across the street. >> he never wake up again. i never see him again. >> reporter: a 19-year-old is now charged in his death with murder and elder abuse. in los angeles, 27-year-old denny kim says he was randomly punched in the face by two strangers. >> basically they approached me. they were hurling racial slurs and calling me chink, ching chong, chinese virus. >> reporter: while not all of these are ruled hate crimes now, they are a disturbing rise of asian americans to rally in an effort to stop the hate. at a demonstration in new york city last month, some spoke openly of fear. >> many of my family members are living in fear and anxiety. >> reporter: others pointed fingers. >> i think the rhetoric from our previous administration was definitely the catalyst for all of this. >> got all different names, wuhan. wuhan was catching on. coronavirus, right? kung flu, yeah. >> reporter: there have also been attacks on property. asian owned businesses have been hit and robbed, too. and out in the open, in restaurants boldfaced racism. >> [ bleep ] asian piece of [ bleep ]. >> oh my god. >> reporter: in some communities, it's come down to neighbors protecting neighbors. after some in this california community threw rocks and hurled insults at an asian couple's home, neighbors set up camp standing guard in shifts to keep the couple safe. >> they see us and turn around. >> reporter: standing strong together in the face of hate. randi kaye, cnn palm beach county, florida. >> perspective from jeremy lin, a professional basketball player who has spoken about racism asian americans had to face and had to confront himself on the court. je jeremy, thanks for being with us. sorry under these circumstances. in february you posted about racism against ration americans and said you were called coronavirus on the basketball court by another player. you talked about experiencing bigotry throughout your career and racism against asian americans is nothing new but does it feel different now because of the pandemic? >> it feels very different. i think growing up it was always something that might be a little more subtle or verbal but i think what we're seeing right now is a lot of physical actual violence, lives being taken. a lot of asian americans who are looking over their shoulders when they go outside, when they go to the grocery store and we're starting to slowly see more and more reporting of what is going on, but this is something that is definitely hitting different, and i think we can start to see that, you know, kind of what you guys have shown before in terms of the previous administration and the rhetoric and was being used and you can even hear in the audio recordings, the cheers, the laughs, from everybody in those situations when, you know, it was called the kung flu virus and everyone is cheering. i think there is a lot of racially charged hatred right now that we're seeing and feeling. >> you also in a facebook post i read talked about kind of a feel -- a different feeling among particularly young asian americans right now in terms of standing up, and speaking out, and just not taking the kind of stereo types that have traditionally been used against asian americans. >> yeah, i think -- i mean, you know, that's something that, you know, i talk about and a lot of us talk about in terms of the minority myth, i think if you look back into history, a lot of this stuff i never learned, never heard about until i had to go dig it up myself. but you look at how china town came to existence, if you look at the japanese camps or the china exclusion act, the first legislation and only legislation that banned a specific person from coming in, i mean, i feel like asian and asian american experience has often been not talked about and asian american immigrants have just come over. asian immigrants have come over and basically just been told what to do and to be quiet and to stay under the radar and to not cause any noise, and i think with this next generation a