co coping with in the wake of the atlanta shootings. today, a house judiciary subcommittee heard testimony from asian-american lawmakers about the climate of hatred that they, and their constituents, are experiencing. the committee also heard from texas congressman, chip roy. the ranking republican who used part of his time to recall the good, old days, when lynchings in texas were a-okay. >> there's old sayings in texas about, you know, find the rope in texas and get a tall-oak tree. we take justice very seriously, and we ought to do that. round up the bad guys. >> so, to a community living in fear of random acts of violence, during a hearing to address that violence and discrimination. congressman roy, there, seems to have praised the idea of mobs of people lynching other people from trees. and just as -- as americans of asian desent are being slandered with false allegations of loyalty to a foreign country, racist allegations that have, frankly, a long history in this country. congressman roy decided now is, also, the time to stoke that particular fire, as well. >> the chi-comms the chinese communist party. and saying, hey, we think those guys are the bad guys, for whatever reason. and let me just state clearly, i do. i think that what they are doing targeting our country. and i think that what they are doing to undermine our national security and what they are doing to steal intellectual property and what they are doing to build up their military and throughout the pacific. i think it's patently evil and deserving of condemnation. >> now, the congressman isn't wrong in believing the chinese government does some pretty terrible things. it certainly does. what he's -- fails to acknowledge, or even seem to care about, is that americans -- americans are being targeted for being of chinese descent. or people believing they're of chinese descent. or merely because some violent person, somewhere, thinks they are. congressman roy had nothing to offer them. in fact, he barely even acknowledged them before veering off into what-aboutism. >> the victims of race-based violence and their families deserve justice. and it's the case what we are talking at here with the tragedy, what we just saw occur in atlanta, georgia. i would, also, suggest that the victims of cartels moving illegal aliens, deserve justice. the maamerican citizens in sout texas that are getting absolutely decimated deserve justice. businesses closed last week -- i'm sorry, last summer, deserve justice. >> to one of the congressman's asian-american colleagues, what he said is like saying, who cares? >> we cannot turn a blind eye to people living in fear. i want to go back to something that mr. roy said, earlier. your president and your party and your colleagues can talk about issues with any, other country that you want. but you don't have to do it, by putting a bull's eye on the back of asian-americans across this country. on our grandparents, on our kids. this hearing was to address the hurt and pain of our community. and to find solutions. and we will not let you take our voice away from us. >> putting a bull's eye on a community's back, as the congresswoman puts it. happened to loyal japanese americans during the second world war. it happened to catholic americans, well into the 20th century. and it's not like people are only realizing it now. listen to texas republican senator, john cornyn, a so-called moderate being asked about it one full year ago today. >> china virus, chinese virus, does that seem like the best right now to call it that? >> that's where it came from. >> but is it helpful? it alienates people. that there is a group of people to blame. >> well, i think china is to blame because the culture where people eat bats and snakes and dogs and things like that. >> in the year since those remarks, the organization stopped aapi hate has recorded nearly-3,800 acts of hate against asian-americans and pacific islanders. in san francisco, today, an arrest in the attacks on two elderly-asian victims. just a latest in the wave of bay-area violence against asian seniors. and according to a study from three uc berkeley researchers, the rhetoric from the former president, was indeed associated with an uptick in anti-asian bias. yet, ask a supporter of the former president and here's what you get. >> you regret using terms like chinese coronavirus? and -- >> i don't know. does cnn regret that? does the democratic committee that started out regret that? i would wait to see why the shooter did what he did. but the -- the virus came from china. and i think, the knowledge we had at the time exactly that. i don't think people, from the standpoint, should go after any asian from any shape or form. and i condemn every action to that. >> by the way, for the record, as for the congressman's allegations about cnn. we stopped using such terminology, very early on. and we explained it to viewers in language like this from march of last year and i am quoting now. after consulting with medical experts and receiving guidance from the world health organization, cnn has determined that name is both inaccurate and is considered stigmatizing, so we stopped, a year ago. congressman mccarthy, he didn't. in fact, he doubled down. and the former president went further. hammering the phrase and even went further actually calling it, quote, kung flu. over and over again to cheers and laughter from large crowds. but as much as the congressman would like to make it, this isn't a got-ya game over words. it is an example of a moment, when words actually matter, and victims know this. sadly, so do their victimizers. the only ones who don't it seems are the people clinging to them. joining us now, congresswoman strickland. i appreciate you joining us. a number of asian-americans testified today in front of the house judiciary committee on this uptick in violence. have you noticed a change in behavior of attitudes toward asian-americans since the pandemic began? >> oh, definitely. we know that hate crimes against asian-americans have increased about 150%, in most cities. and you know, i have friends who tell me stories of standing in line at the grocery store. and having people say, you know, you are a h you're responsible for this. i have friends who work in healthcare and they told me stories of patients not wanting them to touch them because they're afraid to get covid. so as i said yesterday, anderson, words matter. leadership matters and we have to stop using this rhetoric that, tragically, i believe, ended in death in atlanta. >> the fact that your house colleague, congressman roy, thought today was a good day to bring up lynching in terms that seem kind of glowing about the days when, you know, mobs would lynch people. he said, in the state of texas, from trees. is at least bizarre, if not wildly offensive. i mean, you know, famously, 17 chinese men and boys were lynched by an angry mob in this country. i mean, is there reason to believe that chip roy understands or is really concerned about the fear that many in the asian-american community are feeling right now? because he seems to want to talk about a lot of other groups. >> yeah. i mean, i think with someone like chip roy is that he probably knows better. but he likes to use language that's inflammatory and dramatic and here we are in the news talking about him. so, if he chooses to be ignorant, that's his thing. but we need to speak out against that ignorance and that hate. >> law enforcement has not ruled out calling the shooting a hate crime. do you see it as a hate crime? >> i do see it as a hate crime and there are many elements into this. this was, you know, eight people were murdered. this was a result of gun violence. but i, also, believe it was, you know, an issue around racism and bigotry. and you know, these were women who worked in a spa. and the shooter went there looking for them. and so, we can talk about economic anxiety. we can talk about sexual addiction. but i want to make sure that people understand that, when women are murdered, when women of color are murdered, there is often a nexus between racism and misogyny and we cannot ignore that. >> we have learned even more attacks, today, on -- learned of more attacks on asian-americans. when you read these stories, you watch videos of elderly, asian-americans, being pushed to the ground. completely, randomly. by -- by people just passing by. families in restaurants being verbally harassed. spit on -- on -- on the street. you know, i spoke with basketball player jeremy lin last night. he talked about how important it is for asian-americans to stand up and speak out about it. and he does feel that there is kind of this change, particularly in the younger generation, in this country and the willingness to and their sense of urgency about speaking out. is it enough to speak out? or are you afraid that these attacks against asian-americans are just going to continue to rise? >> so, you know, with any type of attacks on any group or any hate crimes, there have -- we need people to be punished and held accountable, and i think that's what has to change. and, you know, you are right. when jeremy lin talked about the fact that people remained historically quiet about it, that has to change. and i do believe for some people, there is a narrative that if you are asian, if you are asian-american and something happens to you, that you are just going to be quiet and go away. and that -- things have changed. you know, we saw protests happening around the country yesterday. we are talking about allyship between african-americans, latino-americans, and people who want to join with us. and so, this is just another example of the tragic history of racism that this country has. and it started with slavery. we know that it included the expulsion of chinese-americans. the internment of japanese. the way mexican-americans, were often demonized during economic crises and here we are during covid now having hate against asian-americans. and so, people are exhausted. people want folks to be held accountable and we need allies who are going to speak out with us. >> were you surprised when you heard -- i don't know if you saw the press conference. but you may have read the remarks made by representative from the sheriff's office in gwinnett county where the shooter was apprehended and where the first shooting took place. essentially, said that the shooter was having a bad day. and was at the end of his rope. does -- that's not kind of language i'm -- i mean, if the shooter was not a -- i mean, i'm wondering how you interpreted those statements? >> well, i mean, it's absurd that someone would even make that remark. but you know who had a bad day anderson? the eight people who were murdered. you know who had a bad day? the loved ones who had to get phone calls from officials saying their loved one has died. so to say someone had a bad day is another way of excusing something and making excuses for something. >> by the way, it was cherokee county. i think i misspoke. congresswoman strickland, appreciate your time. thank you very. . coming up next, the atlanta investigation. the question of hate crime charge and also more about that sheriff spokesman who, by the way, is no longer a spokesman on the case. we will tell you why. there is new frgz information out. plus, a clash over mask wearing. one senator, versus the facts. >> let's get down to the facts. let me just state, for the record, that masks are not theater. masks are protective. managing type 2 diabetes? you're on it. you may think you're doing all you can to manage type 2 diabetes and heart disease but could your medication do more to lower your heart risk? 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>> no, they're not, anderson. and, you know, that's the big question. you know, were these victims targeted because they are asian? because of the way they look? and atlanta police held a news conference, a couple of hours ago. they said, look, they are looking at everything. not ruling anything out. they also updated us with information about the suspect that he frequented these two spas here in atlanta. that he purchased the handgun that he used in these shootings, on the day of the shootings. but again, atlanta police stressing that it's just too early to say, whether or not these -- these shootings were racially motivated. take a listen. >> as a result of that, though, we still have an investigation that is, still, ongoing. our investigation is separate from the cherokee county's investigation. our investigation is slightly different. we had four asian females that were killed. and so, we are looking at everything to make sure that we discover and determine what the motive of our homicides were. so, again, it's just very important that -- to let you know that we are not done. >> now, anderson, atlanta mayor, keisha lance bottoms, believes race did play a role in these attacks. in fact, she says that you just can't ignore the fact that six out of the eight victims are asian women. and she also raised a good point. you know, mentioning the suspect's claims that this was not racially motivated. he apparently told police that this was due to a sexual addiction. making him lash out at these spas. and mayor bottom said, look, you can't take, at face value, the comments of a confessed murderer. anderson. >> also, if -- if part of what he has allegedly told police is that he was trying to, kind of, eliminate sexual temptation. the idea that he equates temptations with presumably-asian spas. when will the alleged shooter actually appear in court? and do we -- is it clear what the charges -- expected charges will be? >> so, he is charged with eight counts of murder, in both fulton county and cherokee county. we don't know, anderson, when his next court appearance will be. he was scheduled for his first court appearance, today. but that, for some reason, was cancelled. on request of his attorney. so, he waived his right for a first appearance. anderson. >> amara walker, i appreciate the reporting. thank you. we are going to hear more from mayor bottom, shortly. we are now learning what he posted online as well. cnn's natasha chen has that. >> reporter: the cherokee county, georgia, sheriff's office says captain jay baker is no longer a spokesperson on the case of a killing spree at three spas, resulting in eight deaths. baker has come under fire for this social-media post he allegedly shared last april. showing custom-graphic t-shirts reading, covid-19 imported virus from china. the post read, love my shirt. get yours while they last. the account has, since, been deleted. baker further invited controversy with this comment in an answer to a reporter's question about whether the suspect understood the gravity of his actions. >> i spoke with investigators. they interviewed him this morning. and they got that impression that, yes, he understood the gravity of it. and he was, pretty much, fed up. and kind of, at the end of his rope. and -- and yesterday was a really bad day for him and this is what he did. >> if someone's having a bad day, you don't go around shooting people. >> reporter: maria harris and her mother-in-law are muslim-americans who live near the site of the cherokee county shooting. they say had the suspect looked like them instead of being white, the actions would not be chocked up to a bad day. >> terrorist. someone goes out and kills someone, it's -- it's terrorism. if a black guy does something, he's driving, he is speeding, they are going to just shoot him. >> i have a young kid who could be growing up in a society, child of color, how am i supposed to explain this to him? >> reporter: cherokee county sheriff issued a statement regretting any heartache baker's words may have caused. part of the statement reads in as much as his words were construed as insensitive or inappropriate, they were not intended to disrespect any of the victims, the gravity of this tragedy, or express empathy or sympathy for the suspect. says removing baker as spokesperson on this particular case is not enough. she says law-enforcement agencies should go further, and offer better training to their officers. >> if you had more sensitivity training or if you were more in tune with your community, you would know that the words that you chose to use, at the time of, like he said, an event that he is not used to in his 28 years serving. he would know not to use such flippant language. >> natasha chen joins us now. so in addition to the statement that you released, the cherokee county also attended a vigil held at one of the shooting locations tonight. what did he say? >> anderson, sheriff reynolds said some of the same things he said in that written statement when we asked him about baker. he, also, said that there wasn't any, additional information, at this time, to suggest racial motivation. however, he said he wanted to let the asian-american community know that they are in his thoughts and prayers. and that he was very shaken by this crime. anderson. >> natasha chen, thanks very much. now, atlanta mayor keisha lance bottoms as we spoke just before airtime. >> mayor bottom, i want to talk about how people in atlanta are doing in a moment. but first, i am wondering what your reaction is to cherokee county, for him to say the alleged shooter had a -- a bad day really struck, i think, a lot of people as something he, you know, likely, wouldn't have said for somebody else. and this revelation that the captain previously posted the image online. >> that's very disappointed. i can tell you, anderson, in all honesty, standing there yesterday. and having the benefit of -- of getting a briefing, before we walked in. i thought that he was relaying what the shooter shared with him. i, obviously, didn't have the information regarding the post that he put on facebook. that, obviously, is inexcusable. i will leave it to him to -- to explain what that's all about. but we were focused on the eight people who were killed on yesterday. and that's been hanging, very heavily, over our entire city. and the unfortunate part is there's now an added -- added layer to th