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Deadly Georgia Shootings Heighten Fear Among Asian Americans; Cases Rising in 17 States As Variants Spread Across U.S.; Interview with Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired March 18, 2021 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:13]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you so much for joining us.

At this hour, there are new developments in the Atlanta area spa shootings. New fear among Asian Americans and new questions and anger over law enforcement's handling of this tragedy so far. The suspect was scheduled to appear before a judge this morning, but that court appearance was canceled.

The 21-year-old is charged with eight counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. More charges are possible. All but two of the people killed are Asian women targeted in three different spas and two different towns.

Still, police say it is too early to declare a motive. Thought the way that they talked about it yesterday has left some very unsettling questions about how seriously investigators are looking at the role of hate and stereotypes in this attack.

This isn't just a local story either. This speaks to the fear of Asian Americans nationwide and how they have been targeted especially since the start of the pandemic.

We've just learned that the president and the vice president will be traveling to Atlanta tomorrow. They will be meeting with Asian American leaders when they are there.

Let's start with CNN's Natasha Chen. She is joining us from Cherokee County, Georgia with the very latest.

Natasha, if we could just start with the latest on the case. Why was this first court appearance canceled?

NATASHA CHEN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kate. We talked to the magistrate court clerk this morning and she said that the appearance was canceled at the request of the defendant's attorney and would not share any contact information for that attorney. Right now, we don't know when it will be rescheduled.

And at this point, he is still being held in the Cherokee County custody, this is one of two counties where he now faces a total of eight murder charges.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN (voice-over): This morning, authorities are investigating why a suspected gunman killed eight people in three Atlanta area spas and whether the massacre that left six Asian women dead can be prosecuted as a hate crime. The shooting started around 5:00 p.m. Tuesday at Young's Asian massage in Cherokee County, leaving four people dead.

DISPATCHER: Do you have a description of him, ma'am?

CALLER: I need to hide right now.

CHEN: That desperate 911 call came from gold massage spa about 30 miles from the first shooting. Police discovered three Asian women killed there.

CALLER: Some guy came in and shoot the gun, some ladies got hurt, I think, and everybody is scared so they are hiding.

CHEN: Across the street, at aromatherapy spa, another Asian woman killed.

Atlanta law enforcement is withholding the names of victims. But in Cherokee County, police confirmed the names of the people who lost their lives and the man who was injured.

Robert Aaron Long is now behind bars and charged with eight counts of murder.

CHIEF RODNEY BRYANT, ATLANTA POLICE: Even though we've made an arrest, there is still a lot more work to be done.

CHEN: Authorities say Long told them the killings were because he had a potential sexual addiction.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The suspect did take responsibility for the shootings. This is still early, but he does claim that it was not racially motivated.

CHEN: But Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms says it's hard to ignore that the majority of the shooting victims were Asian women.

MAYOR KEISHA LANCE BOTTOMS (D), ATLANTA: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is an attack on all of us.

CHEN: Grief and outrage are growing over the rise of attacks over Asian Americans since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

At the White House, President Joe Biden condemned the acts of violence.

JOSEPH R. BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Very concerned because as you know, I've been speaking about the brutality against Asian Americans for the last couple months. And I think that it is very, very troublesome.

CHEN: No matter the motive, Georgia State Representative Sam Parks says that the shooting is spreading fear not only here but in Asian- American communities across the country.

SAM PARK (D), GEORGIA STATE HOUSE: It was an attack against Asian- American women, against members of our community and of course we want to do everything that we can to protect everyone.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHEN (on camera): What is interesting here in Georgia, the hate crime laws here include the targeting of victims not just based on race, national origin or religion, et cetera, but also based on sex. And so the investigators have a lot to work through here as far as what the motivation exactly was, Kate.

BOLDUAN: And, Natasha, there is also new reporting about the spokesperson for the Cherokee County sheriff's department and some troubling social media posts. Can you fill us in on this?

CHEN: Right. So, Captain Jay Baker, the spokesperson for the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, allegedly posted last April some photos of customized graphic tee saying COVID-19 imported from China, China spelled Chy-na.

[11:05:05]

This, of course, problematic because it is similar to rhetoric we've heard including from the former president really blaming the virus on China and some folks have extrapolated that to blame Chinese people or Asian people as a whole. And that is playing in to the largest context of what we just discussed of the rise in anti-Asian incidents and assaults across the country especially during this pandemic.

And this post, CNN reached out to Captain Baker and he said he had no additional comments. And the account is now deleted. We're not sure if he deleted it or if Facebook deleted it.

And, of course, he is also the person who made a comment yesterday regarding the motivations of the suspect saying that the suspect was fed up and had a really bad day and this is what happened -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. Natasha, thank you very much.

So these brutal killings are bringing in to stark relief the intense fear among Asian-Americans across the country right now, as Natasha was just speaking to, as just one example of the recent rise in violence.

In New York City alone, there has been at least ten suspected anti- Asian hate crimes committed since January 1st.

CNN's Randi Kaye has a closer look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In San Francisco last month, on the edge of Chinatown, a 67-year-old Asian man is suddenly ambushed at a Laundromat. Surveillance video shows the terrifying moments, as he is dragged to the ground.

The attack comes just after police increased patrols in the area following attacks in Oakland's Chinatown.

Oakland's Chinatown is where this 91-year-old Asian man was shoved to the ground. Watch as his attacker rushes him from behind. Police quickly identified the male suspect was involved in two other assaults on elderly people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have charged him with three counts of assault.

KAYE: 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.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He slashed me from cheek to cheek.

KAYE: It all happened on the New York city subway, during the morning rush.

Early in the pandemic, this Asian man was also harassed on the New York subway. And when he didn't move, the suspect sprayed him in the face with Febreze.

In San Francisco, this 84-year-old Thai immigrant died after being pushed to the ground in the January. He was simply out on his morning walk when an unprovoked attacker charged him from across the street.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He never wake up again. I never see him again.

KAYE: A 19-year-old is now charged in his death with murder and elder abuse.

In Los Angeles, 27-year-old Denny Kim (ph) says he was randomly punched in the face by two strangers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two assailants basically approached me, hurling racial slurs. They're calling me Yahtzee, Ching-Chong, Chinese virus.

KAYE: While not all have been ruled hate crimes as of now, they do contribute to a disturbing wave of violence against Asian Americans. It spurred on many in the Asian community and beyond to rally in an effort to stop the hate.

At a demonstration in New York City last month, some spoke openly of fear.

WILL LEX HAM, NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT: Many of my family members are living in fear and anxiety.

KAYE: Others pointed fingers.

PEARL SUN, NEW YORK CITY RESIDENT: I think the rhetoric from our previous administration was definitely the catalyst for all of this.

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER PRESIDENT: It's got all different names. Wuhan. Wuhan was catching on. Coronavirus, right? Kung flu, yeah.

KAYE: There have also been attacks on property, Asian-owned businesses have been hit and robbed too. And out in the open in restaurants, bold faced racism.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Asian piece of (EXPLTIVE DELETED)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh my god.

KAYE: In some communities, it has come down to neighbors protecting neighbors.

After some in this California community threw rocks and hurled insults as an Asian couple's home, neighbors set up camp standing guard in shifts to keep the couple safe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They see us and they turn around.

KAYE: Standing strong together in the face of hate.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Palm Beach County, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Thank you so much, Randi, for putting that together.

Let's turn to Capitol Hill right now where a House Judiciary Subcommittee is focused on discrimination and violence against Asian Americans. You are looking at live pictures. Today's hearing was planned well before the killings in Georgia, but obviously take on a whole new importance in the lights of those brutal shootings.

Joining me right now is CNN's Manu Raju. He's been watching this, this morning.

Manu, what have you been hearing so far?

[11:10:02]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're just starting to hear testimony from actually -- from Asian American lawmakers about the experiences that they have gone through and what they have witnessed through the course of the past year. And we're about to hear from not just the lawmakers but also others who are talking about the extent of the Asian American violence and the racism, including one who is a professor of the University of Minnesota, a woman Erika Hill, who will testify according to her prepared remarks about a study showing just how bad things have gotten for the Asian American community. She says: We are here because there has been an alarming rise in anti-

Asian racism and violence over the past year. Beginning in late January of 2020, Asian Americans reported being harassed, yelled at, attacked and shunned in stores and restaurants, on city streets, buses and subways and in their own neighborhoods.

She says these attacks have been happening throughout the pandemic and there is no sign of them slowing down. She goes on to say that this is not just deranged individuals, this is systemic and this needs to be addressed.

And one congresswoman, Doris Matsui, just testified about what she believes the cause has been from the rhetoric coming from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. DORIS MATSUI (D-CA): Last year, I heard at the highest levels of government, those people used racist slurs like China virus to spread xenophobia and cast blame on innocent communities. It was all too familiar. Comments like these only build upon a legacy of racism and anti-Asian sentiment and insensitivity that seeks to divide our nation. So, yes, I was deeply shamed.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: So clearly she is speaking about Donald Trump there who has, of course, referred to it repeatedly as the China virus.

But, Kate, we actually have not heard a lot from Republicans about this yet. We've been trying to get a response from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell whose wife is Asian-American. Our colleague Ted Barrett asked him multiple times this morning about any response that he has to this and he refused to comment --Kate.

BOLDUAN: That's -- that's baffling.

Manu, thank you very much, and always. Great work from Ted Barrett trying to track down. Let's see if -- why Mitch McConnell is staying silent on this.

Coming up for us, Alaska is the first state to open up vaccines everyone older -- everyone 16 and older. What it is doing right now, what that state is doing right now and what other states can learn from it. The governor from Alaska is our guest.

And later, President Biden's new message to migrants, is it enough to stop the surge? Texas border congressman will be joining us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:17:00]

BOLDUAN: Right now, there are new concerns the U.S. could be on the verge of another surge. Seventeen states are seeing a rise in coronavirus infections. And two of those states, Alabama and Delaware, the increase is more than 50 percent. In Alaska, cases are rising despite a very successful vaccine rollout.

Alaska is one of the top states per capital in the nation in getting shots in arms.

Nearly 346,000 vaccine doses have been administered so far. That is about 47 doses for every 100 people. Impressive especially considering the challenges of being by far the largest state having some of the harshest weather conditions of any state and needing to get the vaccines to the remote areas of that state where Alaska natives are disproportionately dying from the virus.

Yet Alaska was the first in the nation to offer vaccines to anyone over the age of 16 who wants them.

Joining me right now is the Republican governor of Alaska, Mike Dunleavy.

Governor, thank you very much.

I want to get to the vaccines very much. But the new cases increasing in your state and others, but you see this increase in your state, do you know what's driving this right now?

GOV. MIKE DUNLEAVY (R), ALASKA: You know, we had higher cases back in November like the rest of the country. But we've seen those cases since November drop off. You're going to see fluctuations in the cases as folks are still waiting to get their vaccines. And we'll probably see that for a few more weeks in my opinion, but we're going to see a downward trend like we've seen since November. But you'll see some ups and downs here for a little while.

BOLDUAN: And getting to what I was saying off the top, last week, you became the first state to open up vaccine eligibility to everyone in your state 16 and older. With Alaska's size and terrain, I think that there are few states with more challenges in pulling off successful vaccine program. How did you do it, what should other states learn from your experience?

DUNLEAVY: That is a great question. So you know, Alaska is used to catastrophes, whether it's volcanoes, earthquakes, fires, high winds, tsunamis. I mean, we've had everything thrown at us, and we -- oftentimes, in a daily basis.

So we have a pretty good response system set up to emergencies. And when the virus came to Alaska, we were the first state to accept the plane from Wuhan that had State Department officials and families, we stood up our catastrophe team and turned it into a pandemic team.

And nonetheless, we have a pretty good integrated system here in Alaska, a health system, in which you have some centralized aspects to it with the state. There's a lot of decentralization.

Our tribes have done a fantastic job. And health services have done a fantastic job. Our native health consortiums have done a fantastic job. You know, we have the highest per capita number of Native Americans in

the country -- in our state, 15 percent in the state of Alaska. As well as veterans, highest per capita veterans here in the state of Alaska.

So, everybody pulled together, entities, organizations, and individuals, to get us to where we are today. And I couldn't be prouder of Alaska.

BOLDUAN: I have to tell you, the way you lay it out to me it almost sounds like that's just more option for more complications, with so many cooks in the kitchen trying to get it right.

[11:20:07]

But it's really working out for Alaska.

Is it because of the way you said you treated it like a natural disaster, from jump?

DUNLEAVY: Yeah, yes, we did, and we had a lot of systems in place to deal with our catastrophes up here. So we just pivoted to the pandemic.

And so, again, it's -- it's also history, too, Kate. In 1918, Alaska was disproportionately hit, especially our native population, by the Spanish flu. I personally talked with survivors several decades ago that their family members were taken out by that flu.

And so that history, our systems, our way of dealing with catastrophe I think has lent itself really well to how we've dealt with this virus including the vaccination rollout.

BOLDUAN: Are you going to be the first state to completely vaccinate every adult or maybe more importantly reach herd immunity?

DUNLEAVY: We believe so. We're on target to do that. You know, we'll see a drop off in the number of folks that want a vaccine.

But I can tell you from personal experience, you know, my time was not yet there for the vaccine when I was infected by the virus. I can just say if people are contemplating getting the vaccine, you may want to do so because it takes you offline for 14 days, even if you don't have severe symptoms. It really disrupts your family, it disrupts your work and so on.

I'll be getting my vaccination soon, and a lot of Alaskans are. So, we do believe we'll reach herd immunity before any other state.

BOLDUAN: I have to say, the way you have -- and I've looked into it -- the way you talk to people, appeal to people, who maybe still remain hesitant to get a vaccine, you talk about it in a way that I haven't heard other leaders of states really talk about it. In the taking you offline, in that the inconvenience of what it does to your life and those around you, even if you have very mild symptoms. Why do you approach it in this way? DUNLEAVY: Well, it's -- you know, everyone is an individual. Everyone

has their own story, their own health issues. And you need to just talk to everybody on an individual basis.

And I've got friends that have taken the vaccination, have gotten both shots. I have friends and acquaintances that won't get the vaccination. But you know, when you get -- when you get the virus, and it does take you out for 14 days, that is a long time. And when your family members, some of them have to move out of your house so they don't get the virus, that's an inconvenience.

And when you have to have family members shop for you and leave the food at the doorstep, you begin to realize that is the shot actually more of an inconvenience than the actual virus itself? And for the individual, such as myself, the virus is more of an inconvenience.

So, you know, you have a conversation with people. I think those conversations work. We didn't have a heavy hand from the beginning in managing this virus in the state of Alaska. We were back open for business in May but we appealed to individual Alaskans.

And I think that's the beauty of Alaska, it's a beautiful place, but it's the people that pull together, that are used to dealing with catastrophes. And I think that's -- I have to say, it is the individual Alaskans that got us to where we are today.

BOLDUAN: That's very -- very impressive.

And you look at polling nationally at vaccine hesitancy, which is an issue, I know, an issue in your state as many, as in all others. And nationally in the polling, it breaks down along party lines. Many more Republicans saying that they will not be getting the vaccine than others.

Why do you think that is? Why are more Republicans likely to say no to the vaccine?

DUNLEAVY: Well, I mean, as you know, I'm a Republican and I've got a lot of Republican friends, as I do Democrat friends.

Republicans are generally suspicious of government, a little less trusting of government, more individualistic. But, you know, I'm not anti-science. My friends that are Republicans are anti-science.

Again, they have their own story and their own reasons for it. Some of it is health. Some of it is experience with previous vaccinations.

But nonetheless, I think if you look at it, you will see as you said a lot of Democrats, a lot of nonpartisans, and you'll see a lot of Republicans get the vaccination.

That is why again we're leading in the nation in this and I do believe that we will reach herd immunity.

BOLDUAN: We'll be watching it. Thank you so much, Governor. Thanks for coming on. DUNLEAVY: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Still ahead for us, brand new video just released from the FBI on the assault on the Capitol on January 6 showing more violence against police officers in a way that we really in a brutal way we have not seen before. We're going to bring that to you next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:29:32]

BOLDUAN: The number of migrants crossing the border continues to surge, among them a record number of unaccompanied minors leaving President Biden with a very real crisis at the border.

One chief Border Patrol agent even tweeting last night, there is, quote, no end in sight, noting in 48 hours, agents arrested nearly 400 migrants, including family members and unaccompanied children.

This influx is the reason the White House is sharpening its message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEN PSAKI, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: You've heard the president say in this interview that he conducted that he is encouraging people not to come. Now is not the time to come. This is not a safe journey for people to take of any age.

(END VIDEO CLIP)