“The US is currently facing unprecedented challenges, some of which are fueling increased bigotry and hatred,” said Pamela Karlan, the principal deputy assistant attorney-general for the Civil Rights Division.

She added that her office is working with the FBI, federal prosecutors and local police to “evaluate possible hate crimes” without providing further details.

A Justice Department official told Reuters the statement was a direct response to the increasing reports of violence against Asian-Americans.

Later, in a news briefing, Acting Deputy Attorney-General John Carlin also addressed the issue, calling attacks on Asian-Americans “horrific”.

“I want to be clear here: No one in America should fear violence because of who they are, or what they believe,” he said.

“We will not tolerate any form of domestic terrorism or hate-based violent extremism, and we are committed to putting a stop to it.”

From March of 2020 to December of last year, there were more than 2,800 reported incidents of anti-Asian hate incidents in the US, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a coalition that has been collecting data.

While verbal harassment has made up more than 70% of the incidents, more than 8% involved physical assaults.

In one such example, a surveillance video that has since gone viral showed a 91-year-old Asian man in Oakland, California, being shoved to the ground on Jan 31.

A suspect in the attack was later arrested, and now faces multiple assault charges for a number of Chinatown incidents. Prosecutors are also investigating whether the attacks were racially motivated.

Another high-profile example includes the January murder of Vichar Ratanapakdee, an 84-year-old immigrant from Thailand who was shoved to the ground in San Francisco and never regained consciousness after the fall.

San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has since charged a suspect in Ratanapakdee’s death.