WATCH: FBI Director Christopher Wray says ‘violent crime problem is real’ threat

FBI Director Christopher Wray says that “the violent crime problem is real ” in the United States, as he testified on a host of topics before the Senate Judiciary Committee including the January 6 investigation, Chinese espionage and whistleblowers.

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Wray told lawmakers that an FBI task force focused on violent crime, made more than 17,000 arrests in the last year saying the violent crime issue is one “we are firmly determined to combat.”

The FBI director was questioned by senators from both sides of the aisle asking about domestic violence that targeted abortion activists.

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) said that abortion-rights activists targeted over 82 churches and pregnancy centers, using firebombs in some instances.

“From our perspective, I don’t care what side of the issue you’re on, I don’t care who you’re upset with or what you’re upset about,” Wray said. “On abortion or anything else, you don’t get to use violence or threats of violence to act on it, and we’re going to go after that conduct aggressively.”

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) emphasized stalking, arson attacks and the use of Molotov cocktails being thrown through windows in attacks targeting abortion clinic staff and patients.

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“I think this is part of a larger phenomenon that we are experiencing in this country right now,” Wray said. “I understand that passions run high, especially on an issue like abortion, but there’s just way too many people that seem to think that that justifies engaging in violence and destruction of property and threats of violence.”

Wray said that violence has surged among both abortion-rights and anti-abortion activists since a draft opinion leaked that the U.S. Supreme Court was poised to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade case that legalized abortion nationwide.

The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

Wray addressed lawmakers’ inquiries on Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government overseeing a campaign of counterintelligence and economic espionage.

Wray once called it “the greatest long-term threat to our nation’s information and intellectual property.”

“This is a problem of massive, massive scale,” Wray said.

Wray also was asked about the difficulty in identifying 350 suspects involved in the Jan. 6 attack on the US. Capitol.

The Justice Department is still hunting for scores of rioters, even as the first of more than 500 people already arrested have pleaded guilty.