LOS ANGELES — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Central), published as received.
LOS ANGELES – The United States Attorney’s Office, along with the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office and the Anti-Defamation League, will host a virtual discussion on Thursday, April 22, to explain how the federal government investigates and works to combat hate crimes and discrimination, including against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community. The event will be open to the public on the WebEx platform, and pre-registration is required.
Assistant United States Attorneys will provide information on the legal framework of criminal and civil investigations into hate crimes and discrimination. The prosecutors are expected to discuss the distinction between hate crimes and hate speech, alternatives to prosecution, civil enforcement of civil rights statutes, and an overview of a hypothetical criminal hate crime investigation from complaint to conviction.
Representatives from the FBI will discuss hate crime statistics, local hate crime investigations and the FBI’s collaboration with local partners. The event will also include speakers from the Anti-Defamation League and the Department of Justice’s Community Relations Service will discuss their respective roles in interfacing with the community and stakeholders to monitor and address acts of hate locally and nationally.
The event, called “Federal Responses to AAPI Hate in the Central District of California: Awareness, Civil Actions & Criminal Enforcement,” will include time for questions and answers from the public.
The event announcement is available in English, Korean, Chinese, Tagalog, and Vietnamese. Anyone interested in attending the discussion should register here. Translation services will be available for this event upon request.
“With this program, we hope to continue working with our partners to empower the community with more knowledge about reporting hateful acts and how authorities investigate those reports. Everyone should be free from violence, threats and discrimination based on race or national origin,” said Acting United States Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison. “I encourage anyone with knowledge of discrimination, hate incidents and hate crimes to report them immediately.”
“The FBI is committed to investigating federal hate crimes and protecting the civil rights of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders,” said Kristi K. Johnson, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Division. “Violent acts motivated by bias are not only an attack on the victim, but also threaten and intimidate an entire community and are contrary to our values of equality for all Americans.”
“For over 100 years, ADL has fought against hatred and bigotry of all kinds. ADL wrote the model hate crimes legislation that has now been adopted in 47 states and the District of Columbia, as well as the federal hate crimes statute,” said ADL Deputy Regional Director Ariella Loewenstein. “Hate crimes are message crimes telling victims that they are not safe or welcome in their communities. It is incumbent upon all of us to send a countervailing message of inclusivity and safety for all. We are participating in this important program, along with our federal partners, to show that hate targeting one group is hate targeting all of us, and it will not be tolerated locally or nationally.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI and other partners strongly encourage anyone who has knowledge or information concerning any hate crime or incident involving bias or discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation or any other factor prohibited by federal law to report it to the FBI. The FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office can be reached 24 hours a day at (310) 477-6565. Reports also can be made online at https://tips.fbi.gov/. The FBI handles complaints in multiple languages.
Individuals with knowledge or information concerning discrimination based on the above factors in places of public accommodation, housing, lending, education, employment, voting or any other factor prohibited by federal law should file a complaint with the United States Attorney’s Office by calling (213) 894-2879, emailing USACAC.CV-CivilRights@usdoj.gov or submitting this form. The U.S. Attorney’s Office is equipped to handle complaints in more than 70 languages.
