Tag: hate crimes

Three men charged with federal hate crimes in fatal shooting of Ahmaud Arbery

Washington Post logo

A federal grand jury indicted three White men on hate-crime and attempted kidnapping charges Wednesday in the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man whose fatal shooting last year in coastal Georgia sparked a national outcry.

Travis McMichael, 35; his father, Gregory McMichael, a 65-year-old former police detective; and William “Roddie” Bryan, 51, are already awaiting trial on murder charges, accused of confronting and killing Arbery as he was jogging through the Satilla Shores neighborhood of Brunswick, Ga., in February 2020. The case went months without arrests until a video of the shooting went viral, drawing condemnations and comparisons to a lynching.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty to murder, and their lawyers argue race played no role — that they pursued Arbery in the belief he was behind neighborhood break-ins. But prosecutors have portrayed the men as racist, pointing to texts and social media posts in court. Bryan, who filmed the fatal confrontation on his phone, told investigators that Travis McMichael used the n-word after shooting Arbery, a claim the younger McMichael’s lawyers denied. Continue reading.

Rep. Hornstein & Sen. Latz Announce New Legislation to Address Hate Crimes

House DFL logoEmpowering Minnesotans to Stand Up Against Hate

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Representative Frank Hornstein (DFL-Minneapolis) and Senator Ron Latz (DFL- St. Louis Park) announced legislation today to expand and improve reporting of hate crimes in Minnesota. HF 3837 requires updated training for peace officers on crimes motivated by bias, and directs the Minnesota Department of Human Rights to consult with the Board of Peace Officer Standards on proposed improvements.

Over the course of six months last year, Minnesota Attorney General Ellison held seven town hall meetings across the state focused on hate crimes with a broad coalition of elected officials, religious and community leaders, and impacted community members. The legislation announced today is a result in part of these conversations. Rep. Hornstein attended several of the meetings and was moved by the large attendance, interest, and stories from Minnesotans.

“Our new bill will raise awareness of the urgent need to update our hate crime statutes,” said Rep. Hornstein. “It gives law enforcement and communities the tools they need to address this mounting concern. All Minnesotans deserve to feel safe.” Continue reading “Rep. Hornstein & Sen. Latz Announce New Legislation to Address Hate Crimes”

A Nazi sympathizer pleaded guilty to defacing a synagogue. His lawyer says conservatives helped radicalize him.

After Nolan Brewer pleaded guilty to charges in connection with painting swastikas on an Indiana synagogue’s property and setting the yard ablaze, his attorney argued in court documents that the 21-year-old man did not deserve prison time.

He had been influenced heavily by his wife, Kiyomi Brewer, his attorney wrote in a sentencing memo filed last week, and putting Nolan Brewer in prison would only further stoke the prejudiced beliefs that had inspired the couple to commit those acts.

Prisons are hotbeds for brainwashing by white supremacists, Nolan Brewer’s lawyer, Samuel Ansell, wrote in a sentencing memo filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana. Probation and significant community service were more appropriate punishments, Ansell wrote.

View the complete May 27 article by Katie Mettler from The Washington Post website here.

When Will The Republican Party Push Back Against White Nationalism?

Two horrific acts of terrorism were committed this weekend against non-Christians. One by an Islamophobic Christian supremacist terrorist mistakenly targeting Sikhs (again), and one by an anti-Semitic white supremacist terrorist spouting “replacement theory” smears.

In the first case, a man whose father was a pastor and who was suffering mental illness in part due to service in Iraq, drove into a family of Sikhs in Sunnyvale, California, allegedly believing they were Muslims. A 13-year-old girl is now in a coma and fighting for her life. The terrorist was allegedly on his way to a Bible study group and praising Jesus when authorities caught him.

In the second, a white supremacist took credit for an arsonist attack against a mosque last month, only after gunning down several people at a synagogue in Poway, California, killing one and injuring three.

View the complete April 28 article by David Atkins with The Washington Monthly on the National Memo website here.

Report: Hate Crimes Spike Locally After Trump MAGA Rallies

Trump spews hate and inspires others to commit hate crimes. Now there’s clear evidence that wherever Trump holds one of his notoriously anti-immigrant, anti-media campaign rallies, he leaves an increase in hate crimes in his wake.

New research reported Friday by the Washington Post shows just how dangerous Trump’s rhetoric really is. The report found hate crimes increased 226 percent in counties where Trump held a 2016 campaign rally compared to counties that did not hold a rally.

The research backs up claims by politicians like Sens. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who have called Trump out for inspiring violence and bigotry.

View the complete March 22 article by Dan Desai Martin on the National Memo website here.

Not a single Republican will support bill to combat rise in hate crimes

Credit: Nikos Frazier | MLive.com

With hate crimes surging nationwide, not a single Republican will sign on as a co-sponsor to a bill to address the problem.

Hate crimes are on the rise in Trump’s America, a trend that has been attributed in large part to Trump’s incendiary rhetoric, tacit endorsement of violence, and embrace of far-right extremism.

According to new FBI statistics released this week, documented hate crimes rose by 17 percent in 2017, with particularly notable increases in anti-Hispanic and anti-Semitic crimes. During the same time period, white supremacist murders doubled, making 2017 the fifth deadliest year on record for extremist violence.

Clearly, there’s a need to do something to address the surge in hate crimes.

Men convicted of hate crime blame Trump’s violent rhetoric

Violent criminals are saying Trump’s anti-Muslim rage should let them get away with shorter prison sentences.

Lawyers for three members of a Kansas militia group who were convicted of an anti-Muslim hate crime argued in court this week that the men should be granted leniency in their sentencing because their violence was incited by Trump and his incendiary campaign rhetoric.

Patrick Stein, Curtis Allen, and Gavin Wright were each convicted for taking part in a conspiracy to kill Muslim refugees before the 2016 election.

The three men reportedly planned to bomb an apartment building in Kansas that housed a mosque and a large population of Muslim Somali refugees, but they were arrested before they could carry out the attack.

View the complete November 1 article by Caroline Orr on the ShareBlue.org website here.

Will the Alt Right Produce the Next Timothy McVeigh?

The following article by  Alex Reid Ross and Shane Burley was posted on the AlterNet website November 27, 2017:

The history of white nationalism suggests we could be entering a period of violent upheaval.

Timothy McVeigh, Credit: AP

Last weekend, the Rocklands Farm in Poolesville, Maryland gave the boot to Richard Spencer and his white nationalist think tank, the National Policy Institute, midway through their scheduled conference. “Throughout our history of hosting private events, we have never had to ask a group to leave,” the owners’ statement read. “However, yesterday, November 19, we discovered that a private event held here was, in reality, a gathering of an organization that is strongly in opposition to our values.”

For the self-proclaimed founder of the so-called alt right, it was merely the latest in a series of humiliations. Continue reading “Will the Alt Right Produce the Next Timothy McVeigh?”

Marine drill instructor sentenced to 10 years in prison for targeting Muslim recruits

The following article by Rory Laverty was posted on the Washington Post website November 10, 2017:

Gunnery Sgt. Joseph A. Felix and his wife are escorted into court at Camp Lejeune, N.C., on Nov. 6. Felix is accused of abusing Muslim recruits. (Rory Laverty)

CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. — A military jury sentenced a former Marine drill instructor to 10 years in prison and a dishonorable discharge from the service Friday for subjecting Muslim recruits to verbal and physical abuse, including one young man who committed suicide after an especially troubling encounter.

The eight-member jury issued its sentence a day after it found Gunnery Sgt. Joseph Felix guilty of maltreatment for terrorizing three Muslim men at the Marines’ storied boot camp in Parris Island, S.C. Felix also will have his rank reduced to private. Continue reading “Marine drill instructor sentenced to 10 years in prison for targeting Muslim recruits”

Muslims Once Again Are Being Targeted For An Attack They Had Nothing To Do With

The following article by Rowaida Abdelaziz was posted on the Huffington Post website November 3, 2017:

Mosques in New Jersey are receiving terrifying voicemails, including death threats.

“We’re going to burn your mosque down,” a voice said angrily in a voicemail left on the mosque’s phone.

“We’re coming to kill you,” another said. Continue reading “Muslims Once Again Are Being Targeted For An Attack They Had Nothing To Do With”