The Department of Justice is investing more than $21 million to investigate and prosecute hate crimes and assist hate crime victims.
The Bureau of Justice Assistance will make $1.5 million in site-based awards under the Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Reauthorization Act of 2016 to help solve cold case civil rights murders that occurred before Dec. 31, 1979, a release said.
“The Department of Justice today announced that the Office of Justice Programs (OJP) will award more than $21 million to investigate and prosecute hate crimes and assist hate crime victims," a DOJ release said. “Funding will help state, local and tribal agencies and community organizations address an alarming rise in violent and property crimes committed on the basis of race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity or disability.”
There were 8,263 hate crime incidents involving 11,129 offenses during 2020, the DOJ reported. For example, Asian hate crimes increased by more than 76% last year because of rhetoric blaming China for the COVID-19 pandemic, NBC 4 reported.
“Reach out to Asian community members as well. We are neighbors, and friends, and coworkers,” Vincent Wang, chair of the Asian Pacific Islander American Public Affairs in Columbus, told NBC 4.
Portions of the awarded money will go toward helping solve cold cases, responding to victims, and researching domestic terrorism.
“The Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act allows the Justice Department to prosecute crimes motivated by race, color, religion, and national origin without having to show that the victim was engaged in a federally protected activity,” a DOJ release said.
The Justice Department reported that state lawyers prosecuted only 17% of hate crime suspects.
Unfortunately, there’ve been also cases of fake hate crimes reported. One instance was a Muslim woman lying about being attacked by a group of Donald Trump supporters on a New York subway, the Daily Caller put in a list.
