The Justice Department would strenuously pursue hate crimes and prosecute them, a top official promised at a community event in Washington, D.C.
Vanita Gupta, chief of the Civil Rights Division delivered a keynote address at a “Know Your Neighbor Coalition” June 23, dwelling on the June 21 massacre in Orlando where 49 people were killed in a club frequented by LGBTQ people, by a man who claimed to be driven by extremist Islamic ideology.
Gupta conceded that while ideals of religious pluralism and diversity were the nation’s strength, they had not always been followed. “…from slavery, to segregation, to discrimination – our country has not always embraced freedom and equality for all,” she said, adding, “And even today, following recent heinous acts of terrorism the past year, we see an uptick in discriminatory backlash targeting Muslim communities.”
“We also see this backlash targeting communities perceived to be Muslim, including Arabs, Sikhs and South Asians” Gupta said. Such discriminatory violence also goes against the defining values of the country, she said.
“And so to anyone who feels afraid, targeted or discriminated against because of which religion you practice, what you look like or where you come from, I want you to know this: we will do everything in our power to defend your rights to live free from violence, harassment and discrimination,” Gupta asserted,” rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
“To advance this mission, the Justice Department continues to vigorously prosecute religion-based hate crimes,” Gupta said. The FBI is now tracking data on hate crimes against Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus and Arabs. That data “greatly enhances our ability to understand the problem of hate violence and effectively allocate resources,” Gupta said.
The FBI continues to lead a range of enforcement efforts in the area of religious discrimination, she said, from students’ ability to attend school without suffering from religion-based harassment and bullying; that employees can go to work and not endure religious discrimination; and ensure that communities around the country can build houses of worship free from unjust and unlawful interference.”
But enforcement alone would not address the root causes of religious discrimination, she conceded, causes that range from misinformation, to intolerance, to bigotry. For that, the Justice Department launched a new interagency community engagement initiative earlier this year, bringing in diverse groups of policymakers, advocates, faith leaders and community members to share their views and give recommendations. A report on that is to be released later this year.
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