Beyer on 2018 hate crimes stats, Trump response

Rep. Don Beyer, author of the NO HATE Act, today issued the following statement on the FBI’s release of hate crime statistics for 2018:  

“This report on hate crime statistics unfortunately underscores again the dire need for a stronger and more comprehensive national strategy to fight hate. The rise in bias crimes against large groups of Americans sadly reflects what we keep reading in the news. The FBI data also shows huge gaps in the reporting, including an entire state which did not participate in the survey.

“The Trump Administration has not done enough to fight hate crimes, and I continue to urge federal law enforcement agencies to make this a higher priority. I also urge Congress to pass the NO HATE Act and other legislation to strengthen the government’s response to the nationwide epidemic of hate. It’s long past time for the federal government to devote the attention, determination and resources to this problem that it deserves.”

Beyer led 65 House Democrats in August seeking answers from the Department of Homeland Security and FBI to clarify reports that Administration officials had exerted political interference to prevent those agencies from making fighting white supremacist violence a higher priority.

They also objected to requested budget cuts which weakened the agencies’ ability to police hate crimes. The FBI did not respond, and the Department of Homeland Security’s response did not address questions about political interference or the budget.

In September Beyer hosted a press conference with families of Khalid Jabara and Heather Heyer, both of whom were murdered in hate crimes. The families joined a bipartisan group of Representatives and Senators as well as supporting organizations calling for consideration and passage of the NO HATE Act, Beyer’s legislation to strengthen law enforcement response to hate crimes.

The FBI’s annual hate crimes report for 2018 showed a rise in hate crimes against Latinos, transgender Americans, and other groups, record numbers of anti-Semitic acts of violence, and the highest number of hate crime murders in the history of the report. Numerous large jurisdictions – including the entire state of Alabama – did not report any hate crimes for 2018.