Attorney General Loretta Lynch yesterday spoke on the
Justice Department’s Commitment to Combating Hate Crimes (
full text of remarks) at an interfaith event held at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society (ADAMS) Center in Reston, Virginia. She said in part:
[A]ll of us have seen the flurry of recent news reports about alleged hate crimes and harassment – from hijabs yanked off of women’s heads; to swastikas sprayed on the sides of synagogues; to slurs and epithets hurled in classrooms....
These incidents – and these statistics – should be of the deepest concern to every American. Because hate crimes don’t just target individuals. They tear at the fabric of our communities, and they also stain our dearest ideals and our nation’s very soul. There is a pernicious thread that connects the act of violence against a woman wearing a hijab to the assault on a transgender man to the tragic deaths of nine innocent African Americans during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME in Charleston, South Carolina.... Regardless of our faith, we believe in our common humanity.... That is why the Department of Justice – and the entire Obama Administration – regards hate crimes with the utmost seriousness, whether they target individuals because of their race, their religion, their gender or their sexual orientation. And that is why we have worked tirelessly over the last several years to bring those who perpetrate these heinous deeds to justice.
