The Justice Department on Monday launched a new government website aimed at helping people prevent and report hate crimes, just days after a shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh that left 11 people dead.
Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said 88 percent of agencies that provide hate crimes data to the FBI reported zero hate crimes in 2016, a sign these incidents are being under-reported.
“Simply because hate crimes are not reported does not mean they are not happening,” said Rosenstein. “Together, we can discover ways to improve the reporting of hate crimes so that we can more effectively target our resources to the places they are most needed.”
The site, www.justice.gov/hatecrimes, includes statistics and research reports on hate crimes, but also includes training materials and other information people can use to try to stop hate crimes from being carried out.
Since January 2017, the Justice Department has prosecuted more than 50 people for hate crimes, mostly filed under the Shepard-Byrd Act. In fiscal year 2018 alone, 27 defendants have been charged in 22 cases, and the Justice Department has obtained 30 convictions.
Shepard-Byrd Hate Crime Prevention Act was passed following the brutal murder of a young gay man named Matthew Shepard in 1998.
On Saturday, a gunman opened fire in at the Tree of Life synagogue on Saturday, leaving 11 people dead and six others injured. It was the deadliest attack against Jews in U.S. history. The suspect, Robert Bowers, will make his first court appearance in Pittsburgh at 1:30 p.m. local time Monday.
Bowers faces 29 federal charges, including 11 counts of using a firearm to commit murder and multiple counts of two hate crimes. He has also been charged with 11 state offenses, including attempted homicide and aggravated assault.
Some of the federal charges Bowers, 46, faces are punishable by death penalty, though Attorney General Jeff Sessions would have to decide to pursue the death penalty against him. Scott Brady, the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Pennsylvania said he will seek Sessions’ authorization to pursue the death penalty.
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“These alleged crimes are reprehensible and utterly repugnant to the values of this nation. Accordingly, the Department of Justice will file hate crimes and other criminal charges against the defendant, including charges that could lead to the death penalty,” Sessions said in a Saturday statement.
Speaking at a separate event Monday, Sessions said the attack is one on “all people of faith.”
“This was not just an attack on the Jewish faith. It was attack on all people of faith. And it was an attack on America’s values of protecting those of faith. It cannot—it will not — be tolerated,” Sessions said in remarks in Boston.
The Anti-Defamation League said over the weekend that Jewish people were the victims of more reported hate crimes than any other religious minority in 2016.
According to FBI statistics, there were 684 anti-Jewish incidents reported.