133 Results

Mass Shooting in El Paso: What We Know

Article

On Saturday morning, August 3, 2019, a gunman opened fire at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, and at the adjacent Cielo Vista Mall. The death toll is believed to be at least 20, and several dozen people are reportedly injured. The alleged shooter, 21-year-old Patrick Crusius of Allen, Texas, was taken into custody shortly after the shooting. The FBI has reportedly opened a domestic terrorism investigation into the shooting, while Texas authorities are investigating the…

August 04, 2019

ADL Devastated by Mass Shooting in El Paso

Press Release

ADL providing expert analysis in what may be the third deadliest act of violence by a domestic extremist in over 50 years New York, August 4, 2019 … ADL expressed deep sadness following the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas on Saturday, which left 20 dead and more than two dozen injured, in what police are investigating as a possible hate crime. “Yet again we turn our thoughts and prayers to a community grieving after another mass shooting potentially motivated by hate and…

August 04, 2019

Letter to The Wall Street Journal Responding to Inaccurate Column on Hate Crime Statistics

Media Watch

The following letter was submitted to The Wall Street Journal in response to "Hate Crime Hoaxes Are More Common Than You Think" (June 26, 2019). This appeared in the Journal's print editions on July 11, 2019. To the Editor: Jason Riley’s suggestion that false hate crimes are being amplified by civil-rights organizations and others who “have a vested interest in exaggerating racial tensions” is deeply offensive and flat-out wrong (“Hate Crime Hoaxes…

July 10, 2019

ADL Urges Supreme Court to Uphold Key Anti-Discrimination Protections for the LGBTQ Community

Press Release

New York, NY, July 3, 2019 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today joined a broad coalition of 59 civil rights organizations in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to clarify that a key provision of the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 (CRA), Title VII protects LGBTQ individuals from discrimination in the workplace. The amicus brief, led by the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, highlights that LGBTQ…

July 03, 2019

ADL Welcomes Introduction of Bipartisan Legislation to Improve Hate Crime Data Collection

Press Release

New York, NY, June 27, 2019 … ADL (Anti-Defamation League) today welcomed the introduction of bipartisan legislation designed to improve hate crime data collection. The measure would authorize grants to promote hate crime training, prevention, best practices, and data collection initiatives – and to develop state hate crime reporting hotlines to refer individuals to local law enforcement and support services. “Especially in a time of rising hate crimes, we must…

June 27, 2019

ADL Hails Fourth Circuit Court Decision Upholding Constitutionality of Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Press Release

New York, NY, June 13, 2019… ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today welcomed the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upholding the constitutionality of the landmark federal hate crime legislation, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crime Prevention Act (HCPA), as applied in the case of an Amazon worker who was targeted because of his perceived sexual orientation. "Today represents an important victory in the ongoing fight against bias and hate…

June 13, 2019

Small Group of Neo-Nazis Protest Michigan Pride Festival with Homophobic, Anti-Semitic Slurs

Article

June 11, 2019 On Saturday, June 8, ten neo-Nazis associated with the National Socialist Movement protested Detroit’s Motor City Pride Festival, carrying guns and shouting homophobic and anti-Semitic slurs. NSM leader Burt Colucci and Aric Lemieux, NSM’s South Michigan chapter leader, headed up the protest, which included participants from Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, Massachusetts and Michigan. Lemieux expressed his intention to protest the festival months ago, and other group…

June 11, 2019

The Stonewall Uprising

Lesson Plan

GRADE LEVEL: High School COMMON CORE STANDARDS: Reading, Writing, Speaking & Listening, Language On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall uprising took place. It began in the early morning at the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. As was typical during that time period, police officers entered the bar and arrested employees for selling alcohol without a liquor license, roughed up customers, cleared the bar and arrested customers for not wearing at least three articles of …

June 03, 2019

ADL Applauds Federal Hate Crime Conviction for Death Threats to Arab American Institute Staff

Press Release

New York, NY, May 10, 2019 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) today applauded the successful federal hate crime prosecution of a Virginia man who had repeatedly issued death threats to leaders and staff of the Arab American Institute over a five-year period. Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National Director, issued the following statement: Hate crimes like this may target specific individuals, but their effect can be far greater – the perpetrator attempts to…

May 10, 2019

Coalition Letter to Indiana Governor Regarding Inclusive Hate Crime Legislation

Letter

March 13, 2019 In a letter to the Governor of Indiana, ADL and a broad coalition of national civil rights advocacy organizations expressed deep concern with Senate Bill 12, which if enacted, would create a weak, vague and unacceptable state bias crime law. March 7, 2019 The Honorable Eric J. Holcomb Office of the Governor 200 W. Washington Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 Dear Governor Holcomb: We, the undersigned organizations, are part of a broad-based coalition of…

March 13, 2019

Now is the Time to Pass the Equality Act

Article

March 13, 2019 When the U.S. Supreme Court last summer ruled in favor of a Colorado baker who refused to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple based on religious beliefs, its decision was a wake-up call – and underlined the need for further legislative action by elected officials and communities. While disappointing, the Court’s narrow decision reaffirmed the right of LGBTQ individuals to be free from discrimination, and left in place statewide nondiscrimination protections…

March 13, 2019

ADL Applauds Senate Passage of Anti-Lynching Bill; Urges Prompt House Approval

Press Release

Washington, D.C., February 14, 2019 … ADL (the Anti-Defamation League) applauds the U.S. Senate for unanimously approving S.488, the “Justice for Victims of Lynching Act of 2019” which would, for the first time, make lynching a federal crime. While lynching has disproportionately impacted African Americans over the course of history, many other marginalized groups have been victims of lynching due to religious bigotry, xenophobia, and otherization. ADL CEO and National…

February 14, 2019

ADL Urges Passage of New Hate Crime Bill in Utah

Press Release

Salt Lake City, UT, January 25, 2019 … ADL today voiced strong support for the Utah Legislature’s efforts to pass new hate crimes legislation that will be more effective and comprehensive, covering all classes of victims, including LGBTQ people, and applying to all acts of criminality, including felonies. “Comprehensive hate crimes legislation is essential to protecting the safety and well-being of all Utahns,” said Jonathan A. Greenblatt, ADL CEO and National…

January 25, 2019

ADL Says Federal Religious Exemption for Foster Care Program is Discriminatory, Shameful and Immoral

Press Release

New York, NY, January 23, 2019 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) blasted as “shameful, illegal and immoral” today’s decision by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services granting an exemption to a South Carolina faith-based foster child program allowing it to openly discriminate against Jews, gay couples and others who don’t follow their faith. “It is shocking that the federal government is openly sanctioning discrimination against Jews, LGBTQ…

January 23, 2019

Right-Wing Extremism Linked to Every 2018 Extremist Murder in the U.S., ADL Finds

Press Release

Right-wing extremists killed more people last year than in any year since 1995 New York, NY, January 23, 2019 … Right-wing extremists were linked to at least 50 extremist-related murders in the United States in 2018, making them responsible for more deaths than in any year since 1995, according to new data from the ADL. In its annual report on extremist-related killings in the U.S., the ADL’s Center on Extremism reported that at least 50 people were killed by extremists in…

January 22, 2019

Racist Skinheads Charged in Washington State Hate Crime Attack

Article

December 13, 2018 On December 9, a group of eight individuals associated with the racist skinhead movement were arrested in Lynnwood, Washington, for allegedly assaulting and shouting racial slurs at the DJ at the Rec Room Bar. The DJ, a black man, was reportedly punched and stomped on during the altercation. Each of the eight individuals faces malicious harassment hate crime charges for their alleged role in the assault. Those charged in the assault include Travis David Condor of…

December 13, 2018

Another White Supremacist Uses Gab to Share Violent, Racist Fantasies

Article

November 15, 2018 In a chilling postscript to Robert Bowers’ murderous October shooting spree at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, authorities in Washington, D.C., arrested Jeffrey Raphiel Clark, Jr., 30, an on-line associate of Bowers. The November 9 arrest came after family members contacted law enforcement out of concern that Clark might become violent. Clark was charged with illegal transportation of a firearm across state lines, possession of an illegal high-capacity…

November 15, 2018

ADL Calls on Leaders to Redouble Efforts to Counter Hate After FBI Reports Hate Crimes Jumped 17 Percent

Press Release

New national data says hate crimes targeting Jews spiked nearly 40 percent New York, November 13, 2018 … ADL today said more must be done to address the divisive climate of hate in America after newly released FBI data showed hate crimes in the U.S. jumped 17 percent in 2017 with a 37 percent spike in crimes targeting Jews and Jewish institutions. The increase reported by the FBI mirrors the surge ADL found in its annual audit of anti-Semitic incidents. In its annual Hate Crime…

November 13, 2018

Tree of Life Shooting Revives “Optics” Debate Among White Supremacists

Article

November 06, 2018 Robert Bowers appears to have referenced “optics” on social media prior to allegedly opening fire at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh. His comments -- “Screw your optics, I’m going in.” -- and extremists’ reaction to them highlight a division that has dogged the white supremacist movement since August 2017’s violent “Unite the Right” rally. Following the shooting rampage, Matt Parrott, co-founder of the now…

November 06, 2018

White Supremacists' Anti-Semitic and Anti-Immigrant Sentiments Often Intersect

Article

October 27, 2018 The last post made to the social networking account believed to belong to Robert Bowers, the suspect in Saturday’s deadly shooting spree at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, claimed that “HIAS [Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society] likes to bring invaders in that kill our people. I can’t sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I’m going in.” The post, made just a short time before the attack on the…

October 27, 2018