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HATE CRIMES

Top Democrats Speak Out Against Anti-Gay Racist Hate Crime Attack on ‘Empire’ Star Jussie Smollett

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Several top Democratic lawmakers are responding to the news of the horrific anti-gay and racist hate crime attack against “Empire” star Jussie Smollett.

Smollett was reportedly attacked by two men who beat him, poured bleach on him, and wrapped a noose around his neck. They also told him, “This is MAGA country,” according to TMZ. He suffered a fractured rib and has since been released from a Chicago hospital.

Top Democrats were among the first to respond. Among them, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Cory Booker of New Jersey, and Kamala Harris of California. Former Obama Cabinet Secretary Julián Castro of Texas spoke out as well.

“We are all responsible for condemning this behavior and every person who enables or normalizes it,” Senator Gillibrand said on Twitter.

Senator Booker called it “an attempted modern-day lynching,” and urged members of Congress to support his legislation “designating lynching as a federal hate crime.”

The Advocate’s Zach Stafford reports Senator Kamala Harris of California took to the Senate floor, saying, “It’s outrageous. I know Jussie – he is one of the kindest most gentle people I have ever met. It’s awful.”

She is co-sponsoring the anti-lynching bill with Sen. Booker and “is using the incident to highlight” it.

This from former HUD Secretary Julián Castro:

U.S. Rep. Mark Takano of California also responded, calling the attack “a hate crime, and saying: “We must confront it and protect our communities against violence and hate.”

And U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois:

No word from President Donald Trump or any Republicans at all.

UPDATE: 9:43 PM ET –
Speaker Pelosi:

 

NCRM will update this story with additional responses from lawmakers as we find them. If you see one we have not included, email us at editor at thenewcivilrightsmovement.com

Image via Wikimedia

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HATE CRIMES

Leaders of White Supremacist Group Terrorgram Charged, Face Up to 220 Years in Prison

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Dallas Humber and Matthew Allison, the leaders of the white supremacist terrorist group Terrorgram Collective are facing up to 220 years in prison on charges of soliciting hate crimes, conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and soliciting the murder of federal officials.

The Justice Department announced Monday that Humber, 34, and Allison, 37, were arrested Friday. The pair were indicted on 15 charges. The charges include one count of conspiracy, four counts of soliciting hate crimes, three more of soliciting the murder of federal officials, three counts of doxxing federal officials, two counts of distributing information on making bombs, one count of conspiring to provide material support to terrorists and a count of making threatening communications.

“Today’s indictment charges the defendants with leading a transnational terrorist group dedicated to attacking America’s critical infrastructure, targeting a hit list of our country’s public officials, and carrying out deadly hate crimes—all in the name of violent white supremacist ideology,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “Today’s arrests are a warning that committing hate-fueled crimes in the darkest corners of the internet will not hide you, and soliciting terrorist attacks from behind a screen will not protect you.”

READ MORE: CNN Host Debunks Mike Johnson’s False Hundreds of ‘Known Terrorists’ Claim in Real Time

The Terrorgram Collective is based around the messaging app Telegram, and promotes the idea of white supremacist accelerationism, the Justice Department said. Accelerationism is an ideology that uses terrorism and political violence in hopes of speeding up a collapse of the government, which can then be replaced with a new system. In Terrorgram’s case, that new system would be a white ethnostate. In order to cause this destruction, Humber and Allison allegedly provided advice for committing crimes and disseminated a list of “high-value targets” of government officials and business leaders to be assassinated.

The Justice Department says it has linked Terrorgram with a shooting outside of an LGBTQ bar in Slovakia, a mass stabbing in Turkey near a mosque and a person who planned to attack New Jersey’s power grid. Terrorgram called those who had made attacks “Saints,” and the indictment includes a graphic explaining a five point criteria for “sainthood.” First is to “be White… obviously”; the incident must be deliberate; the motive must align with the white supremacist cause; there must be a body count, or “score,” of one or more; and the attacker must share a similar worldview to the group. Another graphic depicted the “Path to Sainthood”: Starting at “Grievance,” moving to “Violent Ideation,” to “Research and Planning”, to “Preparation,” to “Probing and breaching”, ending in “Attack.”

“Hate crimes fueled by bigotry and white supremacy, and amplified by the weaponization of digital messaging platforms, are on the rise and have no place in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Make no mistake, as hate groups turn to online platforms, the federal government is adapting and responding to protect vulnerable communities.”

The case will be heard in federal court, in the Eastern District of California.

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HATE CRIMES

One Killed in ‘Terrorist Attack Against the LGBT Community’: Fort Lauderdale Mayor

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Two people were struck by a pickup Truck at a Pride parade in Wilton Manors, Florida.

“One of the victims has died, said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis, who was at the parade,” Local 10 News reports. “The white pickup truck was lined up with other floats when it hit the gas and ran over two people standing by to take part in the parade on Wilton Drive, as Local 10 News reporter Christian De La Rosa witnessed.”

The surviving victim is in critical condition at Broward Health Medical Center.

“The truck narrowly missed hitting U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who was in a convertible participating in the parade,” the newspaper reported.

Mayor Trantalis blasted the incident as a terrorist attack.

“This is a terrorist attack against the LGBT community,” Trantalis said. “This is exactly what it is. Hardly an accident. It was deliberate, it was premeditated, and it was targeted against a specific person. Luckily they missed that person, but unfortunately, they hit two other people.”

There is a suspect in custody.

 

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HATE CRIMES

180 House Republicans Just Voted Against Condemning Anti-Asian Hate After Atlanta Spa Shootings

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Wednesday afternoon the U.S. House of Representatives voted 244-180 to pass a resolution condemning anti-Asian hate, after eight people, including seven Asian Americans, six of whom were women, were shot and killed at spas in Atlanta, Georgia in a series of hate crime mass shootings last month.

All 180 “no” votes were from Republicans. No Democrats voted against the resolution.

Among the “no” votes were Georgia Republican Representatives Rick Allen, Andrew Clyde, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jody Hice, and Barry Loudermilk. Congressman Loudermilk represents part of the area where the killings took place.

The text is quite simple.

“Condemning the horrific shootings in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 16, 2021, and reaffirming the House of Representative’s commitment to combating hate, bigotry, and violence against the Asian-American and Pacific Islander community.”

The resolution says, “the people of the United States mourn the 8 innocent lives lost, 7 of whom were women, 6 of whom were women of Asian descent, and several of whom were immigrants.” It lists the victims’ names: Xiaojie “Emily” Tan, Daoyou Feng, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Yong Ae Yue, Soon Chung “Julie” Park, Hyun Jung Grant, and Sun Cha Kim.

And offers details honoring their lives, like this: “49-year-old Xiaojie ‘Emily’ Tan, a hardworking mother and the owner of 1 of the spas, was a dedicated and caring business owner who is survived by her daughter and husband.”

And this: “63-year-old Yong Ae Yue was a mother of 2 sons who was known for her kindness and generosity and her love of her pet Shih Tzu.”

The resolution also says that the House of Representatives “condemns the heinous and inexcusable acts of gun violence that led to the tragic loss of 8 lives,” “condemns any racism and sexism in the choice of the shooter to target Asian-owned businesses and murder 7 women, 6 of whom were of Asian descent,” ” honors the memory of the victims, offers heartfelt condolences to their families,” and “reaffirms the commitment of the United States Federal Government to combat hate, bigotry, and violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again.”

 

 

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