U.S. Attorney's Office Hosts "United Against Hate" Outreach Event

Louisville, KY– This week, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Kentucky, hosted its first “United Against Hate” Community Outreach Event, bringing together law enforcement and Louisville’s Faith Community to discuss effective strategies to prevent, report, and respond to hate crimes and incidents.

“United Against Hate” is a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to combat unlawful acts of hate. “We are excited to bring this initiative to the Western District and thankful to our law enforcement partners and community faith leaders for uniting with us to combat hate and protect civil rights, especially in our faith communities,” said U.S. Attorney Michael A. Bennett.

The event, held Tuesday, September 12, 2023, at the Louisville Public Library Main Branch, featured presentations from Assistant U.S. Attorneys, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Louisville Metro Police Department on identifying hate crimes and incidents, the importance of reporting, and strategies to protect places of worship.

 “Combating hate crimes and bias incidents is one of the top priorities of the Department of Justice and our office,” said U.S. Attorney Bennett. “People in the Western District, and across the country, deserve to live without fear of being attacked or harassed because of where they are from, what they look like, whom they love, how they worship, or what they believe.”

As part of its United Against Hate Program, the U.S. Attorney’s Office plans to engage with diverse communities across the Western District to further education and prevention efforts and encourage reporting of hate crimes, bias incidents, and discrimination to local and federal authorities. By convening community forums and providing education about civil rights statutes and incident reporting mechanisms, we will build relationships and root out hate in the district.

If you believe you are the victim of a hate crime or that you witnessed a hate crime, immediately report the crime to your state or local police by dialing 9-1-1, then quickly report the incident to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). You can report to the FBI online at tips.FBI.gov or by phone by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). If you believe a bias incident or act of discrimination may not involve a hate crime, you should still report such incident to the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division at civilrights.justice.gov or by contacting the Civil Rights Coordinator at the U.S. Attorney’s Office. 

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