U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans Joins Law Enforcement, Stakeholders to Combat Antisemitism and Hate Crimes

NEW ORLEANS - On June 21, 2023, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana (USAO, EDLA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New Orleans Field Office, the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) and the Anti-Defamation League, South Central Region (ADL) co-hosted an event at the Jewish Community Center entitled “United Against Hate: Identifying, Reporting, and Preventing Hate Crimes” to discuss the rate of antisemitism both nationally and locally.  UAH is a national federal initiative initiated by Attorney General Merrick B. Garland that encourages all 94 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nation-wide to host local outreach forums to educate citizens about hate crimes.  Yesterday’s meeting was the first of several planned outreach and educational events to be conducted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office as part of the Justice Department’s “United Against Hate” (UAH) outreach initiative, a nationwide program launched in September, 2022 to combat the rise in hate crimes. 

The local event at the Jewish Community Center featured presentations by Assistant U.S. Attorneys with experience in prosecuting hate crimes and civil rights violations, and representatives with the FBI-New Orleans, the New Orleans Police Department, and the Anti-Defamation League.  These presentations covered such topics as the definition of hate crimes; the distinction between hate crimes and hate incidents; and accessing hate crimes prevention resources.

“Crimes committed against individuals motivated by their perceived or actual race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability are heinous acts that denigrate the dignity of victims”, said U.S. Attorney Evans.  “DOJ’s UAH initiative provides the vital information needed for the public to not only identify and report hate crimes in their community but also establish and nurture positive working relationships between the greater community and law enforcement.”

U.S. Attorney Evans thanks ASAC Hannah Buch and, SSA Johnson from the FBI-New Orleans Field Office; the Anti-Defamation League-South Central Region Regional Director Lindsay Friedman, Criminal Division Chief Tracey Knight, Assistant U.S. Attorney Chandra Menon (Criminal Civil Rights Coordinator), Civil Division Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Adams, New Orleans Police Department Lieutenant Hudson Cutno, Jr. and the Jewish Community Center for their development and participation in the program.

Those who believe they are subject to hate crimes or incidents should contact local law enforcement and the FBI.  Members of the public may report possible civil rights violations at https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/.

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