Evergreen Reporter

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Iowa will host a public outreach event focused on identifying and reporting hate crimes on Thursday, September 12 at 1:00 p.m. at the Marshalltown Public Library, located at 105 West Boone Street, Marshalltown, Iowa.

United Against Hate is a Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating unlawful acts of hate by educating the public about federal hate crimes and anti-discrimination statutes. The program encourages the reporting of hate crimes, hate incidents, and unlawful discrimination to local, county, and state law enforcement agencies as well as the Department of Justice.

“Hate crimes and hate incidents are traumatic for not only victims and their families but also for the communities in which they occur. These crimes are a high priority for our office. Hate can divide us. But a community that unites behind the goals of holding these individuals accountable, and providing support, understanding and active listening can lessen both the risk and the impact of these crimes,” said United States Attorney Rich Westphal. “We are looking forward to hearing from the panel about the importance of reporting hate crimes and from the audience about how these issues impact them personally and impact their entire community.”

The United Against Hate event will include an interactive panel discussion with representatives from the Marshalltown Police Department, the Marshall County Attorney’s office, and Child Adolescent and Parent Support, a Marshalltown-based nonprofit.

To report a hate crime to the FBI, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip at https://tips.fbi.gov/home or contact your local field office.

Civil rights violations occurring in the Southern District of Iowa can be reported to the U.S. Attorney’s Office using the complaint form located at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdia/civil-rights or to the U.S. Department of Justice at https://civilrights.justice.gov.