Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Benjamin C. Mizer Delivers Remarks on 15th Anniversary of the Enactment of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act

Thank you, Daria, for that introduction. And thank you also to Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke and the Civil Rights Division for putting together this event. This meeting brings together victims, survivors, advocates, and government entities to commemorate the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, one of our most effective laws for combating hate.

I want to take a moment to thank Judy and Dennis Shepard, the parents of Matthew Shepard, for being here today. And I would also like to thank Louvon Byrd-Harris, sister of James Byrd Jr., for her recorded remarks. Your collective strength and advocacy, which has continued for so many years after the murders of your loved ones, inspires me.

I remember vividly when both of those heinous crimes were committed in 1998. I was almost exactly the same age as Matthew and, like him, was a young gay man living in a small college town. So Matthew’s murder in particular struck a fearful chord in me. But thanks to the Byrd and Shepard families’ commitment and the advocacy of so many people and organizations, Congress passed, and President Obama signed, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act 15 years ago. That law gave the Justice Department some of the most important tools it has today.

The latest FBI statistics show that a record number of hate crimes were reported in 2023, and we know that hate crimes are underreported. The numbers we have are troubling, yet they fall far short of conveying the true gravity of the situation.

The Justice Department has used and will continue to use every tool we have to combat this type of hate, including prosecuting those who perpetrate these terrible crimes. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act expanded the Justice Department’s authority to prosecute hate crimes committed on the basis of the victim’s actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. For example, the perpetrator of the mass shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQIA+ establishment in Colorado Springs, was sentenced to 55 concurrent life sentences to run consecutive to 190 years in prison after pleading guilty to 74 hate crimes and firearms charges. Without the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, the Department would not have been able to charge this heinous incident as a hate crime.

But prosecutions are not the only tool available to us to help promote public safety. The Justice Department also provides financial support to communities through grants to combat hate. Those grants go to a range of recipients, including state and local law enforcement and prosecution agencies, community-based organizations, and civil rights groups.

Since 2021, the Department’s Office of Justice Programs has awarded more than $100 million in anti-hate crime grants. This includes nearly $42 million through the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crimes Program to help communities across the country establish hate crimes prevention task forces, enhance investigative and prosecution capacity, launch public awareness campaigns, and support culturally responsive service providers.

The Shepard-Byrd program also offers no-cost training and technical assistance to jurisdictions nationwide. Earlier this year, the Department’s Bureau of Justice Assistance released a new training and technical assistance website to support law enforcement, prosecution agencies, and community partners by providing resources on preventing and addressing hate crimes. These resources and the direct funding to 39 state and local law enforcement agencies and prosecutors’ offices would not be available without the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

The passage of the Act was also a flagship moment for the work of the Community Relations Service (CRS). CRS was created by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to provide conciliation services to communities experiencing racial tension and conflict. The Act expanded CRS’ authority to work with communities to prevent and respond to alleged violent hate crimes, not only on the basis of actual or perceived race, color, and national origin, but also on the basis of sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religion, or disability. The Act enabled CRS to respond to violence that not only harmed bodies but also injured the communities’ sense of safety, belonging, and inclusivity. CRS has helped build safer, more peaceful, and welcoming communities by working side by side with civil rights groups, hate crimes task forces, and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices nationwide to address the tensions and sense of threat that a hate crime can leave in its wake.

Fifteen years ago, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act gave the Justice Department critical tools that have made us more effective as we work to counter hate. We know that there is more work to be done, and I am grateful to stand with you as we work together to ensure that every person feels safe in their communities.

I’m pleased now to turn over the floor to our Civil Rights Division leader, Kristen Clarke.