DES MOINES, IA – 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, October 19, 2023, from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at the Polk County River Place, located at 2309 Euclid Avenue in Des Moines.
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 law enforcement and the Department of Justice.
“Hate crimes have a detrimental impact not only on the victims but the entire community. We look forward to providing a forum for subject matter experts to answer questions and shed some light on the laws and processes,” said United States Attorney Rich Westphal.
The United Against Hate event will include an interactive panel discussion featuring representatives from FBI, local law enforcement, Iowa County Attorneys Association, and Polk County Crisis and Advocacy Services, as well as speakers sharing their experiences responding to acts of hate. Please RSVP for the event to karen.saltos@usdoj.gov.
To report a hate crime to the FBI, please call 1-800-CALL-FBI, submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov, or contact your local field office.