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The Holocaust Museum and Domestic Hate Crimes

Update: Here's the complaint charging von Brunn with murder.

CBS Legal Analyst Andrew Cohen writes in Vanity Fair today on the Holocaust museum shooting and state of domestic hate crimes.

Hate—and hateful, violent action—is on the rise not in response to government’s gross negligence (Waco) or overzealousness (Ruby Ridge), but because of who our current leaders are, what they stand for, and the policy choices they are making. [More...]

Unless conservatives, liberals, and independents honestly and candidly and bravely address this threat together, I fear things are again going to get worse before they get better. That means there is no longer any place in mainstream, legitimate commentary for people to deny that there is a big problem, to ignore where it is coming from, or to pretend that the government’s efforts to raise the alarm are anything but earnest.

Columnist Earl Ofari Hutchinson goes even further, blaming "lax law enforcement:

One answer is that von Brunn and the thousands of others that rant, rail, and spew hate in speeches, on websites, in videos and in their fringe, kooky publications are simply exercising their first amendment right; a right that can't be abridged no matter how scary they sound. von Bunn has that right.

The other answer is that even when the von Brunns are known tracked, monitored and surveilled and worse commit hate acts, they often evade full punishment. This has nothing to do with the First Amendment, but rather muddled, confused, and outright lax enforcement and prosecution of hate acts. The FBI and local law enforcement agencies long knew about von Brunn's propensity for violence. But even if he had committed a violent act in his home state of Maryland he still might not have been prosecuted under state and especially federal hate crime statutes.

Federal prosecutors are loath to step on the toes of police and prosecutors in criminal cases no matter how badly the crime is tainted by race, gender or religious hatred. Federal prosecutors flatly say that the hate perpetrators are more likely to be convicted and get stiff sentences in state court. That makes good legal and political sense.

Of course, I disagree with Hutchinson. The last thing we need are more crimes and prosecutions based on thoughts instead of actions. This is a very slippery slope.

I'll be talking about von Brunn and domestic terrorists today with my pal lawyer Mickey Sherman on his radio show, Sherman's Law. We'll also be talking about whether we would represent von Brunn (in keeping with the theme of his book, How Can You Defend Those People?) It will be around 4:05 pm ET on WCGH-AM (CT and NY) and will also stream live online.

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  • Display: Sort:
    You keep alluding to "thought crime" (5.00 / 1) (#4)
    by andgarden on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 01:27:15 PM EST
    in this context. But I'm convinced that that's a red herring.

    Every hate crime that I'm aware of still requires actus reus. We're just expanding the examination of mens rea.

    Please please please.... (5.00 / 1) (#6)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 01:29:50 PM EST
    no new criminal laws...I believe this is already covered under murder.

    What evidence is there that hate and hateful violent action is on the rise anyway?  People have been hating and killing each other since we lived in caves...In fact my guess would be it has gone down over the past couple hundred years...like a lot of crime it only feels like its on the rise because of the 24/7 drive-by media.

    what evidence? (none / 0) (#7)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 01:43:15 PM EST
    it only every where you look.

    like here

    Homegrown hate groups increase in number
    Watchdog group blames recession, election of first black president

    and here

    SPLC's Intelligence Report: Hate Group Numbers Rise Again
    Posted in Hate Groups, Year-End by Mark Potok on February 28, 2009

    I could go on all day but hopefully that makes the point

    Parent

    I guess I left out the most obvious (5.00 / 0) (#10)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 01:59:46 PM EST
    Hate groups and right wing extremists are using Americans' concern about undocumented immigration, the current economic downtown, and the election of the first African-American president to gain new recruits, according to a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) report leaked last week.

    commissioned by a right wing republican administration that is not really part of the "24/7 drive by media"

    Parent

    That is membership in "hate groups"... (none / 0) (#12)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 02:21:30 PM EST
    My unscientific opinion is that 100 years ago most every southern government office, police dept., and chamber of commerce was a hate group, and half the ones up north...how could membership in hate groups be rising? It defies logic.  Maybe it is up from 10 years ago, but we're still way ahead in the game as opposed to 100 years ago, or even 50.

    Hateful violent action is a different animal than membership in some jerk-off hate organization.  Sh*t I'll defend someone's inalienable right to hate, I'm only concerned with hateful violent action...and we have the laws against violence to adequately address it.  But unfortunately it will continue to happen as long as humans are human.

    Parent

    if you had read the stuff (5.00 / 0) (#16)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 02:29:28 PM EST
    you would see we are not just talking about membership

    Barack Obama's election as US President has provoked a rise in hate crimes against ethnic minorities, civil rights groups have said.

    Hundreds of incidents of abuse or intimidation apparently motivated by racial hatred have been reported since the November 4 election,

    Activists note that anti-gay hate crimes are on the rise nationally.
    In 2008 alone, there was a spike in violent crime against LGBT people.


    Parent
    Ya got me... (5.00 / 2) (#24)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 02:54:28 PM EST
    I only glanced.  Still...you think more gay people got f*cked with for being gay in 2008 than 1980?  Or immigrants?  Or minorities?  In my old neighborhood, in 1980, the brown-skinned had to run to the bus stop out the factories before sundown to make it outta town unscathed...and god help you if anybody guessed you gay, you'd get a daily beating from the neighborhood knuckleheads.  Different world today...things are getting better.  But we'll never be totally rid of the hateful knuckleheads.

    I still gotta wonder about the stats...was a crime reported as a run of the mill assault in 1980 or 1990 now being reported as a hate crime?  Doesn't every violent crime involve hate?  It sure as hell don't involve any love.

    Parent

    dude (none / 0) (#26)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 02:56:15 PM EST
    I love ya but you are in denial

    Parent
    sorry (none / 0) (#28)
    by Capt Howdy on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 02:58:58 PM EST
    but if it was one source or one report saying this you might have a point.  it is not.  quite simply every source that tracks this stuff says its on the rise.  and not slowly.
    and as far as the drive by media, when was the last time you even heard reported a violent crime against a gay person, for example, since Matthew Sheppard I mean?

    Parent
    Love you too man... (5.00 / 1) (#32)
    by kdog on Thu Jun 11, 2009 at 03:43:16 PM EST
    I hope ya know I'm not f*ckin' with ya...I seriously have a hard time believing violent hateful action is more of a problem than its ever been, but as always, what the hell do I know.  

    As long as it is against the law to murder and assault, that is the best we can do...I certainly don't want the advocacy groups, as noble as their intentions may be, giving the govt. license for new domestic law enforcement powers...they have enough.

    Parent