U.S. Attorney’s Office Hosts United Against Hate Program on the Gulf Coast

Gulfport, Miss. - U.S. Attorney Todd Gee announced today that the U.S. Attorney's Office hosted a United Against Hate community outreach program at the Morning Star Baptist Church in Gulfport.

The United Against Hate program was launched by the Justice Department to connect community groups with federal, state, and local law enforcement to increase community understanding and reporting of hate crimes; build trust between law enforcement and communities; and create and strengthen alliances between law enforcement and other government partners and community groups to combat unlawful acts of hate.

In May of 2021, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced steps towards the Department of Justice's enhanced efforts to combat and confront hate crimes. Attorney General Garland stated: "Hate crimes and other bias-related incidents instill fear across entire communities and undermine the principles upon which our democracy stands. All people in this country should be able to live without fear of being attacked or harassed because of where they are from, what they look like, whom they love, or how they worship."

The United Against Hate program gives the U.S. Attorney's Office an opportunity to connect with faith-based leaders to help effect positive change within the community. Faith-based leaders are usually the first persons contacted when individuals or families face hateful behavior. Often hate crimes and incidents go underreported, allowing offenders to continue to spread their hate, fear, and intimidation. This event assisted faith-based leaders in the Gulfport area in identifying hate crimes, understanding the importance of reporting these crimes and most importantly, discussing strategies to prevent acts of hate.

Today's presentation, entitled "United Against Hate: Identifying, Reporting and Preventing Acts of Hate", was led by U.S. Attorney Todd Gee and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Mitzi Dease Paige, Glenda Haynes, Andrea Jones, Angela Givens Williams, Keesha Middleton, Shundral Cole, Jonathan Buckner, and Max Myers, along with law enforcement partners who investigate hate crimes, including agents from the FBI and a representative of the District Attorney's office for Harrison, Hancock, and Stone Counties. At the conclusion of the program, members of the media were invited to gather outside of the church to ask any questions about the initiative. Today's event was the second of its kind to be hosted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi. The first program was held in Jackson in June 2023.

Additional information about the Justice Department's United Against Hate Program can be found here: https://www.justice.gov/hatecrimes/spotlight/united-against-hate

The U.S. Attorney's Office's online complaint form to report allegations of civil rights violations is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdms/civil-division webpage. The form can be emailed [email protected] , or concerns can be shared by leaving a voice mail for our Civil Rights Division at (601) 973-2825.