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1 1 (February 23, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govekrf0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional Research Service Informing Ih legislative d ba e sine 1914 Hate Crimes: Key Federal Statutes February 23, 2023 The Federal Bureau of Investigation characterizes hate crimes as offenses like murder, assault, or arson that are committed because of a particular bias such as prejudice based on the race or gender of the victim. Federal prosecutors have a number of statutory options for charging hate crimes. This In Focus provides a brief overview of the main statutes. More extensive discussion is found in CRS Report R47060, Overview of Federal Hate Crime Laws, by Peter G. Berris. Other relevant CRS products include CRS Report R46318, Federal Data on Hate Crimes in the United States, by Nathan James and Emily J. Hanson; and CRS In Focus IF11312, Department of Justice 's Role in Investigating and Prosecuting Hate Crimes, by Nathan James. Key Term: Because Of' Many federal hate crime provisions apply only if the defendant acts because of a protected characteristic of the victim or another person. In the federal hate crime context, because of' likely requires proof of but-for causation. See, e.g., United States v. Miller, 767 F.3d 585, 593 (6th Cir. 2014). But-for causation means that Y (e.g., an assault) would not have occurred if not for X (e.g., the victim's race). Burrage v. United States, 571 U.S. 204, 21 1 (2014). A factor may be a but-for cause even if other factors combined to produce the relevant result, so long as the factor was necessary to the outcome. 18 U.SC. 241, Civil Rights Conspiracy 18 U.S.C. § 241 prohibits conspiracies to interfere with civil rights. Examples of covered rights might include the right to vote, or to occupy a dwelling. The federal government has relied on § 241 to prosecute a variety of bias-motivated conspiracies involving conduct such as vandalism, assault, and murder. Conviction under § 241 requires the government to show an agreement between two or more persons. The government must also prove that the purpose of the agreement was to injure, threaten, oppress, or intimidate. A range of violent and destructive conduct may qualify, as can threatening conduct like cross burning (subject to First Amendment limitations). I B U.S.C. § 242, Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law Among other things, 18 U.S.C. § 242 criminalizes the willful deprivation of civil rights under color of law. Section 242 has been used to prosecute bias-motivated crimes such as the murder of civil rights workers by state law enforcement. The Department of Justice (DOJ) also used § 242 to charge officers involved in the 2020 killings of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. Unlike § 241, § 242 does not require proof of conspiracy and therefore can reach individuals acting alone. However, § 242 applies only to action taken under color of law. Official authorization of conduct is not required for it to occur under color of law, but the conduct must be more than a purely personal pursuit. Screws v. United States, 325 U.S. 91, 111 (1945). Cases interpreting under color of law generally focus on law enforcement and corrections personnel, but a broad range of federal and state officials may act under color of law. In limited cases, private citizens may also act under color of law, such as when engaged in a typical governmental function or acting in conjunction with government personnel. I8 U.S.C. I 245 Interference with Federally Protected Rights 18 U.S.C. § 245 contains several often-overlapping subsections. One notable provision, § 245(b)(2), prohibits willfully injuring, intimidating, or interfering with another-or attempting to do so-by force or threat of force because of the victim's race, color, religion, or national origin and because of the victim's participation in certain enumerated protected activities. The activities protected by § 245(b)(2) include, among others, receiving public education or enjoying public accommodations such as movie theaters and hotels. Federal prosecutors have used § 245(b)(2) to charge bias-motivated conduct, including in high-profile cases like the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery. Another subsection (§ 245(b)(4)) also prohibits certain violent conduct directed at intimidating individuals other than the immediate victim from engaging in enumerated protected activities without discrimination. For instance, federal prosecutors used this provision to convict a defendant who assaulted a Black man who had been driving by an anti-busing protest in Boston, in order to intimidate a group of people from participating, without discrimination on account of their race, in their protected right to public education. Subsection 245(b)(5) creates additional protections for individuals who are assisting others in some way to participate in protected activities without discrimination. For example, in one case, the government used § 245(b)(5) in a prosecution stemming from an attack on the home of an NAACP chapter president intended to discourage NAACP's efforts to improve housing and employment opportunities for Black people. Both § 245(b)(4) and § 245(b)(5) protect all the activities that fall under § 245(b)(2), as well as additional ones such as voting and participating in federal jury service. 42 U.C. § 363 , Interference with Fair Housing The provisions of 42 U.S.C. § 3631 largely mirror 18 U.S.C. § 245, except that § 3631 specifically prohibits willful use of force to interfere with federal housing rights such as selling, renting, buying, or occupying a dwelling. In addition, § 3631 protects a more expansive list of characteristics than § 245: race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, and national origin. Prosecutors have used § 3631 to charge incidents such as a conspiracy

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