Federal officials talk hate crime prevention at Apple Valley meeting

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. (KMSP) - On Monday, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office sat down with people in Apple Valley, Minnesota to talk about hate crimes.

Eight speakers from seven different federal agencies addressed a room full of people roughly one week after the deadly Pittsburg synagogue shooting.

“Islamophobia, antisemitism, sexism, racism. It’s there and it’s been with us a long time, and our job is to do what we can to turn it around, but you have to recognize the illness for what it is to bring about the cure,” said former U.S. Attorney Andy Luger.  

The goal of the meeting was to help people recognize that illness and bring awareness to new concerns for safety. 

“Currently there is no outstanding threat to any house of worship in the United States, but in order to make those assessments we need you to be our eyes and ears,” said Jill Sanborn with the FBI. 

Jibril Afyare said the topics discussed in tonight’s meeting illustrate a concerning shift in focus in our country. 

“There is this constant fear that am I going to be next? We have this synagogue, a year ago we had the burning of a mosque.” 

He believes prevention of these hate crimes begins with awareness and education. 

“The hate crime stats are up and it’s not a coincidence, to be honest, but it takes all of us to come together and in one voice to reject it and develop some kind of strategy to confront it and maybe educate one person,” he said. 

The representatives from these federal agencies say that reports help them when it comes to investigating and hopefully stopping these hate crimes before they happen.