by Courtney Connley May 11, 2017 In a 3-2 decision Tuesday, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals ruled that anti-gay assaults are not protected under the state's hate crime law, according to court documents obtained by ABC News. The decision emerged from the West Virginia v. Steward Butler case, which involves an April
by Colin Dwyer May 16, 2017 A federal court in Mississippi handed down a 49-year prison sentence on Monday to Joshua Brandon Vallum, the first person prosecuted under the Hate Crimes Prevention Act for targeting a victim because of gender identity. Vallum had pleaded guilty last year to the 2015 assault and murder of
May 22, 2017 Four teenagers in the town of Chazy in Clinton County have been charged with hate crimes after they drew a swastika and wrote other anti-Semitic and racist "statements" on a building at the West Chazy Recreation Park. State police say the boys used permanent marker to scrawl the grafitti. The incident
by Matt Stevens May 22, 2017 The police found the white man, a student at the University of Maryland, at around 3:30 a.m. Saturday, sitting on a campus bench a few feet away from the spot where witnesses said he had plunged his knife into a black man’s chest. The victim was pronounced dead
by Veronica Rocha May 18, 2017 Two Texas men were sentenced Thursday to three years in prison for severely beating a Sikh man in Richmond, Calif., and cutting off some of his hair last year, officials said. Chase Little, 31, of Beaumont, and Colton Leblanc, 25, of Winnie, pleaded no contest to felony assault
by Richard Winton April 5, 2017 Reported hate crimes in Los Angeles increased 15% in 2016, with a marked rise in violence against LGBTQ individuals, according to a new analysis. Los Angeles police data show the number of reported hate crimes rose from 200 in 2015 to 230 in 2016, the highest number of
by Dan Bilefsky April 6, 2017 From Amsterdam to New York, London to Havana, Dutch men across the world held hands this week to show solidarity with a gay couple who say they were brutally beaten in Arnhem, the Netherlands. The outpouring of support came after the married couple, Jasper Vernes-Sewratan and Ronnie Sewratan-Vernes,
by Michelle Baruchman March 30, 2017 The Georgia Senate agreed with a House amendment Thursday that would give judicial discretion in domestic terrorism cases. House Bill 452, which requires the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to publicly post information about unauthorized immigrants who commit certain crimes, was a compromise between leadership in both chambers for increase public
by Mark Youngman and Cerwyn Moore April 6, 2017 The April 3 bombing on the St Petersburg metro was the highest-profile terror attack on Russian soil since a suicide bombing at Moscow’s Domodedovo airport in January 2011. According to Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee, at least 14 people were killed and 49 injured by an
by Associated Press April 10, 2017 Convicted Charleston church shooter Dylann Roof pleaded guilty to state murder charges Monday, leaving him to await execution in a federal prison and sparing his victims and their families the burden of a second trial. Standing at the defense table with his attorneys, clad in a gray and