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Brian Levin, director of Cal State San Bernardino’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, took a closer look at President-elect Donald Trump’s nomination for U.S. attorney general, Jeff Sessions.
In a column for The Huffington Post, Levin, a criminal justice professor, wrote: “Senator Jeff Sessions (R-AL) … was one of the chief opponents of the Shepard-Byrd Hate Crime Act passed by Congress in 2009 over his vigorous objections. Significant questions are arising about his nomination and the future of hate crime enforcement during the next administration because the Act specifically mandates the Attorney General’s approval for all federal enforcement under its provisions.
“Senator Sessions’ nomination has drawn sharp rebukes from civil rights advocates and some politicians. ‘It is unimaginable that he could be entrusted to serve as the chief law enforcement officer for this nation’s civil rights laws,’ stated NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund President, Sherilynn Ifill. Previously, Mr. Sessions’ nomination to the federal judiciary was rejected by the Senate, in part over alleged racially offensive comments, prior to his election as senator. He was eventually appointed to the very same committee that rejected his judgeship.”
The column, published Nov. 18, 2016, may be read at “Jeff Sessions will be in charge of enforcing the federal hate crime law he vehemently opposed.”
A day later, on Nov. 22, 2016, Mother Jones published an article that examined Sessions' track record on LGBT issues particularly on protections through the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which he had opposed, and contacted Levin for comment.
'I think it remains a legitimate question as to how vigorous Mr. Sessions will be in prosecuting a statute that he was one of the chief opponents of,' Levin said.
That article can be found online at “Jeff Sessions fought against hate crime protections for LGBT victims.”
The New York Times contacted Levin for a comment on its article about vandalism done to a park in Brooklyn Heights, N.Y., in which someone left graffiti of swastikas and the words “Go Trump.” The article noted that there has been a spike in reported hate-related incidents in the wake of the Nov. 8 election.
Limited data from around the country points to an increase in hate crimes this year, Levin cautioned that the reason for the change was unclear.
Hate crimes typically spike after a “cataclysmic event” such as an election or an act of terrorism, he said. “There appears to be an increase,” Levin said, “but I don’t think we can conclusively say whether they will be sustained.”
Published in The Times on Nov. 21, the article can be found online at “Rally in Brooklyn park condemns swastikas and ‘Go Trump’ graffiti.”