The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today condemned reported neo-Nazi vandalism targeting the property of a family of “Middle Eastern” descent in West Virginia.
That family said two Nazi swastikas were spray-painted on the front of their property. Law enforcement authorities are calling the incident “an act of hatred.”
SEE: West Virginia family searching for answers after hate crime
“We condemn this alleged act of bias-motivated neo-Nazi vandalism and thank law enforcement authorities for their actions seeking to apprehend any suspects,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper. “Acts of hate targeting members of minority communities must never be tolerated and should be punished to the full extent of the law.”
He noted that CAIR’s Ohio chapter recently condemned a banner and flags with Nazi swastikas and white supremacist statements put up by a group of neo-Nazis on a highway overpass in a historically Black community in that state.
Earlier today, CAIR welcomed hate crime penalty enhancements to charges brought against a man in Utah who allegedly assaulted a Muslim woman last week.
Yesterday, CAIR welcomed the sentencing of a California man who threatened a mass shooting in 2023 at a Florida mosque
From January to June 2024, CAIR documented 4,951 incoming bias complaints nationwide, a 69 percent increase over the same period in 2023.
SEE: New CAIR Data Shows Anti-Muslim, Anti-Palestinian Hate Remain Elevated in First Half of 2024
Earlier this year, CAIR’s national office released its 2024 civil rights report, which revealed the highest number of complaints it has ever received in its 30-year history. Titled “Fatal: The Resurgence of Anti-Muslim Hate,” the report documented 8,061 complaints. Nearly half of all complaints received in 2023 were reported in the final three months of the year.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, [email protected]