The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today joined the NAACP in calling on state and federal law enforcement authorities to investigate as a hate crime an allegedly bias-motivated assault on a Black off-duty police officer in Missouri.
Three white men were charged after allegedly assaulting off-duty St. Louis County police officer in a Sept. 26 incident that reportedly included the use of racial slurs.
“Because of the reported use of racial slurs during this disturbing incident, we urge state and federal law enforcement authorities to consider hate crime charges for the alleged assailants,” said CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper.
Hooper added that Missouri has a hate crime sentencing enhancement statute that allows enhanced penalties for offenses that were “knowingly motivated” by animus toward the “race, color, religion, origin, sex, sexual orientation or disability of the victim or victims.”
He noted that earlier this month, CAIR condemned a reported neo-Nazi demonstration in Missouri.
Hooper said CAIR and the American Muslim community stand in solidarity with all those challenging antisemitism, systemic anti-Black racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, white supremacy, and all other forms of bigotry.
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CONTACT: CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, e-Mitchell@cair.com; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Manager Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com