# Plain Language Summary: Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2021

This bill creates new federal laws to address violent crimes motivated by hatred or extremist ideology. Specifically, it makes "domestic terrorism" a federal crime for the first time, allowing federal prosecutors to charge people who commit acts of violence intended to intimidate or coerce civilians or influence government policy through fear and violence. The bill also strengthens existing hate crime laws by making it easier to prosecute crimes targeting people based on their race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

The law affects law enforcement agencies by requiring them to track and report statistics on hate crimes to the FBI, giving the government better data on how often these crimes occur. It also provides federal grants to help state and local police departments investigate and prosecute hate crimes, and it allows federal authorities to take over cases from state courts when necessary. Additionally, the bill increases penalties for people convicted of hate crimes, potentially resulting in longer prison sentences.

For everyday people, this bill mainly matters if you're a victim of violence motivated by hatred or extremism. It gives you additional legal protections and ensures federal resources can be brought to bear on your case. It also means law enforcement has clearer authority to investigate and prosecute attacks targeting specific groups. Critics have raised concerns about how "domestic terrorism" gets defined and whether it could be applied too broadly, but supporters argue it's necessary to address violent extremism and protect vulnerable communities from targeted violence.

Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2021

Durbin, Richard J.

Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2021 This bill establishes new requirements to expand the availability of information on domestic terrorism, as well as the relationship between domestic terrorism and hate crimes. The bill also facilitates the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes and reports of COVID-19 hate crimes. It authorizes domestic terrorism components within the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to monitor, analyze, investigate, and prosecute domestic terrorism. The bill creates an interagency task force to analyze and combat white supremacist and neo-Nazi infiltration of the uniformed services and federal law enforcement agencies. It directs the FBI to assign a special agent or hate crimes liaison to each field office to investigate hate crimes incidents with a nexus to domestic terrorism. Finally, the bill requires a designated officer or employee of DOJ to facilitate the expedited review of COVID-19 hate crimes and reports of COVID-19 hate crimes. It defines COVID-19 hate crime as a violent crime that is motivated by two things: (1) the actual or perceived characteristic (e.g., race or ethnicity) of any person, and (2) the actual or perceived relationship to the spread of COVID-19 of any person because of that characteristic.