Indian American Congressman urges Sessions to combat hate crimes

Indian American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi has urged US Attorney General Jeff Sessions to take immediate action to stop rising hate crimes in the US.

Krishnamoorthi, in a letter, requested Sessions to use his discretion in the Justice Department to thwart the rising incidents of hate and violence in the country, American Bazaar online reported on Thursday.

"From grave desecration at a Jewish cemetery in St. Louis to a shooting at a bar in Kansas, Americans have been shaken to the core by the recent rise in hate crimes," Krishnamoorthi said in the letter.

The Indian American community was in a state of shock after a US Navy veteran Adam Purinton shot dead Indian engineer Srinivas Kuchibhotla and injured Alok Madasani in an apparent hate crime on February 22.

Purinton reportedly got into an argument with the two and hurled racial slurs. He yelled "get out of my country" before shooting them.

Several other instances of hate crime were also witnessed in the US. Jewish Community Centres across the country have received bomb threats, and countless Muslims have been harassed and threatened, the Democrat said.

"All Americans must be able to count on the federal government to defend their fundamental rights as citizens of this great republic. If any American is harassed or threatened because of who they are, it harms everyone," Krishnamoorthi said.

"I respectfully urge you to use the full powers of the Justice Department to investigate and combat this disturbing rise in hate crimes," he said. "These attacks seek to undermine not just public safety, but the very nature of American exceptionalism."

He said: "For more than two hundred years, the US has stood as a beacon of freedom from tyranny, oppression, and persecution."

"A fundamental promise of our nation is that any American -- regardless of where you come from, the color of your skin, or how you pray -- can trust the federal government to preserve, protect, and defend their rights," Krishnamoorthi added.

--IANS

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