House Judiciary Committee to hold hearing on hate crimes and rise of white nationalism

The hearing scheduled for Tuesday also will look at how social media can rein in white nationalist propaganda and hate speech online.

By MARCY OSTER/JTA
Police officers stand in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, U.S., January 19, 2018 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Police officers stand in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, DC, U.S., January 19, 2018
(photo credit: REUTERS)
(JTA) — The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on hate crimes and the rise of white nationalist groups in America.
The hearing scheduled for Tuesday also will look at how social media can rein in white nationalist propaganda and hate speech online.
“Social media platforms have served as world-wide conduits to spread vitriolic hate messages into every home and country,” said a statement from the committee, which is chaired by Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y. “The deadly 2017 ‘Unite the Right’ white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, served as a frightening reminder of the current threat white nationalism and hate groups pose to the nation.”
The Hill political news website reported that Nadler was planning to summon officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to the hearing to answer questions about efforts to counter white nationalism in the aftermath of the recent attacks on a Pittsburgh synagogue and two New Zealand mosques.