NEWS

 

 

On Tuesday, February 20, The Town of Davidson Police Department hosted a community event with guest speakers from the Charlotte FBI Civil Rights Division. The event was held in the Davidson Town Hall & Community Center Auditorium.

Town of Davidson Police Chief Kim Davidson and Detective Sergeant Phil Geiger opened the program and welcomed four guests from the Charlotte FBI.

FBI Special Agent Ross Fisher began the presentation with an overview of the FBI. Fisher stated that the FBI has 56 Field Offices in major U.S. cities, with an additional 400 Resident Agencies throughout the United States. Resident Agencies are smaller satellite agencies that report to the field offices. Charlotte’s field office covers the entire state of North Carolina, which means that the Charlotte office is charged with investigating and prosecuting federal crimes that may occur anywhere in the state. Fisher wanted the public to know that FBI agents are friendly, that the public is encouraged to come talk to them, and that they are “not like the movies.”

The primary focus of the presentation on Tuesday evening was the discussion of hate crimes. Tactical Analyst Whitney Orndorff introduced the topic of hate crimes and the work of the Civil Rights Team in Charlotte. Orndorff explained that a Tactical Analyst helps to conduct investigations, run background checks, review social media accounts, and monitor volumes of videos posted online. The most important part of the job, said Orndorff, is outreach to victims, keeping them informed during investigations, and helping in a myriad of ways to make sure victims are safe and supported. “Supporting victims of civil rights violations is the office’s top priority,” said Orndorff.

“For the FBI, Civil Rights means that we are making sure that people’s constitutionally prescribed rights are protected,” said Orndorff. “This applies to any person inside the United States, including undocumented persons,” she added.

Next, Orndorff introduced Special Agent Michael Stone who spoke specifically about how the FBI determines whether a hate crime has occurred. Stone stated that “a hate crime is defined as an underlying crime, but with the added element that it has to be motivated by bias.” In a hate crime, the underlying crime committed is motivated by bias, often against the victim’s race, color, religion, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, or family status.

 

Orndorff and Stone used a series of photographs taken from actual cases to challenge the audience members to try to identify which types of speech would rise to the level of a hate crime, and which would not. One of the difficulties the agents face is distinguishing between free speech, which is protected, and a “true threat.” A true threat is speech that “puts the recipient in fear of bodily harm” and has a level of specificity that exempts the speech from first amendment protection.

The agents stated that in today’s environment, a large volume of hate speech is posted online, and there has been a proliferation of abhorrent, hate-filled rhetoric on social media. Orndorff and Stone cautioned the audience that too many people fail to report incidents of hate speech directed toward themselves or others. They advised that while hate speech itself is not a crime, it may provide evidence of a specific bias or a pattern of behavior that could later be used to successfully prosecute a hate crime.

The agents explained that people who are charged with hate crimes may have been a nuisance or even a terror in their communities for a long time. If the community has made reports of hate speech and hate incidents involving a person, the FBI and local police then have a record and potential evidence to show that bias motivated a later crime or threat against a victim. Without such reporting, the crime itself, such as an assault, may not be enough to show bias. Orndorff and Stone both encouraged the public to contact the FBI with tips, even if the individual is not sure whether the incident rises to the level of a hate crime.

The agents shared a pair of helpful slides containing information about how to report incidents to the FBI. The first slide detailed how to submit a tip by phone or online. Citizens may also go in person to the FBI’s office in Charlotte to report. Orndorff stressed that tips may be made anonymously. Agents want to hear reports, even if they are second-hand information. For example, Orndorff said that parents of school-age students can report information that their children have told them about something said at school. “Tips and details from secondary reporters are valuable, and can save lives,” said Orndorff.

Orndorff also gave a short tutorial on the types of details that are helpful to law enforcement. Orndorff encouraged reporters to be organized with information and have a plan for capturing important information. For example, try to record a threatening phone call with a recording app. Take detailed notes, and have another person listen, if possible. Even though the language used by the caller may be hateful and hard to repeat, the FBI will need to document the exact verbiage. When documenting online hate speech or evidence of crimes, the reporter should take a screen shot in case a post is taken down. Record online videos with your phone. In a social media environment, document not only the display name, which can be changed, but also the username, which is unique to the account and associated with a URL. Orndorff explained that details and specifics provided by the reporter can save the agents hours of investigative time and help them to move faster.

The agents acknowledged that there are often significant barriers to reporting. Hate incidents are greatly underreported for many reasons, including general fear of police, as well as fear of being prosecuted for being undocumented, for being a drug user, or for engaging in sex work. The agents explained that these vulnerable populations are at particularly high risk of being victims of hate crimes, and because of the fear of reporting, those crimes are often never reported.

The agents shared that North Carolina has seen an increase in reported hate incidents in the past few years. 77% of local law enforcement agencies in North Carolina share hate crime data with the FBI. Reported hate incidents in North Carolina have risen almost 50% between 2020 and 2022.

 

The informative presentation lasted approximately an hour and was followed by a full 30 minutes of Q&A from an engaged audience.

The audience was particularly curious about how Davidson police worked together with Charlotte FBI agents to investigate recent threats made toward Temple Kol Tikvah. The Town of Davidson Police Department and Charlotte FBI agents discussed many ways that they were able to join forces and collaborate on this investigation, drawing on the strengths and capabilities of both local and federal law enforcement agencies. The speakers assured the audience that the FBI does not show up to investigate a crime and “claim” jurisdiction, adding, “that only happens in the movies.”

There were additional questions about whether police do enough to identify elements of a hate crime when they arrive at a crime scene, about the interplay between state and federal hate crimes statutes, and about the concern, shared by many in the room, related to the use of AI technologies in law enforcement.

 

 

​