Marchers Call for More Hate-Crime Prosecutions

Thousands of marchers circled the Justice Department’s headquarters today to urge the federal government to prosecute hate crimes more vigorously.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III led the protest, the Washington Post reports. Sharpton told the newspaper last week that march organizers were dismayed that no action was being taken in response to “the increased amount of hate crimes and hate signs” such as swastikas and hanging nooses.

The Justice Department charged only 22 people with hate crimes last year, the lowest figure in 10 years, USA Today reported last week. A department spokesman said the decline is consistent with an overall decrease in hate crime reports.