Response of Robin Kelly (D-Ill.)

1. “Since President Trump took office, we’ve tragically seen an increase in hate crimes around our country, including in Illinois. We know from FBI statistics that white supremacists conduct three times the number of attacks and kill twice the number of Americans than Islamic extremists. In fact, more than 70 percent of Americans killed in domestic terror attacks are killed by right-wing extremists,” noted Congresswoman Kelly. “Instead of addressing the real and growing threats of white nationalist and right-wing extremists, the Trump Administration has used terrorism to further demonize people of color and new Americans. President Trump is simply ignoring the facts and putting American lives at risk to push his hateful agenda.” 2. “The statistics are clear. Congress can and must do more to address hate crimes and the rise of white nationalism. Congress can take immediate action by passing the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act, of which I’m proud to be an original co-sponsor,” said Congresswoman Kelly. Have you introduced any legislation or worked on any projects to curb hate crimes or white supremacist violence? "Congresswoman Kelly has long been concerned about the rise of hate crimes, particularly crimes associated with white nationalism. Since President Trump took office, she’s worked on a number of efforts related to this matter. In March of 2019, she joined Congressman Schneider (IL-10) and Senator Durbin (IL) to introduce the Domestic Terrorism Prevention Act. This bill would enhance the federal government’s efforts to prevent domestic terrorism by requiring federal law enforcement agencies to regularly assess this threat. It would also provide training and resources to assist state, local, and tribal law enforcement in addressing it. You can find the Schneider release and her quotes on the bill here: https://schneider.house.gov/media/press-releases/reps-schneider-kelly-gonzalez-and-sen-durbin-introduce-legislation-combat-white. This bill was introduced in 2018 but did not get a hearing from House Republicans. Here are the details for the 2018 bill: https://robinkelly.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/kelly-durbin-schneider-others-introduces-bill-to-crack-down-on-domestic In August 2017, Congresswoman Kelly organized a letter, signed by more than 40 Members of Congress, asking “Is the DOJ targeting the real terrorists?” The press release and link to the letter are here: https://robinkelly.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/is-the-doj-targeting-the-real-terrorists-ask-congresswoman-kelly-40. The Congresswoman later organized a follow-up letter in February 2018 based on the responses from the DOJ. In February of 2017, shortly after President Trump’s oath of office, a number of offensive KKK flyers were distributed in the Second District cities of Park Forest and Manteno. Her response to these flyers is here: https://robinkelly.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/congresswoman-kelly-responds-to-kkk-flyers-found-in-park-forest-manteno."