Prosecutor's office launches hate crime campaign for Hate Crime Awareness Month

The Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office has launched a campaign to raise awareness about hate crimes in Macomb County during October, which is Hate Crime Awareness Month. The campaign aims to promote a more inclusive community by bringing attention to hate crimes and discrimination.

According to the FBI's most recent hate crime report, violence in the United States has reached record-high levels. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has also raised concerns and declared October as Hate Crimes Awareness Month.

“Hate crimes must be prosecuted with unwavering determination because they strike at the very heart of our society's values and principles,” said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido.  “When we allow hate crimes to go unpunished, we risk sowing the seeds of division, fear, and injustice in our communities. By prosecuting hate crimes, we send a resounding message that bigotry and discrimination have no place in our society. It is our duty to stand up for the victims, to protect our shared values of equality, so that all individuals, regardless of their background, can live free from the scourge of hatred with liberty and justice for all.”

Lucido established the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office Hate Crime Unit in 2022 to prosecute hate crimes in Macomb County. The Hate Crimes Unit works with local law enforcement to prosecute assaultive and property damage crimes where the motivating factor is ethnic intimidation.

In Michigan, a person may be guilty of a felony for ethnic intimidation if that person maliciously, and with specific intent to intimidate or harass another person because of that person's race, color, religion, gender, or national origin, causes physical contact with another person, damages, destroys, or defaces any real or personal property of another person, or threatens, by word or act. Macomb County is the third largest county in Michigan with one of the most diverse communities. The focus of Hate Crime Awareness
Month is to educate communities and promote understanding and inclusivity.