RICHMOND, March 19, 2021 – This afternoon at 1 p.m., Attorney General Mark R. Herring will lead a virtual discussion with Connecticut Attorney General William Tong and Washington, DC Attorney General Karl Racine on the rise in anti-Asian hate, violence, and abuse. The three attorneys general will discuss the nationwide rise in hate and white supremacist violence, the importance of standing up to hate, and the role of attorneys general in pushing back against hate and intolerance and keeping their citizens safe.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong took office in January 2019, becoming the first Asian American to serve in statewide elected office in Connecticut. For more than a year he has been a leading voice warning of the rise of anti-Asian hate, violence, and abuse.
Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine took office in January 2015 as Washington, D.C.’s first elected attorney general. He currently serves as president of the National Association of Attorneys General. In this role, he has elevated the issue of hate and white supremacist violence through his presidential initiative “The People v. Hate: Standing Up For Humanity.“
Attorney General Herring has made the rise of hate and white supremacist violence one of his top priorities since introducing legislation in 2017 to update Virginia’s hate crime laws. He has secured important new laws and tools to better protect Virginians from white supremacist violence, and launched NoHateVA.com to serve as a central resource for vulnerable communities about laws and resources that exist to protect them from discrimination, abuse, or violence. Earlier this week, he re-launched NoHateVA.com to focus entirely on the rise of anti-Asian hate, violence, and abuse.