Congressional Democrats are calling for emergency hearings on hate crimes and domestic terrorism following a recent wave of extremist violence.
In a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, Democratic lawmakers asked for the committee to do more about racial and religious violence, including re-examining current federal hate crime laws.
The letter was spurred by three violent acts over the last week, which the letter called "acts of terror": the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, the series of bombs mailed to prominent Democrats, and the racially-motivated killing of two African-Americans in Kentucky.
And this letter is a lot like the one Dems sent just over a year ago. Back in August 2017, they asked Goodlatte to request hearings after the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. A counterprotester at the rally died after being run over by a man who held white supremacist ideals, according to a federal indictment against him.
Goodlatte didn't respond to that request. A judiciary committee aide told The Hill that "there are no hearings planned at this time" and noted that the House already passed a resolution condemning hate crimes back in July.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
