Seemingly stating the obvious, the attorney representing the man who shot and killed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in February told Reuters that his client will turn himself in if he is charged in the shooting. "If he is asked, he will turn himself in," Craig Sonner said. "There's not going to be a manhunt or anything like that." But that's if Zimmerman is charged at all in spite of Florida's Stand Your Ground law, and the details of the case won't reach a grand jury until April 10. more ›

Former Rutgers University student Dharun Ravi was found guilty of invasion of privacy and bias intimidation for spying on his roommate Tyler Clementi, and the dynamic between the two roommates were a big part of the trial. But Ravi was also found guilty of invading the privacy of Clementi's guest, M.B., whose intimate encounters with Clementi were observed by Ravi and one of his friends. After the verdict against Ravi was announced, M.B. issued a statement: "I am pleased that the jury returned a just verdict in this case. I had hoped for all concerned that a trial could have been avoided but that was not my choice. It was Mr. Ravi’s decision, and now he will have to live with it." more ›

Anti-Muslim graffiti was found scrawled on the side of a Kensington building Monday, and some local residents are worried the incident will spark racial tensions in the remarkably diverse neighborhood. The graffiti, which was left on the side of TDS Insurance on Beverly Road, declared that "Allah is Shit." The incident is being investigated as a bias crime, and some theorize that the vandalism may be retaliation for a rash of anti-Semitic graffiti left on Jewish homes and establishments in Midwood recently. more ›

The Chelsea man who was arrested last night and accused of making a string of threatening anti-Semitic phone calls has been identified by police as David Haddad, a non-practicing Jew who may have been lashing out at relatives over a failed business venture. The first call Haddad, 56, allegedly made was on December 11th, when investigators say he called an 80-year-old Sheepshead Bay woman and told her, "All Jews should die and go to hell." That woman, by the way, happens to be Haddad's mother. more ›

The Queens man whom police say has "implicated himself" in a series of Molotov cocktail attacks at various locations wanted to take out “as many Muslims and Arabs as possible” at the Al-Khoei Foundation, an Islamic cultural center in Jamaica, Queens. Why did he choose the center as his target, out of all the other Islamic meeting places in town? He says because they refused to let him use the bathroom. The flaming Starbucks Frappuccino bottle which Ray Lengend allegedly threw at the center did minimal damage, but it could have been worse—sources tell the Daily News that Lengend's original plan was to toss all five of his firebombs from the balcony of the center onto the crowd below. more ›

A Queens man has been arrested in connection to a string of arson attacks in Jamaica, Queens and on Long Island Sunday night. Police say Ray Lazier Lengend, 40, has "made incriminating statements" about throwing Molotov cocktails fashioned out of Starbucks Frappuccino bottles at private residences, a deli, and an Islamic center. "The individual is implicating himself in each of the five firebombing cases, citing personal grievances with each location," police spokesman Paul Browne told reporters last night. See, it's never too late to get swept up in the Festivus spirit! more ›

Investigators are searching for a man seen in this surveillance video hurling a Molotov cocktail at a private home in Jamaica, Queens that doubles as a Hindu place of worship. The suspect, described as black, 5-feet-8, 200 pounds, and 25 to 30 years old, was caught on camera throwing a Starbucks Frappuccino bottle filled with flammable liquid at the residence, one of four places in Queens that were firebombed late Sunday night. A fifth home on Long Island was also hit Sunday night, and Nassau County police tell the Times that incident has "some characteristics" similar to the Queens attacks. more ›

Police are investigating a series of firebombings in Queens late last night as possible bias crimes. Between 8 p.m. and 10:15, four locations within two miles of each other in Jamaica, Queens were hit by Molotov cocktails. One of the locations was a private residence on 107th Avenue that caught fire after the burning bottles struck it, and it took more than 60 firefighters to bring it under control, the Times reports. Another target was an Islamic center on the Van Wyck Expressway. more ›

Because no one is content with just leaving people the hell alone to celebrate what they believe in, police in Yonkers are investigating the vandalization of eight different nativity scenes. "It's not about the statute, it's about what it means for you. It hurts," Victoria Beldran told CBS. Beldran's nativity scene was damaged over the weekend, and vandals appear to have hit six homes and two churches. "We believe an attack on one religion is an attack on all and it violates our basic freedoms," Police Commissioner Edmund Hartnett said. more ›

The story of the imam attacked on the A train earlier this week has gotten a new twist: one of the men accused of administering the beating, Eddie Crespo, is an MTA B&T officer. more ›

Two men are being charged with attacking an imam on the subway at 3:25 a.m. yesterday morning. Albert Melendez and Eddie Crespo are being accused of approaching an unidentified man on the northbound A platform at Canal Street and asking him if he was a "camel jockey," calling him a terrorist and then pummeling him. The victim was treated by EMS and wasn't hospitalized. Crespo has been arraigned and charged with robbery as a hate crime and assault while Melendez is due in court momentarily. more ›

Yesterday, the police announced that the eighth suspect in the brutal anti-gay attacks in the Bronx was arrested and released a photograph of the ninth and final suspect, Ruddy Vargas-Perez. Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said during a press conference, "The seven individuals that we have in custody initially, there’s an eighth one now, have made statements, video confessions or statements concerning their acts involving this case, but I wouldn’t characterize it as remorse." In fact, the suspects, accused of harrowing acts of torture, are reportedly claiming they were intimidated into participating! more ›

The Justice Department is investigating whether to charge Michael Enright, the film student accused of stabbing a cab driver in a racially-motivated attack last month, with a federal hate crime. Enright has already been indicted on charges of second-degree attempted murder and first-degree assault as hate crimes under NY state law for stabbing cab driver Ahmed Sharif. more ›

In light of the recent string of bias attacks in Port Richmond, Bronx State Sen. Ruben Diaz Jr. led a rally with community activists from Brooklyn calling for unity between the African-American and Hispanic communities. However, State Sen. Diane Savino and Assemblyman Matthew Titone of Staten Island say Diaz should stay in his own district! Titone came prepared for the shouting match that erupted on the steps of a local church, and while holding up a black wig and a high heeled shoe, said, "If they are going to act like media whores, they should at least dress the part." Because what better way is there to solve hate crimes than to call people names and tell them to go back where they came from? more ›

The Bengali community in Parkchester, Bronx are worried they're being targeted in hate crimes, with many reporting being robbed or attacked in the past few months. It's gotten so bad that local Moussa Drammeh called a meeting to express concerns to the NYPD and the Bronx DA's office, who informed residents that they had to come forward when the attacks happened. Business owner Zakir Khan told NY1, "That they'll say I'm ashamed or that whoever is attacking us they will come after us again." Officials say more investigation is needed to determine whether the attacks can be classified as hate crimes, just as they did in the recent Staten Island attacks. more ›

A Queens Democrat has sent out mailings illustrated with a swastika that label his rival for an open Assembly seat as an "extremist" who is "out of touch with our community's values." Just days before a special election for a northeastern Queens seat, former Councilman David Weprin attacked Republican and Conservative party candidate Bob Friedrich with literature showing the Nazi symbol and text accusing his foe of not taking a tough enough stance against hate crimes. more ›

As the NYPD Hate Crimes unit, as well as the FBI and Justice Department, investigates the noose found outside a Columbia professor's office, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly commented about the school's cooperation. Apparently the school only turned over surveillance videos after the NYPD provided a subpoena - three days after the noose was found on Teachers College Professor Madonna Constatine's office door knob. more ›

investigation by the Hate Crimes Task Force. more ›

Jack Rhodes, the man suspected of robbing and beating elderly woman in Queens, was indicted yesterday on 35 charges of burglary, assault, robbery, and, yes, hate crimes. more ›

Last fall, three men were charged with hate crimes in the October death of Michael Sandy. Prosecutors charged that lya Shurov, Anthony Fortunato, and John Fox had gone to a gay chat room, lured Sandy to Plum Beach, and then robbed and beat him. Sandy ran into the Belt Parkway and died from injuries sustained when he was hit by traffic. Sandy had been in a coma for six days; family took him off a respirator the day after his birthday. more ›

Three men were indicted yesterday for murder and attempted robbery as hate crimes in the Belt Parkway death of Michael Sandy. Ilya Shurov, Anthony Fortunato, and John Fox are accused of going to a gay chat room and asking Sandy to meet them at Plum Beach off the Belt Parkway. There, the three men are suspected of robbing and beating Sandy, who then ran to the highway and was hit by a car. Sandy lay brain dead in a coma for a few days until his family decided to take him off the life support. The Brooklyn DA's office explained how the incident could be classified as a hate crime:

Typically, according to state law, Hate Crimes are charged when prosecutors believe the defendants acted out of bias against the victims’ race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, religious practice, age, disability or sexual orientation. But the less used section of the law calls for Hate Crimes to be charged when the defendant “intentionally selects the person against whom the offense is committed or intended to be committed based on a belief about those same factors. more ›

The NYPD's Hate Crimes Task Force is investigating why 28 year old black man ran into the Belt Highway, where he was hit by a car. Eyewitnesses say that two white men "struggled with" and "forced" Michael Sandy into traffic on Sunday night. Given that Sandy's race and the fact he was in Plumb Beach, a gay cruising area off the highway, the police have been investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. The Post has this account:

At about 9:40 p.m., he was confronted by two young white men, who began looking through the interior of the vehicle before Sandy ran off toward the Belt, witnesses told cops. more ›

When a Queens District Attorney's Office press release (PDF) actually names a defendant "Natasha Munchkin Marks," you know the case will be good. It seems that a petite 18 year old (now 20) Marks would flirt with men ages 85 and 79 outside stores and somehow managed to extract thousands from them. From 85 year old Louis Bruno, she managed to borrow $249,000 for fake illnesses and emergencies - and then took power of attorney and put a $560,000 mortgage on his house! Bruno is sad, telling the Daily News he gave her money to take care of her and that he was going to propose to her. more ›