A Justice Department official who pushed the Jussie Smollett hoax will hold a forum next month on how to identify hate crimes.
Kristen Clarke, the head of the Justice Department’s civil rights division, will kick off a Fordham University symposium on Nov. 9 called "United Against Hate: Identifying, Reporting and Preventing Hate Crimes." She will speak alongside two United States attorneys on "how to identify, report, and prevent crimes/incidents and discrimination," according to a Justice Department announcement of the event.
But Clarke may not be the best choice for the forum. In 2019, she touted Smollett’s false claim that two white Trump supporters attacked him in Chicago while shouting homophobic and racist slurs at him. The actor, who is black and gay, claimed the men shouted "this is MAGA country" as they wrapped a noose around his neck and doused him in bleach. Smollett was later convicted for fabricating the incident. Two of Smollett’s friends, both black, said the actor paid them $3,500 to stage the attack.
Clarke defended Smollett on social media after he reported the incident to police on Jan. 28, 2019.
She asserted on Jan. 29, 2019, that Smollett was "subjected to a racist and homophobic attack." She wrote that "2 white men wearing ski masks attacked [Smollett], put a rope around his neck, and poured bleach on him and as they yelled slurs."
Days later, she accused the Chicago police department of "demonizing survivors" by seeking Smollett’s cell phone as part...
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