The Fight Begins: New York Gov. Cuomo Orders Creation Of Special Unit for Hate Crimes

The fight against the frightening Trump team being installed has begun as New York’s Democratic Governor announced plans to protect his citizens from hate crimes.

“I am ordering the State Police to put together a special unit to address the explosion of hate crimes in our state,” Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday morning, while speaking at Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.

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“I come to you this morning with a heavy heart. The ugly political discourse of the election did not end on Election Day, in many ways it has gotten worse, into a social crisis that now challenges our identity as a state and as a nation and our people,” Gov. Cuomo began.

“Now I am not alone. There are many who are soul sick for their America. There are young and old who feel alienated, disrespected and confused by what they hear,” the Democrat told the congregation.

“We can now begin to understand what the Old Testament meant, when it said, ‘They that sow the wind, shall reap the whirlwind.’ We are in a whirlwind of hate and division all across this country.” Cuomo cited the alarming statistics from the Southern Poverty Law Center about the rise in hate crimes in the week following Donald Trump’s election, “437 incidents of intimidation targeting blacks and people of color, as well as Muslims, immigrants, women and members of the LGBT community.”

“I wish I could say our beautiful state of New York was immune from this poison but it’s not. Fliers promoting the KKK were found on parked cars in Patchogue, Long Island. A swastika was discovered on the B Train in Manhattan. In Wellsville, outside of Buffalo, someone painted a swastika surrounded by the words ‘Make America White Again.'”

Cuomo quoted Martin Luther King before he announced his plan, “’This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off.'”

“We will enforce the law to the fullest extent. I am ordering the State Police to put together a special unit to address the explosion of hate crimes in our state. With trained professionals we will investigate every incident and prosecute the perpetrator to the fullest extent of the law.”

“The laws of New York will protect every citizen and every child. I will propose this January to expand the Human Rights Law, to specifically protect every child in every school, both public and private.”

“We will make sure every young person knows the law of our land, and I will be sending a letter to every college student explaining their rights and responsibilities as citizens of New York.”

“New York will also ensure that every person has legal protections, whether they can afford it or not. We will be putting together a public-private legal defense fund to provide immigrants who can’t afford their own defense, the legal assistance they need because in New York, we believe in justice for all.”

This is how decent Governors and local officials can fight back against the hate being installed into our White House. This is how it begins. King was right, we can’t wait.

We must act to protect our vulnerable citizens, and we must stand strong together, fiercely protecting the rights of our fellow citizens and their safety.

That is the America we can be, and we must be. We must act even though our hearts are broken, we must dust ourselves off and be bold, or risk losing our precious freedoms.

Sarah Jones

Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.

Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.

Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.

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