Washington, DC, July 29, 2009 … The Anti Defamation League (ADL) praised the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia for charging James Von Brunn with federal civil rights and hate crime violations for his alleged attack on the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM).  On June 10, 2009, Von Brunn allegedly attacked the USHMM, resulting in the death of Special Police Officer Stephen Tyrone Johns. 

"These additional indictments capture the enormity of the alleged shooter's attack on the Holocaust Museum and make it unmistakably clear that this was a murder carried out in the commission of a hate crime," said David Friedman, ADL Washington D.C. Regional Director.   

Hate crime statues have been adopted by 45 states.  Many of those laws are based on a model statue crafted by the ADL, which has long been in the forefront of national and state efforts to deter and counter act hate-motivated criminal activity.