For the second year in a row, the Anti-Defamation League's Director of Internet Monitoring and an outside expert on terrorist use of the Internet were the keynote speakers at a special joint meeting of the Anti-Terrorism Advisory Councils (ATAC) of the Eastern District of Missouri and the Southern District of Illinois. 

The special training session included more than 60 officers, representing local and state jurisdictions as well as FEMA, FDIC, the FBI, the Secret Service, the National Park Service and US Army Military Intel.  The session was held at the FBI Building in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 14, 2006, and hosted by the U.S. Attorney's Offices for the Eastern District of Missouri and the Southern District of Illinois.

The program specifically highlighted how terrorists use the Internet as a way to spread propaganda, build community, fundraise and share practical advice on weapons, computer-related crimes such as hacking, and recruiting efforts. 

ADL's regional office in St. Louis, which oversees Missouri and Southern Illinois, works closely with the U.S. Attorney's Offices who lead the work of a bi-state group known as the U.S. Attorneys Hate Crimes Task Force.  

Since forming in 1997, the Task Force counts almost 70 representatives from federal, state and local law enforcement jurisdictions in Missouri and Illinois, as well as educators, social justice organizers, advocates on behalf of a broad range of racial and ethnic groups and the interfaith community.  The Task Force meets four times a year, and has successfully completed a variety of projects designed to educate and build community around the impact of hate and bias crimes.