Federal hate-crime prosecutions under 18 U.S.C. 249 would no longer require prosecutors to prove that bias against race, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability was the sole or primary cause of an assault. Instead, prosecutors would only need to show that bias was a contributory motivating factor in causing or attempting to cause the injury. The change applies to both the racial- and religion-based hate crime provisions and the gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability provisions. No other changes are made to penalties or covered conduct.
Criminal Justice & Due Process
- Federal hate-crime prosecutors — Need only show bias was a contributing factor, not the cause
- Federal hate-crime convictions — Easier to obtain under lowered causation standard
Congressional Summary
Stop Hate Crimes Act of 2025This bill lowers the standard for establishing that a defendant's conduct constitutes a federal hate crime offense.Currently, federal law prohibits willfully causing bodily injury or using a dangerous weapon to attempt to do so because of the actual or perceived protected characteristic (e.g., race or religion) of any person. In a prosecution for a hate crime offense, the government must establish that the defendant committed prohibited conduct because of a specific protected characteristic.The phrase because of is not defined. However, since 2014, courts have generally held that because of relates to causation and requires the government to establish but-for causation. For example, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held in United States v. Miller that in a prosecution for a hate crime offense, the phrase because of required the government to establish that but for the religion of the victims, the defendants would not have committed the assaults.This bill replaces the because of standard, which relates to causation, with a new standard related to motive. Under the new standard, willfully causing bodily injury or using a dangerous weapon to attempt to do so is a hate crime offense if the actual or perceived protected characteristic of any person is a contributory motivating factor in the offense.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in House
- Action Date
- 2025-06-26
- Date Added
- 2026-05-19
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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