In response to a troubling rise in hate-related incidents in Atlanta, the FBI's local office has launched a Hate Crime Response Guide to help the public preserve evidence and report crimes quickly. "It's important for us to put the information out to the public so that they can help us with our investigations," said FBI Atlanta Supervisory Special Agent Keith Kabrhel in a FOX 5 interview. A disturbing example of this increase in hate crimes occurred after the presidential election when Georgia residents received text messages with offensive language referencing past atrocities.
Hate crime occurrences are not confined to verbal threats or physical altercations in public spaces; they may infiltrate the supposed safety of one's digital and private life, manifesting through texts, emails, and phone calls. As part of the guide, FBI Atlanta has detailed steps for victims to preserve evidence, including not touching received hate letters without rubber gloves—to maintain fingerprint traces. "If something comes in the mail or somebody texts you a message or sends an email or a phone call, and sometimes hate crimes can happen in the street, in a parking lot, outside of a store, and all of those are different situations," Kabrhel told FOX 5.
Moreover, Channel 2's Courtney Francisco was told by Kabrhel, "Evidence has to be collected, and the public needs to help us with that." The guide advises not to send or destroy received threats but to capture them as evidence through photos or recordings. "Take a picture of it with your phone," instructed Kabrhel, a move that secures the initial appearance, timestamp, and additional details of the threat, as reported by WSB-TV.
The FBI is not just responding to reactive incidents but has also been proactively investigating vile communications post-election. Some of the latest victims include minorities and the LGBTQIA+ community who are bearing the brunt of these threats; they have received messages ranging from notices of deportation to calls for reporting to re-education camps. In a statement obtained by WSB-TV, FBI Atlanta clarified that the release of the hate crime guide was already in the works before the recent surge in racist texts.
Agent Kabrhel highlighted the importance of bystander support and evidence capture: "If you can help out your neighbor, another person in a parking lot or a store when something bad happens to them, that can be good evidence," a statement obtained by WSB-TV. Anyone experiencing or witnessing hate-crime-related activity is encouraged to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips online at tips.fbi.gov.
