hate crime

On June 17, 2015, Malcolm Graham learned that his sister, Cynthia Graham Hurd, a librarian and a devout Christian, was one of nine victims shot and killed at Emanuel AME Church in Charleston.

Those convicted of targeting law enforcement and emergency crews can now face stricter penalties. "The overarching message is that hate crimes will not be tolerated in Louisiana," the governor said.

Gov. John Bel Edwards is expected to sign the legislation, supported by so-called Blue Lives Matter advocates, which would allow additional penalties against people who target first responders.

Sikh-Americans in Fresno, Calif., are apprehensive in the wake of two recent attacks in the area on elderly Sikh men.

Roof has been charged with murdering nine people at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in South Carolina in June. He also faces federal hate crime charges.

Along with nine counts of murder leveled by state prosecutors, the Justice Department says a grand jury indicted Dylann Roof of 33 federal counts; at least one could bring the death penalty.