Quarterly FOIA Report: Fourth Quarterly Report for FY 2023 Due

Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Good evening, everyone. I am honored to be here tonight to present the Act To Change Allied Organization of the Year award to AAPI Youth Rising. This award recognizes the organization’s leadership and continued efforts in advancing the rights and well-being of AAPI youth across the country.

This work could not be more timely or more urgent. One of our highest priorities at the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has been to confront the rising tide of hate directed at the AAPI community. We have prosecuted those who have committed hate crimes, including securing a 25-year prison sentence for the man who attacked an Asian-American family with a knife at a Sam’s Club in Midland, Texas, because he blamed them for the COVID-19 pandemic. We also prosecuted a man who recently pled guilty after threatening to injure an Asian-American doctor in Maryland who had been a vocal proponent of the COVID-19 vaccine. And just last week, we charged a Nevada..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Former Texas Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Sentenced for Using Excessive Force
A former Van Zandt County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy was sentenced today to 44 months in prison for violating an arrestee’s civil rights by using excessive force against him.

According to court documents, Steven “Craig” Shelton, 62, previously pleaded guilty and admitted that on or about Sept. 21, 2021, while acting as the Chief Deputy and second-in-command of the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office, he repeatedly struck a handcuffed and compliant arrestee in the face. Shelton admitted that his acts, which occurred in front of several other officers in the Rolling Oaks area of Wills Point, Texas, caused bodily injury to the arrestee. Shelton admitted that he hit the arrestee because Shelton was frustrated, even though Shelton knew that there was no legitimate, law enforcement need to use force against the arrestee.

“This defendant abused his autho..

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 19, 2023
Justice Department Statements on District Court Ruling Enjoining American Airlines and JetBlue’s Northeast Alliance
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division issued the following statements today regarding the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’s ruling in favor of the Justice Department and the Attorneys General of six states and the District of Columbia in their civil antitrust lawsuit to stop the Northeast Alliance between American Airlines and JetBlue:

“Today’s decision is a win for Americans who rely on competition between airlines to travel affordably,” said Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. “The Justice Department will continue to protect competition and enforce our antitrust laws in the heavily consolidated airline industry and across every industry.”

“We are pleased with the court’s decision. The outcome of this litigat..