Civil Rights
The United States Attorney's office for the Eastern District of Missouri, in coordination with the United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, is responsible for enforcing the federal civil rights laws in Eastern Missouri.
The Civil Division
The Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office has the responsibility for enforcing the nation’s civil rights laws in order to obtain civil penalties, injunctive relief, compensation to the victims of civil rights violations and other legal and equitable relief. The Civil Division frequently coordinates its activities with the Civil Rights Division in Washington. In this capacity, the Civil Division has successfully tried housing discrimination cases under the Fair Housing Act; assisted the Civil Rights Division with cases involving allegations of sexual harassment in local housing; investigated allegations of disability discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act; and acted as a local contact for Civil Rights Division initiatives in the St. Louis Metropolitan Area. In addition to housing and disability discrimination, the Civil Division is also responsible for investigating allegations of educational, religious, and voting discrimination.
The Criminal Division
The Criminal Division prosecutes violations of the criminal civil rights laws, including laws prohibiting hate crimes and the use of unreasonable force by those acting under color of law, as outlined below:
Reporting a Civil Rights Violation
The office welcomes information from the public that brings to our attention possible violations of our nation's civil rights laws. At the same time, while the scope of our civil rights practice is broad, the authority of the United States Department of Justice to investigate and seek relief for individual complaining parties for alleged civil rights violations is limited. We may investigate and seek to remedy alleged discriminatory conduct only where and in the manner specifically authorized by law. For example, the Department of Justice has authority to investigate and seek to remedy patterns and practices of certain unlawful discriminatory conduct, but we generally do not have the authority to represent individuals in their pursuit of private civil rights claims.
If you have information concerning a potential violation of the federal civil rights laws that you wish to bring to our attention, please go to the Dept. of Justice How to File a Complaint website and follow the instructions or email USAMOE.civilrights@usdoj.gov. Alternatively, you may complete the Civil Rights Complaint Form and email or fax it to the Civil Rights Coordinator at (314) 539-2309. The Civil Rights Coordinator, Christine Krug, prosecutes criminal civil rights cases and hate crimes and can be reached at (314) 539-2200. The Civil Division’s civil rights litigation is coordinated by Regan Hildebrand, who can also be reached at (314) 539-2200. Lastly, please note that the USAO is primarily a litigating office and not an investigative office, so the information you provide via email or on the complaint form may be forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement and/or administrative agency at the discretion of this office.
Other Federal Agencies
Other federal agencies also handle civil rights complaints. For information about:
- Employment discrimination, contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. To file a charge of discrimination, follow this link.
- Housing discrimination, contact the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
- Education discrimination (involving programs or activities that receive federal financial assistance from the Department of Education), contact the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights.
- Violations of the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (if you have been denied employment, re-employment or any other benefit because of your uniformed service) , contact the United States Department of Labor, Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS).