U.S. Attorney’s Office Co-hosts Protecting Places of Worship Forum

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced that the United States Attorney’s Office is co-hosting a forum on Protecting Places of Worship on March 14, 2023, at the Gateway Center at the Gibson Health Hub from 6 until 9 pm.

The forum will provide faith-based leaders and other community members with strategies to protect places of worship from hate crimes and other threats of violence. Topics will include an overview of religious hate crimes and laws, tools and resources from federal and local law enforcement to assess the safety of places of worship, an overview of active shooter training and situations, and best practices for the prevention of and response to hate crimes against places of worship.

“Terror and fear and hatred blossom in the dark,” said U.S. Attorney Uballez, “because in the dark, we think that we are alone. Only by shining the light do we see that we are never alone but are instead standing side-by-side facing the darkness. I’m proud to help shine the light of love on New Mexico.”

The event will be facilitated by the Community Relations Service of the Department of Justice and co-hosted by the City of Albuquerque’s Office of Equity and Inclusion.  DOJ’s Community Relations Service was born in the Civil Rights era and is “America’s Peacemaker,” dedicated to facilitating, mediating, training, and consulting with communities to prevent and resolve conflict arising from actual or perceived race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, or disability.  The City of Albuquerque’s Office of Equity and Inclusion has led the effort to bring together the Department of Justice, law enforcement agencies and community for this ground-breaking forum. 

The Protecting Places of Worship forum is part of United Against Hate, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative to combat unlawful acts of hate by building trust and community. The District of New Mexico was selected to participate in the second cohort of USAO’s to rollout the United Against Hate initiative.

Speakers for the event will include representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the New Mexico Office of the Attorney General, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the Albuquerque Police Department, and local Interfaith leaders. 

The forum will be held at the Gateway Center at the Gibson Health Hub located on 5400 Gibson Boulevard Southeast, Room #1, Albuquerque, New Mexico 87108. Registration is open until March 14, 2023 at 12 noon and can be accessed through Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/protecting-places-of-worship-forum-tickets-532056143247.  Food will be provided, and interpreters will be present.

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