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Civil Rights

Working with the Civil Rights Division of the United States Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney’s Office enforces federal civil rights laws, such as the Fair Housing Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, and laws prohibiting patterns and practices of police misconduct, within the Western District of Michigan.  The Civil Rights Unit also coordinates with the Criminal Division on criminal civil rights matters, such as hate crimes and police brutality.

Our Civil Rights hotline is available for anyone who may have suffered a violation of their civil rights.

The telephone number is 616-808-2195.  Please leave a detailed voicemail.

Civil rights complaints may also be emailed to:  usamiw.civilrights@usdoj.gov.

Please complete and include the Civil Rights Complaint Form (PDF format): 

 

If you make a complaint through the contacts above, we will carefully consider the information you have provided us to determine whether a violation of the federal civil rights laws may have occurred and if so, whether this Office has enforcement authority with respect to such a violation and is able to open an investigation.  If we determine that your complaint raises a potential violation of federal civil rights laws that would be within the jurisdiction of this Office to investigate and/or that further information from you is necessary, you will be contacted.

You can also reach the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division at: http://www.justice.gov/crt/how-file-complaint

For complaints regarding voting rights concerns and election fraud, please contact our elections hotline.

We generally do not have jurisdiction over violations that occurred outside of the Western District of Michigan, which is limited to the Michigan counties listed here. You should contact the U.S. Attorney’s Office that covers the area where the violation occurred.

Updated November 29, 2023