Apr. 27—CHEYENNE — Members of Better Together, Braver Angels of Laramie County, Love and Compassion and other local organizations gathered at Laramie County Community College on Tuesday to hear about the U.S. Department of Justice's goal to encourage hate-crime reporting in Wyoming.

The gathering was a preliminary meeting to learn more about the United Against Hate Initiative, a federal program in the process of holding events in all 50 states to educate residents on their First Amendment rights, what constitutes a hate crime and how to report a hate crime to your local federal office.

Much of the conversation revolved around what will be discussed during the official event, which will be held sometime this September.

"I'm here on behalf of the United States government," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Eric J. Heimann. "If we have a hate crime, and we can prove it, and we charge it, that person goes to prison. So, when the Attorney General says we are going to be united against hate and that the Department of Justice is going to be part of that, that's a pretty powerful thing."

In a press release last September, the DOJ shared the primary goals of the initiative:

— Defining hate crimes versus hate incidents.

— The importance of reporting unlawful acts of hate.

— Providing options for responding to hate incidents when situations do not constitute a federal or state crime.

— Distinguishing unlawful conduct from protected First Amendment activity, including identifying protected speech versus speech that advocates violence or encourages people to commit hate crimes.

Tuesday night, Heimann simplified the goals of the U.S. Attorney's Office with two points:

— Increase the reporting of hate crimes and hate incidents.

— Bring together affected communities, allies and law enforcement, and bring them into a safe place to learn about hate crimes, hate incidents and federal laws that prohibit them.

He emphasized that these goals are not attainable without the help of Wyomingites.

"Typically, I talk to courts, talk to law enforcement, grand juries and trial jurors," Heimann said. "I've started talking to community groups, because we need your help. Look at me — I'm straight, white, well-educated and in a position of power. I don't know what the threats are here.

"I don't know what the challenges are here for people who are affected by hate. So, I'm here in part to learn information about what's going on."

Part of what the program will include is information on what exactly a hate crime is, a subject matter that was heavily discussed during the meeting Tuesday night. In particular, Heimann explained the distinction between a hateful thought and a hate crime.

Americans' First Amendment rights protect freedom of speech, even if that speech is hurtful and outright insulting to others. However, the First Amendment does not protect true threats — statements about the intent to harm another person with the intent to threaten that person.

"One of the things we want to talk about with people is to help them understand what is protected speech and what isn't," he continued. "When does it cross the line? We want people to report it when it crosses the line, or when they think it gets close to the line or when they feel threatened.

"It's not always a subjective test. It's not just because somebody says something, I feel threatened."

An illegal act is considered a hate crime when the act is proven to be motivated by prejudice. The distinction can be as simple as someone punching another person, for which they would likely receive a misdemeanor, and punching another person while calling them a racial slur, which could be tried as a federal hate crime.

But hate crimes often go unreported due to victims lacking trust that their case will be investigated, Heimann said.

"When we say reporting, if we hear about discrimination, we hear about hateful incidents, we hear about things that rise to crimes," Heimann said. "We get a fuller picture of what's happening, and we have more opportunities to do something that changes things on the ground. That's more what civil anti-discrimination lawsuits are meant to do, actually change things going forward."

The U.S. Attorney's Office wants to encourage Wyomingites to report alleged hate crimes so that officials can get a better sense of what racially motivated criminal acts are occurring in Cheyenne and the rest of Wyoming. If these acts are reported, and the cases are prosecuted, then not only will a hate crime potentially be punished, but a message will have been sent to other potential offenders across the state.

The hope is that the event in September will bring these issues to the forefront of the community, creating a dialogue between residents, city leaders and local law enforcement. For now, supporting organizations like Better Together, Braver Angels, and Love & Compassion are fundraising for the event and seeking a location for the United Against Hate Initiative presentation to be held.

Heimann said the U.S. Attorney's Office hopes to take the presentation to Laramie and Casper, as well as cities in northern Wyoming.

Will Carpenter is the Wyoming Tribune Eagle's Arts and Entertainment/Features Reporter. He can be reached by email at wcarpenter@wyomingnews.com or by phone at 307-633-3135. Follow him on Twitter @will_carp_.