FBI Investigation Leads to Historic Hate Crime Sentencing

[Lori Dee]

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FBI Investigation Leads to Historic Hate Crime Sentencing
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Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) - October 17, 2024

In a landmark hate crime case, a trial jury found Daqua Lameek Ritter guilty in the 2019 murder of Dime Doe, a Black transgender woman. Ritter was sentenced to life in prison on hate crime, firearms, and obstruction charges.

"This case is a testament to years of hard work and our prioritization of civil rights investigations, to include hate crimes, where individuals are targeted with violence due to their protected characteristics," said Supervisory Special Agent Anthony Snead, Jr., of the FBI's Civil Rights Unit. "We want to stress to these communities that the FBI is listening. We hear you, we stand with you, and we will use every resource we have to seek justice for victims, their families, and all communities."

This historic case marks the first time a defendant has been found guilty by trial verdict for a hate crime motivated by gender identity under the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr., Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Passed in 2009, the Shepard-Byrd Act allows federal criminal prosecution of hate crimes motivated by the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.

The FBI is the primary federal agency responsible for investigating possible violations of federal civil rights statutes.

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