29 Aug D.A. Candidate Nathan Hochman Releases Statement on Gascon’s Failure to Effectively Prosecute Hate Crimes
LOS ANGELES / August 29, 2024 – Nathan Hochman, the former Assistant U.S. Attorney General and candidate for District Attorney of Los Angeles County, today released the following statement regarding D.A. Gascon’s failure to effectively prosecute hate crimes:
“For nearly four years, George Gascon has largely ignored hate crimes, which have soared during his administration. Now that he’s 60 days away from a challenging re-election, and the polling looks bleak, Gascon is trying to create the appearance that he actually cares about stopping hate. It’s too little, too late.
Gascon showed how much he cares about hate on Day 1 of his administration in 2020, when he ordered his deputy D.A.s to stop filing hate crime enhancements – which add prison time to those who commit crimes motivated by hate of the victim’s ethnicity, religion, gender or sexual orientation. After the community protested, Gascon conceded and said he would allow hate enhancements to be filed.
Unlike his predecessors, Gascon does not have a single prosecutor assigned full time to hate crimes. Nor does he have a unit in the office dedicated to those crimes.
It’s also noteworthy that none of the hate cases that Gascon highlighted at his press conference today involved Asian, Muslim, or LGBTQ hate.
Gascon mentioned his alleged filing rate today, but that’s not nearly as important as what charges are filed, what enhancements are filed, and the sentences that are given in plea deals.
When I become District Attorney, I will never abandon victims the way that Gascon has. I will create a specialized unit to prosecute hate crimes throughout the county. I will not stand for hate in Los Angeles County; and I will ask to be judged by what I do, not what I say.”
About Nathan Hochman:
Nathan Hochman, a former federal prosecutor, Assistant U.S. Attorney General, President of the Los Angeles City Ethics Commission and defense attorney, is running to defeat George Gascon and become the next District Attorney of Los Angeles County. He is an Independent (No Party Preference) candidate who believes politics has no place in the D.A.’s Office. He has bipartisan support and is endorsed by the Los Angeles County Police Chiefs’ Association, the Association of Deputy District Attorneys, former District Attorney Jackie Lacey, a coalition of first responders, more than 70 elected officials and dozens of civic and business leaders. For more information about Hochman and his campaign, please visit www.NathanHochman.com.
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