Join SALDEF for a vital session on your legal rights. Learn how to protect yourself and your family when interacting with law enforcement, immigration officers, and others.
This event is free and open to all.
⏱️When: Sunday June 22, 2025
📍Where: Raj Khalsa Gurdwara 22821 Silverbrook Center Dr, Sterling, VA
SMART Collaborating with Local, State, Federal Authorities Phoenix, AZ—Responding to violent crimes in the Phoenix metropolitan area, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national civil rights organization, is collaborating with area residents to organize a community forum with public officials to identify and respond to hate crimes. SMART is encouraging the Phoenix-area Sikh community to attend the event this Wednesday evening at the Cholla public library (details below). Since the attacks of 9/11, the Sikh community in Phoenix has been particularly affected by violent crimes, including the murder of Balbir Singh Sodhi on September 15, 2001 and the shooting of Avtar Singh Chiera on May 19, 2003. The Phoenix-area Sikh community also experienced the murder of convenience store clerk Sukhvir Singh two weeks ago in Tempe; however, this latest incident has not been characterized as bias-motivated. The community forum, “Combating Hate Crimes,” will include representatives from the Phoenix Police Department, the Arizona Sheriff’s office, and federal law enforcement officials. Local, state, and federal elected officials and their representatives will also be present to discuss how they can better address community concerns and maximize resources to battle hate crimes. Confirmed participants include members of the Sikh, South Asian, Arab, Muslim, Jewish and other communities. The forum is being organized in collaboration with local residents, community leaders and national organizations.
SMART Collaborating with Local, State, and Federal Authorities to Address Death Threats Received by Maryland Sikh Family Washington, DC—Responding to a pair of death threats received by a Sikh family in the Washington, DC metropolitan area three weeks ago, the Sikh Mediawatch and Resource Task Force (SMART), a national civil rights organization, is organizing a community forum to discuss this and issues related to hate crimes with law enforcement officials. SMART is encouraging the DC-area Sikh community to attend the event this Wednesday, August 27 at 7 pm in Rockville, MD (details below). The pair of death threats stated, in part, that the family is believed to be “closely affiliated with the Taliban…[and] plan to kill you and your family members.” Since receiving the threats, SMART has been coordinating with the family and law enforcement authorities, including the FBI, to ensure investigation of these threats as bias-motivated incidents. The community forum, “Combating Hate Crimes,” is being organized in collaboration with local, state, and federal law enforcement officials and community groups to present information about how to effectively deal with such hate-motivated incidents. The event will serve a mutually educational purpose for community members and law enforcement, and will not be a forum where the affected family’s identity is revealed. Confirmed participants include representatives from the Department of Justice, DC Bias Crimes Task Force, Montgomery County Police Department, and representatives from the Sikh, Arab, Muslim, Jewish and other communities. If you live in the DC metropolitan area, please share information about this event with your family and friends. Additionally, please request your local gurdwara to make an announcement about the event and distribute copies of the event flyer (available online, see URL below) at the gurdwara.