Beloved Community Initiative is a proud member of Johnson County Interfaith Coalition, who worked with the Community Empowerment Law Project at the University of Iowa, the city attorney, and the city council to write the Hate Crime Ordinance.
Iowa City has expanded its hate crimes ordinance to include harassment and trespassing. Under the new policy, people who target others based on their protected class can face fines and minimum jail time for the offenses.
The change comes as some in the community are reporting an increase in hateful driven incidents, said Iowa City Police Chief Jody Matherly."We have had a rise in hateful-type acts, not all of them hate crimes. But more flyers being distributed that says, 'it's ok to be white' or maybe directing folks to a white supremacist internet page," he said.