last month joshua brandon was sentenced to 49 years for assaulting and murdering mercedes williamson. this is the first case prosecuted under the hate crimes prevention act. a lot of concerns and questions so i've directed the civil rights division to work with the united states attorney's office in federal bureau of investigation to identify ways the department can support state and local law enforcement authorities investigating these incidents and to determine whether the federal action would be appropriate. i specifically directed the files of these cases to be reviewed to ensure there is no single person or group behind these attacks or to what extent in general they have been behind these attacks. i receive regular updates on the status. i understand many of the prosecutors who worked on these cases are here today. i want to thank you for your hard work and dedication. i know a number of you will be participating in panels later on today and your expertise and experience will help us as we go forward. all the cases i've talked about are critically important in buying power of th