Source: Chicago Tribune

http://www.chicagotribune.com/archives

On March 26, 2003 the Chicago Tribune reported that "with reports of hate crimes against Muslim Americans rising in the region, Chicago's top FBI agent vowed Tuesday to aggressively investigate possible race-related incidents even as the agency continues to pursue terror suspects and question Iraqi immigrants... Thomas J. Kneir, special agent in charge of the FBI's Chicago office... spoke at a news conference attended by eight local Muslim and Arab-American organizations, some of which have been meeting with federal authorities in an effort to prevent and press for the prosecution of hate crimes that leaders say are linked to the war against Iraq... Since the end of February, the FBI has investigated six reports of possible hate crimes, culminating Friday in the apparent bombing of a van parked outside a Palestinian-American home in Burbank."