WASHINGTON, DC.- Crime Museum announced that its newest exhibit, Domestic Terrorism and Hate Crimes officially opened to the public on March 18, 2015. The exhibit features terrorist attacks committed on American soil and also addresses a topic that is often in the headlines- Hate Crimes. This exhibit educates the public on how these crimes are classified and what they look like today. It also includes visuals and objects from the Boston Marathon Bombing, such as a runner’s medal, bib, and personal items; a Ku Klux Klan ceremonial robe; a noose from a lynching; and the gun used in the 2012 attack aimed at the politically conservative Family Resource Council in Washington, DC.

Chief Operating Officer of Crime Museum, Janine Vaccarello, notes the importance of installing this exhibit, “It’s an honor to install an exhibit that affects so many people. It will be an emotional journey- remembering where you were when 9/11 occurred or if you had a friend running in the Boston marathon. It will also challenge museumgoers to re-examine their beliefs on what constitutes a hate crime, how history has been documented, and how prejudices have changed. In doing so, we hope to raise awareness and change behavior for the better.”

Other notable artifacts displayed include:

· A rifle confiscated from the Virginia Jihad Network in 2003, after their failed attempt to train assassins at the Paintball War Games facility in Spotsylvania, VA

· Unabomber letters

· World Trade Center rubble and other 9/11 artifacts

· The bust recreation of prisoner Vinson Harris, who was suffocated and killed by prison security guards in 1986, while serving a 20-year sentence for bank robbery. The bust was used at the trial to visually illustrate to the court how Harris had been suffocated with elastic bandages and duct tape.

Authors Casey Sherman and Dave Wedge, who co-wrote the New York Times best seller, Boston Strong, were at the opening of the exhibit to discuss the events surrounding the Boston Marathon bombing. Their book, Boston Strong, is the first book to tell the entire story through the eyes of those who experienced it. From the cop first on the scene, to the detectives assigned to the manhunt, the authors provide a behind-the-scenes look at the investigation. More than a true-crime book, Boston Strong also tells the tragic but ultimately life-affirming story of the victims and their recoveries and gives voice to those who lost loved ones.