Whether Congress's power to enforce the Thirteenth Amendment's prohibition on slavery and involuntary servitude authorizes Congress to criminalize assaults committed because of the victim's race, color, religion, or national origin, on grounds that such an assault is a 'badge' or 'incident' of slavery, regardless of whether there is any nexus to federally protected rights

QUESTION PRESENTED Title 18 U.S.C. § 249(a)(1), which was enacted as part of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, criminalizes the conduct of one who whether or not acting under color of law, willfully causes bodily injury to any person or, through the use of fire, a firearm, a dangerous weapon, or an explosive or incendiary device, attempts to cause bodily injury to any person, because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person. 18 U.S.C. § 249(a)(1). The question presented is: Whether Congress’s power to enforce the Thirteenth Amendment’s prohibition on slavery and involuntary servitude authorizes Congress to criminalize assaults committed because of the victim’s race, color, religion, or national origin, on grounds that such an assault is a “badge” or “incident” of slavery, regardless of whether there is any nexus to federally protected rights.