GARY | FBI Special Agents Brad Bookwalter and Art Grist discussed federal civil rights statutes Wednesday night at the Barbara Leeks Wesson Center as the Gary NAACP sought to educate residents about hate crimes.

The agents were invited to speak in response to an attack last month against a black couple by two white men in Merrillville.

Indiana is one of five states that do not have hate crime legislation, officials said.

Tammi Davis, president of the Gary chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, said one of the primary reasons hate crime legislation has not found support is because it offers protection to gays and lesbians.

In spite of the state not having hate crime laws on the books, the federal government can prosecute individuals for hate crimes, officials said.

"The main reason we're here is to forge a strong bridge, as strong a bond as possible with community groups," Bookwalter said. "We can do a lot in our investigations, but we need the community to help us know what we need to do."

While agents Bookwalter and Grist could not comment on any details in the Merrillville case, Bookwalter laid out the FBI's civil rights program.

The agency investigates hate crimes, color of law matters, involuntary servitude, freedom of access issues, discrimination and issues of intimidation in matters of housing, he said.

Merrillville police continue to investigate the recent attack.

A 29-year-old black man, who lives in the 6300 block of Arthur Street, told police he and his wife were driving home shortly before 9:30 p.m. March 24 when two white men in an older model brown Ford LTD cut them off in traffic.

The man said the men followed the couple home, got out of their car, then shoved him and hit him in the head with a black handgun, knocking him to the ground.

The assailants also pushed his wife to the ground, police said.

Although some media reports indicated the woman is pregnant, that was not indicated to police during the initial interview with the couple, Merrillville Police Chief Nicholas Bravos has said.

Neither the man nor his wife sought medical assistance after the attack, police said.

Police again were dispatched to the couple's house shortly before 3 a.m. March 25 when the man discovered his 2005 Honda Accord had been damaged and a racial slur had been written on it with black spray paint.

Damage to the car was estimated at $10,000, police said.