It appears that some people are becoming the terrorists they “feared,” by attacking innocent citizens at an alarming rate.
According to a report by the F.B.I, there were a total of 5,818 hate crimes in 2015. Hate crimes include assaults, bombings, threats and property destruction against minorities, women, gays and others. This number rose nearly 340 from the year before. The biggest surge was seen in hate crimes against Muslims, which rose 67% compared to the year before. There were a reported 257 assaults, attacks on mosques and other types hate crimes against Muslims last year, the highest number of reports since 2001 when there were more than 480 attacks following September 11. The attacks on Muslims alone raised the total number of hate crimes in 2015 by 7%.
Keep in mind, these are just the number of hate crimes that have been reported. Some law enforcement agencies don’t do their due diligence when it comes to reporting such crimes, especially against Muslims.
“We need to do a better job of tracking and reporting hate crime to fully understand what is happening in our communities and how to stop it,” James B. Comey Jr., the F.B.I. director, said Monday.
There have been hundreds of reports following the presidential election. For the first time, Donald Trump was forced to speak on some of the hate crimes that have occurred in his name.
“I am so saddened to hear that,” Trump told said during his “60 Minutes” interview after being made aware of the harassment Latinos and Muslims are facing. “And I say, ‘Stop it.’ If it — if it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the cameras: ‘Stop it.'”
