Possibly due in part to a derisive political climate, Minnesota has seen the number of reported hate crimes increase for the second straight year.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation conducts an annual report on hate crimes at the state and national level. When looking at Minnesota, they uncovered that hate crimes increased for the second consecutive year. There were 119 reported hate crimes in 2016, up from 109 in 2015.
“Any uptick in hate crimes in Minnesota is a major concern for us,” Minnesota Acting U.S. Attorney Gregory Brooker said. “We continue to work closely with the FBI on all federal hate crimes investigations, and prosecution of federal hate crimes remains a top priority of our office.”
A similar increase was seen on the national level. There were just over 6,100 hate crimes reported in the United States last year, up five percent from 2016. You can take a closer look at the FBI’s report by clicking here.
A Deeper Look
Here’s a closer look at some of the statistics from the FBI’s report.
- 58 percent of the hate crimes were racially motivated, with more than half of those being directed at the African-American community.
- 21 percent of hate crimes were religiously motivated, with more than half of those crimes being targeted at the Jewish community. 25 percent were also targeted at the Muslim community.
- 18 percent of hate crimes were sexual orientation motivated.
- 29 percent of offenses committed were classified as victim intimidation, while 26 percent were classified as property damage or vandalism.
- Tennessee and Rhode Island saw the biggest decreases in hate crimes from the previous years, with 30 percent and 18 percent decreases respectively. Indiana saw the biggest increase in hate crimes (up 127 percent).
- Our neighbors to the east, Wisconsin, have seen hate crimes decrease for the last three years. They had 51 in 2014, 43 in 2015 and only 34 last year.
- 10 percent of hate crimes took place on college campuses.
Hate crimes are serious cases that can have strong consequences, so if you’ve been charged with a hate crime, make sure you reach out to an experienced law firm to help defend your case. There’s also the chance that you’ve been charged with a hate crime even though your actions were in no way dictated by the other person’s race, religion or sexual orientation, but the police may not see it that way. If this is the case, make sure you have a professional in your corner to defend your case.
At Appelman Law Firm, we offer a free initial case review where you can sit down with an attorney and go over all your legal options as they pertain to your case. To set that up, click here or give our office a call at (952) 224-2277.
