Hate crimes rose the day after Trump was elected, FBI data show - The Washington Post

"Reported hate crimes with racial or ethnic bias jumped the day after President Trump won the 2016 election, from 10 to 27, according to an analysis of FBI hate crime statistics by The Washington Post. Nov. 9 had more reported hate crimes than any other day in 2016, and the daily number of such incidents exceeded the level on Election Day for the next 10 days.





FBI data collected since the early 1990s show that reports of hate crimes typically spike during election years, according to a study by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University at San Bernardino. There was a 21 percent increase in reported hate crimes the day after Barack Obama won his first election in 2008, though hate crime reports remained relatively flat for the rest of the year.



It’s unclear why election years bring an increase in reported hate crimes, particularly in the days following the election of our last two presidents. It could be that people frustrated or energized by the election results take out those emotions on people who are different than them. Or, given that hate crimes are notoriously underreported, the election could embolden victims to report the crimes against them.





New York City police have one of the largest hate crime units in the county, but incident reports from the department offer few clues about what drives the election-year trend. On Nov. 1, 2016, police filed a report about a 63-year-old African American woman in Queens who found anti-black statements written on her door as she was coming home. And on Nov. 18 of that year, a report was filed alleging two African American men approached a white woman and man in Manhattan and yelled anti-white statements, before striking the 61-year-old man with a skateboard. It’s unclear whether these incidents were influenced by the election.



But a conspiracy case in Kansas shows how elections could potentially influence people to turn their political views into criminal acts. A trial began Thursday for three white men accused of plotting to bomb a mosque and a building where many Somali Muslim refugees live in southwest Kansas. Prosecutors say the men planned to detonate the bombs the day after the 2016 election."



Hate crimes rose the day after Trump was elected, FBI data show - The Washington Post