Hate Crimes Rapidly Rising In New York, Hudson Valley
Hate crimes are up around the country, including the Hudson Valley.
According to FBI data, the number of reported hate crimes across the country increased by 17 percent over the last year. Marking the third straight year hate crimes increased in the United States, according to the FBI.
There were 7,175 reported hate crimes in 2017, up from 6,121 in 2016.
Of the 7,175 reported hate crimes, nearly 60 percent were motivated by race, ethnicity or ancestry.
Of the nearly 2,000 religious bias crimes in 2017, 58.1 percent were anti-Jewish while 18.6% were anti-Muslim, according to the data released by the FBI.
"The Department of Justice's top priority is to reduce violent crime in America, and hate crimes are violent crimes," acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said statement according to CNN. "I am particularly troubled by the increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes -- which were already the most common religious hate crimes in the United States -- that is well documented in this report.
In New York, there were 552 reported hate crimes in 2017, according to the FBI.
Recent Hudson Valley incidents include four children who allegedly sprayed painted “swastikas”, stars, “666”, and “smh” at numerous locations and several parked vehicles throughout the City of Kingston, anti-Semitic graffiti found on a Putnam County home near a school and swastikas scrawled in a locker room at New Rochelle High School.
Many believe the spike in hate crimes is connected to the divisive political climate across the country.
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