The vast majority of hate crimes in the United States are prosecuted at the state and local levels, for which no figures are available. Prosecution and sentencing records were not reported to ODIHR.
In September 2022, the Attorney General announced that the Justice Department's United Against Hate community outreach and engagement programme would be launched in every U.S. Attorneys' Office (USAO). In 2023, USAOs engaged thousands of people across the country, providing education about hate crimes and bias-motivated incidents and strengthening connections between communities and law enforcement through dialogue at more than 300 events reaching more than 10,000 participants.
As part of an ongoing commitment to improve hate crimes reporting and data collection, the FBI's Criminal Justice Information Service (CJIS) convened a symposium at its headquarters in Clarksburg, West Virginia, with state and local law enforcement partners responsible for crime data collection, including hate crimes data. The symposium featured discussions and presentations addressing various aspects of hate crime data, including its collection, analysis, and interpretation. Participants also explored ways to improve reporting mechanisms, better support victims, and implement preventive measures to counter hate-motivated actions.
The Department of Justice committed $1.5 million to finance the programmes that support community-based organizations and civil rights groups in implementing comprehensive approaches to promote community awareness and preparedness, increase victim reporting, strengthen community resiliency, and improve responses to hate crimes. In 2023, $8 million was also awarded in Community-based Approaches to Prevent and Address Hate Crimes grants across the country.
Additionally, DOJ's Office for Victims of Crime (OVC), in collaboration with the CSO Futures Without Violence, provided funding to 12 local community-based groups to serve and support victims of hate crimes in their communities. The grants, ranging from $50,000 to $125,000, are aimed at promoting awareness, healing, and access to resources and services for people affected by hate crimes. The 'In The Streets' project continues to provide therapeutic mentorship to victims of hate crime. They have also recruited and begun screening for an LGBTQ+ support group led by a representative mental health professional.
Notable cases in 2023:
A man was arrested and charged in 2023 for attempting to burn down a church because of its support for the LGBTQ+ community. On 23 October 2023, he pleaded guilty to the church arson hate crime and using fire and explosives to commit a felony. On 30 January 2024, he was sentenced to 216 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
A California resident who shot and wounded two Jewish men as they left religious services in Los Angeles in 2023 agreed to plead guilty to hate crimes and firearms offences in May 2024. Under the plea agreement, the perpetrator would receive a prison sentence of between 35 years and 40 years.
In October 2023, an Illinois man was charged with first degree murder, aggravated battery, and two counts of hate crimes for stabbing and killing a six-year-old Palestinian American child and injuring his mother outside on 14 October 2023. The defendant owned the home where the family lived. The charges allege that the victims were targeted because they were Muslim and because of the war between Israel and Hamas. The defendant has pleaded not guilty. The Department of Justice opened a federal hate crimes investigation into the events which is ongoing.
This category includes hate crimes committed on the grounds of 'race', ethnicity and ancestry.
This category includes hate crimes with a bias against Catholics, Protestants, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Church of Jesus Christ, Eastern Orthodox, and other Christian denominations.
This category includes hate crimes targeting Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and other faith groups, as well as Atheists/Agnostics.
Official figures include 2,402 hate crimes motivated by bias based on sexual orientation, and 547 hate crimes motivated by bias based on gender identity.
The UN Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity published relevant recommendations in its "Visit to the United States of America: Report of the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Victor Madrigal-Borloz".
ODIHR recognizes the United States' efforts in addressing hate crime through targeted outreach, programming and funding, and through strengthening connections between law enforcement and communities. However, based on the available information, it observes that since 2018, the United States has not reported data on hate crimes recorded by the prosecution and judiciary to ODIHR. In addition, ODIHR observes that the United States would benefit from ensuring that hate crimes are addressed in a comprehensive manner, including by introducing a co-ordination mechanism.
ODIHR recalls that in Ministerial Council Decision 9/09, participating States committed to collecting reliable data and statistics in sufficient detail on hate crimes and to reporting such data periodically to ODIHR. In Ministerial Council Decisions 9/09 and 13/06, participating States also committed to ensuring a comprehensive approach to hate crimes. To that end, the relevant authorities are required to collaborate and co-ordinate closely with civil society. ODIHR stands ready to support the United States in meeting its relevant commitments through the provision of comprehensive resources and tailored assistance in the area of hate crime recording and data collection, as well as further resources and tailored assistance in the area of developing co-ordination mechanisms to address hate crime.
In addition to incidents submitted with detailed descriptions, this chart includes the following incidents reported as statistics by the Anti-Defamation League: 929 racist and xenophobic incidents, 745 anti-Semitic incidents, 127 anti-LGBTI incidents, and 28 incidents with multiple bias motives.
🛈 Please note that the total number of incidents may be lower than the sum of incidents presented in the breakdown chart above, as some incidents involve multiple bias motivations.
🛈 ODIHR no longer presents descriptions of property attacks in the incident tables below. Data on property attacks are presented in the breakdown charts above. One property attack may target multiple properties or involve multiple types of attack.