August 3, 2025 The Best Source of News, Culture, Lifestyle for Culver City, Mar Vista, Del Rey, Palms and West Los Angeles

Trump and Hate Crimes: Big Rise Likely Only the Start

By Tom Elias

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hate crimes are on the rise in California and there are strong hints the increase stems in part from President Trump’s habit of using racial slurs like the “Pocahontas” tag he likes to apply to Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren and the travel bans he’s imposed on citizens of several Muslim countries.

There were also Trump’s call for a wall separating this country from Mexico and his claim that vast numbers of Latino illegal immigrants are criminals and rapists.

The latest FBI hate crime statistics cover only 2016, not even including an apparent rise in white supremacist activity that’s been reported less formally since Trump refused to outright condemn the neo-Nazi-tinged rally that turned fatal last summer in Charlottesville, VA.

Even the FBI’s numbers are far from complete, as they are based on reporting only from cities and counties that volunteer information. Many don’t bother reporting.

There is also no proof that Trump’s rhetoric and tweets caused the hate crime spike, but there is a definite correlation of the increases with his remarks.

Most striking in the California numbers stemming from 733 police and sheriff’s departments in all parts of the state is the rise of almost 100 hate crimes, or 11.7 percent, over the previous year, 2015. Perhaps even more important to anyone looking for a trend was a rise of 9 percent in the month of November 2016, the month of Trump’s election victory.

The numbers show increases in both race-based crimes and in those targeting gender. The biggest increases were in anti-Latino, anti-Arab, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBT crimes.

If there’s any parallel here to previous California hate crime spikes, it’s to the period just before and after Proposition 187 passed in 1994, seeking to deprive undocumented immigrants of all government services, from public schooling to emergency room care. The hot political rhetoric of that time also saw an upswing in crimes targeting Latinos, regardless of either their immigration status or of how long their families had been in California.

Most hate crimes, as usual, occurred in or near large cities, with most hate crimes in San Francisco against gays, while in Los Angeles a wave of incidents targeted Jews, Muslims and African-Americans.

Reported hate crimes linked to white supremacists in Los Angeles County jumped from 63 in 2015 to 105 last year, about two-thirds more than the previous year’s number. They have been most common in poorer communities like Cudahy, according to an annual survey by that county’s Human Relations commission.

That commission also found African Americans the most frequently targeted group in Southern California, often the victims of white supremacists. But the danger to transgender individuals also increased sharply, with 39 reported crimes hitting them compared with 22 the year before, a 77 percent increase.

The increases were just as sharp in Northern California, where hate crimes almost tripled in Santa Clara County, from 14 to 39, with San Jose hit the most. Of that city’s 24 reported hate crimes, 15 were based on race and ethnicity, seven were religious and two involved sexual orientation. San Jose’s total was triple its 2015 number.

The increases in crimes based on race and ethnicity, from swastikas on synagogues and mosques to physical attacks on gays, are too striking and too ubiquitous in California’s population centers to have been spurred by anything other than the not-quite-hateful, but still race-suggestive rhetoric that suffused television and the Internet at the times when these crimes increased the most.

It would be the height of naiveté to gloss over this reality. California learned in 1994 and 1995 that hateful political advertising coincided with a sharp rise in hate and hate crimes against the same or similar groups to those referenced in the ads.

The 2016 numbers – more dramatically increased than in any one year since the 1990s – appear to demonstrate that this type of politics is no more benign today than 20 years ago.

And until the numbers for 2017 come in sometime near the end of next year, no one will know the exact effect the Trump presidency has had on them. But it’s a safe bet we will see even more dramatic increases than last year’s.

Related Posts

Two LA County Deputies Charged in Off-Duty Scheme Tied to Crypto ‘Godfather’

August 2, 2025

August 2, 2025

Deputies Accused of Abusing Law Enforcement Powers for Beverly Hills Mogul One Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy pleaded guilty,...

Metro Releases Draft Environmental Report for Sepulveda Transit Project, Public Comment Now Open

August 2, 2025

August 2, 2025

Six Route Alternatives Under Review for Valley-To-Westside Connection The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) has released its Draft...

Trump Administration Freezes $200M in UCLA Research Funds Over Student Protests

August 2, 2025

August 2, 2025

UCLA Says Freeze Harms Life-Saving Research With No Connection to Stated Reason Donald Trump’s administration has blocked $200 million in...

Culver City’s National Night Out Returns August 5 With K9 Demo, Live Music, and Fun

August 2, 2025

August 2, 2025

This Year’s Celebration Moves to the Culver Steps to Encourage Community Spirit Culver City’s annual National Night Out celebration returns...

City Installs Crosswalks In Sawtelle District After Residents Paint Their Own

August 1, 2025

August 1, 2025

Los Angeles Begins Official Safety Upgrades Near Stoner Park City crews began installing official crosswalks Friday near Stoner Park in...

HARD Summer Returns This Weekend With New Sound Strategy After 2024 Noise Complaints

August 1, 2025

August 1, 2025

Sold-Out EDM and Hip-Hop Festival Runs Saturday and Sunday at Hollywood Park The HARD Summer music festival is set to...

Free Document Shredding, Electronics Recycling Set for Saturday in Culver City

August 1, 2025

August 1, 2025

Culver City Offers Secure Way to Recycle Tech and Shred Paper This Weekend Residents will have the opportunity to responsibly...

Last Call: Culver City Wants Your Input in Hiring Its Next City Manager

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Public Survey Open Through August 1 Invites Residents to Weigh In As Culver City begins its search for a new...

1,000 Additional National Guard Troops Withdrawn From LA as Federal Presence Continues to Shrink

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

National Guard Presence in Los Angeles Slashed Again Amid Ongoing Rollback Roughly an additional 1,000 National Guard troops have been...

Luxury Watches Stolen From Keanu Reeves Recovered in Chile, To Be Returned to Actor

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Six Rolex Watches Worth Over $120,000 Were Seized in Santiago Police Raid Six high-end watches stolen from actor Keanu Reeves’...

Aging Mindfully: Zen-Inspired Senior Living Takes Shape in Simi Valley

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Two Zen-inspired senior living communities are embracing the reality of aging — consciously. Ensō Village, open since 2023 in Sonoma County,...

Trio of Suspects Busted in $50K Beauty Heist at Culver City Store

July 31, 2025

July 31, 2025

Burglars Try to Flee, But Culver City PD Catches All ThreePolice arrested three suspects late Sunday night following a break-in...

Lulu Hosts Summer Tardeada With Guest Chef From Oakland’s Bombera

July 30, 2025

July 30, 2025

Chef Dominica Rice-Cisneros Joins Alice Waters for a Courtyard Celebration Lulu, the acclaimed restaurant located at the Hammer Museum, will...

Film Review: Together

July 30, 2025

July 30, 2025

By Dolores Quintana Dave Franco and Alison Brie, a married couple in real life, star in Michael Shanks’ gruesomely passionate...

Heidi Klum’s Tropical Erewhon Smoothie Drops Just in Time for Summer

July 30, 2025

July 30, 2025

Supermodel’s Limited-Edition Drink Blends Kiwi, Coconut, and Matcha Erewhon has debuted its newest celebrity smoothie collaboration, this time with supermodel...