WASHINGTON - Hate crimes reported in the United States rose to the highest level in 12 years, with a notable increase in such crimes motivated by race, ethnicity and ancestry, and by gender identity, data from the FBI's annual hate crime statistics report shows.
A total of 7,759 hate crimes were reported in 2020, a 6.1% increase from the year prior and the highest level reported since 2008.
Hate crimes increased against both Black people and members of the Asian-American Pacific Islander community, the report shows.
The release of the FBI’s hate crime statistics data comes after a tumultuous year, which included a global pandemic that brought illness, death, lockdowns, and a devastated economy.