Hate crimes vs. Muslims spike, say FBI report; Trump appointment of Bannon draws protests

After Donald Trumps victory over Hillary Clinton, protestors took to the streets.

By Louis Chan
REPRINTED FROM ASAM NEWS

A NEW report from the FBI shows 21 percent of the 1263 religious hate crime victims in 2015 were Muslim.

According to ABC News, that’s an increase of 67 percent. 

The FBI report was release right after a contentious political campaign fueled by hateful rhetoric that has ignited a backlash nationwide. President-elect Donald Trump was accused of fueling xenophobia and Islamophobia, using words some encouraging some people to carry out hateful crimes.
The news came out on one day after President-elect Donald Trump appointed Steve Bannon, editor of the pro-alt.right website Breitbart, as chief strategist of the White House.

“The appointment of Stephen Bannon as a top Trump administration strategist sends the disturbing message that anti-Muslim conspiracy theories and white nationalist ideology will be welcome in the White House,” said Nihad Awad, Council of American Islamic Relation’s national executive director. “We urge President-elect Trump to reconsider this ill-advised appointment if he truly seeks to unite Americans.”

The news was also condemned by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.

In San Francisco, Mayor Ed Lee held a rally at City Hall vowing to protect all citizens of San Francisco. “We stand united and we will protect all immigrant families in this city,” he said to a cheering crowd.

In a Tweet, Lee said: “Being a sanctuary city is in our DNA. San Francisco will never be anything other than a sanctuary city.”

Trump told 60 Minutes he will deport 2-3 million undocumented immigrants targeting those convicted of crimes.

Immigrant activists question whether there are really that many undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes. According to a 2015 study from the Migration Policy Institute, that number is closer to 300,000.

“This is classic Trump talk on immigration,” said said Frank Sharry, executive director of America’s Voice. “He’s using a small number of bad guys to taint a much larger population of deeply rooted families, and he’s doing it to justify one of the largest forced migrations in American history.” - Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

###