Spurred by Israel-Hamas war, California AG Rob Bonta addresses spike in hate crimes against Muslims and Jews

California Attorney General Rob Bonta has made fighting hate crimes one of his top priorities.

Hate crimes against AANHPI went down in California for 2022, but the total of hate crimes went up.  2023 is expected to see an overall increase due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“There is no place for hate in California’s communities and cities,” said Rob Bonta, the state's first Filipino American Attorney General at a discussion in Irving, California on Monday, Oct. 23. “As our communities feel the ripple effects of the heart-wrenching violence in Israel and Palestine, we must recommit to standing united against hate, wherever it occurs in our state."

As part of a statewide effort to address hate, Bonta joined a roundtable discussion Monday  in Orange County where he was was joined by Irvine's mayor, Pakistan-born Farrah N. Khan, and other local elected and community leaders.

The roundtable in Irvine is the 13th in a series of meetings led by Bonta across the state to bring together local elected officials, law enforcement officers, and community leaders to discuss best practices in addressing hate crimes. The roundtables are broadly aimed at developing strategies to address bias and hate, increasing awareness around available resources for members of the public, and strengthening responses to hate crimes and incidents in California.

Although hate crime targeting Asians decreased by 43.3% from 247 in 2021 to 140 in 2022, there was a 20.2% increase in total reported hate crime events in California, according to a report on hate crimes released in the summer by the Attorney General. Although not captured in statewide hate crime statistics, it’s also important to remember that hate incidents — acts that do not meet the legal requirements of a crime — are also incredibly harmful and can leave lasting, negative impacts on targeted communities.

Even before the Mideast War began, the state report found that hate crimes against Jews increased 24.3% from 152 in 2021 to 189 and at the same time, anti-Muslim crimes rose from 18 in 2021 to 25 in 2022.

Blacks continue to be the community most targeted by hate in the state. Anti-Black incidents ncreased 27.1% from 513 in 2021 to 652 in 2022.

        FYI: The full 2022 Hate Crime in California report is available here.

Yulan Chung, CEO of the South Coast Chinese Cultural Association, said when one person is affected by hate, the entire community feels it. She and other community members on the Orange County panel said they’d like to see more collaboration, accountability and funding go toward addressing anti-hate work.

Over the last five years, hate activity has been on the rise locally, according to the latest OC Hate Crimes Report. In Orange County, home to a large number of Asian Americans, the number of hate incidents against Asian Americans jumped 1,800% in 2020, according to the annual Orange County Hate Crime Report.

For 2022, hate crimes have increased by only 75%, and hate incidents – incidents  motivated by hateful bias that is not a crime – rose by 142%.

There were 450 reported hate crimes and incidents in Orange County in 2022, and more than half of those were motivated by race, ethnicity or national origin bias.

To counter the rise in anti-Asian incidents and attacks, the Anaheim Union High School District has launched this school year a first-of-its-kind high school ethnic studies course focused on the experiences of Korean Americans.

Although there are no hate crimes committed since the Middel East war began Oct. 7, the Jewish community was the most targeted religion in the county, and accounted for 20% of the total number of hate crimes and incidents.

Antisemitic incidents in the United States rose by about 400% in slightly over two weeks since war broke out in the Middle East, according to the advocacy group Anti-Defamation League (ADL) said Wednesday.

In anticipation of a spike, case workers at the state's Civil Rights Department have been reaching out to mosques, synagogues, and cultural groups that serve Muslim or Arab-American Californians and are concerned about hate crimes, said Becky Monroe, a senior official at the California Civil Rights Department.

“Irvine is an incredibly diverse city,” Khan said. “However, we’ve not been immune to hate incidents or hate crimes in our city. We know this isn’t going away, and we have to do our part to make sure that our communities and our cities feel safe.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the  blog Views From the Edge.

California report: Good news, bad news in the fight against hate crimes.

Anti-Asian hate crimes in California dropped from 247 in 2021 to 140 in 2022, according to a report released by the Attorney General on June 27. However, the numbers are still “very high” when compared to the years before COVID-19.

Overall, reported hate crime events in California increased 20.2% from 1,763 in 2021 to 2,120 in 2022.

 As a point of comparison, there were 19 anti-Asian hate crimes in 2014 and 2015, and 35 or less in all but one year between 2013 and 2018, as per the Los Angeles Times. No hate crimes had been reported against Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders in 2022.

“This report is a stark reminder that there is still much work to be done to combat hate in our state," said California Attorney General, Rob Bonta, at a June 27 press conference.

Although anti-Asian hate crime events saw a decrease, but Bonta said there were still 140 reports for the year, marking an “all-time high post-pandemic for anti-Asian hate crimes.”

Asian American community advocates believe the drop in anti-Asian hate crimes is due to Asian American victims' reluctance report hate crime events.

"We know that hate crimes in general are significantly underreported, and Asian and other immigrants are particularly reluctant to seek law enforcement or public attention when they have been victimized," Paul Estuar, litigation director with Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California, told the LA Times.

“In the past several years, we've witnessed national rhetoric get more heated, more polarizing, more divisive, more extreme. And while we like to think that California would be and should be the exception, hate — unfortunately, it has no borders,” Bonta said. "Even California is not immune."

When Bonta became California's Attorney General in 2021, he made fighting hate crimes one of his top priorities. He said as a Filipino American, the fight is personal.

"As an Asian American, as during this time of hate against our community, my community ... I feel the duty, obligation, responsibility, to step up and step in to take a leadership role."

This report covers the year 2021 and 2022.

Black people remain the most prevalent and increased 27.1% from 513 in 2021 to 652 in 2022, while reported anti-Asian hate crime events decreased by 43.3% from 247 in 2021 to 140 in 2022, and reported hate crime events involving a sexual orientation bias increased, rising 29% from 303 in 2021 to 391 in 2022. 

Hate crimes are distinct from hate incidents, which are actions or behaviors motivated by hate that may be protected by the First Amendment right to freedom of expression. 

Examples of hate incidents include name-calling, insults, and distributing hate material in public places. If a hate incident starts to threaten a person or property, it may become a hate crime. 

Bonta wants all the of state's law enforcement agencies report hate crimes and emphasized this in the AG report.

Last Tuesday, Bonta also issued an updated Law Enforcement Bulletin to all district attorneys, chiefs of police, sheriffs, and state law enforcement agencies with an updated summary of the multiple California criminal laws that prohibit hate crimes or provide enhanced penalties for specified hate-related acts, as well as guidance related to the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. The Attorney General continues to convene law enforcement, elected leaders, and community organizations at the local level across the state to help increase awareness around available resources and strengthen responses to hate crime in California.

Some of the other key findings from the 2022 Hate Crime in California Report include:

•  Overall, reported hate crime events increased 20.2% from 1,763 in 2021 to 2,120 in 2022. A hate crime event is a single occurrence but may involve more than one hate crime offense. For example, a person may be threatened and assaulted at the same time; this would involve multiple hate crime offenses within the same hate crime event.
• 2,589 hate crime offenses were reported in California, increasing by 16.6% from 2021.
• Hate crime events motivated by a sexual orientation bias increased 29% from 303 in 2021 to 391 in 2022.
• Anti-Black or African American bias events increased 27.1% from 513 in 2021 to 652 in 2022.
• Anti-Hispanic bias crimes rose from 197 in 2021 to 210 in 2022.
• Anti-Jewish bias events increased 24.3% from 152 in 2021 to 189 in 2022.
• Anti-Protestant bias events rose from 2 in 2021 to 12 in 2022.
• Anti-Islamic (Muslim) bias crimes rose from 18 in 2021 to 25 in 2022.
• Anti-transgender bias events increased from 38 in 2021 to 59 in 2022.
• Anti-gay (male) bias events increased 28.4% from 211 in 2021 to 271 in 2022
• Anti-lesbian bias crimes rose from 27 in 2021 to 33 in 2022.
• From 2021 to 2022, the number of hate crimes referred for prosecution increased 5.9% from 610 in 2021 to 647 in 2022. Of the 647 hate crimes that were referred for prosecution, 456 cases were filed by district attorneys and elected city attorneys. Of the 122 cases with a disposition available for this report, 43.4% were hate crime convictions and 45.9% were other convictions

"An attack against one of us is an attack against all of us," said Bonta in an earlier interview. "The alarming increases in crimes committed against Black, LGBTQ+ and Jewish people for the second year in a row illustrates the need for our communities to join together unified against hate. It takes all of us working together to combat extremism and foster a safe and inclusive environment for all Californians. Now, more than ever, it is critical that we stand united — there is no place for hate in California.”

* * *

Members of the public are encouraged to explore the most recent hate crime data on OpenJustice. 

If you believe you or someone you know has been the victim of a hate crime, notify local law enforcement and consider taking the following steps: 

• If you are in immediate danger, call 911 and if needed, seek medical attention.
• Write down the exact words that were used and take note of any other relevant facts.
• If safe to do so, save all evidence and take photos.
• Get the contact information for other victims and witnesses.
• Reach out to community organizations in your area that deal with hate crimes or incidents.

The full 2022 Hate Crime in California report is available for review here.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter or at his blog Views From the Edge.

FBI's updated report now shows dramatic rise in hate crimes

Hate crimes against Asian Americans are is rising, according to FBI data.

In a new report with updated data, the FBI reissued a new report that shows hate crimes rising to its second highest level since it began collecting hate crime data in 1990.

Hate crimes in the United States surged 11.6% in 2021 from 2020, with the majority based on racial, ethnic and ancestral bias, the FBI said on Monday. Most disturbingly,  hate crimes against Asians rose 167%

“Preventing, investigating and prosecuting hate crimes are top priorities for the Justice Department, and reporting is key to each of those priorities.," said Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta in a statement."The FBI’s supplemental report demonstrates our unwavering commitment to work with our state and local partners to increase reporting and provide a more complete picture of hate crimes nationwide."

A flawed report released last year showed a drop in hate crime drawing heavy criticism from civil rights organizations. The FBI admitted that a switch to a new data system meant  52% of the country's jurisdictions, including some large cities and states, did not meet the reporting deadline resulting in lower total numbers nationally.

The updated report which includes data from more jurisdictions, including New York City and Los Angeles, show that reported hate crime incidents rose to 9,065 in 2021 from 8,120 in 2020.

Officials say the top five hate crime categories reported for 2021 were anti-Black, anti-white, anti-gay male, anti-Jewish and anti-Asian.

The bureau said 64.5% of victims in 2021 were targeted because of their race, ethnicity or ancestry bias while 15.9% were targeted because of sexual-orientation bias and 14.1% were targeted because of religious bias.

For its supplemental report, FBI officials said they were able to retroactively include crime data from some of the country's largest cities that had not yet made the switch to the new reporting format.

That meant that some large cities such as Los Angeles and New York City are now included in its hate crime report, which compares trends between 2020 and 2021. Meanwhile, Chicago was able to provide two quarters worth of data for the report.

While the NIBRS 2021 hate crime dataset reported 7,262 incidents and 8,673 related offenses as being motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity, the supplemental hate crime dataset reports involve 10,840 incidents and 12,411 related offenses. The supplemental reporting figure is higher as it represents a larger population as more agencies were able to submit via the SRS system. (Due to rounding, percentage breakdowns may not add up to 100 percent.) 

The FBI defines hate crime as a criminal offense "motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias(es) against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity."

The bureau’s annual report is widely used by law enforcement, policymakers, experts and community leaders as a broad measure of hate crime in America. 

Victims of Hate Crime Incidents 

• Over 10,500 single-bias incidents involved 12,411 victims.  
  
  • A percent distribution of victims by bias type shows that
  • 64.5% of victims were targeted because of the offenders’ race/ethnicity/ancestry bias,
  • 15.9% were targeted because of the offenders’ sexual-orientation bias,
  • 14.1% were targeted because of the offenders’ religious bias,  
  • 3.2% were targeted because of the offenders’ gender identity bias,  
  • 1.4% were targeted because of the offenders’ disability bias, and  
  • 1.0% were targeted because of the offenders’ gender bias. 
• There were 310 multiple-bias hate crime incidents that involved 411 victims.  

Offenses by Crime Category 

• Of the 8,327 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons in the updated 2021 dataset,  
  • 43.2% were intimidation,  
  • 35.5% were simple assault, and  
  • 20.1% were aggravated assault.  
  • 19 rapes and 18 murders were reported as hate crimes.  
  • The remaining 70 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons were reported in the category of other.  
• Of the 3,817 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against property, 71.2% were acts of destruction/damage/vandalism.  
• 267 additional offenses were classified as crimes against society. This crime category represents society’s prohibition against engaging in certain types of activity such as gambling, prostitution, and drug violations. These are typically victimless crimes in which property is not the object.
  

President Biden has made fighting hate crimes, particularly those assaults against Asian Americans, one of his administration's priorities.

Attorney General Merrick Garland has led a concerted effort to gather more accurate data on hate crimes, including more translations services in Asian languages and communications and more outreach and training for law enforcement agencies.

"We are continuing to work with state and local law enforcement agencies across the country to increase the reporting of hate crime statistics to the FBI," says Gupta. "Hate crimes and the devastation they cause communities have no place in this country. The Justice Department is committed to every tool and resource at our disposal to combat bias-motivated violence in all its forms.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

New bill may help collecting hate crime data in California

OFFICE OF ASSEMBLYMEMBER PHIL TING

California Assemblymember Phil Ting hopes to standardize reporting of hate crimes.

There were 882 hate crimes based on race or ethnicity in California in 2021, a number law enforcement acknowledges is likely an undercount.

"We're in a full-on state of crisis, state of emergency when it comes to hate crimes and hate violence," said Attorney General Rob Bonta.

Bonta said hate crimes against Asians in California jumped 107% from 2019 to 2020.

As the number of hate crimes rise across California, San Francisco Assemblymember Phil Ting, who represents Parts of San Mateo County and San Francisco, introduced AB1947, the "Hate Crimes Bill," that wold institute more clear definitions and responses to hate incidents.

AB 1947 was inspired after a surge in hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. But the legislation would apply to all races, religions, disabilities, genders, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics.

The bill has already passed the committee, and would require California law enforcement agencies to adopt a 'hate crimes policy' for the Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training. It would also standardize the definition of a hate crime and obligate law enforcement to file their hate crime policies with the Department of Justice. Presently, reporting hate crimes is not required by the State.

"Right now we have problems with reporting hate crimes and also getting hate crime data. Many times a crime will occur and it doesn't get classified as a hate crime," Ting said.

It would also give more accurate numbers. In 2018, the state auditor found law enforcement agencies under-reported hate crimes due to outdated or non-existent policies.

According to the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism shows large increases in anti-AAPI hate crimes. San Francisco has seen a 576% increase, while Los Angeles has experienced a 173% increase.

"This has to end," wrote Tin in an op-ed. "Crimes motivated by hate are not just attacks on innocent individuals, but also on our communities. Strength and more consistency in the handling of such crimes sends a message that hate will not be tolerated.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news, views and tips from an AAPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.

Anti-Asian crimes explode 361% in New York City

On Dec. 1, a man hurled anti-Asian-slurs at an Asian woman waiting for a subway train. Security cameras show that a man approached the lone woman on a nearly empty subway platform, insulted her and then slapped her on the face as she tried to escape.

A video of the unprovoked attack was released Sunday. The 58-year old woman refused medical assistance but the incident is being investigated by New York City's Anti-Hate task force.

Verbal and physical attacks against Asians have been increasing in frequency on the subway and streets of New York.. The latest attack at the 174th Street 2 and 5 subway station has been added to the total of 129 anti-Asian attacks in New York City, according to new statistics collected by the New York Police Department's Hate Crime Review Panel, a civilian group that helps law enforcement identify potential hate crimes, 

Incidents targeting people of Asian descent has increased 361% this year, which has two weeks to go. In 2020, there were only 28 reported hate crimes against AAPI. Nationallly, an FBI report found anti-Asian hate crimes increased 73%.

The alarming increase “is consistent with a general surge in racism against Asian Americans, first of all," said Russell Jeung, co-founder of the hate incident reporting forum Stop AAPI Hate. "It’s consistent with the increase in crimes during the epidemic. And then thirdly, reflective of the Asian American community more likely to report."

Stop AAPI Hate, a community-based organization, reports that there have been over 10,000 hate incidents since it began collecting self-reported bias incidents in March of 2020, when the pandemic hit the U.S. 

The NYPD report  reflects a nationwide trend of increased attacks against Asians in the last two years, spurred in part by the pandemic whose origins have been traced to China and the rise of white supremacist sentiment and partially blamed on the Trump administration's use of "China Virus," or "Kung Flu," in referring to the coronavirus.

“The anti-China rhetoric, the white supremacy — that does influence all sectors of society and that Asians are portrayed as outsiders either to the country or to a neighborhood,” Jeung said. 

Overall, the NYPD reports that there have been over 500 hate crimes this year resulting in 250 arrests. The number of hate incidents are probably higher but have not met the legal requirements to be labeled as a hate crime, which has to have evidence that the attack was based on the victim's race, ethnicity or religion.

While hate crimes against Asians saw the biggest jump, the study found hate crimes directed towards Jews jumped from 121 to 183, while hate crimes based on sexual orientation jumped from 29 to 85.

Asian American Congress members want to speed up implementation of anti-hate law

Senator Mazie Hirono, left, and Rep. Grace Meng.

It has been four months since the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act was signed by President Biden and two Asian American lawmakers who sponsored the act are still waiting to see some results. 

As attacks against AAPI continues to mount, Congressmember Grace Meng, D-NY, and Senator Mazie K. Hirono, D-Hawaii, wrote  a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland to ask for progress on reducing hate crimes and incidents, and the implementation of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, legislation.

The letter was sent Monday (Sept. 19), four months after the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act was signed into law. It details key elements of the law that must be implemented to make progress combating hate, and highlights the need to provide guidance to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies on reporting hate crimes as well as incidents. 

The letter — which highlights the increased violence toward older Asians and the Atlanta-area spa shootings that killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent — follows a recent FBI report that showed that the number of hate crimes last year was the highest in more than a decade.

The FBI report acknowledges that the number of hate crimes is most likely an undercount. As Meng's and Hirono's letter points out, most local law enforcement agencies report no hate crimes, including 64 jurisdictions with populations over 100,000. 

 

“In addition to expediting review of hate crimes, the law requires DOJ to issue guidance to state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies,"  Meng and  Hirono wrote in their letter.

  

"Specifically, section 4(a)(1) calls for guidance on how to establish online reporting for hate crimes, as well as incidents. The inclusion of incidents was intentional and is a critical component for any reporting system. Many acts of discrimination do not rise to the level of a hate crime…. In order to meaningfully address the root causes of this bias and hostility, we need a clear and full picture of the scope of the problem. Data on hate crimes alone is insufficient,” 

The letter referred to a recent analysis from the reporting forum Stop AAPI Hate that revealed over 9,000 anti-Asian bias incidents the coronavirus pandemic swept across the nation. The incidents range from verbal harassment, bullying to physical attacks, some of which result in death of the victims.

The lawmakers explained that although not all acts of discrimination would meet the criteria to be labeled a hate crime, "the impetus for these actions are the same—fear and xenophobia."

"In order to meaningfully address the root causes of this bias and hostility, we need a clear and full picture of the scope of the problem," the letter went on. "Data on hate crimes alone is insufficient."

The letter continues, “As the pandemic wears on and COVID-19 variants cause states, localities, or private entities to reinstate restrictions or public safety mandates, frustration with the virus will undoubtedly resurface. We fear the impact this could have on perpetuating hate-based violence against people. Full implementation of the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act will help stem the tide against further violence.”

 

California's Attorney General Bonta declares war on hate crimes

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTUBE

California Attorney General Rob Bonta creates initiative against hate crimes.

Attorney General Rob Bonta, California's first Filipino American Attorney General, didn't waste time in creating new initiatives to battle the surge of hate crimes, especially those hate acts directed at the AAPI communities.

"Taking on hate crimes, will always be one of my top priorities," said Bonta in a virtual news conference, Tuesday, May 11.

 

Bonta announced the launching of the Racial Justice Bureau within the California Department of Justice (DOJ) and unveiled plans for a virtual convening against hate crime with California’s Big City Mayors.

Given the alarming rise in hate crimes and incidents against members of the Asian Pacific Islander community in particular, in his first month in office, Bonta is recommitting California's DOJ to further engaging with communities across the state to identify pathways for better serving the needs of all those facing hate.

Introducing his new initiative, he referenced the fight to preserve affordable housing in the San Francisco's Manilatown, he said, "Just as my mother, Cynthia, fought against injustices inflicted on Asian Americans outside the International Hotel in San Francisco in 1977. As California's Attorney General, I know, we cannot back down in the face of hate."

He continued, "Make no mistake, right now, we're in a full-on state of crisis -- a full-on state of emergency -- when it comes to hate violence against Asian American Pacific Islander community."

Together, the Bureau and virtual convening are a part of the state’s newest efforts to lead the development of strategies to address bias and hate at their roots and to strengthen responses to hate crime in California. The Bureau will initially bring six new attorneys and a supervising deputy attorney general to DOJ's Civil Rights Enforcement Section to help tackle some of California's most pressing racial and social justice issues head on.

“Throughout California’s history, too many of us have felt the sting of hate and discrimination,” said Attorney General Bonta. “The fact is: No part of California is immune to hate. Too many Asian, Latino, Black, Native American, people with disabilities, LGBTQ, Jewish, Muslim, and Sikh Californians all across the state are hurting. It’s going to take all of us working together to take on bias and hate and their toxic effects on our society.

"As part of that, I’m launching a Racial Justice Bureau within the California Department of Justice and working to help bring together many of our major local elected leaders in common cause against hate," he said. "We must recommit ourselves to doing everything we can to better serve the needs of all Californians. All of our communities deserve to be seen, to be valued, and to be protected.”

Across California and the country, hate crimes and incidents persist and continue to have a toxic effect on all communities. Addressing this challenge will require the development of affirmative strategies that employ best practices and can be implemented across jurisdictions in order to quickly and decisively prevent and respond to the blatant expression of xenophobia and ignorance.

Strengthening DOJ’s capacity is one component of that effort. Operating out of the Civil Rights Enforcement Section, the Racial Justice Bureau will initially bring six new attorneys and a supervising deputy attorney general to the section to assist with ongoing work on a broad range of significant civil rights and constitutional matters — including working to address hate crimes — on behalf of the State of California. Importantly, the attorneys will increase focus on racial and social justice issues across DOJ’s civil rights work and support new and ongoing efforts to protect all Californians.

Specifically, the Bureau will support DOJ's broader mandate to advance the civil rights of all Californians and, among other things, assist with new and ongoing efforts on:

• Hate crimes and organizations, taking on the insidious effects of white supremacy and hate organizations on our society and stepping up outreach with community organizations and law enforcement on hate crime prevention, information sharing, and reporting;
• Implicit and explicit bias in policing, launching and supporting investigations as appropriate and recognizing the urgent need to strengthen trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve;
• Law enforcement best practices, issuing guidance to local law enforcement, prosecutors, and other public entities regarding shared challenges in providing for public safety;
• Campus climate issues, including conducting and supporting investigations into overly punitive, discriminatory policies where they arise and working to find innovative ways to strengthen diverse, equitable, and inclusive school environments; and
• Task Force to Study and Develop Reparation Proposals for African Americans, assisting with the implementation of the new task force as authorized under Assembly Bill 3121.

Complementing DOJ’s internal efforts to combat hate through the creation of the Bureau, the Attorney General will host a virtual convening with Big City Mayors at the end of the May to help increase information sharing and work to identify new, innovative solutions for tackling shared challenges, as well as highlight existing regional resources and actionable steps that can be taken by all Californians to fight back against hate.

Drawing on the expertise of local elected leaders, the virtual convening will seek to raise awareness around regional concerns involving hate crimes, support those who have been impacted by hate, and secure commitments for direct action across California.

Big City Mayors represents the state’s 13 largest cities and more than a quarter of California’s residents. Members of the coalition include Los Angeles, San Diego, San José, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, Oakland, Bakersfield, Anaheim, Riverside, Santa Ana, and Stockton.

“The Mayors of California’s 13 largest cities look forward to working with Attorney General Bonta to combat hate crimes and discrimination in every form,” said San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Chair of the Big City Mayors. “It will take all of us standing up for our wonderfully diverse community members to make California a welcome home for all.”

Bonta who was appointed to the state's top law enforcement office last month by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, attributed his interest in fighting injustice and hatred to his parents, who were active in the civil rights movement and union organizers for the United Farm Workers.  "At a young age," he said, "I learned from them ... that when something isn't going right, it's time to fight; that an injustice against one, is an injustice towards all."

* * *

For those who are interested, the Racial Justice Bureau is now hiring and seeking qualified candidates to join a dynamic team of attorneys utilizing the authority of the Attorney General to advance civil rights, social justice, and racial equity in California. Attorney General Bonta urges people of all backgrounds to consider a career at DOJ and learn more about joining the team here: https://oag.ca.gov/careers.

DOJ translates hate crime info into 8 Asian languages

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For the past year, there has been an alarming rise in violence, harassment, and discrimination directed at the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community. 

"The recent rise in hate crime and hate incidents, particularly the disturbing trend in reports of violence against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community since the start of the pandemic, requires renewed energy...," Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a memo to all Justice Department staffers.

Marking the 40th Anniversary of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW), the Justice Department’s Hate Crimes Enforcement and Prevention Initiative announced on Friday, April 23, that it has translated hate crimes resources in eight languages for the department’s hate crimes website, www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.

The website, which has been visited by over one million users since launching in 2018, now features new pages in Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Tagalog, Arabic, and Japanese. 

These pages include basic information about hate crimes, in-language resources, and instructions on reporting hate crimes to the FBI Tip Line with assistance from qualified interpreters. Experience has proven that communicating in-language with people who are limited English proficient (LEP) is a crucial step to combating hate crimes nationally.

The new in-language pages can help victims and witnesses who are limited English proficient recognize and report hate crimes. The website also has a new English language page with links to resources and news addressing hate targeting AAPI communities. 

The page includes a link to the FBI’s Hate Crime Threat Guide. The Threat Guide, a single-page chart describing types of hate crime threats (physical, verbal, phoned, electronic, written, or visual), lists recommended responses, including steps to preserve evidence. The Guide is now available in Simplified and Traditional Chinese.

“Supporting victims of hate crimes is an essential part of the department’s mission, and an important measure of our success,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Pamela Karlan of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “People with limited English proficiency, and the advocates and community leaders who work with them, face additional barriers to seeking justice. 

"We hope that these new in-language resources help the department and our partners more effectively support victims of hate crimes, build trust, and engage communities. We will continue to expand the number of languages on www.justice.gov/hatecrimes.”

The announcements are just one part of the department’s work to combat discrimination and violence through capacity building, training, support and outreach to our partners, including those that work with AAPI communities or members of the public who have limited English proficiency.

On Jan. 26, President Biden issued the “Presidential Memorandum Condemning and Combating Racism, Xenophobia, and Intolerance Against Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States,” which mandates that the Attorney General shall:

• explore opportunities to support, consistent with applicable law, the efforts of state and local agencies, as well as AAPI communities and community-based organizations, to prevent discrimination, bullying, harassment, and hate crimes against AAPI individuals, and
• expand collection of data and public reporting regarding hate incidents against such individuals.

For more information on the Justice Department’s work to combat and prevent hate crimes, visit www.justice.gov/hatecrimes, a one-stop portal with links to hate crimes resources for law enforcement, media, researchers, victims, advocacy groups, and other organizations and individuals.

Garland said the DOJ review would examine the federal government's capacity to track and identify hate incidents; weigh the use of civil enforcement authority to respond to incidents of bias that do not rise to actual hate crimes; and assess whether additional money is needed to support law enforcement's response.

"We must re-commit ourselves to this urgent task and ensure that the department makes the best and most effective use of its resources to combat hate," Garland  wrote.

FBI Report: A record number of hate crimes

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Hate crime murders surged to a record high in 2019 and overall hate crime incidents also rose, according to annual data released last week by the FBI.

Hate crimes in the United States rose to the highest level in more than a decade last year. Hate crimes have been increasing almost every year since 2014. Community groups warn this comes amid rising bigotry and racist rhetoric.

Of the 6,406 known hate crimes committed in the U.S. in 2019, 52.5% of them were committed by white people, according to the FBI's Hate Crime Statistics, 2019, the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program’s latest compilation about bias-motivated incidents throughout the nation. 

The annual report said that Blacks committed 23.9%. Other races accounted for the remaining known offenders: 1.1% were American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.9% were Asian, 0.3% were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 6.6% were of a group of multiple races. The race was unknown for 14.6%.

"Yet another year with alarming levels of bias-motivated crimes underscores just how urgent it is to address this hate crimes epidemic," Human Rights Campaign President Alphonso David said in a statement.

Hate acts against Asians made up 4.4% of the incidents. The FBI data does not contain the reports being compiled this year by Asian American community groups since Donald Trump began blaming China for the coronavirus pandemic. His use of the racist terms "Chinese virus" "Wuhan virus" or "Kung flu" while blaming China was a strong factor in the sharp rise of anti-Asian incidents.

On a parallel track, the Trump's administration's continuing use of racist rhetoric to rile up his base and apparent reluctance to strongly condemn white extremists has emboldened white supremacists and vigilantism.

The proliferation of white supremacist ideology online combined with a culture of gun violence in the U.S. has resulted in some perpetrators of mass shootings targeting victims for their race, religion, or other protected characteristic, said Kami Chavis, professor of law and director of the criminal justice program at Wake Forest University.

Chavis said there's been a lack of urgency to stem a growing threat of domestic terrorism in the U.S., including the threat from white supremacists, many of whom are radicalized through social media.

Earlier this year when the spike in anti-Asian acts began, the FBI warned that a surge of hate Asians and Asian Americans is likely to occur. Various websites collecting incidents against AAPI have recorded thousands of reports.

The FBI had elevated its assessment of the threat posed by racially-motivated violent extremists in the U.S. to a "national threat priority" for the 2020 fiscal year.

"There is an inextricable link between armed white supremacists and the increase in hate crimes, particularly deadly ones," Chavis said.

In one of the better known incidents, James Alex Fields, Jr., who participated in a white nationalist rally held in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to hate crimes charges that resulted in the death of a victim, caused bodily injury, and involved an attempt to kill other people after he drove into a group of counter-protestors.

The FBI data, submitted by 15,588 law enforcement agencies, provide information about the offenses, victims, offenders, and locations of hate crimes.

Law enforcement agencies submitted incident reports involving 7,314 criminal incidents and 8,559 related offenses as being motivated by bias toward race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity. Please note the UCR Program does not estimate offenses for the jurisdictions of agencies that do not submit reports. Highlights of Hate Crime Statistics, 2019 follow.

The actual number of hate crimes is most likely higher than reported because law enforcement agencies are not mandated to report hate crimes and agencies have different definitions and criteria of what constitutes a hate crime. 

Victims of Hate Crime Incidents

• There were 7,103 single-bias incidents involving 8,552 victims. A percent distribution of victims by bias type shows that 57.6% of victims were targeted because of the offenders’ race/ethnicity/ancestry bias; 20.1% were targeted because of the offenders’ religious bias; 16.7% were victimized because of the offenders’ sexual-orientation bias; 2.7% were targeted because of the offenders’ gender identity bias; 2.0% were victimized because of the offenders’ disability bias; and 0.9% were victimized because of the offenders’ gender bias.
• There were 211 multiple-bias hate crime incidents, which involved 260 victims.

Offenses by Crime Category

• Of the 5,512 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons in 2019, 40% were for intimidation, 36.7% were for simple assault, and 21% were for aggravated assault. Fifty-one murders; 30 rapes; and three offenses of human trafficking (commercial sex acts) were reported as hate crimes. The remaining 41 hate crime offenses were reported in the category of other.
• There were 2,811 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against property. The majority of these, 76.6% were acts of destruction/damage/vandalism. Robbery, burglary, larceny-theft, motor vehicle theft, arson, and other offenses accounted for the remaining 23.4% of crimes against property.
• Two hundred thirty-six additional offenses were classified as crimes against society. This crime category represents society’s prohibition against engaging in certain types of activity such as gambling, prostitution, and drug violations. These are typically victimless crimes in which property is not the object.

Known Offenders

• In the UCR Program, the term known offender does not imply that the suspect’s identity is known; rather, the term indicates that some aspect of the suspect was identified, thus distinguishing the suspect from an unknown offender. Law enforcement agencies specify the number of offenders and, when possible, the race of the offender or offenders as a group. Beginning in 2013, law enforcement began reporting whether suspects were juveniles or adults, as well as the suspect’s ethnicity when possible.
• Of the 6,406 known offenders, 52.5% were white, and 23.9% were Black or African American. Other races accounted for the remaining known offenders: 1.1% were American Indian or Alaska Native, 0.9% were Asian, 0.3% were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and 6.6% were of a group of multiple races. The race was unknown for 14.6%.
• Of the 5,443 known offenders for whom ethnicity was reported, 33.1% were Not Hispanic or Latino, 10% were Hispanic or Latino, and 1.9% were in a group of multiple ethnicities. Ethnicity was unknown for 55.0% of these offenders.
• Of the 5,599 known offenders for whom ages were known, 84.6% were 18 years of age or older.

The data revealed "a harrowing trend of increasing hate crimes being reported in the United States, even as fewer law enforcement agencies provided data to the FBI," the anti-Defamation League responded in a press release.

"The total severity of the impact and damage caused by hate crimes cannot be fully measured without complete participation in the FBI's data collection process," ADL director Jonathan Greenblatt said.

What the hell? Trump says Chinese Americans are angry at China

SCREEN CAPTURE

CBS journalist Weijia Jiang confronts Donald Trump.

@#$%&*# Did Trump really say that? Did he say that Chinese Americans are angry at China because of the coronavirus? Sadly, he did.

Donald Trump just makes things up and his supporters take his words -- true or not -- at face value.

“Asian Americans are VERY angry at what China has done to our Country, and the World,” Trump wrote on Twitter Tuesday afternoon. “Chinese Americans are the most angry of all. I don’t blame them!”

Trump apparently is still bothered by the day before when he clashed with Chinese American journalist Weijia Jiang.  Near the end of Trump's Monday evening press conference, CBS reporter Jiang asked Trump why he continues to wrongly claim that the US is outperforming many countries in terms of testing for the coronavirus, according to NBC News.

“Why is this a global competition to you if every day Americans are still losing their lives and we’re still seeing more cases every day?” Jiang asked Trump.

Trump responded to Jiang, "Don't ask me. Ask China that question. OK? When you ask them that question, you may get a very unusual answer."

Trump tried to avoid answering Jiang's question by calling on the next reporter, but Jiang looked around to her fellow journalists with a quizzical look on her face, apparently not believing what she just heard. She interrupted Trump, “Sir, why are you saying that to me, specifically?” asked Jiang, who was raised in West Virginia after immigrating from China,

Trump said in response, ““I am not saying it specifically to anybody. I am saying it to anybody who would ask a nasty question like that.”

Trump offers no evidence or poll for his statement about Asian Americans hating China but he did draw some angry responses:

Seeking to deflect the blame for the impact the coronavirus has had on the US, Trump and the GOP are using an anti-China campaign in a series of ads and statements from senior administration officials who continue to repeat the unsubstantiated theory linking the origin of the outbreak to a possible accident at a Chinese virology laboratory. U.S. officials say they are still exploring the subject and describe the evidence as purely circumstantial. But Trump, aides say, has embraced the notion to further highlight China’s lack of transparency.

Last weekend, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos that there is “enormous evidence” that the virus began in the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

According to CNN, the still-secret findings of the Five Eyes intelligence agencies (the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada) pour cold water on this claim. So too does Trump's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci.

At the beginning, after acknowledging the presence of the virus in the US, Trump began referring to the coronavirus as the "Chinese virus," or the "Wuhan virug," which he has since backtracked on partially because of the alarming spike in anti-Asian or anti_Chinese attacks against Asian Americans by bigots who follow Trump's lead.

Senators asks DOJ to investigate coronavirus-related hate crimes against AAPI

From left, US Senators Kamala Harris, Mazie Hirono and Tammy Duckworth.

ASAM NEWS

Senators Tammy Duckworth,  Mazie K. Hirono and Kamala Harris, the Senate's three Asian American members, joined 13 other Democrat senators in calling upon the US Department of Justice to take more “concrete steps” in combating the rising number of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a letter addressed to Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband, the senators expressed their “deep concern” about the surge in discrimination directed against AAPIs and urged the Civil Rights Division of the DOJ to take more active measures in responding to the rise in racism and xenophobia, reports WHSV. 

“We write to express our deep concern about the surge in discrimination and hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) related to the COVID-19 pandemic and the currently inadequate federal response to address these racist and xenophobic attacks, a sharp break from the efforts of past administrations, Republican and Democratic alike,” reads the letter. “We strongly urge you to take concrete steps to address the disturbing increase in anti-Asian discrimination, as the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice (DOJ) has done in the past.”

According to the Center for Public Integrity(CPI), “Neither the Justice Department nor the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have announced efforts to prevent the public targeting of Asians, which ranges from bias incidents to hate crimes. Both agencies were quick to act in similar situations: the CDC during the 2003 severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak and the Justice Department after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.”

Assistant Attorney General Eric S. Dreiband reportedly assured that the Justice Department will prosecute hate crimes against AAPIs and others to the “fullest extent of the law”, but has yet to propose a plan to counteract the rise in racism, details CPI.

“I haven’t seen anything,” Stewart Kwoh, founder of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles told CPI. “We haven’t heard anything from … any of the federal agencies that they will be of assistance in tackling the problem. … If they really are serious about it, they are going to have to have a major outreach campaign.”

Acknowledging the warnings of public health experts that the use of stigmatized language risks fueling anti-Asian sentiment, the senators criticized Donald Trump and his administration’s referral to COVID-19 as the “Chinese Virus,” “Wuhan Virus,” as well as the “Kung Flu”.

The senators further emphasized the contributions of AAPIs in fighting against COVID-19 and the need to ensure that the rights of all Americans are protected.

“There are more than 20 million Americans of Asian descent, and 2 million AAPI individuals are working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, as health care workers, law enforcement agents, first responders, and other essential service providers,” the letter continues. “It is critical that the Civil Rights Division ensure that the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans are protected during this pandemic.”

Discussing the rise in Asian hate crimes, the senators cited the stabbing of a Burmese American family -– a father and his two children ages 2 and 6 -– by a man who thought they were “Chinese and infecting people with the coronavirus,” according to KTSM.

Data collected by the Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council was also sourced in the letter, which reported that the STOP AAPI HATE reporting center had received nearly 1,500 reports of coronavirus-related harassment and crimes against AAPI individuals across the country.

“Asian Americans are still facing racism and xenophobia related to the #COVID19 pandemic,” tweeted Illinois' Sen. Duckworth. “That’s one reason why @SenatorDurbin (Richard Durbin) and I joined @maziehirono in calling on @TheJusticeDept to take concrete steps to address the surge in hate crimes and discrimination against this community.”

The senators called upon the Civil Rights Division to implement the measures below immediately:

• Develop and publicly release a plan that sets forth how the Civil Rights Division will address the increase in discrimination and hate crimes against AAPI individuals;
• Designate a DOJ official responsible for coordinating (a) a review of discrimination and hate crimes related to COVID-19 and (b) an interagency response to this issue;
• Provide monthly reports to Congress on the (a) number of incidents of discrimination and hate crimes related to COVID-19 received—disaggregated by race, ethnicity, and gender, and (b) status of related cases that are pending;
• Conduct extensive outreach in partnership with community-based organizations and regularly meet with AAPI community leaders; and
• Distribute materials explaining civil rights protections in diverse languages used by AAPI communities.

The letter concluded with a request that the “Civil Rights Division respond by May 15, 2020, to inform Congress what steps the Division has taken in response to the jump in anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes since the COVID-19 outbreak began.”

The signatories are Sens. Warner, Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Dick Durbin (D-IL).