Hate crimes increased across California for the third straight year in 2017, an uptick experts have blamed on President Trump’s vitriolic rhetoric toward minorities and the resurgence of hate groups in the state.
There were 1,093 reported hate crimes in California in 2017, a 17.4% increase, according to a report released Monday by the California attorney general’s office. Hate crimes have increased annually since 2014, jumping roughly 44% in that three-year span, records show.
More than half of the hate crimes reported in California last year involved racial bias, and about 27% involved animus toward black people, the report shows. Hate crimes targeting victims based on race, sexual orientation and religion all increased sharply….