FBI Report Doesn't Hold Good News on Hate Crimes

The FBI says hate crimes reports were up about 17% in 2017, marking a rise for the third year in a row. An annual report shows there were more than 7,100 reported hate crimes last year. There were increases in attacks motivated by racial bias (59.6% of incidents), religious bias (20.6%), and because of a victim's sexual orientation (15.8%). The report, released Tuesday, shows there was a nearly 23% increase in religion-based hate crimes, including a 37% spike in anti-Jewish hate crimes.

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker says the report is a "call to action," reports the AP. He says the offenses were "despicable violations of our core values as Americans." The FBI says that although the number of attacks has increased, so has the number of law enforcement agencies reporting hate-crime data; roughly 1,000 additional agencies provided information.

(More hate crimes stories.)