Hate Crimes Surge in Left-wing Los Angeles

Los Angeles, a Democratic Party bastion of supposed left-wing tolerance and enlightenment, saw hate crimes increase by 23% in 2021 to their highest levels in two decades, according to a new local government report.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the L.A. County Commission on Human Relations reported the dire news:

The report noted 786 victims of hate crimes, a 23% increase over 2020. The crimes overwhelmingly included acts of violence, and more than half were spurred by racism. Blacks, Latinos, Jews and LGBTQ individuals were among the most-targeted groups.

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[Executive director Robin] Toma attributed part of the increase to the fact that the county has made it easier to report hate crimes in recent years. In 2020, the county launched its LA vs Hate initiative, which includes a government hotline for reporting hate crimes. Constituents can reach it by calling 211.

The trend has continued into 2022, according to left-wing District Attorney George Gascón.

According to the report:

Reported hate crimes in 2021 rose 23% from 641 to 786, the largest number since 2002.

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Although they only comprise about 9% of the county’s population, African Americans were again disproportionately targeted and comprised 46% of racial hate crime victims.

There were 77 anti-Asian crimes, the largest number in at least 20 years. In nearly a quarter of these attacks, the victims were blamed for the pandemic.

Sexual orientation crimes increased 15% and 85% of them targeted gay men.

Religious crimes spiked 29% and the rate of violence was the highest on record. 74% of these attacks targeted Jews.

There were 41 anti-transgender crimes, nearly tying the largest number ever documented. 93% of these crimes were violent, a rate much higher than racial, sexual orientation, and religious attacks.

The rise in hate crimes happened in a context of rising crime overall, following the Black Lives Matter riots and the decision of Mayor Eric Garcetti to cut more than 10% of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) budget.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. His recent book, RED NOVEMBER, tells the story of the 2020 Democratic presidential primary from a conservative perspective. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.