Since the election of President Donald Trump, news outlets and social media accounts have swelled with reports of swastikas at schools, racist taunts, and other hate-fueled attacks and acts of intimidation. The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has aggregated media reports and gathered submissions from its website, catalogued 1064 such incidents, 13 of which were later debunked as false reports, in the first month after Trump won the presidency. (Twenty-six of those incidents were perpetrated against Trump supporters.) The SPLC has presented that data in aggregate, creating an invaluable record of the scope of post-election hate crimes.
Slate’s goal, in the curated feed below, is to present individual incidents of racism, misogyny, Islamophobia, homophobia, transphobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-immigrant sentiment as we see them reported. We will update this feed frequently, and though our list is not comprehensive, we aim to make it as complete as possible.
If you find a report you believe we should include, an update to a previous report we’ve included in our feed, or information about a debunked incident, please submit it using this form.
*Update, Feb. 8, 2017: This introduction has been updated since it was initially published.
Posted Feb. 2, 2017 4:12 pm
High schoolers make apparent Nazi salutes in senior class photo.
The pictures show a group of students, some with their hands in the air making what appears to be a Nazi salute. In an email to KPRC Channel 2, a student who witnessed the incident but asked to remain anonymous said students were shouting “Heil Hitler” and “Heil Trump. The student also said it was at least 70 or so people and, “It was pretty terrifying.” The photos were taken on Tuesday, picture day for the senior class. One photo was supposed to be serious, the second was supposed to be funny. But no one is laughing about it now.
Man threatens, holds gun to taxi driver’s head in New Paltz, New York.
The man accused of a hate crime for threatening a taxi driver over the weekend called the cabbie a “motherf—ing piece of Muslim sh-t,” state police said Monday. Trooper Steven Nevel said Andrew M. Plachecki, 26, of Congers, was intoxicated when he held a gun to the driver’s head shortly after 1:15 a.m. Sunday and used the vulgarities. The incident happened during a dispute over a fare between Plachecki and the driver that occurred after Plachecki got into the cab and asked for a ride to Congers, which is in Rockland County, police said. Plachecki was charged with menacing, displaying a weapon as a hate crime and reckless endangerment as a hate crime, all felonies.
Woman robbed in San Francisco while suspect makes racial remarks.
Police said a robbery that occurred on the edge of San Francisco’s Financial District Wednesday is being investigated as a hate crime. The robbery occurred around 11:40 a.m. when the victim, a 20-year-old woman, was walking in the 100 block of Broadway. The victim was approached by two women and a man, one of whom made racial remarks to her.
Actor allegedly “physically and verbally assaulted in broad daylight” in Reno.
Reno police are investigating an incident in downtown Reno after Elijah Lewis, an actor in “Motown: The Musical,” posted a video on Facebook showing a woman calling him racial slurs. … In the video, the woman is seen calling him racial slurs, cursing at him and what appears to be her trying to knock his phone out of his hand. She then walks down a separate path, continuing to curse at him and he continues to record. She then walks back toward him, yelling. The recording stops and cuts back to Lewis describing the incident.
Indianapolis deputy mayor makes anti-Trump, racially charged remarks on Facebook
Deputy Mayor Dr. David Hampton referred to a meeting President Trump had with African-Americans in Washington on the first day of Black History Month as a “c**n connection meeting” and “c**nery and foolery.” The deputy mayor has not responded to a request for a comment, but he removed the Facebook post. Minority Leader of the Indianapolis City-County Council Michael McQuillen issued a statement Wednesday evening calling on Mayor Joe Hogsett to act and remove Dr. Hampton from office. “I condemn these comments in the strongest possible terms. Dr. David Hampton’s comments are unacceptable, especially from an elected official. Our city’s leaders and institutions should stand together in condemnation. Mayor Hogsett, you need to act.” Hogsett said Thursday morning he hadn’t had a chance to talk to Hampton about the comments yet.
Break-in at two Sacramento small businesses feature racist graffiti.
A window was smashed at the MoMo’s restaurant, at 58th Street and Broadway, and vandals made their way into the neighboring Supreme Barber Lounge. An intruder spray-painted a backward swastika and a racial epithet inside the barbershop. Miller said the young owner of Supreme Barber Lounge bore the brunt of the damage. “They stole all his clippers,” said Miller, who added that chairs and mirrors were also damaged. “Pretty much, he lost his whole business.” The incident was reported Tuesday to the Sacramento Police Department, which is investigating the break-in as a hate crime.
Sacramento-area mosque defaced with anti-Muslim graffiti.
Sometime between 11 p.m. Tuesday and 6:30 a.m. Wednesday, someone spray painted anti-Muslim graffiti on the walls of the Tarbiya Institute, 1830 Sierra Gardens Drive. Roseville police are investigating the vandalism as a hate crime. “There are no suspects at this time, but an officer and our crime scene technician responded (Wednesday) morning to investigate and canvass the area for any available evidence,” said Dee Dee Gunther, Roseville police spokeswoman, in an email. Worshippers discovered the graffiti after early morning prayers. The Islamic center issued a statement that reads in part: “We refuse to believe that this is reflective of the sentiment in our community. We have experienced nothing but love and compassion. Our neighbors have been outpouring support over the last few weeks, and (Wednesday) morning many of them were in tears at the sight of the graffiti tainting the walls.”
Man caught on camera punching Catholic auxiliary bishop in New Jersey.
Prosecutors on Monday moved for pre-trial detention of a man allegedly caught on camera punching an auxiliary bishop in the mouth Saturday during a Mass at Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart, court records show. Charles E. Miller, 48, is charged with aggravated assault in connection with the attack on the Rev. Manuel A. Cruz, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. Video of Saturday’s attack, obtained by TapIntoNewark and published Sunday, allegedly depicts Miller, followed closely by a security guard, approaching the front of the church and striking Cruz, who falls backwards.
Texas homes, fences vandalized with spray-painted swastikas.
Investigators say they are aware of two properties in Sienna Plantation that appear to have been targeted on Jan. 29 and 31. In the earlier case, someone placed a “Trump” sign with a swastika spray painted on it onto a fence. There was other spray painting also on that fence. Then, another homeowner discovered swastikas painted on both their garage and fence, with yet another painted on a common area fence elsewhere in the neighborhood. “It’s a hate crime. When you look at a swastika, you know it means hate. That’s what it means,” said one of the homeowners, who asked not to be identified, citing concerns about her safety and that of her family. “What would make a person do that?” she asked. The Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office says it is investigating the incidents as a hate crime, adding that two of the victims are minorities.
Tires slashed on cars belonging to family of a Black Lives Matter organizer.
About 6 a.m. Monday morning, Allen’s husband walked outside of their house off Hiawassee Road, looked at their three cars and saw hateful flyers. Every windshield had a note. The basic message was: black lives don’t matter. There was also a swastika on the bottom. “For that split second, you feel fear and intimidation. Like this is some Klan foolishness or whatever,” Allen said. One tire on each car was also slashed.
