Carlos Barria/Reuters
Hate crimes rose by 17 percent in 2017, according to an annual report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. There were 7,175 hate crimes reported in the past year, up from 6,121 in 2016, the FBI says. The report notes that the significant increase could in part be attributed to the fact that 1,000 new law-enforcement agencies reported data in 2017 to the FBI. About 60 percent of the single-bias incidents were motivated by race, ethnicity, or ancestry, according to the report. About 20 percent were motivated by religion, while another 16 percent were motivated by sexual orientation. Anti-Semitic hate crimes rose 37 percent. “I am particularly troubled by the increase in anti-Semitic hate crimes—which were already the most common religious hate crimes in the United States—that is well documented in this report,” Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker said in a statement. “The American people can be assured that this Department has already taken significant and aggressive actions against these crimes and that we will vigorously and effectively defend their rights.”