Excerpt
SUMMARY: Hate crimes were up 6.8 percent last year, including a 67 percent increase toward Muslim-Americans, according to new FBI statistics. To discuss factors that have led to a surge, Hari Sreenivasan speaks with Rizwan Jaka of All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center, Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center and Eddie Glaude of Princeton University.
HARI SREENIVASAN (NewsHour): Since last week's elections, there have been increasing reports of hate crimes in communities across the nation. Yesterday, the FBI reported a rise in hate crimes in the U.S. last year. They were up by 6.8 percent overall, more than 5,800 hate crimes, including a dramatic surge against Muslims in this country, 257 reports last year alone. That's up 67 percent.
Since the election, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported there have been more than 400 incidents of harassment or intimidation.
President-elect Trump was asked by Lesley Stahl about the rise in reports on 60 Minutes. That aired Sunday.
DONALD TRUMP (R), President-Elect: I'm very surprised to hear that. I hate to hear that. I mean, I hate to hear that.
LESLEY STAHL (NewsHour): But you do hear it.
DONALD TRUMP: I don't hear it.
LESLEY STAHL: You're not seeing this?
DONALD TRUMP: I saw — I saw one or two instances.
LESLEY STAHL: On social media?
DONALD TRUMP: But I think it's a very small amount. Again, I think it's…
LESLEY STAHL: Do you want to say anything to those people?
DONALD TRUMP: I would say, don't do it, that's terrible, because I'm going to bring this country together.
LESLEY STAHL: They're harassing Latinos, Muslims.
DONALD TRUMP: I am so saddened to hear that. And I say, stop it. If it — if it helps, I will say this, and I will say right to the camera: Stop it.
HARI SREENIVASAN: We explore this with Mark Potok, an expert in extremism at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Eddie Glaude, chair of the Department for African-American Studies at Princeton University. And Rizwan Jaka, he's chairman of the board at the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center.
Mark, you have been tracking these incidents. How have they increased, and what kind of incidents are we seeing?
MARK POTOK, Southern Poverty Law Center: Well, we have seen a real rash mainly of attacks of on people who are thought to be Muslims, but also attacks, or something less than actual hate crimes, kind of yelling and hate incidents, directed at black people, at Latinos, at gay people.
It very much seems like kind of the lid has been ripped off Pandora's box and virtually every minority out there is a target.
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