iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — There have been more than 200 reports of hate-based intimidation and harassment since Election Day, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).
The civil rights organization tallied 201 incidents nationwide between Tuesday and Friday evening, based on direct submissions and reports on social media and in the news. The majority of reports came immediately after the election and the SPLC reports that many of the incidents — but not all of them — directly referenced President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign.
“It’s way outside of the norm,” SPLC spokesperson Heidi Beirich told ABC News. “We do not see hundreds of incidents over a couple days ever. The only thing that is really analogous is the rash of hate crimes that occurred after the Brexit vote.”
According to the organization’s analysis, anti-black, anti-immigrant, and anti-Muslim incidents were the most common. Harassment targeting women and the LGBTQ community as well as incidents involving Nazi symbolism were also highly reported, the SPLC reports. These findings are consistent with those reported by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR).
In Wellsville, New York, a baseball dugout was vandalized with a swastika and the words “Make America White Again.” The graffiti has since been painted over and police are investigating, according to local media. In addition, New York governor Andrew Cuomo announced in a statement Saturday that State Police and the State Division of Human Rights have launched a joint investigation into the incident, calling it an alleged hate crime. Nazi graffiti was also found painted on a building in South Philadelphia along with the words “Sieg Heil” and “Trump” with the T-replaced by a swastika. Philadelphia police are investigating. In Rochester, New York, two rainbow flags were burned. According to the local ABC affiliate WHAM, local police are working with the Gay Alliance to investigate the acts of arson.
According to the SPLC findings, many of the incidents have occurred at universities. At the University of Pennsylvania, for example, a group of black freshman were targeted by “violent, racist and thoroughly repugnant images and messages” after being added to a GroupMe messaging account, according to school officials. The officials say the account appears to be based in Oklahoma; the president of the University of Oklahoma announced in a statement that school has suspended a student while they investigate their alleged involvement in the incident. A spokesperson for the University of Pennsylvania told ABC News that they have reached out to the FBI’s cyber crimes division for assistance.
At San Diego State University, a female student wearing a hijab was robbed the day after the election by two men “who made comments about President-Elect Trump and the Muslim community,” according to a statement from the University Police Department. The university president said in a statement that the robbery is being investigated as a hate crime. At San Jose State University, a female student was attacked from behind by an assailant who grabbed her hijab, choking her and causing her to fall, police said. In a separate attack, an assailant attempted to kick a student and told him to “go back to his own country,” according to police. The university is investigating both incidents.
A woman wearing a hijab near the University of Michigan was forced to remove her headscarf Friday night after a man approached her and threatened to set her on fire, according to the university’s crime report. Ann Arbor and university police consider the incident to be a hate crime and are investigating.
However, these incidents of harassment and intimidation have been most prevalent at K-12 schools, according to the SPLC findings. Middle school students in a suburb of Detroit were caught on camera chanting “build the wall” during lunchtime the day after the election. At a high school in Maple Grove, Minnesota, a bathroom stall door was found defaced with the words “White America,” “Whites only” and other racial slurs. In letters to the community, the principal and superintendent have condemned the incident and said the Maple Grove Police Department is investigating.
In addition to the occurrences reported to authorities, the SPLC has documented numerous others that have been shared on social media.
The SPLC, ADL and CAIR have all called on Trump to openly condemn these hate-based incidents. The SPLC also asks that those who experience or witness harassment or intimidation report it to both law enforcement authorities and to the organization.
“We would like people to let us know if this is happening in their community,” Beirich told ABC News. “This is very important to us to understand what’s happening in the country.”
These incidents come amid massive protests against Trump and divisive rhetoric protesters say was espoused by his campaign.
ABC News was not able to independently verify all 201 incidents included in the SPLC report.
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