Hate Crimes Spiked in Montgomery County in 2016
In 2016, 94 bias incidents were reported in the county. This marks a 42 percent increase over the 66 reports in 2015. About 36 percent of the bias incident reports in 2016 were reported in November and December.
County Council President Roger Berliner attributed the spike to President Donald Trump’s campaign.
“The spike in hate crimes was a direct correlation to the kind of campaign that was run for the president of the United States. It unleashed an energy that is very destructive,” he said Tuesday, as county police and officials met to address hate crimes.