According to the New York Police Department, there have been 328 hate crimes recorded during the 365 days leading up to November 13, 2016 — a sizable increase compared to the same period a year earlier. There were 13 more hate crimes against Muslims and 9 more hate crimes recorded against Jews during this most recent period.
NYPD Commissioner James O'Neill told reporters, "There's been a lot of rhetoric, but this is New York City, and we're much better than that, and we won't tolerate these crimes. We have the best hate crime investigators in the United States of America. So if you're going to engage in behavior like this, rest assured that you'll be arrested as quickly as possible and we'll work with our prosecutors to make sure that you're fully prosecuted under the hate crimes statutes."
Critics of the President-elect have used the announcement to link the rise in hate crimes to Trump's divisive campaign rhetoric. The state of New York voted overwhelmingly in favor of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton (58.8 percent), while Trump received only 37.5 percent, according to RealClearPolitics.
During her campaign, Clinton accused Trump of "racist" behavior although she failed to win the black vote, according to Huffington Post, and CNBC.
