DOJ: Wisconsin saw more hate crimes than Mississippi and South Carolina combined in 2022

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According to recently released Justice Department data, Wisconsin had more reported religious and racial hate crimes in 2022 than South Carolina and Mississippi combined. However, not everything is how it might appear.

Religious hate crimes in Wisconsin have nearly tripled from 10 in 2020 to 29 in 2022, while racial hate crimes have nearly doubled in Wisconsin from 2020 to 2022, increasing from 43 to 72, according to newly obtained data from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Religious hate crimes in Mississippi actually decreased by 50% from 2020-2022 (from two to one), and racial hate crimes in Mississippi from 14 to 16 from 2020 to 2022, according to data from the U.S. Department of Justice.

In South Carolina, religious hate crimes decreased from 31 to 13 from 2020-2022 and racial hate crimes decreased from 58 to 40 in the Palmetto state.

In Wisconsin, 362 law enforcement agencies provided hate crime data out of 451, which is about 80%.

In South Carolina, 94% of law enforcement agencies provided data, but in Mississippi only 57% of law enforcement agencies provided data to the Justice Department.

A Wisconsin Law Journal investigation revealed hate crime laws vary significantly state-by-state, which could explain why South Carolina’s reported hate crime numbers are so low.

States such as Indiana, Missouri, Wyoming, and Montana and South Carolina effectively have no protections for victims of hate crimes. Therefore, South Carolina’s numbers of actual hate incidents may be under reported.

Conversely, states such as Illinois, Minnesota, Maryland, New York, Virginia and several others have “fully inclusive” hate crime laws, which offer substantially more protection for various groups who fall victim to hate crimes.

Wisconsin ranks somewhere in the middle with a hate crime law more in alignment with states such as West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and several others as having “non-inclusive” hate crime laws on the books.

Pursuant to Federal law, hate crimes at the federal level is defined as a crime motivated by bias against race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability.

Hate crimes at universities and secondary schools are rising exponentially, according to a report obtained by the Wisconsin Law Journal from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) this week.

According to the report, hate crimes at private homes are the most common, followed by incidents on the road, and then schools.

” (1) Residence/home and (2) highway/road/alley, (3) school was the third most common location for a reported hate crime offense to occur during the entire five-year period of 2018 to 2022,” the FBI said.

Secondary schools (preschool to 12th grade) saw the highest increase in hate crimes from 2018 to 2022, according to the report.

In 2022 alone, there were more than 1,300 reported hate crimes at schools and college campuses throughout the United States, according to the report, which noted 890 of the 2022 incidents occurred at secondary schools that year.

Anti-Black hate crimes reached 1,690 and Anti-Jewish hate crimes reached 745 from 2018-2022, according to the FBI report.

U.S. black population in 2022 was estimated to be at 47.9 million people, according to Pew Research. U.S. Jewish population in 2022 was estimated to be at 5.8 million, according to Pew Research.

The FBI says intimidation was the biggest form of hate crime during that time period, followed by vandalism and simple assault.

In 2018, colleges and universities reported 221 hate crimes. That number increased to 306 in 2022, an increase of nearly 30%.

CNN reported in 2022 a Wisconsin man was charged with a federal hate crime after allegedly leaving threatening notes on Black neighbors’ vehicles and slashing their tires.

About two months ago on Nov. 18 a white supremacist group carrying swastika flags and other Nazi symbols marched from State Street Mall to the state Capitol, according to University of Wisconsin officials. University of Wisconsin–Madison leaders said they strongly condemn the group’s presence and provided support to the campus community.

“The presence of this hateful group in Madison is utterly repugnant,” said Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin in a statement.

During an interview with the Wisconsin Law Journal Wednesday, Greg Steinberger, CEO/President UW Hillel said, “Hillel itself has been targeted for being a Jewish center on several occasions,” noting, “the number of reported (hate crime) incidents is through the roof for the year. And we are seeing a massive increase since October 7.”

“I have worked with dozens to students, staff and community members on reports and issues. Often several in the same week,” Steinberger added.

According to Steinberger, students are continuing to report more incidents of discomfort and moments of not feeling safe.

“We have experienced an increased need for visible security and have regular need to speak with law enforcement due to incidents at Hillel, around campus, and in the city of Madison. Reported incidents are often in the jurisdiction of the city of Madison or UW-Madison and occasionally the Capital Police and there are several investigations taking place as well as investigations occurring on campus related to non-academic conduct,” he added.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers released a statement in August condemning Nazis who protested an LGBTQ-focused “Pride in the Park” event in Watertown. A dozen men sporting black tops and khaki pants, face coverings and sunglasses appeared at an annual Watertown LGBTQ pride and waved flags bearing the swastika symbol, gave the Nazi salute to onlookers and yelled homophobic rhetoric.

Also as previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, Yousef Barasneh, of Oak Creek, allegedly defaced a Michigan Jewish house of worship – Temple Jacob – with swastikas and symbols associated with The Base, a multi-state, white supremacist group, according to court documents obtained by The Wisconsin Law Journal.

Barasneh also spray-painted anti-Semitic symbols and language on the building of Beth Israel Sinai Congregation, a Jewish synagogue, in Racine in 2019, according to the indictment.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), Wisconsin had more hate groups than Mississippi and Alabama combined in 2022.

SPLC reported 21 hate groups as of 2022 in Wisconsin. Mississippi had seven hate groups in 2022; Alabama had 13 hate groups.

If you believe you are the victim of a hate crime or believe you witnessed a hate crime:

For emergencies Dial 911

Step 1: Report the crime to your local police.

Step 2: Quickly follow up this report with a tip to the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) tip line at 1-800-225-5324.