US Justice Department to probe spike in post-election incidents as hate crimes

US Attorney General Loretta Lynch on Friday said that the Justice Department would be investigating  reports of intimidation and harassment that have flooded law enforcement offices since election night, Reuters reports.


The incidents will investigated as possible hate crimes and to see if they violate civil rights laws.

Lynch said in a statement that "Many Americans are concerned by a spate of recent news reports about alleged hate crimes and harassment... The FBI is assessing, in conjunction with federal prosecutors, whether particular incidents constitute violations of federal law."

"We need you to continue to report these incidents to local law enforcement, as well as the Justice Department, so that our career investigators and prosecutors can take action to defend your rights," she added.

Reports of such incidents have spiked since Donald Trump's surprise victory, and have occurred in schools and places of worship, among others.  They include attacks on Muslims, Blacks, the Latino community, LGBTQ persons, women, and Jews.

There have also been reports of such incidents against Trump supporters.

The FBI on Monday released a report on crime statistics for 2015.  The report documented "5,850 criminal incidents and 6,885 related offenses that were motivated by bias against race, ethnicity, ancestry, religion, sexual orientation, disability, gender, and gender identity."
 [i24news.tv]
 18/11/16