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Learn about Hate Incidents and Hate Crimes

Across the country, there has been an increase in hate and extremism over the past few years. In 2020, hate crimes across the United States rose by 6% and reached the highest level in two decades, with over 8,000 hate crimes reported to the FBI. However, the majority of these crimes are not reported to law enforcement – according to the National Crime Victimization Survey, U.S. residents experience approximately 246,900 hate crime victimizations each year.

In Massachusetts, law enforcement agencies reported 323 hate crimes in 2020. The same year, statewide incidents of white supremacist propaganda rose 87% – making Massachusetts one of the states with the highest levels of recorded incidents.  

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Hate Incidents & Hate Crimes

What is a hate incident? 

A hate incident occurs when someone threatens, attacks, intimidates, harasses, or otherwise harms another person because of that person’s identity, including their race, national origin, religion, disability, sexual orientation, gender, or gender identity. A hate incident may or may not be a hate crime.  

What is a hate crime? 

Certain criminal conduct is a hate crime when the perpetrator is motivated by bias or prejudice against another person’s race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability (M.G.L c. 265, s. 39).  

Hateful conduct can be a hate crime even if: 

  • The perpetrator was mistaken in believing the victim was a member of a particular group;  

  • Bias was not the only motivating factor for the conduct. 

A criminal civil rights violation is the unlawful interference by force or threat of force with a protected right. (M.G.L c. 265, s. 37). 

In general, local police departments investigate hate crimes and local district attorneys’ offices prosecute these crimes.

Other Civil Rights Violations

The Attorney General is committed to protecting peoples’ rights when they experience a hate incident. 

The Massachusetts Civil Rights Act 

The Massachusetts Civil Rights Act (M.G.L. c. 12, s. 11H-11J) protects all Massachusetts residents and visitors to Massachusetts against hate-based threats or attacks that interfere with their legally protected rights. This can include, for example: 

  • Harassment by neighbors or landlords; 

  • Interference with protected activities, such as accessing reproductive health facilities or casting a vote; or, 

  • Threats or violence in public spaces.

The Attorney General may seek a civil rights injunction in court to protect a victim of a hate incident. The court may: 

  • Order protection for a victim and others like them; 

  • Require a perpetrator to stay away from a victim;  

  • Prohibit further hateful acts by the perpetrator; and/or, 

  • Order monetary compensation for the victim.  

Anti-Discrimination Laws 

Hate incidents often occur in housing, in the workplace, in schools, and in public spaces. Our anti-discrimination laws prohibit discrimination in all of these areas, and the Attorney General’s Office enforces these laws. A person’s rights may have been violated if: 

  • A landlord fails to protect a tenant from hate-based harassment by a neighbor; 

  • An employer fails to take action to address a hostile work environment caused by hate or bias in the workplace; 

  • A school fails to take action when students are bullied or harassed based on a protected characteristic; or, 

  • A business fails to protect its customers from hateful conduct by its employees. 

Other Consequences Sometimes, hate-based incidents and speech do not violate the law, including when they are protected by the First Amendment. There may, however, be other consequences in those cases. For example, hateful conduct or speech may violate codes of conduct in the workplace, in housing, at school, or on social media platforms. 

Information for Victims

Victims of hate should first make sure they are safe and seek medical care, if necessary. Next, victims should consider the following steps: 

  • Contact local law enforcement 

  • Write down the exact words exchanged and a detailed description of the events with dates and times 

  • Save all evidence and take photos, including of any vehicles involved 

  • Get the contact info of any eyewitnesses 

  • Reach out for support to loved ones, community groups, and/or mental health professionals

In an emergency, you should call 911. To report a hate crime, contact your local police department. It is important to know that most local police departments in Massachusetts have a civil rights officer, who is assigned to handle hate crimes.  

In addition, you can report hate incidents, hate crimes, or civil rights violations to the Attorney General’s Office. You can call our Hate Crimes Hotline at 1-800-994-3228 or file a civil rights complaint. 

Resources for Victims

Victim Rights & Assistance 

Massachusetts law establishes a Victim Bill of Rights to ensure crime victims and survivors have a meaningful role in the criminal justice system. In addition, all District Attorney’s Offices in Massachusetts and the Attorney General’s Office have Victim Witness Assistance Programs to help crime victims during the prosecution of a case. More information is available in the Victim Bill of Rights brochure, which is available in English and Spanish. 

Victim Services 

The Massachusetts Office of Victim Assistance offers AskMOVA, a free online resource of direct service providers throughout the state for crime victims and their families. 

Victim Compensation 

The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office administers the state’s victim compensation program, a financial assistance program for victims of violent crime. 

For more information about the program and to apply, please visit our Victim Compensation webpage.  

School Resources

To assist schools in combatting hate and fostering a safe, supportive, and inclusive educational environment, the Attorney General’s Office issued guidance to school officials about their legal obligations to address hate and bias incidents under Massachusetts’s anti-bullying and anti-discrimination laws. The guidance also details required, affirmative steps to help create a positive school climate and prevent these incidents, and provides examples of best practices to implement education, prevention, and remediation measures. In addition, the AG’s Office also created a directory of relevant resources and trainings for schools. 

You can read the AGO’s Guidance to Schools on Hate & Bias Incidents and Resource List for Schools here. 

Addressing Hate in School Athletics

To address hate and bias in school athletics, the AG’s Office joined forces with the Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, the MA Association of School Superintendents, the MA Interscholastic Athletic Association, and the MA School Administrators’ Association, to launch a new project to provide free programming to schools across the state. More information is available here.

The AG’s Office also released School Sports Guidance to provide school athletic staff with practical information about their role in fulfilling legal obligations to prevent, address, and report hate and bias. You can read and download the AGO Guidance on for School Athletic Staff on Hate Incidents here.

Community Resources

Communities and local leaders have an important role to play in preventing and addressing hate.  

Communities and residents can, for example: 

  • Speak out against hate, bias, and intolerance 

  • Organize community rallies or vigils to show solidarity and support victims 

  • Offer support and help to victims, including metal health resources and culturally appropriate support

  • Host a training for your staff, organization, school, or community 

  • Establish a local human rights commission or similar organization 

Organizations that provide information and resources for communities, include: 

  • The Massachusetts Human Rights Coalition – an organization of municipal and local groups focused on promoting human and civil rights. The Coalition provides free workshops, a list of member human rights committees, and free consulting to communities/individuals interested in creating a human rights commission. 

  • Southern Poverty Law Center – provides information on hate and extremism in the U.S. and resources such as Ten Ways to Fight Hate: A Community Resource Guide and resources for parents and caregivers to help prevent youth radicalization online. 

  • Anti-Defamation League – provides information about hate and extremism, including an interactive H.E.A.T Map of hate incidents. ADL resources include a guide for parents to talk to young people about hate and bias and community presentations. 

  • James Byrd Jr. Center to Stop Hate at The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law – provides resources for communities, including a Stop Hate Action Toolkit, bystander intervention videos and training resources, and information for immigrant victims of hate incidents. 

  • Stop AAPI Hate – provides information and resources about anti-AAPI hate incidents, including national reports, safety tips on what to do if encountering or witnessing hate, and mental health resources.   

  • U.S. Department of Justice Community Relations Service – provides facilitation, mediation, training, and consultation services to communities to build capacity to prevent and respond to hate crimes. Also provides resources, including stakeholder-specific information, facilitator guides, toolkits, and videos. 

This resource is for informational purposes only and does not constitute an endorsement of any listed organization. 

Additional Resources

Open file,  Addressing Hate Flyer from the AGO
Open file,  Request a Training from the Attorney General's Office

Additional Links and Resources

Contact   for Learn about Hate Incidents and Hate Crimes

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Phone

Civil Rights Call Attorney General's Civil Rights Division, Civil Rights at (617) 963-2917

Mass relay dial 7-1-1 and connect via main number.

Fax

(617) 727-5762
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