Hate Crimes Increase By 35% In NYC, Mayor Blames Trump
NEW YORK (AP) — Mayor Bill de Blasio says he believes president-elect Donald Trump is to blame for a 35-percent increase in hate crime incidents over the past year in New York City.
The Democratic mayor made the comments at a news conference called Monday in response to threats made against a Muslim New York Police Department officer while she was with her teenage son in Brooklyn over the weekend.
De Blasio spoke out against the attack on Officer Aml Elsokary (ah-MEHL' el-soh-KAHR'-ee) and urged Trump to be more proactive in discouraging hate crimes.
A total of 43 incidents have been deemed possible hate crimes by the NYPD's Hate Crime Task Force since Trump was elected president a month ago. That figure is more than double the amount of cases reported during the same period last year.
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