Minnesota reports rise in hate crimes, too

Hate crimes reported in Minnesota increased more than 22 percent, rising from 119 in 2016 to 146 last year.

Police agencies reported 48 anti-black hate crimes in the state last year, 21 anti-white, 21 hate crimes motivated by a bias against the LGBTQ community, 16 anti-Jewish and 10 anti-Muslim crimes, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension reported.

The increase came even as overall violent crime in the U.S. fell slightly, by 0.2 percent, after increases in 2015 and 2016. Minnesota has consistently provided data to the FBI but police departments across the state approach classifying and reporting hate crimes differently. According to the FBI's latest report, more than 310 agencies reported zero hate crimes in their jurisdictions last year — including in Bloomington, where members of an Illinois militia allegedly bombed the Dar Al Farooq Islamic Center in August 2017. Three members of the militia are awaiting trial on federal hate crime charges.