Colorado hate crimes more than double from 2018 to 2019
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- New data from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation shows hate crimes have more than doubled in the state in the last year.
State law enforcement statistics indicate that 284 Coloradans were victims of hate crimes in 2019 compared to 127 Colorado victims in 2018.
In 2019, the Colorado Springs Police Department reported a total of sixteen victims of hate crimes, which is six more than the year before.
The city of Pueblo also reported an increase in hate crimes in 2019 with four hate crimes, two of which were racially-related, one anti-religious, and one biased against gay people. You may remember last November when an alleged white supremacist was arrested for planning to blow up Temple Emanuel in Pueblo, which is Colorado's second-oldest synagogue.
The Pueblo Police Department told KRDO there are several factors that can create an increase in hate crimes, including economic conditions and demographic changes.
Twenty-two hate groups were identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as active organizations in Colorado in 2019. Colorado is among the top half of states with a high number of hate groups per capita.
Many of the hate groups in Colorado operate statewide but there are two groups based out of Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
The Pray in Jesus Name Project is an anti-LGBTQ hate group in Colorado Springs, according to the SPLC, while The Northern Kingdom Prophets is a hate group in Pueblo that is strongly anti-white, antisemitic and anti-LGBTQ.
