FBI figures reveal extent of anti-LGBTQ+ hate crime: ‘A national emergency’
A vigil held for Sam Nordquist, a trans man who was tortured and murdered in a 2024 hate crime. (Getty)
A vigil held for Sam Nordquist, a trans man who was tortured and murdered in a 2024 hate crime. (Getty)
A report from America’s top domestic intelligence agency has revealed the scale of LGBTQ+ hate crimes reported in the US.
The latest annual crime report from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has revealed that violent crime committed against the LGBTQ+ community remains among the top reported hate crime categories in the US.
Published on Tuesday (5 August), the report found that attacks based on a victim’s sexual orientation made up 17.2 per cent of all hate crime in the US in 2024, while attacks based on gender identity made up 4 per cent.
According to the FBI’s crime data explorer, of the 13,175 offences reported across the US over the last year, 2,263 recorded incidents were based on a victim’s sexual orientation, while 531 were based on a victim’s gender identity.
Race and ethnicity-related hate crimes remain the highest category, with an alarming 51.8 per cent of all violent crimes relating to a person’s race or ethnicity.
Intimidation remains the most common type of reported hate crime, with around 4,915 intimidation offences reported in 2024. Subsequent offences include vandalism (3,714 incidents), simple assault (3,255), and aggravated assault (1,807).
Around 3,420 of these incidents occurred in a person’s residence or homes, while 2,462 occurred on a highway, road, alley, street, or sidewalk.
Reported hate crimes are also particularly common in schools. 989 incidents in an elementary or secondary school were reported in 2024.
Commenting on the data, Human Rights Campaign president, Kelley Robinson, blamed the growing “anti-equality” movement for the volume of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people, arguing that anti-LGBTQ+ politicians are “trying to push us out of more and more corners of society.”
“Those smears come with a cost,” she said. “The FBI has exposed a chilling reality: our community remains a target of violence – and that is unacceptable.”
Robinson called on political leaders to provide more support for LGBTQ+ people in the US, branding the volume of hate crimes a “national emergency.”
The report does not factor in unreported hate crimes, which cannot be quantified. This suggests the scale of hate crimes against LGBTQ+ people is likely higher than reported.
