Justice

Report Shows How Much Harassment Has Spiked Since Trump Was Elected

November 12th 2016

People have long argued that the most disconcerting prospect of electing a candidate that bases their campaign heavily on xenophobia, racism, and misogyny, was that it would embolden those same forces within the hearts of Americans. Only a few days after the election, it seems that those Americans that Hillary Clinton once called “deplorables” are out in full force.

By Friday, more than 200 incidents of election-related harassment or intimidation had been documented through social media, news reports, and direct submission, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

SPLC, which also monitors hate groups and crimes, analyzed the reported incidents to quantify who was being targeted and where.

Anti-black, anti-Muslim, and anti-immigrant intimidation harassment led the way in this regard, according to their analysis. At the University of Pennsylvania, black students were added to a horrifying group that called for "daily lynchings." In fear of what might happen to one student after she experienced discrimination, hundreds matriculating at Baylor College felt the need to send a strong message to harassers by walking her to class. Still, scenes of intimidation were captured on social media or even uploaded by Trump supporters.

Young people, who overwhelmingly voted against Trump, may feel the brunt of his supporters’ harassment.

The most common locations for these interactions were in K-12 facilities, followed by universities and businesses. One report directly submitted to the SPLC illustrated what this could look like:

“My 12 year old daughter is African American. A boy approached her and said, "now that Trump is president, I'm going to shoot you and all the blacks I can find." We reported it to the school who followed up with my daughter and the boy appropriately.”

Donald Trump is seen by many as having encouraged these activities by running a campaign built upon insults and division. Since the election, protests have been held across the country on college campuses, in high schools, and near legislatures against the president-elect’s previous rhetoric and proposed policies.

Updated 11/12/2016 at 4:11 p.m. PST: This piece was corrected to say University of Pennsylvania not University of Philadelphia.

Share your opinion

Do you think Trump will call for this to stop?

Yes 11%No 89%