By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-06 23:16:12 | Updated at 2026-08-07 04:26:30
5 hours ago
The top prosecutor for California’s largest county on Thursday identified a disturbing new trend.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said hate crimes targeting religion have skyrocketed in the region, even as the overall number of hate crimes has fallen slightly.
“Religious-based hate crimes have actually spiked in the last two years,” explained Hochman at a press conference at the Hall of Justice.
“We are going after those religious-based hate criminals with the full panoply of laws that we have to go after them,” he added.
A string of alleged religious-based hate crimes have grabbed headlines in LA this year, including an incident where an influencer’s Buddha statue was smashed and the case of a raisin heir who allegedly screamed vile slurs at a Jewish neighbor.
Hochman, who did not provide figures on hate crimes targeting religion, said that overall number of reported hate crimes in LA County has fallen slightly this year, although his office is conducting more prosecutions this year compared to 2025.
Hochman filed seven hate crime cases in 2024 and 39 in 2025. So far he has filed 35 such cases this year.
Reported hate crimes are down 4% this year vs same time last year and down from their peak in 2023 of 838 reported hate crimes that year, based on based on police department data for city of Los Angeles.
As of June 20, 2026, the Los Angeles Police Department tallied 460 hate crimes in the city of LA, including 65 assaults.
A report issued in December by the Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations found that there were 1,355 reported hate crimes in Los Angeles County in 2024, the second-highest total ever counted.
The year before was the highest ever, with 1,367 hate crimes in LA county counted in 2023. The comprehensive report found that, in both years, blacks were the most common targets of hate crimes, followed by LBGTQ people, followed by Jews.
The 2025 Hate Crime in California report issued by the state of California last month found that reported hate crime events in California decreased by 3.4% from 2,023 in 2024 to 1,955 in 2025.
The statewide report found that hate crime events involving racial or ethnic bias increased by 6.2% from 1,011 in 2024 to 1,074 in 2025.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said hate crimes are an assault on the values that the City of Angels holds dear.
“These are not isolated cases of violence. They’re deliberate attacks fueled by bias and hate,” said McDonnell.
The chief said many crimes go unreported, especially among those who fear retaliation or lack trust in the system, and he urged victims of such crimes to come forward and file reports.
“To every victim, please know that LAPD stands with you,” said McDonnell.
