Texas sees increase of hateful, harmful acts toward oppressed communities since 2021, report says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- A new report from the Anti-Defamation League shows that there has been a drastic increase in extremist and hateful activity in Texas.

According to the ADL, multiple white supremacist and anti-LGBTQ+ groups are now using Texas as their bases of operation.

"They are often carried out because they want to create stress and fear amongst a certain community in order to change that behavior of that particular marginal community," ADL Southwest Regional Director Mark Toubin said.

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One recent example was a drag queen bingo event at First Christian Baptist Church in Katy in September 2022. Several protesters surrounded the area, and some with weapons.

"It's heavy and everything, but we have community," transgender community organizer Ethan Michelle Ganz said. "Our community is there, and they love us, and it's not just us."

The ADL cites the protest as an example of extremist groups latching onto LGBTQ+ issues as a way to get larger platforms.

"They threw a lot of hate against the wall," Ganz explained. "The trans hate stuck because not a lot of people know trans people, and so, there just needs to be a lot of education out there."

According to the ADL, FBI hate crime statistics show a 33% increase in reported incidents from 2020 to 2021. ADL data shows anti-Semitic incidents increased by a whopping 89% from 2021 to 2022.

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Texas also saw a 60% increase in white supremacist propaganda from 2021 to 2022.

The ADL works with the Houston Police Department and other law enforcement agencies to train officers.

But, leaders worry that hate crimes in Houston are underreported because agencies aren't required to track them.

"The hate is loud, but it's a minority. It's minuscule compared to the love out there. Not everybody is around the love or sees the love," Ganz said.

"That's why the love has to be louder than the hate," he said

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