Hate crimes in the US rose nearly 12% nationwide in 2021, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

“Nationally, reported hate crime incidents increased 11.6% from 8,120 in 2020 to 9,065 in 2021,” the agency said in a release.

According to the findings, 12,411 people were victims of hate crimes in 2021.

The statement said that 64.5% of the victims were targeted because of their race, ethnicity or ancestry, while 15.9% were targeted because of their sexual orientation and 14.1% for their religion.

“Of the 8,327 hate crime offenses classified as crimes against persons in the updated 2021 dataset, 43.2% were intimidation, 35.5% were simple assault, and 20.1% were aggravated assault,” said the release.

“Hate crimes and the devastation they cause communities have no place in this country,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta said in a statement.(Anadolu Agency)