Here’s the Disturbing Fact Researchers Learned About Hate Crimes in Counties That Hosted Trump’s Campaign Events

Counties that hosted one of President Donald Trump’s rallies saw hate crimes spike more than 200 percent afterward on average.

The president has adamantly insisted that his rhetoric does not incite violence, but recent analyses appear to show a link between his 2016 campaign and acts of violence or bullying, reported the Washington Post.

Counties that hosted a Trump rally during the 2016 campaign saw a 226 percent increase in reported hate crimes compared to comparable counties that did not, according to a new study.

Researchers aggregated hate-crime incident data and Trump rally data to the county level, factoring in crime rates, the number of active hate groups, minority populations, college education rates, geographical location and which month the rallies took place.

The researchers admit their analysis cannot pin blame for the hate crimes on Trump’s campaign rhetoric, but they said their statistical analysis shows a strong correlation between his campaign rallies and reported hate crimes.

They also pointed out that a considerable number of reported hate crimes — including vandalism, intimidation and assault — specifically reference the president’s name.

Another recent study in Virginia found incidents of racist bullying increased at schools in counties that backed President Donald Trump — and actually decreased in areas carried by Hillary Clinton.

The FBI’s Universal Crime report also found reported hate crimes jumped 17 percent overall from 2016 to 2017, and recent research shows that reading or hearing Trump’s statements of bias against particular groups makes people more likely to write offensive statements about those groups.