Massachusetts launches harassment hotline following post-election incidents

SAN FRANCISCO (Diya TV) — Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey announced Monday the creation of a hotline for reporting bias-motivated harassment, following a slew of nationwide reports of hate crimes and intimidation following Donald Trump’s election.

“There are reports from around the country following the election that people have been targeted and subjected to conduct that imperils safety and civil rights,” Healey said in a statement Monday. “Today, I am establishing a hotline for residents to report bias-motivated threats, harassment, and violence. Such conduct has no place in Massachusetts.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center has counted more than 300 cases of hateful harassment nationwide since the end of last Tuesday’s general election, according to CNN.

Even as Wellesley College — Hillary Clinton’s alma matter — which is located in Natick, Mass., there have been recent reports of intimidation specifically referencing Trump’s election victory. The FBI reported Monday that hate crimes rose by two-thirds last year.

Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes, president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs, said police departments across the state “stand ready” to investigate allegations of unlawful harassment or intimidation against any individual, including racial, ethnic, religious, and LGBTQ groups.

Healey’s office pleaded with the public, encouraging any resident who witnesses or experiences “bias-motivated threats, harassment or violence” to call the new hotline at 1-800-994-3228. The hotline will be staffed by attorneys and staff in the attorney general’s office, officials said.

Trump told CBS’s 60 Minutes he was surprised about the number of reported incidents of harassment or violence in his name.

“I am so saddened to hear that,” he said Sunday of incidents specifically targeting Latinos and Muslims.