Can you be charged for a hate crime?
Asked by: Prof. Verlie Fadel | Last update: January 26, 2026Score: 4.8/5 (67 votes)
Yes, you can be charged for a hate crime, which involves committing a standard crime (like assault, vandalism, or murder) motivated by bias against a victim's perceived or actual race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity, with penalties often including enhanced sentences. While free speech protects offensive beliefs, it doesn't protect speech that directly incites violence or constitutes a specific threat, and these bias-motivated crimes carry extra legal weight under federal and state laws, such as the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act.
What happens if someone commits a hate crime?
Hate crimes are serious crimes that may result in imprisonment or jail time. A hate incident is an action or behavior motivated by hate but which, for one or more reasons, is not a crime. Examples of hate incidents include: Name-calling.
What kind of offense is a hate crime?
A hate crime is a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias.
Are hate crimes legal in the US?
Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009, 18 U.S.C. § 249. The Shepard Byrd Act is the first statute allowing federal criminal prosecution of hate crimes motivated by the victim's actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
How are hate crimes punished?
Section 422.7 establishes that all Hate Crimes that aren't punished with a term in state prison are punishable by up to one (1) year in county jail and a fine of up to $1,000 (one-thousand dollars),[16] or up to three (3) years in a state prison and/or a fine of up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000).
Who can be charged with a "hate crime" in California? (Former DA explains)
How bad is a hate crime charge?
Convictions for hate crimes often result in harsher penalties compared to other crimes. For example, bias-motivated violence under federal hate crime laws can lead to imprisonment for ten years to life, as outlined in the Hate Crime Act (18 U.S. Code § 249).
What happens when you report a hate crime?
When you report the incident, the police will record what happened. They'll usually only investigate the incident if a crime has happened - for example, if you've been assaulted. The police might also investigate if you've experienced more than one hate incident - for example, if someone keeps harassing you.
Can you press charges on someone for hate speech?
So, while it may hurt and frighten people and communities, it is not a crime to speak or write words that advocate hate and bigotry. However, speech that includes a credible threat of violence against an individual or group is a crime.
What are the three main types of hate crime?
Types of hate crime
Hate crime can fall into one of three main types: physical assault, verbal abuse and incitement to hatred.
What two states don't have hate crime laws?
All but four states (Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina and Wyoming) have laws addressing the scourge of hate crimes, but there is variation in the list of enumerated protected classes.
How long would you be in jail for a hate crime?
If convicted of the felony, the defendant can then be sentenced to up to three years in prison. For defendants charged with felony offenses, the hate crime enhancement can add an additional three years in prison on top of to any other sentence they receive for the underlying charge.
Can you sue for hate crime?
Yes, you can sue someone for a hate crime in civil court to seek compensation for damages, even if criminal charges are also filed; civil lawsuits allow victims to recover costs, pain, suffering, and potentially punitive damages, holding offenders financially accountable beyond criminal penalties, and many states provide specific legal avenues for this.
What happens if you get charged with hate crime?
If an offender pleads not guilty the CPS are responsible for preparing and presenting the case against them at court. In hate crime cases the CPS is also responsible for asking the courts to increase the sentence that an offender receives – to reflect the fact that the crime they committed was a hate crime.
Is it hard to prove a hate crime?
Hate crimes are difficult to prosecute in part because of the evidence needed to result in a conviction. Prosecutors must prove the underlying crime beyond reasonable doubt and convince jurors that the offender was motivated by bias. Without hate speech accompanying the crime, it is a difficult hurdle.
What is required for a hate crime?
Hate Crime: At the federal level, a crime motivated by bias against race, color, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or disability. Bias or Hate Incident: Acts of prejudice that are not crimes and do not involve violence, threats, or property damage.
How much money can you get from a hate crime?
Get orders from the court
The court can make orders that could help you, such as a protective order to keep the defendant away from you or an order to pay attorney fees if you hired a lawyer to help with your case. The court may also order the defendant to pay you $25,000 or more for violating your civil rights.
What is an example of a hate crime?
Hate crime examples include violent acts (assault, murder, arson) or property crimes (vandalism) motivated by bias against race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity, such as spray-painting a swastika on a synagogue, threatening a gay person, or attacking someone because of their national origin or religion. They also encompass verbal abuse, threats, harassment, and displaying hateful material, all stemming from prejudice against a protected group.
Which of the following would constitute a hate crime?
A crime, or threat to commit a crime, motivated by another person or group's perceived personal characteristic or group membership, including race, color, religious beliefs, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, disability, national origin, or homelessness.
What are the 4 types of hate?
While there isn't one universal list, a prominent psychological model identifies four types of hate: Normative (replaceable target, definite focus), Ideological (replaceable target, indefinite focus), Retributive (irreplaceable target, definite focus), and Malicious (irreplaceable target, indefinite focus), based on the target's replaceability and focus determinacy, says Springer Nature and APA PsycNet. Other perspectives categorize hate by manifestation (e.g., interpersonal, societal, structural) or underlying emotions (fear, greed, insecurity, competitiveness).
Can you go to jail for insulting someone?
If the insult is committed by assault or is demeaning its nature or means, the penalty is prison up to one year and a fine.
What evidence do you need for harassment?
To prove harassment, you need a detailed log of incidents (dates, times, locations, what happened), supported by tangible evidence like emails, texts, photos, videos, and witness statements, plus documentation of your complaints and the harasser's responses, showing the conduct was unwelcome, severe/pervasive, and based on a protected characteristic (like sex, race, etc.). Medical records showing impact and formal reports to HR/police also significantly strengthen a case.
Are text messages a form of harassment?
Written harassment, such as graffiti, comments on social media (e.g., Tweets, Facebook), YouTube videos, text messages, emails, or other online communications.
Can I sue for a hate crime?
Yes, you can sue someone for a hate crime in civil court to seek compensation for damages, even if criminal charges are also filed; civil lawsuits allow victims to recover costs, pain, suffering, and potentially punitive damages, holding offenders financially accountable beyond criminal penalties, and many states provide specific legal avenues for this.
What qualifies as illegal hate speech?
Hate speech calls out real or perceived “identity factors” of an individual or a group, including: “religion, ethnicity, nationality, race, colour, descent, gender,” but also characteristics such as language, economic or social origin, disability, health status, or sexual orientation, among many others.
Who decides if a crime is a hate crime?
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) characterizes a hate crime as a criminal offense motivated, at least in part, by bias against the victim's "race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity." In 2020 (the most recent year for which statistics are available) there were 8,263 ...