Photo by Dan Alt

In response to the rash of hate crimes that have been reported across the country, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh announced today that the state has set up a hate crime hotline. Marylanders can now call 1-866-481-8361 to report incidents, and officials will make referrals to local law enforcement when further investigation is appropriate.

“Persons engaging in conduct motivated by a victim’s race, color, national origin, gender, gender identity, religion, sexual orientation, disability or homeless status, risk civil liability or criminal prosecution under Maryland’s civil rights and hate crimes statutes,” Frosh said. He makes note that instances of bullying and harassment in schools, sexual harassment in workplaces, and cyberbullying are all prohibited by the state.

Frosh first directs anyone who believes they’ve been a victim of unlawful harassment or intimidation to call the police, the Maryland Commission on Civil Rights, or a local human rights agency. And complaints of student harassment should be made directly to school officials.

Since Donald Trump was elected president-elect last Tuesday, a Silver Spring church congregation woke up to the message “Trump Nation Whites only” on the back of a sign that advertised a mass in Spanish; parents at Westland Middle School received a letter informing them that a boys bathroom had been vandalized with swastikas; the words “KILL KILL KILL BLACKS” were found on a bathroom at Sligo Creek Elementary School; and a group of students fought a teenaged Trump supporter during a protest in Rockville, among other instances in Maryland.

“I believe the current state of affairs presents not only a challenge, but an opportunity,” Frosh said. “Neighborhood by neighborhood, we can declare that justice, fairness and tolerance are not partisan principles, but keystones of America’s character.”