Connecticut lawmakers, law enforcement officers and community leaders are speaking out against a reported rise in hate crimes across the state, following reports that a swastika was scrawled across a Black Lives Matter mural in Hartford this weekend and hate-filled letters were sent to hundreds of residents in Thompson last week.

According to Stacey Sobel, regional director for the Anti-Defamation League of Connecticut, there has been a 265% increase in hate crimes recorded in Connecticut in the last four years.

“The data is alarming,” said Sobel at a press briefing at the Connecticut State Police headquarters in Middletown on Monday.

Investigators responded to Trinity Street in downtown Hartford after someone allegedly defaced the colorful Black Lives Matter mural late Saturday night. A swastika and a coded message of white supremacy were found, according to police and public officials.

Hartford Black Lives Matter mural defaced with swastika, white supremacy message

Residents from around the city worked on Sunday and Monday to repaint the mural. No arrests have yet been made in connection to the vandalism.

Tiana Hercules, a member of the Hartford City Council, said that the mural’s defacement was “a reminder about the hidden hatred that can exist everywhere — even in our home in Connecticut,” but that the community’s reaction brought forth hope.

“Yet it is also a reminder of how strong we are in Hartford, and how quick we are to stand up for each other and bounce back,” she said.

In March, the Anti-Defamation League reported that antisemitic incidents surged to record highs in Connecticut in 2022, with a 100% increase from the year before.

There were 68 antisemitic incidents recorded in the state in 2022, according to the ADL, up from 34 in 2021. The sharp increase outpaces the 36% rise in incidents nationally, data shows.

On a national scale, the ADL reported 3,697 antisemitic incidents in 2022, the highest total since the organization began tracking such data in 1979.

The ADL operates a H.E.A.T (Hate, Extremism, Antisemitism, Terrorism) map that tracks such incidents nationwide on a monthly basis.

So far in 2023, eight Connecticut-based incidents were recorded, including an incident of antisemitic harassment and white supremacist propaganda in Guilford; a middle school student mocking a Jewish student with a drawing they made of a swastika in Newington; and residents at a senior living community making antisemitic comments to a Jewish resident in Stamford, according to the ADL.

James C. Rovella, commissioner of the Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection, said during the press conference that two “alarming incidents” had been reported recently in the eastern part of the state. He said he could not talk about one of the incidents, because it involved a juvenile.

The other incident, highlighted at Monday’s press conference, involved a series of letters delivered to multiple residents in Thompson last week, officials said.

Hundreds of ‘racist, hate-filled’ letters delivered to Thompson residents

State police Lt. Kate Cummings said on June 5, state troopers were called to investigate the first of several letters that were left in driveways throughout the town.

“The letters contained language that the recipients found offensive and the state police investigation was launched with detectives checking all leads,” said Cummings. The letters had not been made public, and an investigation is ongoing.

“We want to assure that any suspected hate crime within our jurisdiction will be investigated to the fullest extent of the law,” said Cummings, who noted that the state police have a separate hate crimes unit dedicated to investigating hate crimes and crimes motivated by bias. The unit operates as a separate team dedicated to investigating crimes related to bias incidents and hate crimes.

In Connecticut, it is a felony crime to intimidate someone based on bigotry or bias. A person can be charged with this crime when they are found to have maliciously and intentionally intimidated or harassed someone based on their perceived race, religion, sexual orientation, ethnicity, disability, sex or gender identity and caused physical injury.

Thompson resident and former First Selectman Larry Groh said he was sickened by the letters.

The content of the letter, he said, “targets elected officials both alive and deceased, town employees, state police officers, retired state police officers and families of all.”

Current Thompson First Selectman Amy St. Onge did not elaborate on the content of the letters, but said they included “hateful words” that would not be tolerated in the town.

“In Thompson, there is no place for hate and intolerance. I envision a community that embraces diversity of thought and welcomes healthy debate and discussion. I reject violence and intimidation in the public dialogue,” she said.

Lohr said that the letter was meant to intimidate politicians and voters.

The person or people who wrote the letter, he said “are trying to target and terrorize an entire community and they need to be held accountable.”

“This is a bigger issue than just one community, one town or one state,” said Lohr.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations’ most recent statistics on hate crimes shows that in 2021, there were more than 10,500 bias-motivated incidents reported across the country. Of those, 64.5% were based on race or ethnicity, while 15.9% were based on sexual orientation.

According to the Department of Justice, data collected from every law enforcement agency in Connecticut in 2021 showed that there were 58 hate crimes reportedly committed against individual people or groups of people, and another 44 committed against properties. Of all of those incidents, 70% were based on race, and nearly 10% were based on religious affiliation, according to the DOJ.

In June 2021, Gov. Ned Lamont appointed members to a newly formed Connecticut Hate Crimes Advisory Council. The council is housed within the Office of the Chief State’s Attorney and its members are tasked with encouraging and coordinating programs that increase community awareness and reporting of hate crimes to combat those crimes, according to the state.

One member, Corrie Betts, who is also president of the Greater Hartford NAACP, spoke out in the wake of the mural incident in Hartford.

“The desecration of this message both saddens and angers me,” he said. “It saddens me because it puts a literal stain on our great city and the work so many do to bring about racial harmony, which as we all know is a challenging task in and of itself.

“It angers me because it reminds me of the appalling ignorance that remains a mainstay of our society. I call upon all people of good will, and particularly members of the dominant culture, to confront the bigotry and hatred that continues to persist in our city, state and nation,” said Betts.

Members of the state legislature representing Hartford also spoke out about the vandalism.

“This is the work of an ignorant person, ignorant to what the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ represent. They are so much more than a slogan or painted words on a street,” said Hartford mayoral candidate and state Sen. John Fonfara, D-Hartford. “But our outrage should be channeled into something beyond a quote or a hope of apprehension of the perpetrator, and into concrete actions that manifest our stated belief that Black lives truly do matter.”

President of Power Up CT, Keren Prescott, noted that the mural was defaced just days ahead of Juneteenth and said the timing “speaks volumes.”

“I’m not surprised that this happened,” said Prescott. “We’ve been seeing these types of incidents increase over the last year throughout Connecticut, and nothing is being done. Activists like myself have raised awareness, posted about it, held rallies.”

Prescott said that she started a movement last year called “End Hate Across The State” to address hate crimes, but feels like not enough is being done statewide.

“Folks have lost interest in protecting Black lives and listening to Black voices. These things will continue to happen if we don’t act aggressively,” she said. “Sending thoughts and prayers and making heartfelt speeches isn’t enough to address anti-Black racism.”

She said this week that she thinks the city of Hartford could take more substantial action, like making Juneteenth a paid holiday, to support Black residents.

Ronald D. Holmes, president and pastor at the Greater Hartford Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance, Inc. said this weekend’s vandalism shows that “racism is alive and well.”

“When conservatives say that the ‘woke’ movement is not necessary and is a made-up agenda, this vandalism is proof that we (people of color) must stay vigilant in protecting our rights and ability to express our freedoms,” he said.

“It is incumbent on us to assure that people who would do such a thing are held responsible. We need to continue to create laws that address hate crimes. We can’t run away from racism or the acts of racists,” Holmes said. “Instead, we must let it be known that these types of actions have consequences and hold those accountable to the law. We must continue to hold our lawmakers responsible to create a narrative that this type of action will not be tolerated in Connecticut.”

At Monday’s press conference, Cummings said that state police detectives charged with investigating hate crimes are trained to determine whether a particular case is a hate crime and follow every possible lead. The unit collaborates with citizens across the state, engaging with members of the public and listening to concerns, and works together with members of federal law enforcement.

Collaborating with national efforts, Cummings said, helps Connecticut detectives detect and prevent hate crimes in the state and analyze data and trends. Troopers on the hate crimes unit also work with the POST training council to help ensure consistent reporting and collection of hate crime data across the state to help local law enforcement prevent such crimes.

Stan McCauley, a Hartford mayoral candidate and president of the Greater Hartford African American Alliance, said Monday that the defacement of Hartford’s mural “was an act of racist and political violence and a blatant attempt to suppress freedom of expression and speech” and called on members of the public to fight against racism by speaking out, supporting one another and creating art like the BLM mural.

“At this moment, it is important to remember that you don’t have to curse the darkness, all you must do is turn on the light,” he said. “The artists, supporters and fighters for justice and freedom are that light.”

Anyone who is a victim of a hate crime or witnesses a hate crime in Connecticut is asked to call 911, contact a local police department, call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip anonymously at tips.fbi.gov.

The Connecticut STate Police Hate Crimes Investigative Unit can be reached at hate.crimes@ct.gov.