Tennessee
Hate Crime Statistics Case Examples News
Grant Awardees DOJ Offices
Please click the image/link below to download a fact sheet with detailed graphics and information on hate crimes reported to the FBI for Tennessee in 2022.
Fast Facts on Tennessee Hate Crime Incidents*
| Bias Motivation Category | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry | 56 | 91 | 75 |
| Religion | 4 | 19 | 9 |
| Sexual Orientation | 16 | 20 | 8 |
| Disability | 2 | 11 | 6 |
| Gender | 0 | 2 | 1 |
| Gender Identity | 2 | 4 | 1 |
| Total: | 80 | 147 | 100 |
| Crimes Against Persons | 100 | 79.4% |
| Crimes Against Property | 23 | 18.3% |
| Crimes Against Society | 3 | 2.4% |
| Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry | 75 | 75.0% |
| Religion | 9 | 9.0% |
| Sexual Orientation | 8 | 8.0% |
| Disability | 6 | 6.0% |
| Gender | 1 | 1.0% |
| Gender Identity | 1 | 1.0% |
*2021 was the first year that the annual hate crimes statistics were reported entirely through the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). As a result of the shift to NIBRS-only data collection, law enforcement agency participation in submitting all crime statistics, including hate crimes, fell significantly from 2020 to 2021.
Case Examples
A Kansas man was charged with two hate crimes for threatening to attack a Nashville Pride event.
According to the charges, on April 26, 2023, the defendant posted comments on the social media account for Nashville Pride threatening to “make shrapnel pressure cooker bombs for this event.” In another comment posted the same day, the defendant threatened to “commit a mass shooting.”
These are serious allegations. But the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A federal court sentenced a Tennessee man to seven years in prison for setting fire to four Nashville area churches.
According to evidence, the man intentionally set fire to the Crievewood United Methodist Church on June 17, 2019; the Crievewood Baptist Church on June 25, 2019; the Saint Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church on June 25, 2019; and the Priest Lake Community Baptist Church on June 26, 2019, all because of their religious character. The fires resulted in significant damage to all four churches.
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tennessee-man-sentenced-seven-years-series-church-arsons
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tennessee-man-charged-civil-rights-violations-series-church-arsons
A Tennessee man pled guilty to a federal hate crime offense for assaulting two girls and their father.
On October 24, 2017, he yelled “Allahu Akbar!” and “Go back to your country!” at two teenage girls wearing hijabs. He later attacked and injured the girls’ father by swinging a knife and punching at him. When the girls’ mother arrived on the scene with her young child in her car, he chased after them with his knife still drawn. After being taken into custody, the defendant made derogatory comments about the family, pledged to kill them when the police released him, and admitted that he carried out this assault because of the actual and perceived religion and national origin of the victims.
He will be sentenced on October 7, 2021.
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/tennessee-man-pleads-guilty-federal-hate-crime
News
January 8, 2024
Highlights From Memphis United Against Hate Community Event at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church
July 10, 2023
U.S. Attorney for Western District of Tennessee Launches National Security and Civil Rights Unit
April 3, 2023
February 16, 2022
Tennessee Man Sentenced to Seven Years for Series of Church Arsons
August 25, 2021
August 25, 2021
Tennessee Man Charged with Civil Rights Violations for Series of Church Arsons
May 17, 2021
Tennessee Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime
April 9, 2018
Grant Awardees
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Program
City of Memphis | A Tool for Tracking Bias-Motivated Crimes | FY 2023
DOJ Offices
|
Knoxville |
Memphis |
|
Eastern District of Tennessee (Knoxville) Middle District of Tennessee (Nashville) Western District of Tennessee (Memphis) |
|
Southeastern Regional Office |
Southeastern Field Office |