
Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey launched a hotline for state residents to report bias-motivated threats, harassment and violence following last week’s presidential election, according to a Monday press release.
Healey said there have been reports of intimidation toward minority groups, including women, LGBTQ individuals and immigrants since the election, and their civil rights need to be upheld.
“In Massachusetts, we will protect people’s rights, fight discrimination and keep people safe,” Healey said in the release. “Such conduct has no place in Massachusetts.”
Attorneys and staff at the Attorney General’s Office will manage the hotline, and cases that need legal action will be forwarded to the Criminal Bureau, the release said.
To date, more than 60 calls with substantive complaints have been received, according to Chloe Gotsis, a spokesperson for Healey.
Gotsis wrote in an email that the hotline is staffed by Portuguese and Spanish speakers, and staff members at Healey’s office who speak other languages are also available to help.
Residents may also fill out a civil rights complaint form on Healey’s website or contact Healey’s office through Facebook and Twitter, the release stated.
Robert Trestan, the New England regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said the hotline is a proper way to deal with hate incidents in the commonwealth.
“There’s clearly a need for the hotline, and it’s a real sign of strong leadership by the attorney general who set up the hotline,” Trestan said. “It will provide people who are experiencing hate incidents a way to report them directly to the state.”
Trestan said there has been a “sharp increase” in hate incidents around the state in the past week, and the occurrences need to be curbed.
“It’s an outcome of a very divisive political season in which many different forms of hate are launched into the mainstream in ways that we have never seen before,” Trestan said. “Regrettably, some people feel empowered and emboldened to act out on their interest. It’s coming out in different forms of harassment, vandalism and in some cases, violence.”
Chelsea Police Chief Brian Kyes, president of the Massachusetts Major City Chiefs, said in the release from Healey’s office that police should strive to defend residents’ constitutional rights.
“The Police Departments across the Commonwealth are committed to ensuring that the constitutional rights of all individuals including racial, ethnic, religious and LGBTQ groups are not violated by any form of harassment and/or intimidation contrary to the law and stand ready to investigate any allegations of wrongdoing and take the appropriate enforcement action,” Kyes said.
Several Boston residents said the attorney general has taken the right step toward curbing hate crimes, which some said stem from this year’s election.
William Beck, 52, of Jamaica Plain, said the hotline is necessary, and that President-elect Donald Trump’s rhetoric contributed to the hate crimes.
“I’ve read so much all over social media and seen it on the news nationwide,” he said. “It is all as a direct result of the demagoguery of Donald Trump — period. [People] never felt comfortable doing this before, and now they feel that they are licensed to it.”
Oscar Guevara-Perez, 56, of Kenmore, said the hotline will be helpful to residents, especially in fostering a safe environment.
“It’s fantastic,” he said. “I work in the public health field and hotlines have been an incredible help, especially with the HIV/AIDS epidemic. I do believe that certain people want to keep their business confidential. By having a hotline in which they can just tell and share stories, if somebody has been threatened for instance, people feel that there is a sense of confidentiality in which they feel protected and more safe.”
Colin Gee, 29, of Kenmore, said the election may have not contributed to the increase of hate crimes, because these acts have long prevailed.
“It should have been available a long time ago,” he said. “I’m suspicious though of whether or not actual hate crimes have risen in this city or whether or not it’s more reporting of the situations.”
Dave Sebastian contributed to the reporting of this article.