President Biden on Thursday condemned the rise in hate crimes against Asian Americans during the COVID-19 pandemic, saying, “This is wrong, it is UN-American and it should be stopped.”
In his first prime time speech as Commander in Chief, Biden said the group has been unfairly targeted in the past year in terms of attacks and harassment.
“Often we have turned against each other,” Biden said, as he stated “vicious hate crimes against Asian Americans who have attacked, harassed, convicted and tortured.”
“At this very moment, many of them, our fellow Americans, they are on the frontline of this epidemic, trying to save lives,” Biden continued.
“And still, they are forced to live for their lives out of fear just walking the streets in America.”
Police in major cities from coast to coast have seen an increase in Asian targeted hate crimes between 2019 and 2020.
In New York, the NYPD’s hate crime task force recorded 28 anti-Asian attacks last year – compared to just two incidents in 2019.
Los Angeles recorded 15 incidents compared to seven in 2019 and Denver carried out three attacks in 2020 – the first report in six years, according to data collected by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremeism.
With post wires
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