Axios cited preliminary FBI data showing that hate crimes against Sikhs have increased in the United States over the past 10 years, by approximately 3,700%.Data shows that anti-Sikh incidents increased from 6 in 2015 to 228 in 2025.The data also shows that hate crime patterns have changed across the United States, although overall incidents have declined in the latest year.Hate crime cases overall will drop 11% by 2025 from the previous year, according to an analysis by Brian Levin of the California Association of Human Relations Organizations. However, he said some groups have seen significant increases due to changing political and social conditions.“Whoever is the target of a particular sticky stereotype, especially a stereotype that evokes fear, you’re going to see a spike in that particular group,” hate crimes expert Brian Levine told Axios.Despite the overall decline, anti-Sikh hate crimes remain one of the most significant increases in a decade, with incidents targeting Latino and transgender communities also on the rise.Hate crimes against Latinos increased 18% in 2025 to a record 1,014 incidents, marking the first time the group ranked among the top three most targeted categories in the FBI’s 34-year data track.The report also includes mixed trends in other categories. Anti-Semitic hate crimes fell by 29% and anti-trans hate crimes by 6% in 2025, but remain at historically high levels and nearly double the long-term average.Levin said 2025 remains the fifth-highest year for hate crimes in the FBI’s 34-year data set. He also said overall hate crimes were up 88 percent compared to 2015, although the final figures could change as more agencies submit data.The FBI Crime Data Browser has paused monthly updates while it prepares its annual national report, meaning current data remains preliminary.Levine added that spikes in hate crimes often accompany major events such as elections, international conflicts or terrorist attacks, and that once they recede, they tend not to return to previous lows. Instead, they stabilize at higher levels over long periods of time, resulting in an elevated baseline of events.
