Colorado
Please click the image/link below to download a fact sheet with detailed graphics and information on hate crimes reported to the FBI for Colorado in 2022.
Fast Facts on Colorado Hate Crime Incidents*
Bias Motivation Category | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|
Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry | 184 | 182 | 201 |
Religion | 35 | 40 | 46 |
Sexual Orientation | 49 | 67 | 71 |
Disability | 5 | 4 | 4 |
Gender | 0 | 1 | 1 |
Gender Identity | 10 | 18 | 20 |
Total: | 283 | 312 | 343 |
Crimes Against Persons | 252 | 64.8% |
Crimes Against Property | 132 | 33.9% |
Crimes Against Society | 5 | 1.2% |
Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry | 201 | 58.6% |
Religion | 46 | 13.4% |
Sexual Orientation | 71 | 20.7% |
Disability | 4 | 1.2% |
Gender | 1 | 0.3% |
Gender Identity | 20 | 5.8% |
*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 Colorado man was sentenced to 55 concurrent life sentences to run consecutive to 190 years in prison after pleading guilty to 74 hate crimes and firearms charges related to the Nov. 19, 2022, mass shooting at Club Q, an LGBTQIA+ establishment in Colorado Springs.
According to the plea agreement, the defendant admitted to murdering five people, injuring 19, and attempting to murder 26 more in a willful, deliberate, malicious, and premediated attack at Club Q. The defendant entered Club Q armed with a loaded, privately manufactured assault weapon and began firing. He continued firing until subdued by patrons of the Club. As part of the plea, the defendant admitted that this attack was in part motivated because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity of the victims.
A Colorado man pleaded guilty to a hate crime charge in connection with a church fire he set in Loveland, Colorado. The defendant faces up to 20 years in prison.
According to the evidence, the defendant set the church on fire during the evening of January 19, 2023, by throwing two Molotov cocktails at the church – one at the front door and the other at the basement. The defendant admitted that he was motivated by the religious nature of the church and intended to destroy the church.
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/colorado-man-pleads-guilty-federal-hate-crime-church-arson
A Colorado man pled guilty to a federal hate crime involving an attempt to kill after stabbing a Black man.
On December 21, 2019, the defendant walked into a fast food restaurant where the victim was waiting to meet with the restaurant manager about a pending job application. The defendant approached the man from behind and, without warning, stabbed him twice in the neck. The victim was able to prevent the defendant from stabbing him again and eventually break free from his grip. The defendant later admitted that he was trying to kill the man because he was Black.
He will be sentenced on September 9, 2021 and faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/colorado-man-pleads-guilty-federal-hate-crime-after-unprovoked-stabbing-black-man
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/colorado-man-charged-hate-crime-after-unprovoked-stabbing-Black-man
A Colorado man, who self-identifies as a neo-Nazi and white supremacist, was sentenced to over 19 years in federal prison followed by 15 years of supervised release for plotting to blow up the Temple Emanuel Synagogue in Pueblo, Colorado.
In conversations with undercover FBI agents, the defendant repeatedly expressed his hatred of Jewish people and said that he wanted the bombing of the synagogue to send a message to Jewish people that they must leave his town “otherwise people will die.” The defendant’s conduct meets the federal definition of domestic terrorism.
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/southern-colorado-man-sentenced-more-19-years-plotting-blow-synagogue
News
November 12, 2024
Three People Indicted on Charges Related to Hate Crime Hoax
October 3, 2024
June 18, 2024
June 18, 2024
January 23, 2024
Colorado Man Sentenced for Church Arson in Federal Hate Crime Case
January 16, 2024
May 4, 2023
Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime for Church Arson
November 21, 2022
FBI Statement on Colorado Springs Club Shooting
November 21, 2022
Statement on Shooting at Club Q In Colorado Springs
May 18, 2022
September 9, 2021
Colorado Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Federal Prison for Unprovoked Stabbing of Black Man
July 28, 2021
June 17, 2021
Colorado Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Hate Crime After Unprovoked Stabbing of Black Man
February 26, 2021
Southern Colorado Man Sentenced to More Than 19 Years for Plotting to Blow Up Synagogue
October 15, 2020
September 17, 2020
Colorado Man Charged with Hate Crime After Unprovoked Stabbing of Black Man
November 22, 2019
November 4, 2019
Southern Colorado Man Charged with Federal Hate Crime for Plotting to Blow Up Synagogue
October 9, 2019
Grant Awardees
Community-based Approaches to Prevent and Address Hate Crimes
The Asian Roundtable of Colorado | United Against Hate: Building a Comprehensive Response to Hate Crimes | FY 2023
Voces Unidas for Justice | Finding a Healing Way Back from Hate | FY 2022
Services to Support Victims of Hate Crime and Strengthen Communities
Futures Without Violence subawardee: Voices Unidas for Justice | Community IMPACT: Imagining Multidisciplinary Pathways to Assist, Care & Thrive
DOJ Offices
| Denver 8000 East 36th Avenue Denver, CO 80238 T: 303.629.7171 denver.fbi.gov |
| Colorado (Denver) www.justice.gov/usao-co/contact-us |
| Rocky Mountain Regional Office 1244 Speer Boulevard Suite 650 Denver, CO 80204 T: 303.844.2973 F: 303.844.2907 askcrs@usdoj.gov |