Hate crimes in America have risen to an all-time high. From assaults on college campuses to violent street crimes, Americans of all ages face verbal and physical attacks from predators with a prejudiced mindset.

Although most hate crimes are perpetrated by people who intend to inflict emotional harm on another person, some hate crimes are perpetrated as hoaxes to take revenge for a person’s actions. False reporting of a hate crime in all 50 states is a misdemeanor offense that is punishable by penalties including steep monetary fines and possible jail time. When someone is falsely accused of a hate crime, innocent people suffer severe consequences and law enforcement’s time is wasted looking for a criminal that doesn’t exist. Innocent people are forced to get montgomery county bail bonds to get out of jail.

The recent hate crime hoax involving Jussie Smollett, the television actor, has raised many questions and concerns about false hate crimes. After a month-long investigation, it was determined that Smollett falsely reported a hate crime that he instigated himself to further his acting career. Although this case brought up many concerns and angered the public, hate crime hoaxes are more common than most people realize. In 2016, there were over 6,000 cases of false hate crimes reported by the FBI, and that number increased to over 7,000 in 2017. Thousands of innocent people were arrested for crimes they didn’t commit, and thousands of taxpayer dollars were spent on unnecessary arrests and costly court trials.

Many hate crime hoaxes are perpetrated to enact revenge on another person. Although sexual assaults are a legitimate concern on America’s high school and college campuses, some cases involve false accusations. There are numerous cases of false sexual and physical assaults reported out of jealously, hate, and fear by young people seeking revenge on peers and classmates who committed no crimes. In many cases, false reports are filed by jealous girlfriends or boyfriends, students who received poor grades, and people seeking media attention. Young people often have no understanding of the serious consequences that false reports of hate crimes inflict on innocent people.