The FBI says that the number of hate crimes were up last year from 14 in 2016 to 29.
The law enforcement agency says that’s highest number since 2009 when there were 37.
The Wilmington News Journal reports that the 93 percent increase is far above the 17 percent jump nationwide.
In the First State 14 of the incidents involved race, ethnicity or ancestry.
Among the incidents was a swastika spray painted on the hood of a car.
Another involved a profane insult to former president Obama that included the N-word on the front passenger side of a car while on the roof was the word “Trump”.
Jenny Lambe, a First Amendment scholar at the University of Delaware, told the paper that she believes white nationalist have become emboldened to say things they might not have felt were socially acceptable in the past.
