Maine
Please click the image/link below to download a fact sheet with detailed graphics and information on hate crimes reported to the FBI for Maine in 2022.
Fast Facts on Maine Hate Crime Incidents*
Bias Motivation Category | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
---|---|---|---|
Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry | 40 | 36 | 37 |
Religion | 7 | 9 | 11 |
Sexual Orientation | 36 | 25 | 22 |
Disability | 0 | 1 | 2 |
Gender | 0 | 2 | 3 |
Gender Identity | 1 | 3 | 7 |
Total: | 84 | 76 | 82 |
Crimes Against Persons | 59 | 64.1% |
Crimes Against Property | 33 | 35.9% |
Crimes Against Society | 0 | 0.0% |
Race/Ethnicity/Ancestry | 37 | 45.1% |
Religion | 11 | 13.4% |
Sexual Orientation | 22 | 26.8% |
Disability | 2 | 2.4% |
Gender | 3 | 3.7% |
Gender Identity | 7 | 8.5% |
*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 Maine man has been charged for sending a threatening voicemail to his Black neighbor.
According to evidence, the defendant left a voicemail for his neighbor that used racial slurs and threatened to kill any Black person who emerged from their home. The defendant targeted his neighbor because of the neighbor’s race.
The man could face up to five years in prison.
These are serious allegations. But the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
A federal grand jury indicted a Maine man for setting fire to the Martin Luther King, Jr. Community Presbyterian Church in Springfield, Massachusetts. The church serves a predominantly Black congregation.
The government alleges that the man is also responsible for a string of other crimes leading up to burning the church. Setting fires on the church’s property and a series of tire slashings. A search of the defendant’s vehicle and electronic devices revealed his hatred of Black people. His phone contained a recent message calling to “eliminate all N****s.”
The defendant faces a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 for using fire to damage religious property, and faces a sentence of at least 10 years in prison for using fire to commit a federal felony.
An indictment is a serious accusation. But the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/maine-man-charged-hate-crime-offenses-arson-predominantly-black-church
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ma/pr/maine-man-indicted-hate-crime-offenses-relating-burning-black-church-springfield
A Maine man was sentenced to three years in prison after pleading guilty for his role in a series of race-based attacks on Black men.
The first attack occurred without any clear cause outside of a bar in Portland, Maine. The assault, which broke the victim’s jaw, was immediately followed by an attack on another Black man who was standing nearby.
In a second incident, which occurred at a convenience store about an hour later and miles away, the defendant and his uncle approached a Black man who was walking toward the store’s entrance. As the uncle of the defendant distracted the victim by shouting a racial slur, the defendant sucker-punched the victim, knocking him to the ground. The attack broke the victim’s jaw in several places.
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/maine-man-sentenced-committing-and-conspiring-commit-federal-hate-crime
Maurice Diggins was convicted of conspiring to—and committing—hate crimes against black men in Maine. The government proved that Diggins conspired with his nephew, Dusty Leo, to brutally assault two men because they were black. Leo had already pleaded guilty.
In the first incident, Diggins attacked a black Sudanese man without provocation. During the same incident, Diggins and Leo assaulted another black man who was standing nearby. Witnesses heard Diggins and Leo using racial epithets during these incidents.
In the second incident, which occurred about an hour later and approximately 20 miles away, Diggins and Leo drove into a parking lot of a convenience store, where Diggins got out of the truck and approached a black man who was walking toward the store’s entrance. Diggins directed a racial slur at the man and distracted him while Leo got out of the truck and sucker-punched the man in the jaw, knocking him to the ground.
In both incidents, Diggins and Leo’s unprovoked attacks broke the victims’ jaws requiring extensive surgery.
Diggins and Leo have not been sentenced yet. Diggins faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each hate crimes charge, and five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on the conspiracy charge. Leo faces the same penalties for the conspiracy charge and the hate crimes charge.
Press Release: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/biddeford-maine-man-convicted-hate-crime-assaults
News
April 18, 2024
Maine Man Sentenced for Threats Against the Jewish Community
March 18, 2024
Maine Man Pleads Guilty to Sending Racist Death Threats to Black Family in His Apartment Complex
September 12, 2023
Maine Man Arrested for Racially Motivated Death Threats Against Black Neighbor
November 18, 2022
February 10, 2022
Maine Man Indicted for Hate Crime Offenses Relating to Arson of MLK Church in Massachusetts
September 10, 2021
Maine Man Sentenced for Committing and Conspiring to Commit Federal Hate Crime
April 15, 2021
Maine Man Charged with Hate Crime Offenses for Arson of Predominantly Black Church
October 27, 2020
Maine Man Sentenced for Federal Hate Crime Convictions
March 10, 2020
Biddeford, Maine Man Convicted of Hate Crime Assaults
August 27, 2018
Grant Awardees
Community-based Approaches to Prevent and Address Hate Crimes
New England Arab American Organization | Making Maine a Place Without Hate | FY 2023
Services to Support Victims of Hate Crime and Strengthen Communities
Futures Without Violence subawardee: New England Arab American Organization | Community IMPACT: Imagining Multidisciplinary Pathways to Assist, Care & Thrive
Resources
The resources below include specific examples, experiences, or information related to Maine.
Go to the Resources page to access all resources.
Podcast | Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS) | Law Enforcement, Victim Advocacy Groups, Universities/College Campuses
Responding to Hate at Colleges and Universities
DOJ Offices
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Boston |
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Maine (Portland) |
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New England Regional Office |