Anti-Armenian hate crimes on the rise in California
According to a San Francisco Examiner report, hate crimes against the Armenian Christian community are on the rise across California. In the San Francisco Bay area alone, there were four anti-Armenian hate crimes during the second half of last year, including arson and vandalism.
An estimated 2,500 Armenian-Americans live in the San Francisco Bay Area as a result of the spread of the Armenian diaspora following the Armenian genocide in the early 20th century. Turkey, the perpetrator of the genocide and supporter of Azerbaijan in the recent conflict, has been perpetuating a propaganda campaign to deny the existence of this genocide. California was also home to pro-Armenian protests around the Turkish Consulate in Los Angeles last year in response to its aggression against Armenia.
One of these anti-Armenian incidents happened on the 17th of September of last year, when an unknown suspect set fire to the St. Gregory the Illuminator Armenian Apostolic Church in a San Francisco neighbourhood, causing extensive damage to the building. The incident prompted a response from the FBI San Francisco Field Office, putting out a reward for information on the arsonist.
Other anti-Armenian incidents in the area included the spraying of hateful graffiti on an Armenian school with the Azerbaijani colours, and a shooting at the school that occurred during the night, fortunately there were no casualties.
Source: persecution.org
