New Washington hate-crime hotline live in 3 counties. Not everyone is using it as planned

OLYMPIA – Washington state officially launched a pilot hotline program earlier this month for people to report hate crimes and bias incidents.

But much to the dismay of advocacy organizations, some social media users outraged by the concept have encouraged followers to flood the line.

Many have criticized the hotline for its free-speech implications, warning that it will be wielded against those with differing political views and chill constitutionally protected speech. Yet supporters insist the resource is needed to assist hate-crime victims, and so that state officials can better understand the prevalence of hate crime in Washington.

The hotline was created through 2024’s Senate Bill 5427, which directed the Attorney General’s Office to manage a pilot program in at least three counties, including one in eastern Washington. Now people in King, Clark and Spokane counties can report hate crimes and bias incidents on the nonemergency line.

In 2027, the hotline will expand statewide.

Hotline staff can provide help connecting callers with “local, culturally competent, victim-centered and trauma-informed support services.” They also can help the caller submit a report to local law enforcement, if the caller wants to make a report.

Advocates say hotline is needed

Advocacy groups in Washington view the hotline as a crucial resource.

Imraan Siddiqi, executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ Washington chapter, said hate crimes against Muslims have spiked in the past few years. But they’re significantly under-reported, he said, citing cultural barriers, distrust of law enforcement and a fear of repercussions.

“So we’re jumping into this with the hope that at least our community … will utilize the system and feel like they can do so without fear of any type of retribution or threats to them,” Siddiqi said.

Miri Cypers, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League’s Pacific Northwest office, also underscored a fear of reporting. She said that when someone is targeted by hate, it “really makes a statement about who you are and your identity.”

“I think they (hate crimes) also really are meant to send a message, not just to the person individually who’s impacted, but to an entire community that you’re not welcome,” Cypers said.

Hotline targets diversity of views

Detractors, however, have derided the program as a “snitch line.” The state’s Republican Party, for instance, has predicted that the law will be “weaponized against those with viewpoint diversity” and selectively enforced.

Free-speech advocates like the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) view bias-reporting hotlines as Orwellian; FIRE’s website says that such systems depend on broad definitions of “hate” and “bias” that might encompass a wide range of protected speech and expression.

The groups says that similar efforts in colleges nationwide have led to the trampling of constitutional freedoms among faculty and staff, chilling expression on campus. And applying these reporting systems to states, they say, is a bad idea.

“States continue to roll out bias hotlines that solicit complaints – sometimes to law enforcement – about speech protected by the First Amendment,” Aaron Terr, FIRE’s director of public advocacy, recently wrote on X. “A Washington state press release promoting its new hotline includes a quote describing ‘microaggressions’ as ‘acts of violence.’”

Mike Faulk, deputy communications director with the Washington Attorney General’s Office, told McClatchy that he couldn’t think of a single example of free speech being policed.

“It’s not our position that a bias incident is a crime,” he said. “But people are still experiencing harm that we think we can help address in some way, either directly or just by being aware of it, to inform future policy.”

Since 2018, Washington has found itself in the top five states with the highest number of logged hate crimes, the Attorney General’s Office has noted.

Submissions

Some prominent conservative social media accounts have urged followers to contact the line in recent weeks.

One woman filmed herself leaving a voicemail explaining that Gov. Bob Ferguson “hates Washingtonians,” citing the state’s significant budget deficit and his approval of new taxes, among other complaints. Another X user remarked on a post condemning the hotline: “Might have to call in fake hate crimes.”

As of July 22, the Attorney General’s Office has received 61 online submissions and 64 voicemails to the hotline, spokesperson Ashley Gross said via email. Cases are given a status: “open, in progress, non-actionable, unable to contact, case conference needed, closed, no bias motivation, other and test,” the last of which wasn’t included in the 125 total reports.

A similar statewide hotline created in Oregon in 2020 saw a recent rise in harassment and phony calls and a drop in legitimate complaints, according to the Oregon Capital Chronicle. That state counted a 165% spike in spam calls from 2023 to 2024, plus cases where harassment and abusive language were directed at hotline staff.

McClatchy asked Gross how many of Washington’s reports so far are considered to be spam or harassment, but she said that the office isn’t classifying anything as such.

Report-givers can indicate whether they’d like for someone to follow up, said Ellen Austin Hall, deputy policy director at the state attorney general’s office. If they don’t, staff will take down the information and close the case. The office engages with everyone in good faith to connect them with the appropriate services, she said.

In Siddiqi’s view, contacting the hotline with a complaint that’s not actually about a hate crime or bias incident is a “waste of a public good.”

Cypers said the ADL tracks harassment, vandalism and assault – some of which rise to the level of a crime. These aren’t petty issues or fights among neighbors, she said: They’re harmful issues that erode people’s sense of belonging and safety.

“So I think it’s incredibly important that we respect and utilize our state resources and conserve them for the people who need them most,” Cypers said.

Those wanting to reach Washington’s nonemergency hate crimes and bias incidents hotline can call (855) 225-1010 or visit atg.wa.gov/report-hate.