Political affil./hate crimes

AN ACT Relating to clarifying hate crimes to include political 1
affiliation; amending RCW 9A.36.078 and 9A.36.080; and prescribing 2
penalties. 3
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:4
Sec. 1. RCW 9A.36.078 and 2019 c 271 s 1 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
The legislature finds that crimes and threats against persons 7
because of their race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, 8
political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression 9
or identity, or mental, physical, or sensory disabilities are serious 10
and increasing. The legislature also finds that crimes and threats 11
are often directed against interracial couples and their children or 12
couples of mixed religions, colors, ancestries, or national origins 13
because of bias and bigotry against the race, color, religion, 14
ancestry, or national origin of one person in the couple or family. 15
The legislature finds that the state interest in preventing crimes 16
and threats motivated by bigotry and bias goes beyond the state 17
interest in preventing other felonies or misdemeanors such as 18
criminal trespass, malicious mischief, assault, or other crimes that 19
are not motivated by hatred, bigotry, and bias, and that prosecution 20
of those other crimes inadequately protects citizens from crimes and 21
S-3525.1
SENATE BILL 5830
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2026 Regular Session
By Senators Fortunato and Holy
Prefiled 12/04/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee
on Law & Justice.
p. 1 SB 5830
threats motivated by bigotry and bias. Therefore, the legislature 1
finds that protection of those citizens from threats of harm due to 2
bias and bigotry is a compelling state interest. 3
The legislature also finds that in many cases, certain discrete 4
words or symbols are used to threaten the victims. Those discrete 5
words or symbols have historically or traditionally been used to 6
connote hatred or threats towards members of the class of which the 7
victim or a member of the victim's family or household is a member. 8
In particular, the legislature finds that cross burnings historically 9
and traditionally have been used to threaten, terrorize, intimidate, 10
and harass African Americans and their families. Cross burnings often 11
preceded lynchings, murders, burning of homes, and other acts of 12
terror. Further, Nazi swastikas historically and traditionally have 13
been used to threaten, terrorize, intimidate, and harass Jewish 14
people and their families. Swastikas symbolize the massive 15
destruction of the Jewish population, commonly known as the 16
holocaust. Therefore, the legislature finds that any person who burns 17
or attempts to burn a cross or displays a swastika on the property of 18
the victim or burns a cross or displays a swastika as part of a 19
series of acts directed towards a particular person, the person's 20
family or household members, or a particular group, knows or 21
reasonably should know that the cross burning or swastika may create 22
a reasonable fear of harm in the mind of the person, the person's 23
family and household members, or the group. 24
The legislature also finds that attacks on religious places of 25
worship and threatening defacement of religious texts have increased, 26
as have assaults and attacks on those who visibly self-identify as 27
members of a religious minority, such as by wearing religious head 28
covering or other visible articles of faith. The legislature finds 29
that any person who defaces religious real property with derogatory 30
words, symbols, or items, who places a vandalized or defaced 31
religious item or scripture on the property of a victim, or who 32
attacks or attempts to remove the religious garb or faith-based 33
attire of a victim, knows or reasonably should know that such actions 34
create a reasonable fear of harm in the mind of the victim.35
The legislature also finds that a hate crime committed against a 36
victim because of the victim's gender may be identified in the same 37
manner that a hate crime committed against a victim of another 38
protected group is identified. Affirmative indications of hatred 39
towards gender as a class is the predominant factor to consider. 40
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Other factors to consider include the perpetrator's use of language, 1
slurs, or symbols expressing hatred towards the victim's gender as a 2
class; the severity of the attack including mutilation of the 3
victim's sexual organs; a history of similar attacks against victims 4
of the same gender by the perpetrator or a history of similar 5
incidents in the same area; a lack of provocation; an absence of any 6
other apparent motivation; and common sense. 7
The legislature recognizes that, since 2015, Washington state has 8
experienced a sharp increase in malicious harassment offenses, and, 9
in response, the legislature intends to rename the offense to its 10
more commonly understood title of "hate crime offense" and create a 11
multidisciplinary working group to establish recommendations for best 12
practices for identifying and responding to hate crimes.13
Sec. 2. RCW 9A.36.080 and 2025 c 249 s 1 are each amended to 14
read as follows: 15
(1) A person is guilty of a hate crime offense if the person 16
maliciously and intentionally commits one of the following acts in 17
whole or in part because of their perception of another person's 18
race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, political 19
affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression or 20
identity, or mental, physical, or sensory disability:21
(a) Assaults another person; 22
(b) Causes physical damage to or destruction of the property of 23
another; or 24
(c) Threatens a specific person or group of persons and places 25
that person, or members of the specific group of persons, in 26
reasonable fear of harm to person or property. The fear must be a 27
fear that a reasonable person would have under all the circumstances. 28
For purposes of this section, a "reasonable person" is a reasonable 29
person who is a member of the victim's race, color, religion, 30
ancestry, national origin, political affiliation, gender, or sexual 31
orientation, or who has the same gender expression or identity, or 32
the same mental, physical, or sensory disability as the victim. Words 33
alone do not constitute a hate crime offense unless the context or 34
circumstances surrounding the words indicate the words are a threat. 35
Threatening words do not constitute a hate crime offense if it is 36
apparent to the victim that the person does not have the ability to 37
carry out the threat. 38
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(2) In any prosecution for a hate crime offense, unless evidence 1
exists which explains to the trier of fact's satisfaction that the 2
person did not intend to threaten the victim or victims, the trier of 3
fact may infer that the person intended to threaten a specific victim 4
or group of victims because of the person's perception of the 5
victim's or victims' race, color, religion, ancestry, national 6
origin, political affiliation, gender, sexual orientation, gender 7
expression or identity, or mental, physical, or sensory disability if 8
the person commits one of the following acts: 9
(a) Burns a cross on property of a victim who is or whom the 10
actor perceives to be of African American heritage;11
(b) Defaces property of a victim who is or whom the actor 12
perceives to be of Jewish heritage by defacing the property with a 13
Nazi emblem, symbol, or hakenkreuz; 14
(c) Defaces religious real property with words, symbols, or items 15
that are derogatory to persons of the faith associated with the 16
property; 17
(d) Places a vandalized or defaced religious item or scripture on 18
the property of a victim who is or whom the actor perceives to be of 19
the faith with which that item or scripture is associated;20
(e) Damages, destroys, or defaces religious garb or other faith-21
based attire belonging to the victim or attempts to or successfully 22
removes religious garb or other faith-based attire from the victim's 23
person without the victim's authorization; or 24
(f) Places a noose on the property of a victim who is or whom the 25
actor perceives to be of a racial or ethnic minority group.26
This subsection only applies to the creation of a reasonable 27
inference for evidentiary purposes. This subsection does not restrict 28
the state's ability to prosecute a person under subsection (1) of 29
this section when the facts of a particular case do not fall within 30
(a) through (f) of this subsection. 31
(3) It is not a defense that the accused was mistaken that the 32
victim was a member of a certain race, color, religion, ancestry, 33
national origin, political affiliation, gender, or sexual 34
orientation, had a particular gender expression or identity, or had a 35
mental, physical, or sensory disability. 36
(4) Evidence of expressions or associations of the accused may 37
not be introduced as substantive evidence at trial unless the 38
evidence specifically relates to the crime charged. Nothing in this 39
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chapter shall affect the rules of evidence governing impeachment of a 1
witness. 2
(5) Every person who commits another crime during the commission 3
of a crime under this section may be punished and prosecuted for the 4
other crime separately. 5
(6) For the purposes of this section: 6
(a) "Gender expression or identity" means having or being 7
perceived as having a gender identity, self-image, appearance, 8
behavior, or expression, whether or not that gender identity, self-9
image, appearance, behavior, or expression is different from that 10
traditionally associated with the sex assigned to that person at 11
birth. 12
(b) "Sexual orientation" means heterosexuality, homosexuality, or 13
bisexuality. 14
(c) "Threat" means to communicate, directly or indirectly, the 15
intent to: 16
(i) Cause bodily injury immediately or in the future to the 17
person threatened or to any other person; or 18
(ii) Cause physical damage immediately or in the future to the 19
property of a person threatened or that of any other person.20
(7) Commission of a hate crime offense is a class C felony.21
(8) The penalties provided in this section for hate crime 22
offenses do not preclude the victims from seeking any other remedies 23
otherwise available under law. 24
(9) Nothing in this section confers or expands any civil rights 25
or protections to any group or class identified under this section, 26
beyond those rights or protections that exist under the federal or 27
state Constitution or the civil laws of the state of Washington.28
--- END ---
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