FILE - In this Sept. 22, 2016, file photo Attorney General Loretta Lynch takes a question during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington. Lynch will visit a mosque in Virginia on Dec. 12 amid a sharp increase in hate crimes targeting Muslims. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File) (The Associated Press)
WASHINGTON – Attorney General Loretta Lynch is visiting a mosque in Virginia next week amid a sharp increase in hate crimes targeting Muslims.
Lynch is scheduled to visit the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center in Sterling on Monday morning.
She'll travel to New York City the following day for a discussion with gay, lesbian and transgender youth at Harvey Milk High School and to visit the Stonewall Inn and Stonewall National Monument.
FBI statistics released last month show reported hate crimes against Muslims rose by 67 percent in 2015 to their highest number since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
There were 257 reported incidents of anti-Muslim bias in 2015, compared to 154 the year before.
Lynch has said the numbers should be "deeply sobering for all Americans."
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