Hope shines brightest in the darkest moments. In 2025, we watched Sarah McBride sworn in as the first out transgender member of Congress. Dozens of legal challenges have been filed on behalf of LGBTQ Americans to block harmful legislation and executive orders. Gallup shows that our community is growing with 9% of the overall population and over 20% of Gen Z being LGBTQ. These same polls also consistently show that 70% of Americans support marriage equality. World Pride is taking place in Washington, D.C. and Pride celebrations are underway in state after state, as grassroots campaigns rise up and fill in funding gaps to support LGBTQ neighbors.
At the same time, we see alarming and ever-evolving challenges as a community. 575 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in state legislatures thus far in 2025. Though 92% of them were defeated, the damage is done when they are introduced and talked about in local media or around the water cooler. New actions from the federal government censor LGBTQ-related resources, including information on HIV prevention and treatment. Mentions of transgender people were unceremoniously removed from the National Park Service website for the Stonewall National Monument – but GLAAD and advocates have redoubled efforts to ensure they are never forgotten.
In response to these challenges, GLAAD has launched its Anti-LGBTQ Extremism Reporting Tracker (ALERT). The ALERT Desk serves as a central hub for resources and original reporting on hate and extremism impacting LGBTQ people in the US, tracking anti-LGBTQ incidents nationwide. These incidents include both criminal and non-criminal expressions of hate – from protests at drag shows, to sprees of vandalism targeting Pride flags, to bomb threats against health care providers of transgender patients. Through careful analysis of this data, the ALERT Desk provides in-depth information to keep our community aware and safe, as well as resources for key stakeholders fighting against anti-LGBTQ hate at the local, state, and federal levels.
These charts provide a look into how anti-LGBTQ incidents in the US vary by geographic location.
The first chart is a “hex map” which shows a hexagon for every state in generally the correct geographic placement. The hexagons are color-coded based on the number of incidents in that state – the darker red, the more incidents.
The map at the bottom shows actual locations where incidents are plotted at the latitude and longitude level. The size of the circle tells you how many incidents occurred in that area – the larger the circle, the more incidents.
The table in the middle displays a list of all incidents occurring in the selected geographic region
To change your selection, you can click on a state in the hex map to filter both maps and the table by that state.
You can also click on or multi-select (lasso) circles in the map to filter the table by just those incidents selected.
To clear all your selections and show all values, click the “Show All” button.
You can download the data from the table at any time, regardless of if it is showing all values or is filtered based on your selections. To do so, click the Download Page button and then the Excel Download button. To go back to the main page, click the Back to Main Page button.
If you click the Options menu at the top right, you can:
• Filter by Incident and Target type, allowing you to explore incidents based on the type of attack (assault, vandalism, protest, harassment, etc.) or the target of the attack (drag performers, educators, health care providers, etc.).
• Change the date range, such as looking at data for a one-year time period. The date range defaults to the full data set available.
In all charts, you can hover over the chart for additional details.
*The incident total displayed below may vary because some incidents fall into multiple target types.
This view shows the number of incidents occurring month over month.
Graphs on the left side show the number of incidents by Incident Type (Arson, Assault, etc.). Each Incident Type is shown on its own row and in its own color.
The right side shows the number of incidents by Target Type (Drag Attacks, Education Attacks, etc.). Each Target Type is shown on its own row and in its own color.
If you click the Options menu at the top right, you can:
• Change the view from showing breakdowns to just a single chart showing the total number of incidents by month.
• Filter by Incident Type and Target Type.
• Change the date range. The date range defaults to the full data set available.
• Hover over the chart for additional details.
*The incident total displayed below may vary because some incidents fall into multiple target types.
N/A for Target Type indicates general anti-LGBTQ incidents that don’t fall into one of the four trends we track – attacks against drag performance, health care, education, and Pride symbolism.
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Between May 1, 2024 and May 1, 2025, the ALERT Desk tracked over 932 anti-LGBTQ incidents occurring in 49 US states and the District of Columbia. This is the equivalent of 2.5 incidents every day.
This year’s dataset included 315+ protests, 280+ acts of harassment, 140+ acts of vandalism, 85+ assaults, 60+ propaganda drops, 20+ bomb threats, and 15+ arson attempts. Tragically, violent attacks included in this count resulted in 84 injuries and 10 deaths.
This is the third annual release of the ALERT Desk data. Compared to the 2023 – 2024 numbers, this year saw a 20% decrease in overall incidents. While this is a step in the right direction, this year’s report continues to tell the story of a community navigating hate and violence at every turn. The fight is not yet over.
Read the full 2025 ALERT Desk report here.
Have you experienced or witnessed an anti-LGBTQ incident? Please access our form below to submit an incident and access submission guidelines for the ALERT Desk.
stay tuned!
