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On Friday, a gunman killed three at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado. Later, in explaining his motive to the police, he聽said鈥渘o more baby parts.鈥�

Last Monday, gunmen opened fire on Black Lives Matter protesters in Minneapolis who were demanding action against two white Minneapolis police officers involved in the fatal shooting of Jamar Clark, 24, an unarmed black man, on Nov. 15.

Evidence聽shows聽the accused shooters were linked to white supremacist organizations operating online.

Meanwhile, the FBI reports an upturn in threats on mosques and Muslims in the United States.

In Connecticut, police are聽investigating聽reports of multiple gunshots fired at a local mosque. Two Tampa Bay-area mosques in Florida聽received聽threatening phone messages. One of the calls threatened a firebombing.

In an Austin suburb, leaders of the Islamic Center of Pflugerville聽discovered聽feces and torn pages of the Qur鈥檃n.

Hate crimes will never be eliminated entirely. A small number of angry, deranged people inevitably will vent their rage at groups they find threatening. Some will do so violently.

But this doesn鈥檛 absolve politicians who have been fueling such hatefulness.

Perpetrators of hate crimes often take their cues from what they hear in the media. And the recent inclination of some politicians to use inflammatory rhetoric is contributing to a climate of hate and fear.聽

Carly Fiorina continues to allege, for example, that Planned Parenthood is selling body parts of fetuses.

Although the claim has been proven baseless, it鈥檚 been repeated not only by Fiorina but also by other candidates. Mike聽Huckabeecalls it 鈥渟ickening鈥� that 鈥渨e give these butchers money to harvest human organs.鈥�

Even in the wake of Friday鈥檚 Colorado shootings, Donald Trumpreferred聽to videos 鈥渨ith some of these people from Planned Parenthood talking about it like you鈥檙e selling parts to a car.鈥�

Some candidates are also fomenting animus toward Muslims.

Huckabee聽says聽he鈥檇 鈥渓ike for Barack Obama to resign if he鈥檚 not going to protect America and instead protect the image of Islam.鈥�

Ben Carson聽says聽allowing Syrian refugees into the United States is analogous to exposing a neighborhood to a 鈥渞abid dog.鈥� Last聽September Carson said he 鈥渨ould not advocate that we put a Muslim in charge of this nation.鈥�

Since the attacks that killed 130 people in Paris earlier this month,聽Trump聽has聽advocated聽registering all Muslims in the United States and putting American mosques under surveillance.

He鈥檚 also聽claimed聽that Muslim-Americans in New Jersey celebrated by the 鈥渢housands鈥� when the World Trade Center was destroyed on September 11, 2001, although there鈥檚 no evidence to back that claim.

Indeed, much of Trump鈥檚 campaign is built on hatefulness. And Trump not only fails to condemn violence he provokes but finds excuses for it.

After a handful of white supporters recently punched and attempted to choke a Black Lives Matter protester at one of his campaign rallies, Trump聽said聽鈥渕aybe he should have been roughed up.鈥�

Trump began his campaign last June by falsely聽alleging聽Mexican immigrants are 鈥渂ringing crime. They鈥檙e rapists.鈥�

Weeks later in Boston, two brothers beat with a metal poll and urinated on a 58-year-old homeless Mexican national. They subsequently聽told聽the police 鈥淒onald Trump was right, all these illegals need to be deported.鈥�

But instead of condemning that brutality, Trump excused it bysaying聽鈥減eople who are following me are very passionate. They love this country and they want this country to be great again.鈥�

I鈥檓 not suggesting Trump, Carson, Fiorina, or any other presidential candidate is directly to blame for hate crimes erupting across America.

But by virtue of their standing as presidential candidates, their words carry particular weight. They have a responsibility to calm people with the truth rather than stir them up with lies.聽

In suggesting that the staff of Planned Parenthood, Muslims, Black Lives Matter protesters, and Mexican immigrants are guilty of venal acts, these candidates are fanning the flames of hate.

This itself is despicable.

This article first appeared at Robert Reich.