One week, five stories: How Trump is making America hate again

Since the election of Donald Trump, an endless stream of stories of racial abuse and intimidation, homophobic harassment and hate crimes against minorities have come out of the United States.

The number of hate groups in the US has soared in the last year. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center's annual census, the amount of anti-Muslim hate groups nearly tripled in 2016 – in part, because the radical right has been "energised" by Trump's candidacy and presidential campaign.

As as we approach the first 100 days of Trump's presidency, the onslaught of hatred-fuelled abuse has shown no sign of slowing.

In just one week, from 12 to 19 March, here are just five cases which show how Trump's anti-immigration, anti-minority and anti-women rhetoric has impacted America.

Four Latina women were asked to prove they were from the US in a restaurant

A waiter was fired from a restaurant in southern California for asking four women to prove they were legally living in the US before taking their order. Brenda Carrillo, 23, was with her sister and two friends at the Saint Marc restaurant in Huntington Beach.

Diana Carrillo, 24, posted about the incident on Facebook: "My sister and my friend were seated first and the waiter asked them for their "proof of residency" when they ordered a drink. My friend in disbelief repeated what he said and his response was 'yeah, I need to make sure you're from here before I serve you'.

"Not knowing that this happened to them, my friend and I were then seated and he returned to the table and asked us for our 'proof of residency'. After fully digesting what he said, we all got up and left to speak to the manager.

"How many others has he said this too? I hope this employee is reprimanded for his actions. No establishment should tolerate discriminatory actions from their employees."

A woman stepped in to defend a couple from harassment on the New York subway

A video went viral of 23-year-old Tracey Tong defending two fellow subway passengers from an abusive older woman. Tong, who identifies herself as Chinese-Peruvian, said she boarded the train in New York when she saw an older woman shouting at a black woman wearing a hijab.

"Why are you here?" the harasser is seen asking the woman on camera. "Why are you in this country if you're not with us?

"I think you're being really unfair. We all have to work together," Tong told the woman. "We can't be against one person. This is absolutely ridiculous and disrespectful."

Having recently moved back to New York, Tong said she had read a lot about the abuse and harassment of Muslims and other marginalised groups in the US and decided she would react if she ever saw it happen.

A gay couple were threatened at a restaurant for holding hands

An employee at a pizza restaurant in Ohio was fired for threatening a couple for being affectionate in public. Bobby Slavens and Luke Muntz were about to enter the Goodfellas Pizzeria when they were stopped by security outside.

"We were just holding hands. We didn't think anything about it, then we gave a little kiss on the lips, a discreet peck," Slavens told WLWT News. "As we did so, the bouncer came to us and said, 'Hey, you guys need to stop that or you are going to get kicked out.' We were dumbfounded."

The couple entered the restaurant but didn't order food as they felt so uncomfortable. As they prepared to leave, the staff member said: "You better get used to this, this is Trump's America."

Two transgender women were assaulted in New York

A man from Long Island was arrested for attacking two trans women who were trying to enter a McDonald's in Queens, New York. According to reports, 38-year-old Patrick O'Meara pushed one of the women to the ground while screaming sexist and homophobic slurs at them.

There has been a spike in violence against transgender women in the US. According to the New York City Anti-Violence Project, seven trans women were murdered in January and February. The Southern Poverty Law Center noted that the homicides had come at a time when "the Trump administration is rolling back protections for transgender youth".

Employee at Middle Eastern restaurant attacked

A man from Salem, Massachusetts, was charged with assault and intimidation after an employee at a Middle Eastern restaurant was attacked with a metal pipe. Jason Kendall, 52, entered Al Aqsa Fine Middle Eastern Cuisine and shouted "go back to your country, terrorist" and "get out of America" before attacking the member of staff.

Kendall said he started yelling because he saw a "Saddam Hussein-looking guy" and believed he was holding a woman hostage. This is one of four suspected hate crimes that have occurred in Salem since Trump was elected president, according to the Statesman Journal.