Extremist Groups

New Report Documents 1,371 

Extremist Groups in U.S.

State-by-State List Includes Interactive Map

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. (SPLC) — 5/31/2025 — The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released its annual Year in Hate & Extremism report on May 22, which chronicles trends in hard-right activity, exposes the players who are driving extremism and equips communities with data and tools to prevent radicalization.

Interactive SPLC Hate Map

    The new report documents 1,371 hate and antigovernment extremist groups in the United States in 2024 and traces their growing influence on local, state and national government. As these groups tighten their grip on the U.S. political system, the report tracks how their actions are dividing and demoralizing people across the country while dismantling democracy from within.

    “After years of courting politicians and chasing power, hard-right groups are now fully infiltrating our politics and enacting their dangerous ideology into law,” said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the SPLC. “Extremists at all levels of government are using cruelty, chaos and constant attacks on communities and our democracy to make us feel powerless. We cannot surrender to fear. It is up to all of us to organize against the forces of hate and tyranny. This report offers data that is essential to understanding the landscape of hate and helping communities fight for the multiracial, inclusive democracy we deserve.”

    Throughout 2024, hard-right groups used state legislatures and school boards — particularly in the South — as battlegrounds to target Black and Brown communities, women, immigrants, Jewish people, Muslim people, Indigenous communities and LGBTQ+ people. Many of the extremist actors focused on whitewashing American history through book bans and changes to curriculum, pushing for companies to eliminate all DEI initiatives, and threatening violence against election workers. Now, as the Trump administration welcomes extremist ideology into its ranks, these actors are taking their model of success to the nation’s highest offices.

    The report also finds a growing wave of white nationalism that is motivated by theocratic beliefs and false claims of “Christian persecution” and “white genocide.” This movement seeks to dominate social, cultural and political life in the United States and craft a Christian, fascist state in its own image.

    To better mobilize against hate and extremism, it is imperative that we not only understand the power and influence of these groups, but also their recruitment strategies. That’s why the report highlights the tactics hard-right groups use to attract, influence and motivate their members. For example, the growing influence of the most extreme corners of the manosphere — a collection of blogs, forums and websites, where members mobilize around misogyny and anti-feminism — has enabled male supremacists to capture the attention of young people, often using edgy “humor” to degrade women and trans people.

    “While 2024 has been a tough year for our democracy and for communities targeted by hate and conspiracies, we didn’t get here by accident. We know that these groups build their power by threatening violence, capturing political parties and government, and infesting the mainstream discourse with conspiracy theories,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. “By exposing the players, tactics and code words of the hard right, we hope to dismantle their mythology and inspire people to fight back.”

    A state-by-state list of hate and antigovernment extremist groups and an interactive map is available HERE.

    The sections in this report include:

• The false fear of ‘White Genocide’
• From screens to schools: Male supremacy’s impact and prevention tactics
• Anti-DEI efforts and the attempted whitewashing of America
• A strategic application of chaos
• Targeting democracy: Local militias and national sovereign citizens
• Decline of the neo-Confederates
• Turning Point USA: A case study of the hard right in 2024
• Understanding Telegram’s toxic recommendations

    “Now is not the time to remain silent or compromise our shared values. It is imperative to call on organizations, institutions, and businesses to stay firm in their commitment to justice, equity and inclusion and use their resources to hold the line against hate and discrimination,” Huang said.

    SPLC offers these policy recommendations as part of the larger effort to counter hate and extremism:

• Hold executive power accountable;
• Promote inclusive responses to hate and extremism;
• Maintain civil rights and hate crimes as top priorities and make hate crime reporting mandatory;
• Prevent political violence;
• Build community resilience and center victims;
• Support diversity, equity, include, and accessibility (DEIA) programs;
• Teach accurate history and critical thinking skills;
• Promote online safety and hold tech and social media companies accountable.

    To read the report in its entirety, visit splcenter.org.

    About the Southern Poverty Law Center

    The Southern Poverty Law Center is a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people. For more information, visit www.splcenter.org.

Disinformation

Prayer Breakfasts

Stoke Disinformation, Lies

Don’t Despair, Share. Share the truth

By Steve Rensberry

    Edwardsville Ill. -- (RP News) -- 2/9/25 -- The organization Americans United for the Separation of Church and State has strongly criticized two Christian Nationalist focused prayer breakfasts at the nation's capitol on Feb. 6, one held in the Capitol building itself and the other in a non-governmental location and organized by the shadowly group "The Family."

    Announced at the second breakfast was the formation of a task force to fight supposed "anti-Christian bias" -- a presumption AU argues is build on lies and misinformation. 

   Andrew Seidel with AU writes:  "Christian Nationalism is an entire identity based on disinformation, as I’ve explained elsewhere. So it’s little surprise that Trump’s anti-Christian bias task force — which we believe will misuse religious freedom to justify bigotry and discrimination — is similarly based on disinformation.

    "Supporters of Americans United understand that when an institution lives only by lies, truth is revolutionary. Trump’s task force is a new institution built on lies and disinformation. One of the best ways to fight back against it is to share. Don’t despair, share. Share the truth."  Read the entire article here.

Extremism

Dangerous 'Project 2025' Would

Lead to Financial Disaster,

Loss of 8.7 Million Jobs,

New Analysis Finds

    Washington, D.C. (CAP) — 7/4/2024 — Nearly three decades of deregulation opened the door for banks, investment companies, insurers, and other firms to engage in the excessive risk-taking that culminated in the 2007–2008 financial crisis and triggered the Great Recession. Now, extremists from the far-right Heritage Foundation are laying the foundation for another crisis. Project 2025 includes well-documented plans to overturn post-crisis policies that protect consumers, investors, and the stable functioning of financial markets. But it also proposes new limits on regulators’ capacity to step in during periods of instability—specifically, restricting the Federal Reserve’s “lender-of-last-resort” function that allows troubled banks to borrow money quickly. A new Center for American Progress analysis shows how irresponsible this is by calculating the present-day costs of a repeat of the Great Recession.

    This new analysis finds that a comparable financial shock and recession would result in 8.7 million people losing their jobs by 2026 and that employment would not recover to current levels until 2031. On top of this, the loss in real gross domestic product per capita over the next five years would be $7,774.

    “If far-right extremists are successful in enacting Project 2025, the likelihood of a 2007-scale financial crisis would be greater, and this risks economic losses to workers and households that could exceed those in the Great Recession,” said Marc Jarsulic, senior fellow and chief economist at CAP and co-author of the column. “The proposals in Project 2025 makes things crystal clear—far-right extremists care more about bolstering Wall Street’s bottom line than protecting American families.” 

 

    Read the column: “Project 2025 Would Allow Financial Disaster To Bolster Wall Street’s Bottom Line” by Marc Jarsulic and Lilith Fellowes-Granda 

Social Challenges

 New Resources Help Communities 

Counter Mainstreaming of Hate

    MONTGOMERY, Ala. and WASHINGTON - (SPLC)  - November 26, 2022 - At a moment in America when extremism is threatening grassroots democracy, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) and the Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab (PERIL) at American University today released a new resource to help communities confront and build resilience against the mainstreaming of hate.

    The guide – Building Networks & Addressing Harm: A Community Guide to Online Youth Radicalization – recognizes the crucial role trusted adults play as the first line of defense against radicalization. It intends to equip them with tools to effectively support and protect young people targeted by hateful actions and rhetoric.

    “The best way to prevent radicalization is to address its root causes,” said Susan Corke, director of the Intelligence Project at SPLC. “Doing this requires a whole-of-community approach, moving beyond parents and caregivers to provide all trusted adults with tools to intervene in their homes, schools and neighborhoods.”

    “Each trusted adult in a young person’s network of care has a unique vantage point into their lives,” said Dr. Pasha Dashtgard, director of research at PERIL. “That network of trusted adults – whether they’re coaches, religious leaders, tutors or others – has an opportunity to help young people build resilience against the manipulation of extremist groups.”

    This new resource provides guidance to help young people resist the supremacist narratives and manipulative rhetoric they encounter online and offline, including:

• Insight into the drivers of young people’s susceptibility to extremist radicalization, such as feelings of isolation, dislocation and coping with traumatic experiences.
• Information about some of the common ways young people become radicalized, including echo chambers, content “rabbit holes,” and unmoderated and under moderated online environments.
• Tools to recognize the warning signs of youth radicalization, such as sharing concepts associated with scientific racism or a belief in male supremacy.

    The guide builds on existing resources developed by the SPLC and PERIL, including The Parents & Caregivers Guide to Online Youth Radicalization and supplements for educators, counselors, and coaches. A 2021 assessment of the Parents & Caregivers Guide shows that after just seven minutes of reading the guide, parents improved their knowledge and understanding of youth radicalization, with over 80% feeling “definitely” or “probably” prepared to talk with young people about online extremism and to intervene appropriately.

    A full suite of online resources is available here in English, Spanish, German and Portuguese.

Human Rights

 Authoritarian Regimes Have More 

Progressive Abortion Policies 

Than Some US States

    Washington, D.C. — (American Progress) - 7/8/2022 - Americans in states with regressive anti-abortion laws now have fewer human rights protections than those in countries criticized for their records on women’s rights, according to a new column from the Center for American Progress.

    The column notes that compared to the more than 50 countries that have liberalized abortion laws since 1994, the United States has become only the fourth country to roll back those rights over the same time frame—joining El Salvador, Poland, and Nicaragua. And Americans in some states have even fewer rights than those in countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, where abortion is limited but some exceptions are still allowed.

    “The extremist right wing attacks on abortion rights are dragging the United States down to the level of the same authoritarian regimes we often criticize,” said Osub Ahmed, associate director of Women’s Health and Rights at CAP. “As other countries have done in recent decades, we must now fight to undo abortion bans and expand access to abortion through legislative means or in the courts.”

    The column examines countries where abortion access has been expanded recently after tireless campaigns by activists who mobilized broad coalitions to generate public support for abortion rights. These recent changes in Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Ireland, and South Korea suggest ways that the United States could reverse course and protect abortion rights in the future.

    Read the column: “Authoritarian Regimes Have More Progressive Abortion Policies Than Some U.S. States” by Alexandra Schmitt, Osub Ahmed, Elyssa Spitzer, and Maggie Jo Buchanan

Politics and Culture

Faith Group: IA Leaders 

Need to Stomp Out Extremism

By Mike Moen, Producer

Public News Service

 

Iowans take on extremism. (Adobe Stock)

    (PNS) - 2/4/2022 - Iowa policymakers are debating a number of politically divisive issues, and as the legislative process plays out, they are being urged to avoid rhetoric faith leaders argue intertwines with extremism.

    This week, the Interfaith Alliance of Iowa sent a letter to the governor and state lawmakers asking them to be better role models, suggesting language stoking extremism will harm democracy. The letter cited recent incidents the group said intersect with divineness seen around the state.

    Rep. Ras Smith, D-Waterloo, spoke at a news conference, saying through his experience as a Black person, it's nothing new, but he added it does not mean recent events should be overlooked.

    "These attacks aren't just to cause fear, but some individuals have the intent to follow through," Smith cautioned.

    Smith noted he has received threatening emails and was part of a recent Zoom meeting infiltrated by agitators who displayed racist images and language. The letter was signed by more than 500 people and noted educators have been harassed when addressing diversity issues. It coincides with legislative efforts to limit certain curriculum and materials in schools, with sponsors arguing the need for transparency in the classroom.

    Rev. Meg Wagner, missioner for congregational development, communications, and reconciliation for the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, said as these incidents and debates escalate, they are likely to embolden people who feel the need to spread hate and fear.

    "We cannot allow these things to be normalized, and we see them all as interconnected," Wagner asserted. "We're calling on our lawmakers and all Iowans to do better and to be better."

    Among the requests detailed in the letter is a call for lawmakers and residents to seek out verified facts and to not promote misinformation. The signees also said dismantling racism should involve open dialogue about U.S. history and how certain events have impacted communities of color over time.

    Support for this reporting was provided by The Carnegie Corporation of New York. Story credit: Public News Service, 2/4/2022, Mike Moen producer

Domestic Extremism

ADL Survey: Three Quarters of

 Americans Concerned About 

Domestic Extremism

NEW YORK (ADL) - 1/17/2021 - Following the seditious riot at the U.S. Capitol, Americans are highly concerned about violent extremism, according to a survey taken after the events released Jan. 12 by ADL (Anti-Defamation League) that evaluated perceptions of the threats facing the country.

Image credit: Anti-Defamation League

    “Most Americans now see the direct connection between the dangerous rhetoric from President Trump, others on the far right, and extremist groups to the horrifying violence at our nation’s Capitol,” said Jonathan Greenblatt, ADL CEO. “At ADL, we have been monitoring the concerning rise of extremism and the way national leaders, including President Trump, have enabled and empowered this hate to spread, especially online. The events of this week were the latest example of why it’s essential that policymakers and social media companies take concrete action to prevent future violence.”

Approximately two-thirds of Americans believe Donald Trump (67 percent) and members of white supremacist, far-right or militia groups (64 percent) are at least somewhat responsible for the violence at the Capitol. Roughly three-quarters of Americans are at least somewhat concerned about violence in the next year from anti-government and militia movement members (77 percent) and white supremacists (75 percent).

Over half of Americans also believe that social media companies like Facebook and Twitter (61 percent) and Congressional Republicans who said they would oppose certification of election results (55 percent) are at least somewhat responsible for the violence on Wednesday.

Unequivocally, Americans want the government to do more to address violent domestic extremism. Sixty-five percent want the government to do more to address the rise of far-right extremism.

“Violent domestic extremism is a global threat that will outlast President Trump’s time in office and so the incoming Congress and Biden-Harris Administration must work together proactively, deliberately and swiftly dismantle this domestic terror threat.” Greenblatt said. “Additionally, we applaud mainstream social media companies for removing President Trump from their platforms, but there is more work to be done to stop the widespread hate and extremism.”

The survey also found that 66 percent of Americans believe that the government should prosecute individuals who stormed the Capitol, while 20 percent oppose prosecuting those responsible, and 13 percent do not know.

Americans also support social media companies taking action, with 63 percent agreeing that social media companies should ban posts and individuals encouraging or celebrating extremism and conspiracy theories.

Twenty-seven percent (27 percent) of Americans believe that antifa is significantly responsible for the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and 64 percent are at least somewhat concerned about violence associated with antifa. While ADL has expressed concerns about violent encounters between antifa and the far right previously, there isno evidence to support this claim.

The survey of U.S. adults was conducted from Jan. 7 to Jan. 8, 2021 by YouGov, a leading public opinion and data analytics firm, on behalf of ADL. There were 1,176 respondents, 1,102 of whom were aware of the incident in the capitol. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all U.S. adults aged 18 or over. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 2.95 percentage points.