The number of hate groups and anti-government organizations in the
U.S. continued to climb in 2011, following an upward trend that has been
accelerating in recent years, according to a new report from a civil rights group that tracks such organizations.
The Southern Poverty Law Center counted a total of 1,018 active hate
groups in the nation last year, a slight uptick from the 1,002 it found
the previous year. The group, however, found what it said was “stunning”
growth in the number of anti-government organizations known as patriot
groups, which do not typically meet the center’s definition of a hate
group. There were 1,274 such organizations active in the nation last
year, a sharp rise from 824 in 2010 and 149 in 2008.
The report also found an increase in the number of anti-gay hate
groups from last year (up 10 to 27) and anti-Muslim groups (up 20 to
30).
