Neo-Nazi, Black Nationalist And Hate Groups Increased Under Trump, SPLC Says

Hate groups have seen at least a four percent increase over the last year, according to the watchdog non-profit Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The Center said that neo-Nazi groups have increased under President Donald Trump, and as a result, has spurred the growth of black nationalist groups.

The SLPC released their annual hate report Wednesday and reported that there are 954 hate groups in the U.S. and that the largest increase over the past year has been in neo-Nazi groups. The Center stated that the number of neo-Nazi groups rose from 99 groups in 2016 to 121 groups last year. SPLC believes the rise in white supremacist and bigoted groups in part was precipitated by racial animus, stirred by Trump, and him bringing elements of the alt-right into the White House.

“President Trump in 2017 reflected what white supremacist groups want to see: a country where racism is sanctioned by the highest office, immigrants are given the boot and Muslims banned,” said Heidi Beirich, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project in the report. “When you consider that only days into 2018, Trump called African countries ‘shitholes,’ it’s clear he’s not changing his tune. And that’s music to the ears of white supremacists.”

In 2016 the group counted 917, in 2015 there were 892 and in 2014 there were 784.

The SPLC said that of the hate groups in America, more than 600 espoused some form of white supremacist ideology.

The report also noted an increase in black nationalist groups, from 193 in 2016 to 233 last year. These anti-white groups typically advocate for a separation from white America. Some of these groups hold antiemetic views as well.

Ku Klux Klan groups saw a precipitous fall, going down to 72 groups in 2017 from 130 the year before.

The group also counted an increase in anti-government groups, identifying 689 active associations — 273 of them armed militias. The SPLC also began identifying anti-women hate groups for the first time.

The states with the largest number of hate groups were California with 75, Texas and Florida with 66 and New York with 48, according to the SPLC.