Hate Groups in US Have Increased Under Donald Trump’s Presidency: Report

Under the presidency of Donald Trump, the number of hate groups in the United States has surged in 2017, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) revealed in its report on Feb.21. There are about 954 hate groups in the United States since 2017 from 917 in 2016.

The number of extremist groups, including armed militias and male supremacy organizations increased by 4 per cent since 2016 said the watchdog that monitors hate groups and other extremists throughout the United States and expose their activities to the public, the media and law enforcement.

The civil rights watchdog in its annual census of such groups noted that with the current administration’s immigration stance and perception of sympathizing with white supremacists, the number of hate groups has shot up by 20 per cent since 2014.The anti-Muslim groups surging third year in the row from 106 in 2016 to 114 to 2017.

The neo-Nazi organizations rose to 121 from 99, among more than 600 white supremacist groups. According to SPLC, the report may probably have failed to capture the full extent of hate-group activity as many of them, especially from the alt-right, operate online. The alt-right believe that white identity is under attack.

“Last year there has been a substantial emboldening of the radical right, and that is largely due to the actions of President Trump, who’s tweeted out hate materials and made light of the threats to our society posed by hate groups.” Said Heidi Beirich, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project, Reuters reported.

Beirich added that last year saw increasing divisiveness and bigotry, particularly in the mainstream of American life. The report showed that there were 689 groups associated with the anti-government “Patriot” movement of which 40 per cent were armed militias.

“Not surprisingly, the ranks of black nationalist hate groups– groups that have always been a reaction to white racism – expanded to 233 chapters in 2017, from 193 the previous year,” the report added.

Oddly, the number of Ku Klux Klan groups went down, when it fell from 130 to 72. Beirich attributed the decline to younger white nationalists finding the Klan “extremely old-school”.

Founded in 1971, the SPLC describes hate groups as organizations with beliefs or practices that demonize a class of people for their beliefs or practices typically for their immutable characteristics, such as race, ethnicity, faith, gender and sexual identities. “But violence itself is not a requirement for being listed as a hate group,” the report explained.

Trump had taken over office in January 2017 after being elected in November 2016.

He has faced criticism for using an unrefined term for African and Haitian countries as well as a barrage of anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim comments during his presidency. The White House has not responded to the report until now.