List of organizations designated by the SPLC as hate groups


The following is a list of U.S.-based organizations that the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as hate groups. The SPLC is an American nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. The SPLC defines a hate group as "an organization that — based on its official statements or principles, the statements of its leaders, or its activities — has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristic." The SPLC states that "Hate group activities can include criminal acts, marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, leafleting or publishing" and adds that inclusion on its hate-group list "does not imply that a group advocates or engages in violence or other criminal activity."
Since 1981, the SPLC's Intelligence Project has published a quarterly Intelligence Report, which monitors hate groups and extremist organizations in the United States. The SPLC began an annual census of hate groups in 1990, releasing this census as part of its annual Year in Hate & Extremism report. The SPLC listed 1,020 hate groups and hate-group chapters on its 2018 list—an all-time high fueled primarily by an increase in radical right groups. The number of SPLC-designated active hate groups and hate-group chapters subsequently declined to 838 in 2020, and 733 in 2021.
The Intelligence Report provides information regarding the organizational efforts and tactics of these groups, and it is cited by a number of scholars as a reliable and comprehensive source on U.S. hate groups. The SPLC also publishes the HateWatch Weekly newsletter, which documents racism and extremism, and the Hatewatch blog.

Historical trends

In 1999, the SPLC listed 457 hate groups; that number steadily increased until 2011, when 1,018 groups were listed. The rise from 2008 onward was attributed in part to anger at Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States. Thereafter, the number of hate groups steadily dropped, reaching a low of 784 in 2014. However, between 2014 and 2018, the number of hate groups skyrocketed 30%, reaching 892 in 2015; 917 in 2016; 954 in 2017; 1,020 in 2018; and 940 in 2019. According to Mark Potok at the SPLC, Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign speeches "demonizing statements about Latinos and Muslims have electrified the radical right, leading to glowing endorsements from white nationalist leaders such as Jared Taylor and former Klansman David Duke". The relative strength of hate groups have varied over time; for example, the Ku Klux Klan has markedly declined, while other white supremacist groups have substantially strengthened. In February 2018, the SPLC reported that black nationalist groups expanded to 233 chapters in the United States, up from 193 the previous year. The SPLC attributed this growth to a reaction to the mainstream rise of the alt-right, "the latest incarnation of white supremacy", along with the election of Trump as president. During the same year, neo-Nazi groups grew from 99 to 121, and anti-Muslim groups increased from 101 chapters to 114. Ku Klux Klan groups, meanwhile, fell from 130 groups to 72.
In its 2019 annual report, the SPLC listed 1,020 organizations as active hate groups, categorized by type, as follows: Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazi, white nationalist, racist skinhead, Christian Identity, neo-Confederate, black nationalist, anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT, anti-Muslim, and "other hate".
Pundits, politicians, and some of the designated groups have objected to the SPLC's list. The Family Research Council disputed its designation in 2010, and the Center for Immigration Studies disputed the SPLC anti-immigrant designation in 2016. In January 2019, Center for Immigration Studies filed a lawsuit against the SPLC over the designation, which was dismissed in September 2019. The SPLC's hate group listings have also been criticized by some political observers and prominent Republicans.

Hate and extremist groups by type

Ku Klux Klan

The Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as "the Klan", is the name of three distinct past and present groupings.
The following groups have been listed as active Klan groups in the SPLC's annual reports :
  • Alabama Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Alliance of American Klans
  • American Christian Dixie Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • American Christian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • American Confederate Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • American White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Aryan Knights of the Invisible Empire
  • Aryan Nations Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Christian American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Church of the American Christian Knights
  • Church of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Church of the National Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Confederate White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • East Coast Knights of the True Invisible Empire
  • Eastern White Knights of the KKK
  • Exalted Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Fraternal Order of the Cross
  • Georgia Knight Riders of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Global Crusaders: Order of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Great Lakes Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Honorable Sacred Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Imperial Klans of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Karolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • KKKRadio
  • Knights of the Ku Klux Klan/Christian Revival Center
  • Knights of the White Disciples
  • Knights Party Veterans League
  • Ku Klos Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Militant Knights Ku Klux Klan
  • Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Noble Klans of America
  • Nordic Order Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • North Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Oklahoma Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Old Dominion Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Old Glory Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Original Knight Riders Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Original Knights of America, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Outlaw Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Pacific Coast Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Patriotic Brigade Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Rebel Brigade Knights True Invisible Empire
  • Rocky Mountain Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Sacred Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Soldiers of the Cross Training Institute
  • Southern Mountain Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Southern Ohio Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Teutonic Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Texas Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Texas Rebel Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Traditional Confederate Knights
  • Traditional Rebel Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Trinity White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • True311.com
  • True Invisible Empire Knights / True Invisible Empire Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • United Dixie White Knights/"United Dixie White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan"
  • United Klan Nation
  • United Klans of America
  • United Northern and Southern Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • United White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • Western White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • White Camelia Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
  • White Christian Brotherhood of the Ku Klux Klan
  • White Knights of Texas
  • White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan of America

    Neo-Nazi

consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or related ideologies. Common aspects of modern-day neo-Nazism include hatred or fear of minorities such as blacks, Hispanics, lesbian, gay, and transgender people, non-white immigrants, and sometimes even Christians, but their main hatred is focused on the Jews.
The following groups have been listed as active neo-Nazi groups in the SPLC's annual reports :