The number of far-right extremist groups fell significantly in 2013 for the first time in a decade, according to a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). However, with a total of more than 2,000 groups, the radical right remains at historically high levels.
In its annual count, the SPLC found that the number of hate groups (a subcategory with extremist groups) dropped by 7 percent—from 1,007 in 2012 to 939 in 2013. The more significant decline came within the antigovernment “Patriot” movement: These groups fell 19 percent—from 1,360 groups in 2012 (an all-time high) to 1,096 in 2013.
The report says there are are 23 far-right extremist groups in Illinois, including Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Heterosexuals Organized for a Moral Environment (H.O.M.E.), the Ecclesiastical Council for the Restoration of Covenant Israel (ECRCI), Nation of Islam, Northern Hammerskins, The Creativity Movement, and the World Congress of Families/Howard Center for Family, Religion, and Society.
See www.SPLCenter.org.