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White Nationalist Violence Continues DespiteDrop inUS Hate Groups, Report
Finds

Masood Farivar

   WASHINGTON - The number of hate groups in the United Statesfellin
   2019,butwhite nationalist outfits continued to grow in number, a
   leading advocacy organizationsaidWednesday.

   The Alabama-basedSouthern Poverty Law Centersaidthe number ofhate
   groupsin Americadecreased by about 8%to940, driven by the collapse of
   two major neo-Nazi organizations:theNational Socialist Movement and the
   TraditionalistWorkers Party.The number of hate groupshad increased each
   of the previous four years, reachinga recordhigh of 1,020 in 2018.

   As a result, despite last year's drop,156 more hate groupsoperatedin
   the United Statesin 2019 comparedwithfive years ago. And the number of
   groups espousing white nationalism continued to edge higher, rising
   from 148 to 155, an increase of 55 percent since 2017, while anti-LGBT
   organizations jumped from 49 to 70, anincrease of nearly 43 percent.

   "Make no mistake: We have a crisis of hate and extremism in our country
   -- and the toxic ideas propagated by these hate groups not only lead to
   violence but erode the very foundations of our democracy," said Lecia
   Brooks,aspokesperson for SPLC.

   Groups pose 'a real danger'

   Shannon Minter, legal director of the National Center for Lesbian
   Rights, said the explosion in the number of anti-LGBTQ groups "poses a
   real danger" to LGBT people. Exacerbating the threat,Mintersaid,is
   thata growing number of state legislatures have taken up
   draconianbillstargetingsexual minorities.

   "Now more than ever, we must push back against these hateful narratives
   and call on elected officials and others to stand up for our common
   humanity," Minter said.

   White nationalists were behind severalhate-inspiredattacksin 2019,
   including a shooting rampage at a synagogue in Poway, California, in
   April,and a massacre of Hispanic shoppers in El Paso, Texas, in August.

   Whiteextremistsweren't the only perpetratorsof violence.In December,
   two members of a black separatist movement attacked a kosher restaurant
   in New Jersey,while a machete-wieldingAfrican American injured six
   people at the home of a rabbi in Monsey, New York.

   The SPLC defines a hate group as an organization with "beliefs or
   practices that attack or malign an entire class of people." The center
   says its annual tally of hate groups -- now in its 30th year--is one
   barometer of hate and extremism in the country. While widely used by
   advocates and mainstream media, the designations have been challenged
   by some groupsthatsay they've been unfairlylabeled.

   The report comes amid a surge in anti-Asian hate crimesprompted bythe
   coronaviruspandemic. In New York City, home to the country's largest
   AsianAmerican population, police have recorded at least five anti-Asian
   hate crimes in recent weeks. In the latest incident,on Monday, a
   35-year-old woman was jumped and spat on by a stranger who blamed her
   for the virus.

   Surge of violence against Asians

   The SPLChas not identifiedanti-Asian hate groupsin America. But Brooks
   and other advocates said during a call with reporters that they were
   concerned about thesudden surge in violence targeting Asians. Eric Ward
   of the Western States Center warned that anti-Chinese rhetoric could
   encourage attacks on Asian Americans.

   "At a time of great panic and fear, that will only lead to physical
   violence being expressed," Ward said.

   Among the report's other findings:

   -- The number of anti-immigrant groups rose from 17 to 20.

   -- The number of anti-Muslim hate groups fell from 100 to 84.

   -- KKK, America's oldest and mostfamiliarhate group, continued to
   decline in popularity, withchapters fallingfrom 51 to47.

   -- The number ofblack separatist groups, many of whichare anti-white,
   anti-Semitic and anti-LGBTQ,remained unchanged at 255.

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