Community | March 02, 2010 | 6 comments

Number of US extremist groups ‘exploded’ in 2009: report

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Glenn Beck, Rep. Michele Bachmann singled out for popularizing militia movement ideas

Extremist groups surged in the United States in 2009, with anti-government "Patriot" militias leading the way, says a new report from the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"The radical right caught fire last year, as broad-based populist anger at political, demographic and economic changes in America ignited an explosion of new extremist groups and activism across the nation," says the report written by Mark Potok.

The number of active Patriot groups grew from 149 to 512 during the course of the year, a 244-percent increase, the report states. Militias -- which the SPLC describes as "the paramilitary arm of the Patriot movement" -- grew from 42 to 127 over the same period, a three-fold increase.

“We are in the midst of one of the most significant right-wing populist rebellions in United States history,” the report quotes Chip Berlet, "a veteran analyst of the American radical right."

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6 comments // Number of US extremist groups ‘exploded’ in 2009: report

  • UtopianSky
    • +1
      UtopianSky  
    • The ultra-right wing bastardized the word "Christian" to the point where they claimed anyone who was not a nutjob like them was not Christian.

      Don't let them claim the word "Patriot" too.

      The press should NOT use that word to describe those groups, because the vary last thing hate mongers are is "Patriotic".

    • 1 year ago
  • onemalefla
  • UtopianSky
  • KSirys
    • +3
      KSirys  
    • It's mostly white groups... sorry to say it, but it's true. Once we elected a Black President, the racists of this country came out and joined forces.

      But I could be wrong...

    • 1 year ago
  • Varex_Sythe
  • SleepDirt
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