White Nationalist and Anti-LGBTQ Groups On the Rise

With Donald Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson and countless Republican office holders and candidates at both the state and federal level pushing a racist, homophobic white "Christian: nationalist agenda, it should come as little surprise that the number of white supremacist and anti-LGBT hate groups is growing. Not far behind is growing anti-Semitism , especially in the wake of October 7, 2023, and the Gaza war.  If one is not white, conservative "Christian" - meaning ignorance embracing and hate driven - heterosexual, and in many cases even progressive, you are on the enemies list and targeted for denigration or worse. This frightening trend - some of which is embodied in the  Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 manifesto that Trump sycophant's want to implement if Trump regains the White House - has one silver lining: it has demonstrated the moral bankruptcy writ large of evangelicals  and Christofascists who claim to be followers of Christ yet act the total opposite of Christ's teachings. Even in what some consider progressive states - e.g., California and Virginia - the number of hate groups are growing.  A report by the Southern Poverty Law Center contains the details:

Emboldened by the mainstreaming of hard-right politics ahead of a presidential election cycle, white nationalist and anti-LGBTQ+ groups increased to record levels in the United States last year, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s latest annual report on hate and extremism.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, which has published the annual report since 1990, documented 835 active anti-government groups, up 133 from 2022’s count, and 595 hate groups, an increase of 72 over the previous year’s figure.

Accounting for a large portion of the increase was a 50% surge in white supremacy hate groups in 2023, the highest jump ever recorded by the SPLC, growing to 165 over 109 in 2022.

SPLC saw a 33% rise in anti-LGBTQ+ organizations over last year, bringing the total to 86. The group said the growth was largely attributable to the anti-trans movement on the far-right.

“What we’re seeing now should be a wake-up call for all of us,” Margaret Huang, SPLC’s president and CEO, said on a call with reporters on Tuesday. “Our 2023 report documented more hate and anti-government extremist groups than ever before. With a historic election just months away, these groups are multiplying, mobilizing, and making, and in some cases already implementing, plans to undo democracy.”

The groups launched campaigns to gain influence in mainstream politics, according to the report, namely through the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 manifesto, which outlines aspirations for anti-abortion, anti-free press, and anti-LGBTQ+ priorities should presumed GOP presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump win in November.

Nine of the anti-government and hate groups tracked by the SPLC are part of the coalition that supports Project 2025, the organization reports.

Among the states leading in numbers of anti-government and hate groups are California, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, Washington, and Ohio.

California topped the list with 51 hate and 66 anti-government groups.

The SPLC recorded the second-most groups in Florida, which has become a leader in book-banning incidents and restrictive policies on teachers. The Sunshine State is home to 43 hate and 71 anti-government organizations, according to the report, and is the birthplace of recently influential “parental rights” group Moms for Liberty.

The annual survey of hate groups tracked 116 hate-leafleting incidents in Florida, in which antisemitic groups rallied and flyered on multiple occasions, including over Labor Day, when groups named the Goyim Defense League, The Order of the Black Sun, and the Maine-based Blood Tribe marched in Orlando wielding flags with swastikas, making Nazi salutes.

The SPLC report cites the expanding influence of extreme Christian nationalism as a driver for the growing number of anti-government organizations.

The report expresses concern over the rise in the Republican ranks of Johnson, a former senior lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy group behind the U.S. Supreme Court case that precipitated the overturning of the federal right to abortion.

Johnson’s far-right politics, including his anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ+ positions and his advocacy to blur Christianity and the state, are well documented.

The SPLC report specifically warns about the rise of the National Apostolic Reformation, a Christian movement made up of “dominionist leaders” that aim to “seize control” of seven areas of society, including government, education, and business.