Number of hate groups in US reached record high in 2018: SPLC

Watchdog finds number of hate groups increased by seven percent last year, as groups used internet to grow and recruit. Trump’s statements echoed by hate groups included describing immigrants as “invaders”, calling for a Muslim ban, attacking African nations and speaking against the country’s alleged demographic changes. The last peak in the number of hate groups in the country was recorded in 2011 during the height of a backlash against President Barack Obama, the first black president, the SPLC said. “Not only consulting with hate groups on policies that erode our country’s civil rights protections, but also enabling the infiltration of extremist ideas into the administration’s rhetoric and agenda.” A handful of Trump appointees include officials with ties to groups hostile towards Muslims, immigrants, refugees, and the LGBT community, the report said. 181101143824289 Even more angering to hate groups, the SPLC report found, was the number of women elected to the US Congress, including two Muslims, and the election of an openly bisexual senator in Arizona.