Hate groups in America
Hate groups base their existence on shared antipathy or hostility toward people of different races, religions, genders, national origins or sexual identities. That's according to the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.
There are hundreds of organized hate groups in the U.S. This a look at some of the most active ones.
Ku Klux Klan
The Ku Klux Klan is the oldest American hate group and has splintered into dozens of white supremacist organizations that are often at odds with each other.
The Klan primarily targets black Americans, but also attacks Jews, immigrants and the LGBTQ community.
Waving the flag
KKK members rally in Madison, Indiana on August 31, 2019.
Fighting back
Counter-protesters face off against KKK members at the Madison, Indiana, rally on August 31, 2019.
Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
Formed in 2012, the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan describe themselves as a "non-violent pro-white civil rights movement." Many of their beliefs and rituals mirror those of the original KKK.
According to their website, only "native-born white American Citizen(s)" are allowed to join.
Charlottesville
Members of the Loyal White Knights traveled to Charlottesville, Virginia, in July 2017 to protest the city's removal of Civil War memorials honoring the Confederate Army.
Outnumbered
At the 2017 Charlottesville, Virginia, event, counter-protesters outnumbered the Loyal White Knights by a ratio of 20 to 1 -- with an estimated 1,000 counter-protesters facing fewer than 50 members of the hate group.
Confederate White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
The Confederate White Knights also espouse many of the same beliefs and traditions of the KKK.
The group operates in Maryland, Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, South Carolina and Virginia.
Neo-Nazis
Neo-Nazis' prime targets are Jewish people, and they practice a dedication to all things having to do with Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany.
They also target racial minorities, the LGBTQ community and sometimes Christians.
Neo-Nazi National Alliance
At its peak popularity, the Neo-Nazi National Alliance was considered one of the most dangerous hate groups in America due to the group's genocidal ideology.
The National Alliance calls for the eradication of Jewish people and non-white races.
Neo-Nazi: National Socialist Movement
The National Socialist Movement (NSM) is one of the largest neo-Nazi groups in the United States and is known for over-the-top anti-Jewish and racist protests.
Newnan rally
A woman carries a flag for the National Socialist Movement (NSM) at a rally for white nationalists on April 21, 2018, in Newnan, Georgia.
Chalked in advance
In advance of the National Socialist Movement's arrival in Newnan, Georgia, in 2018, locals chalk a city monument with messages of love.
Neo-Nazi: American Nazi Party
The American Nazi Party embraces Adolf Hitler's beliefs. David Duke was a member before he established the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
Neo-Nazi: Aryan Nations
Aryan Nations was once a unifier of white supremacists. It held an annual world congress on its Idaho compound until the 1990s.
White nationalists
White nationalists believe that white people should maintain a majority and power in countries like the U.S. White supremacists and white separatists also fall under this category, but are more explicit in their belief that the white race is superior to other races.
White nationalist: American Freedom Party
The American Freedom Party is a political party which was established by skinheads. It aims to deport immigrants and establish all-white leadership in the United States.
White Nationalist Traditionalist Workers Party
The White Nationalist Traditionalist Workers Party argues that nations should be racially pure. They are anti-Jewish.
Here, Matthew Heinbach, a co-founder of the Traditionalist Workers Party, shouts during a bond hearing for James Alex Fields, Jr., who is accused of ramming his car into a crowd and killing a woman during a protest in Charlottesville, Va.
On the move
The Traditionalist Workers Party's Matthew Heinbach joins other white nationalists at an anti-immigrant rally in December 2017 in Washington, D.C.
White nationalist: Golden Dawn
Golden Dawn is a ultranationalist, anti-immigrant and openly racist political party in Greece.
The party has an organized following in Astoria, New York, which has a substantial Greek population.
White nationalist: Identity Evropa
Identity Evropa is a white supremacist organization that recruits and spreads their beliefs via fliers and posters.
Joining forces
On August 14, 2017, in Alexandria, Virginia, Identity Evropa founder Nathan Damingo (pictured, right) faces the press alongside white nationalist Richard Spencer (pictured, left).
White nationalist: Alt-right
The so-called alt-right embraces racism, white nationalism, anti-Semitism and populism, and is frequently hostile toward women and members of the LGBTQ community.
Anti-Muslim groups
Anti-Muslim groups cropped up in the U.S. after the 9/11 attacks.
In this photo, a member of an anti-government and anti-Islam militia group takes part in a field training exercise in July 2017.
Anti-Muslim: Security Force III%
Members of Security Force III%, also known as "three-percenters," describe themselves as "patriotic men and women who will uphold the Constitution, [and] defend themselves and the states we are present in, from all enemies foreign and domestic."
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, considers the Georgia state chapter an anti-Muslim hate group.
Training day
A member of the Georgia Security Force III% prepares for target practice during a July 2017 training exercise in Jackson, Georgia.
Keep out
A member of the George Security Force III% is on guard during the group's July 2017 training exercise in Jackson, Georgia.
Anti-Muslim: American Freedom Defense Initiative
The American Freedom Defense Initiative is an anti-Muslim, pro-Israel organization known for its Islamophobic ad campaigns.
Bureau on American Islamic Relations
"B.A.I.R. (Bureau of American Islamic Relations) is an organization that stands in opposition (on all levels) of C.A.I.R. (and other Islamic organizations)," the organization says on its Facebook page.
Racist skinheads
Racist skinheads are an often violent white supremacist category known for shaved heads and racist tattoos.
Racist skinheads: Vinlanders Social Club
Vinlanders Social Club espouse racist beliefs but also partake in heavy drinking and brawling at their gatherings.
Racist skinheads: Keystone United
Some members of Keystone United have been convicted of violent crimes. The group often sponsors white-power picnics and music festivals.
Black separatists
Black separatists are anti-white and often anti-Semitic. They oppose interracial marriage.
Anti-LGBTQ
Fringe groups like the Westboro Baptist Church, seen here, that partake in vulgar name-calling, spreading lies and personal attacks against LGBTQ people and their families and supporters are considered hate groups.
Neo-Confederates
Neo-Confederate groups promote racist beliefs and white separatism and celebrate the Southern Confederacy.
Christian Identity movement
Christian Identity groups believe white Christian people are favored by God. The group believes that Jewish people are descendants of Satan and that non-whites are soulless.
Anti-immigrant
Anti-immigrant hate groups go far beyond criticizing U.S. immigration policy, but also promote white supremacist or anti-Hispanic views, harass foreign-born people and their supporters, and distribute anti-immigration propaganda. Some believe Mexico is secretly plotting to "reconquer" the American Southwest.
This photo shows a march by the California Coalition for Immigration Reform (CCIR), identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.