--- title: U.S. Hate Groups Increased 14 Percent in 2015 description: It's the first rise in five years, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center canonical: https://time.com/4227646/hate-groups-increase-14-percent-southern-poverty-law-center/ author: Nolan Feeney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-17T17:51:54.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:09:33.194Z article:section: U.S. og:title: Number of U.S. Hate Groups Rose 14 Percent Last Year og:description: It's the first rise in five years og:url: https://time.com/4227646/hate-groups-increase-14-percent-southern-poverty-law-center/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta87e5cb38055f238/69887e0c196cf4064503a5f7/ku-klux-klan1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Ku Klux Klan Holds Rally Outside South Carolina Statehouse og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Number of U.S. Hate Groups Rose 14 Percent Last Year twitter:description: It's the first rise in five years twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta87e5cb38055f238/69887e0c196cf4064503a5f7/ku-klux-klan1.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Number of U.S. Hate Groups Rose 14 Percent Last Year  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Feb 17, 2016 5:51 PM CUT  Counter protesters and Ku Klux Klan members argue at a Klan demonstration at the state house building in Columbia, SC on July 18, 2015. Counter protesters and Ku Klux Klan members argue at a Klan demonstration at the state house building in Columbia, SC on July 18, 2015.John Moore—Getty Images  by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/)  ## Nolan Feeney Feb 17, 2016 5:51 PM CUT The number of hate groups in the U.S. [rose 14 percent in 2015](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/02/17/hate-groups-rose-14-percent-last-year-the-first-increase-since-2010/ "undefined"), the first recorded increase in five years, according a group which tracks extremist organizations and activity. The Southern Poverty Law Center said the change was driven in part by a surge in the number of Ku Klux Klan chapters, which more than doubled between 2014 (with 72 chapters) and 2015 (with 190 chapters). The findings were published exclusively in the Washington _Post_. The SPLC also observed a major spike in the number of black separatist groups, up to 180 in 2015 from 113 the year prior. Mark Potok, the report’s author, said their rise can be attributed to the popularity of the Black Lives Matter movement but noted that — unlike the mainstream movement — these separatist groups held extremist positions that “demonized” LGBT, Jewish and white people. The number of anti-Muslim, anti-gay and anti-immigrant hate groups also increased. “It was a year marked by very high levels of political violence, enormous rage in the electorate and a real significant growth in hate groups,” Potok said. \[[_Washington Post_](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/02/17/hate-groups-rose-14-percent-last-year-the-first-increase-since-2010/ "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4227646/hate-groups-increase-14-percent-southern-poverty-law-center/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4227646/hate-groups-increase-14-percent-southern-poverty-law-center/"},"headline":"Number of U.S. Hate Groups Rose 14 Percent Last Year","datePublished":"2016-02-17T17:51:54.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:09:33.194Z","description":"It's the first rise in five years","url":"https://time.com/4227646/hate-groups-increase-14-percent-southern-poverty-law-center/","keywords":["Crime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta87e5cb38055f238/69887e0c196cf4064503a5f7/ku-klux-klan1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta87e5cb38055f238/69887e0c196cf4064503a5f7/ku-klux-klan1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ku Klux Klan Holds Rally Outside South Carolina Statehouse","caption":"Ku Klux Klan Holds Rally Outside South Carolina Statehouse","creditText":"John Moore—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4227646/hate-groups-increase-14-percent-southern-poverty-law-center/","name":"Number of U.S. Hate Groups Rose 14 Percent Last Year"}}]}] ```