Politics & Government

40 Hate Organizations Active In Pennsylvania, Map Shows

40 hate groups — from white supremacists to KKK and black separatists — are active in Pennsylvania, the Southern Poverty Law Center says.

After a white nationalist gathering whipped up violence — resulting in the death of an anti-racism protester — in Charlottesville, Virginia, the Southern Poverty Law Center is reminding Americans that organized hate isn't a thing of the past. The SPLC says nearly 1,000 organizations that meet its criteria for being designated a hate group are currently active nationwide, and more than three dozen of those are right here in Pennsylvania.

The SPLC says 40 hate groups — from white supremacists to anti-LGBTQ, KKK and black separatist organizations — are active in the Keystone State.

The SPLC website has an interactive map showing the location of hate groups state by state. The map was compiled using hate group publications and websites, citizen and law enforcement reports, field sources and news reports, according to the SPLC.

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Watch: The Many Symbols Of The Modern White Power Movement


Pennsylvania has among the highest number of hate groups. Only four states — California, Texas, New York and Virginia — have more organized hate.

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Hate groups are defined by the SPLC as having beliefs or practices "that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics."

Here's where the groups are active in Pennsylvania and their ideology, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center:

  • Nation of Islam, Harrisburg: black separatist
  • Keystone State Skinheads, Harrisburg: racist skinhead
  • National Socialist Movement, statewide: Neo-Nazi
  • American Vanguard, statewide: white nationalist
  • Be Active Front, statewide: racist skinhead
  • Werewolf 88, statewide: Neo-Nazi
  • Blood and Honour Social Club, statewide: racist skinhead
  • United Klans of America, statewide: Ku Klux Klan
  • Traditionalist American Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, statewide: Ku Klux Klan
  • Supreme White Alliance, statewide: racist skinhead
  • Aryan Strikeforce, statewide: racist skinhead
  • H.L. Mencken Club, Elizabethtown: white nationalist
  • Committee for Open Debate on the Holocaust, York: Holocaust denial
  • East Coast Knights Of The True Invisible Empire, Girardville: Ku Klux Klan
  • Baptist Church/Vatican Assassins, Newmanstown: general hate
  • Robert Sungenis, State Line: radical traditional Catholicism
  • The Right Stuff, statewide: white nationalist
  • Ku Klos Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Bally: Ku Klux Klan
  • Militant Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Dixonville: Ku Klux Klan
  • European American Action Coalition, Pittston: white nationalist
  • The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ, Allentown: black separatist
  • Poker Face, Allentown: hate music
  • Catholic Counterpoint, Broomall: radical traditional Catholicism
  • Nation of Islam, Philadelphia: black separatist
  • As-Sabiqun, Philadelphia: general hate
  • Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge, Philadelphia: black separatist
  • Keystone State Skinheads, Philadelphia: racist skinhead
  • Traditionalist Worker Party, Philadelphia: white nationalist
  • The Daily Stormer, Philadelphia: Neo-Nazi
  • Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ, Philadelphia: black separatist
  • Shoebat Foundation, Newtown, Bucks County: anti-Muslim
  • Nation of Islam, Pittsburgh: black separatist
  • Ku Klos Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Oil City: Ku Klux Klan
  • American Freedom Union, Hampton Township: white nationalist
  • The Daily Stormer, Pittsburgh: Neo-Nazi
  • Israel United In Christ, Pittsburgh: black separatist
  • The Israelite Church of God in Jesus Christ, Pittsburgh: black separatist
  • American Family Association, Franklin: anti-LGBT
  • Altra Firearms, Jackson Center: anti-Muslim
  • Ku Klos Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, Meadville: Ku Klux Klan

Image: In this April 23, 2016 photo, members of the Ku Klux Klan participate in cross and swastika burnings after a "white pride" rally in Georgia. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)


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