Here Are The 15 Recognized Hate Groups Operating In Wisconsin

MILWAUKEE, WI — A new interactive map shows there are 15 hate groups operating in Wisconsin. The Southern Poverty Law Center released its new map this week. The updated version allows users to see more details, including which states have the most hate groups per capita and how the number of hate groups has changed over time at the state and national level.

The group identified 1,020 active hate groups operating in the country last year, a record high and a 30 percent increase over the last four years. Moreover, an estimated 40 people were killed in North America in radical right terrorist attacks last year and there were more than 1,200 incidents of hate groups passing out flyers.

In Wisconsin, there were 15 hate groups in all. Here are the recognized hate groups operating out of Wisconsin, according to the SPLC:

Act For America
Anti-muslim
Oostburg

American Freedom Party
White Nationalist
Statewide

Aryan Nations Sadistic Souls Mc
Neo-nazi
Statewide

Atomwaffen Division
Neo-nazi
Statewide

Citizens For The St. Croix Valley
Anti-muslim
Hudson

Great Millstone
Black Nationalist
Statewide

Identity Evropa
White Nationalist
Statewide

Nation Of Islam
Black Nationalist
Milwaukee

New Order
Neo-nazi
Milwaukee

Pilgrims Covenant Church
Anti-lgbt
Monroe

Radio Wehrwolf
Neo-nazi
Fitchburg

Samanta Roy Institute Of Science And Technology
General Hate
Shawano

Stahlhelm Records
Hate Music
Milwaukee

The Right Stuff
White Nationalist
Statewide

White Boy Society
White Nationalist
Statewide

Heidi Beirich, director of the Intelligence Project, which publishes the award-winning Intelligence Report and the Hatewatch blog, said in a release it’s become “critically important” that people understand what she called “the landscape of hate.” The number of these groups is surging in the era of President Donald Trump, who has faced fierce criticism for his anti-immigrant rhetoric.

“We hope the new, interactive map helps people recognize and better understand the extremist activity occurring in their communities and how it’s part of a larger movement,” said Beirich.

The map allows users to filter by ideologies tracked by the organization. Some of the categories include anti-immigrant, anti-LGBT, anti-muslim, holocaust denial, Ku Klux Klan, male supremacy, Neo-Nazi, racist skinhead and white nationalist.

The map shows that states with the most hate groups per capita tend to be concentrated in the Southeast, northern Rocky Mountain regions and western Great Plains. This includes Tennessee, Alabama and Arkansas, as well as Idaho and Montana.

Meanwhile, several states in the Midwest saw the least number of hate groups per capita. Among these states were Kansas, Iowa and Wyoming.

In a video accompanying the report, the group says there were roughly 375 hate groups nationwide in 1999. That number has ballooned over the years to more than 1,000 this year. Beirich called the rise “disturbing” and said it’s no coincidence the rise coincides with Trump’s election.

“The trend is unmistakable,” she said in the video. “Trump has energized the radical right by fanning the flames of racial resentment over immigration and the country’s changing demographics.”

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.