New Report: Anti-Muslim Hate Groups Increases by 197% In U.S.

According to a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), 2016 was, unfortunately, a “banner year for hate.” According to Vox, “2016 saw an increase in the number of known hate groups, driven in large part by a 197% increase — from 34 in 2015 to 101 last year — in anti-Muslim hate groups. In total, there were 917 hate groups, up from 892 in 2015, but below numbers seen earlier in Barack Obama’s presidency.”

Mark Potok, a senior fellow at SPLC, says this increase in anti-Muslim hate groups is historic. “Hate groups remain at very high levels and in fact went up last year for the second year in a row.”

Mr. Potok says Donald Trump’s volatile campaign and policies are reasons behind the increase. “We think that is driven very largely by the really terrible demonizing statements that have come out of Donald Trump and out of the Trump campaign about Muslims in this country — the idea that they should be banned from this country, that we should start a registry to keep track of Muslims in this country even if they’re American citizens, that we should be spying on mosques, and so on and so on.”