<\/strong>Is it just me, or does it seem that there\u2019s more news than ever about extreme right-wing hate groups in America? As it turns out, it\u2019s not<\/em> just me. There are facts to back up that creepy feeling. According to Southern Poverty Law Center\u2019s [SPLC] 2011 census, the radical right movement grew explosively in 2011\u2014a third consecutive year of dramatic growth that has swelled the ranks of hate groups and other extremists to record levels.<\/p>\n According to the report, released in March 2012,<\/p>\n The number of hate groups counted by SPLC reached 1,018, up from 1,002 the year before\u2026.the stunning growth came in the anti-government \u201cPatriot\u201d movement\u2014composed of armed militias and other conspiracy-minded groups that see the federal government as their primary enemy. These groups saw their numbers increase by 55 percent\u2014from 824 in 2010 to 1,274 groups last year.<\/p>\n The increase marks a 755 percent rise in Patriot groups during the first three years of the Obama administration. The number has now surpassed\u2014by more than 400 groups\u2014the previous all0time high set in 1996, when the first wave of the militia movement peaked.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n SPLC\u2019s annual census catalogs hate groups in all 50 US states, defining hat groups as having \u201cbeliefs or practices that malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics.\u201d SLPC further defines the groups it lists as having<\/p>\n activities that include criminal acts, marches, rallies, speeches, meetings, leafleting or publishing. Websites appearing to be merely the work of a single individual, rather than the publication of a group, are not included in this list. Listing does not imply a group advocates or engages in violence or other criminal activity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n SLPC gets its information from hate-group publications and websites, citizen and law enforcement reports, field sources and news reports.<\/p>\n