According to a report by the ACLU, the number of hate groups and anti-government militias are on the rise in the wake the election of President Obama.

Counting only active groups and organizations, the ACLU reports that the number of hate groups has risen steadily since 2000; those numbers have increased sharply since 2008, coinciding with the election of Barack Obama and the start of the recession.

The report pays particular attention to the rise of “patriot” and militia groups.

From the New York Times:

“The report also described a ‘stunning’ rise in the number of groups it identifies as part of the so-called patriot and militia movements, whose ideologies include deep distrust of the federal government.

In 2011, the center tracked 1,274 of those groups, up from 824 the year before.

‘They represent both a kind of right-wing populist rage and a left-wing populist rage that has gotten all mixed up in anger toward the government,’ said Mark Potok of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the author of the report.”

The states with the most active hate groups include California, Florida, Georgia, New Jersey and New York.

Read the rest of this article at NYTimes.com

Are you surprised by the results of this study?

Should we be alarmed by the rising numbers of hate groups and militias?

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