Extremist Groups in Florida (2021)

4 min readApr 10, 2021

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c) non-profit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation.

Based in Montgomery, Alabama, the former Confederate capital, the SPLC is best known for its legal cases against white supremacist groups, classification of hate groups and other extremist organizations, and for promoting tolerance education programs.

The Southern Poverty Law Center provides research, investigative reports, and is a clearinghouse for those investigating, prosecuting, and educating the public about extremist and domestic terror hate groups in the United States of America.

The SPLC was founded by Morris Dees, Joseph J. Levin Jr., and Julian Bond in 1971 as a civil rights law firm in Montgomery, Alabama where the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led demonstrations and spoke at the state capitol in defense of love over hate. For how you can activate MLK’s legacy, click here: How To Heal With Revolutionary Love.

Bond served as president of the SPLC board between 1971 and 1979. Its work nationwide reveals what extensive extremist groups and networks across the state of Florida, the South, and the United States of America are up to in their locales, states, and nationwide.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is currently tracking the activities of at least 68 extremist groups in Florida. There are currently 839 domestic hate groups according to the Southern Poverty Law Center. There were 838 hate groups in the United States in 2020. Florida had 67 hate groups in Florida in 2020. The number of hate groups in Florida and the United States is increasing. Admittedly many of the members of these hate group networks are not accounted for by the Southern Poverty Law Center. Hate groups have shifted their operations online where hate and bigotry can manifest.

Hate crimes are banned in Florida under both federal and state law when such speech incites violence against an individual because he or she is a member of a protected group. The Florida Uniform Crime Reporting Program defines Hate Crime as a committed or attempted criminal act by any person or group of persons against a person or the property of another person or group, which in any way constitutes an expression of hatred toward the victim because of his/her personal characteristics. Personal characteristics include:

race/color
gender/gender identity
religion
ethnicity/ancestry/national origin
sexual orientation
advanced age
mental/physical disability
homeless status

Hate crimes complaints can be filed with the Florida Attorney General using this form though the current AG for the state encouraged Trump groups to attend the insurrection at the Florida Capitol: 4600 COMPLAINT FORM 2 2013 (myfloridalegal.com). Violent crimes are on the rise.

For a primer on the “Roots of the Alt-Right in America,” see: Roots of the Alt-Right in America. Here is the list of hate or extremist groups in Florida:

Florida (68)

Statewide

American Christian Dixie Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (Ku Klux Klan)

Asatru Folk Assembly (Neo-Völkisch)

Atomwaffen Division (Neo-Nazi)

Crew 38 (Racist Skinhead)

Firm 22 (Racist Skinhead)

Identity Dixie (Neo-Confederate)

International Keystone Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (Ku Klux Klan)

Nationalist Social Club (NSC-131) (Neo-Nazi)

Patriot Front (White Nationalist)

Revolt Through Tradition (White Nationalist)