SPLC Counts 1,263 Hate Groups in 2025 as It Warns Hard Right Expanded US Government Influence
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 9
SPLC Counts 1,263 Hate Groups in 2025 as It Warns Hard Right Expanded US Government Influence
2 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 9
Summary
1,263 hate and anti-government groups operated in 2025, the SPLC said, arguing hard-right networks have gained deeper influence across the federal government under Trump’s second term.
23% of FBI agents have been reassigned to immigration enforcement, the report said, draining resources from white-collar crime, counter-terrorism, organized crime and cybercrime while law enforcement priorities shift.
About 1,500 January 6 participants received presidential pardons, and the SPLC said the administration also dismantled a domestic terrorism and hate-crimes database while removing a Justice Department study on far-right violence.
Pete Hegseth, Kash Patel and Joe Kent were cited as examples of confirmed officials the SPLC says hold racist or misogynistic views, alongside younger rightwing influencers gaining unusual access to federal power.
The report lands less than two months after the government indicted the civil rights group in a federal fraud case, sharpening the clash between the SPLC and an administration it says favors far-right interests.
When a government watchdog faces federal charges, who can the public trust to monitor extremism?
What happens to policymaking when social media influencers are given official government access?
SPLC Indicted: $3 Million Fraud Allegations, Extremism Monitoring, and the Future of Civil Rights Advocacy in the Trump Era
Overview
In April 2026, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was indicted for federal fraud after prosecutors alleged it funneled over $3 million to confidential sources within extremist groups by creating fictitious entities to hide these transfers. The SPLC is accused of misleading donors by claiming their contributions would dismantle violent extremist groups, while allegedly paying leaders within those organizations, and of lying to banks about the ownership of these shell entities. In response, the SPLC pleaded not guilty and criticized the Justice Department’s handling of the case, especially the premature sharing of the indictment with the media.