Annually, the Southern Poverty Law Center publishes its year in hate report. This includes their list of hate groups in each state that they are following. Nationally the number that they followed in 2024 is 1,371. This is down from 1,430 in 2023. Adjusting these numbers for population they were following 4.27 groups per million (GPM) in 2023 and 4.01 GPM in 2024. This post will focus on the new hate group numbers for Pennsylvania: where we stand relative to other states.
The map above shows the number of hate groups per capita in each state. The darker red states have more population adjusted hate groups. Pennsylvania’s numbers went down from 78 in 2023 to 76 in 2024. One of the groups that is no longer on their list is Evergreen in Bedford, PA.
At 5.86 GPM, Pennsylvania has the 15th largest population adjusted number of hate/anti government groups. This ranking is the same as it was in 2023 when the rate was 6.01 for PA. Montana had the highest GPM rate at 18.54 followed by the District of Columbia at 17.67, Wyoming at 17.12, Alaska at 12.27, and South Dakota at 11.97. In terms of the raw number of hate/anti government groups Pennsylvania had the 4th highest number at 76 behind Texas (92), California (97), and Florida (100). Adjusting for population, all 3 of these states are less than PA with Texas at 3.02 GPM, California at 2.49 GPM, and Florida at 4.42 GPM.
In Pennsylvania, 19 of the 76 groups have a statewide presence, the rest are local, while in 2023, 18 of the 78 groups were statewide.
Forty of the 76 were anti government in 2024. In 2023, 43 of the 78 were anti government. The remainder in each year were hate groups.
One anti government group with an increased local presence is Tactical Civics. They have formed a new chapter in Blair County in addition to ones in Allegheny, Clearfield, and Fayette Counties.
There were 21 chapters of Mom’s for Liberty in PA in 2024. In 2023 there were 26.
These numbers of hate groups for Pennsylvania ebb and flow over time. A decrease of 2 is not cause for celebration. These groups still have a strong presence in Pennsylvania.
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