FBI Director Kash Patel says the bureau is cutting ties with two organizations that for decades have tracked domestic extremism and racial and religious bias, a move that follows complaints about the groups from some conservatives and prominent allies of President Donald Trump.

The number of white nationalist, hate and anti-government groups around the U.S. dropped slightly in 2024, not because of any shrinking influence but rather the opposite.

Brandon Russell formed the Atomwaffen Division (ADM) in Central Florida in 2015 and even recruited on the campus of the University of Central Florida (UCF), according to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a nonprofit dedicated to confronting racism.

Several civil rights groups are challenging Florida’s new immigration law in a federal lawsuit.

Over his six years at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Esteban Gil watched colleague after colleague leave.

Two families with transgender teens and two physicians have sued the state of Alabama to block a law that makes it a crime for doctors to treat trans youth under 19 with puberty blockers or hormones to help affirm their gender identity.

The number of white nationalist, neo-Nazi and anti-government extremist groups across the U.S. fell for a third straight year in 2021, even as some groups were reinvigorated by the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol last year.

Sites associated with Black history in five Southern states will each receive grants of $50,000 from the Southern Poverty Law Center, a liberal advocacy group based in Alabama.

Advocacy groups are criticizing the Florida Department of Education for removing an anti-bullying webpage from its site, saying the decision will harm LGBTQ students.

More groups are challenging Florida’s new elections laws.

The group includes people linked to the Oath Keepers militia group who have been indicted on charges that they planned and coordinated with one another in the attack. Investigators said Kenneth Harrelson is a member of the Oath Keepers and attended dozens of planning calls with other members before they stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. The Oath Keepers were among several militia and extremist groups, such as the Proud Boys, that took part in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. The SPLC also said Rhodes worked on Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign prior to starting the Oath Keepers. The Oath Keepers claim tens of thousands of members on its rolls but, according to the ADL, that is unlikely, but they may have a couple of thousand members.

FILE - In this July 7, 2020, file photo, crews attach straps to the statue Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. At least 160 Confederate symbols were taken down or moved from public spaces in 2020. Ad“These racist symbols only serve to uphold revisionist history and the belief that white supremacy remains morally acceptable,” SPLC chief of staff Lecia Brooks said in a statement. In December, a state commission recommended replacing Lee’s statue with a statue of Johns. He served as president of the Confederate States of America after becoming a U.S. senator, not before becoming a U.S. senator.

In its annual report set to be released Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, the Southern Poverty Law Center said it identified 838 active hate groups operating across the U.S. in 2020. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)The Southern Poverty Law Center recently released its 2020 Hatewatch list, showing 838 hate groups being tracked across the U.S. In 2020, SPLC tracked 838 hate groups that spread bigotry and hate in our communities. Learn about hate in your state — view our hate map pic.twitter.com/1xYamRp0Qs — Southern Poverty Law Center (@splcenter) February 1, 2021The Hatewatch list shows there are at least 10 hate groups with chapters in Central Florida. Central Florida has seen a decline in the number of hate groups taking root here.

In its annual report, released Monday, the Southern Poverty Law Center said it identified 838 active hate groups operating across the U.S. in 2020. AdThe Montgomery, Alabama-based law center said many hate groups have moved to social media platforms and use of encrypted apps, while others have been banned altogether from mainstream social media networks. White nationalist organizations, a subset of the hate groups listed in the report, declined last year from 155 to 128. The number of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ hate groups remained largely stable, while their in-person organizing was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic. People who support or express hatred and bigotry are not always card-carrying members of far-right groups.

ORLANDO, Fla. – As three Florida Proud Boys members face federal charges in connection with the Capitol Hill riots, other members are now questioning where the group is headed. [TRENDING: Navy to continue bombing in Florida | SpaceX readies for 2nd launch this week | Luxurious Florida home used as brothel]“To be clear, the agenda of the Proud Boys and groups like the Proud Boys is to overthrow the government,” said Lecia Brooks. News 6 investigated and found out the Proud Boys appear to be pulling away from former President Donald Trump. On Inauguration Day, one Proud Boys member called Trump “a failure” in a post made on the social media app Telegram. The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 really served to increase the recruitment amongst groups like this.”Brooks said there are three groups her organization is watching: The Proud Boys, QAnon and all of the white nationalist groups.

(AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)The Proud Boys have only been around for a few years, but in that time they have grown to become one of America’s most well-known hate groups. Notably, a former member of the Proud Boys, Jason Kessler, was among the organizers of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. The Southern Poverty Law Center has designated the Proud Boys as a hate group. The Proud Boys began during the presidential election in 2016, according to SPLC, and were founded by Gavin McInnes. Several people with ties to the Proud Boys have been arrested following the siege on the Capitol.

The resolution claimed that it puts conservative groups or voices at risk of attack.The SPLC, which conducts investigations and engages in civil rights litigation, said in a statement Monday that the resolution gave comfort to hate groups and accused the RNC of being selective in its condemnation. community with dehumanizing rhetoric.The resolution was the latest clash between the SPLC and conservative groups over the Alabama-based organizations Hatewatch list, which tracks radical and extremist groups. The civil rights group, championed by many on the left, has denied that assertion, saying that groups with beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics make their list. The RNC resolution cited the presence of the anti-abortion Family Research Council (FRC) on the list, accusing the SPLC of leading to a 2012 shooting at the FRC. The RNC also approved resolutions defending the federal celebration of the Christopher Columbus holiday; condemning cancel culture and reaffirming its support for President Donald Trump.

He and GOP lawmakers say that to regain the right to vote, felons must not only serve their time but also pay all fines and other legal financial obligations. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday could be consequential because of the razor-thin margins that sometimes decide election contests in Florida — a perennial battleground state. Voting rights groups immediately sued for a temporary injunction that would let felons continue registering to vote and cast ballots until the merits of the law can be fully adjudicated. He agreed with voter rights advocates that imposing the debt requirement on impoverished felons amounted to a poll tax. Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court issued a non-binding advisory opinion agreeing with the Republican governor.