Ptorchwood Ptales & Ptimely Pthoughts

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The number of extremist groups in the United States exploded in 2009 as militias and other groups steeped in wild, antigovernment conspiracy theories exploited populist anger across the country and infiltrated the mainstream, according to a report issued today by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

Antigovernment "Patriot" groups - militias and other extremist organizations that see the federal government as their enemy - came roaring back to life over the past year after more than a decade out of the limelight. 

The SPLC documented a 244 percent increase in the number of active Patriot groups in 2009. Their numbers grew from 149 groups in 2008 to 512 groups in 2009, an astonishing addition of 363 new groups in a single year. Militias - the paramilitary arm of the Patriot movement - were a major part of the increase, growing from 42 militias in 2008 to 127 in 2009.

More at their web site: http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/news/splc-report-number-of-patriot-groups-militias-surges-by-244-in-past-year

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* The SPLC actively pursues justice for victims of discrimination and hate crimes through the civil courts. While much of their work involves neo-Nazi/Skinhead groups, they have also brought suits on behalf of racial. religious and ethnic minorities, GLBT community, immigrants legal and illegal, disabled students, juvenile offenders against employers, local officials, and educational institutions.