Ohio home to 20 active hate groups, report finds
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The total number of hate groups in the U.S. fell in 2021, but there are still nearly two dozen active groups left in Ohio, according to a new report by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Why it matters: The Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection and other subsequent attempts to undermine democracy show "real-word consequences" for these groups and those they target, the Center's researchers argue.
Details: Ohio ranks 11th in the country with 20 active hate groups, though that number is down from 36 such groups in 2018.
What they're saying: "Over the past year, (groups) have converged around a willingness to engage in political violence, either inflict or accept harm, and deny legally established rights to historically oppressed groups of people," the report asserts.
Zoom in: Area organizations tracked include anti-LGBTQ groups Americans for Truth About Homosexuality and Mission: America; a Worthington chapter of neo-Nazi group the Daily Stormer; and a Columbus chapter of the Proud Boys, a far-right white nationalist group known for engaging in violence
- Proud Boys members were involved in several fights during protests at the Ohio Statehouse on the same day as the U.S. Capitol insurrection.
The big picture: More than 30 Ohioans were criminally charged for their alleged involvement in the fatal Capitol riot, including seven from Franklin County.
- Separately, a group of men accused of plotting to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer held a planning meeting in Dublin.
Threat level: The Anti-Defamation League, which works to oppose hate groups, reported a rise in white supremacist propaganda incidents back in 2019.
- That included Daily Stormer members placing antisemitic flyers around a Cleveland university campus.
Meanwhile, Columbus and other major U.S. cities have seen a rise in reported hate crimes, Axios reported last month.