Domestic terrorism and violent extremism are growing threats in the United States. The FBI had 9,049 open domestic terrorism cases in fiscal 2021, up 357% from the number of open domestic terrorism cases in fiscal 2013. Many of the most violent incidents of domestic terrorism in the U.S. today are carried out by individuals who have been radicalized by racist, homophobic, ethnocentric, or anti-government ideologies – ideologies widely propagated by extremist hate groups.
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, there were 1,224 active hate and anti-government groups in the U.S. in 2022. These groups include those with distinct chapters in cities across the country, such as the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, the Ku Klux Klan, and ACT for America. While specific views vary between these and other groups, they are generally all galvanized by curtailing government power or hatred toward individuals of certain races, religions, ethnicities, or sexual orientations.
The SPLC identified 35 active hate and anti-government groups in Illinois in 2022. Adjusting for population, this comes out to about 2.8 extremist groups for every million people, the 13th lowest concentration among states.
The number of hate groups operating in the state climbed by 52.2% since 2021. Active extremist groups in Illinois today include 17 anti-government groups and four anti-LGBTQ groups.
All data in this story is from the SPLC report The Year in Hate & Extremism 2022.
| Rank | State | Extremist groups per 1M people, 2022 | Total number of extremist groups, 2022 | 1-yr. change in active extremist groups (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wyoming | 15.5 | 9 | 350 |
| 2 | Idaho | 11.0 | 21 | 250 |
| 3 | Montana | 10.9 | 12 | 200 |
| 4 | New Hampshire | 10.8 | 15 | 150 |
| 5 | North Dakota | 10.3 | 8 | 300 |
| 6 | South Dakota | 8.9 | 8 | 100 |
| 7 | Delaware | 7.0 | 7 | 75 |
| 8 | Maine | 6.6 | 9 | 125 |
| 9 | Rhode Island | 6.4 | 7 | 133.3 |
| 10 | Nebraska | 6.1 | 12 | 33.3 |
| 11 | South Carolina | 5.8 | 30 | 76.5 |
| 12 | Oregon | 5.7 | 24 | 140 |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | 5.6 | 72 | 140 |
| 15 | Alaska | 5.5 | 4 | 300 |
| 14 | Hawaii | 5.5 | 8 | 100 |
| 16 | Utah | 5.4 | 18 | 800 |
| 17 | Arizona | 5.4 | 39 | 77.3 |
| 19 | Arkansas | 5.3 | 16 | 77.8 |
| 18 | Colorado | 5.3 | 31 | 72.2 |
| 21 | Virginia | 5.0 | 43 | 115 |
| 20 | West Virginia | 5.0 | 9 | 50 |
| 23 | Ohio | 4.7 | 55 | 175 |
| 22 | Tennessee | 4.7 | 33 | 17.9 |
| 24 | Vermont | 4.6 | 3 | 50 |
| 25 | Indiana | 4.3 | 29 | 107.1 |
| 28 | Maryland | 4.1 | 25 | 127.3 |
| 26 | Florida | 4.1 | 89 | 67.9 |
| 27 | North Carolina | 4.1 | 43 | 53.6 |
| 30 | Iowa | 3.8 | 12 | 500 |
| 29 | Nevada | 3.8 | 12 | 33.3 |
| 31 | Washington | 3.7 | 29 | 52.6 |
| 33 | Wisconsin | 3.6 | 21 | 75 |
| 32 | Missouri | 3.6 | 22 | 29.4 |
| 34 | Minnesota | 3.3 | 19 | 111.1 |
| 35 | Oklahoma | 3.3 | 13 | 44.4 |
| 36 | Connecticut | 3.1 | 11 | 57.1 |
| 37 | Michigan | 2.9 | 29 | 61.1 |
| 38 | Illinois | 2.8 | 35 | 52.2 |
| 39 | New York | 2.7 | 53 | 51.4 |
| 40 | California | 2.6 | 103 | 58.5 |
| 41 | Alabama | 2.6 | 13 | 0 |
| 45 | New Mexico | 2.4 | 5 | 400 |
| 43 | New Jersey | 2.4 | 22 | 83.3 |
| 42 | Texas | 2.4 | 72 | 38.5 |
| 44 | Mississippi | 2.4 | 7 | -12.5 |
| 46 | Georgia | 2.2 | 24 | 0 |
| 47 | Kansas | 2.0 | 6 | 50 |
| 48 | Kentucky | 2.0 | 9 | 0 |
| 49 | Massachusetts | 1.6 | 11 | -21.4 |
| 50 | Louisiana | 1.5 | 7 | -53.3 |
