The Southern Poverty Law Center works to dismantle white supremacy in public forums and online, exposes hate and anti-democracy extremism, and counters disinformation and conspiracy theories with research and community resources. The Intelligence Project monitors and exposes white supremacy and its impact on communities.
Hate prevention
- A new Pew Research poll shows that 36% of American teens are using YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat and/or Facebook “almost constantly,” nearly guaranteeing that young people will encounter harmful content. A recent 12-month longitudinal study of the SPLC and American University’s Polarization and Extremism Research and Innovation Lab’s Parents & Caregivers Guide to Online Youth Radicalization showed that parenting styles influence how effective parents are at helping young people remain resistant to manipulation. In particular, “authoritative” parenting, when parents “balance love and support with clear boundaries and rules to foster responsible independence in children,” was the most conducive to remembering and using the information and skills in the Parents & Caregivers Guide. Parents can help prepare young people to identify and remain resistant to manipulation through Authoritative parenting models premised on open communication, supportive guidance and transparent rules.
White nationalist and neo-Nazi movement activity
- Members of Blood Tribe, a neo-Nazi group headed by Chris Pohlhaus, held a demonstration in Little Rock, Arkansas, in early December. Members of the group shouted racist slogans and conducted Hitler salutes outside the Arkansas State Capitol and a civil rights memorial site at Little Rock Central High School. According to news reports, one member of the group, Zachary Platter, received a citation related to driving a U-Haul truck to transport members of the group. Other members of the group were asked to provide identification. The Arkansas Times, a local news outlet, published 22 out of 23 of the men’s names after obtaining them from an incident report and footage from the Little Rock Police Department.
Anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim activity
- The Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), an anti-Immigrant SPLC designated hate group, filed a brief in support of the Donald Trump administration’s policy changing Jo Biden-era guidance that had made it more difficult for immigration agents to conduct enforcement actions in or around houses of worship. In February, the Mennonite Church USA; the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, a historically Black denomination; and the Central Conference of American Rabbis joined 25 other religious congregations and denominations legally challenging the Trump policy, and claiming it “reflects President Trump’s goal of deporting all immigrants in the United States without lawful status during his current four-year term.” In a press release, FAIR deputy general counsel Christopher J. Hajec claimed the churches’ religious freedom claims were “hollow,” saying, “Churches can’t shut down immigration law enforcement just because it may reduce the size of their congregations.”
- Anti-Muslim leader Robert Spencer penned a piece at FrontPage Magazine on Jan. 5, taking issue with the Quran being used to swear in elected officials, such as newly elected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. “At a cursory glance, swearing in on the Qur’an doesn’t seem to present any problems. One primary reason, however, why many people object to American officials being sworn in on the Qur’an is because the Islamic holy book teaches values that are vastly different from American and Judeo-Christian values, particularly the necessity for Muslims to wage war against non-Muslims and subjugate them under the hegemony of Islamic law.” He framed the Muslim holy book as violent and at odds with the nation and called for it to be disallowed for swearing-in purposes. “To allow such a book to be used by American officeholders is to imply that loyalty to this nation and its principles is meaningless, or that Islamic scripture is meaningless, or both,” Spencer added as part of a larger Islamophobic effort directed at Mamdani. Spencer wrote in defense of Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., who received pushback for his X post referring to Mamdani that read, “The enemy is inside the gates.”
Technology and finance of hate
- On Dec. 16, Aura, the maker of an AI powered parental monitoring tool, released a new report concerning children’s use of AI. The report found that more than a third (37%) of children had used AI to generate content that featured acts of violence. Additionally, the report indicated that 59% of children had seen at least one violent video online within the last year. Digital time was also found to be associated with teen stress, with those aged 13-17 who are online more showing higher levels of stress. The Parents & Caregivers Guide to Online Youth Radicalization can support caregivers in helping young people remain resistant to online AI manipulation.
- The far right has increased the use of hard-to-track memecoins, according to a new report by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism. These joke-styled cryptocurrencies frequently incorporate racist, antisemitic and neo-Nazi imagery, including the Nazi Black Sun and other esoteric fascist symbols. Creators exploit viral political moments, including racist posts from U.S. government agencies, to launch coins that rapidly accumulate trading volume. One example, the $FRANKLIN coin, used AI-generated violent and bigoted imagery to drive engagement, reaching a market cap of over $24 million before collapsing.
Anti-democracy efforts
- Mike Lindell, a major player in the cottage industry that promoted conspiracy theories regarding supposed voter fraud following the 2020 election, has announced he is running for governor of Minnesota in 2026. Along with election denial, Lindell’s comments to The New York Times that “school choice in education, a hard-line stance against illegal immigration” would round out his platform, indicated a broader hard right agenda that counters public education and enshrines anti-immigrant ideas in policy. In June, a jury found him liable for defaming an employee of Dominion Voting Systems and ordered him to pay $2.34 million in damages.
Militia and antigovernment movement activity
- The controversial Appeal to Heaven flag, which has been adopted by some Christian supremacist and far-right groups, was spotted outside the office of a senior official at the U.S. Department of Education. USA Today reported that the flag display alarmed department workers and union leaders who said such imagery has come to represent intolerance and extremism. The Education Department has not provided a detailed public response to the concerns.
- The hard right’s war on DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) came to the University of Alabama in December. Building on federal and state policies targeting such measures, Turning Point USA’s campus chapter experienced a surge in interest following Charlie Kirk’s death. Kirk was known for telling college students that DEI is “immoral and wrong” and the abbreviation stands for “Didn’t Earn It.” The combination of laws, policies and hard-right activity helped create an overall environment that led the University of Alabama to suspend two student-run magazines—Alice, focused on women’s lifestyle, and Nineteen Fifty-Six, which highlights Black student culture. The university cited new federal and state restrictions on DEI programs and guidance on avoiding so-called “unlawful proxies” that target specific demographic groups. University officials told the publications’ staffs that the magazines could no longer be supported because their targeted audiences might violate anti-DEI compliance standards, even though both were open to students of all backgrounds.
- Antigovernment extremists celebrated a mid-December symbolic pardon by President Trump of election denier and convicted felon Tina Peters. QAnon and sovereign citizen influencer Ann Vandersteel encouraged people to call Colorado’s governor and demand Tina Peters’ release. Jan. 6 participant and far-right provocateur Jake Lang went further, posting on X: “WE THE PEOPLE ARE COMING TO BREAK TINA PETERS OUT OF PRISON IN 45 DAYS!! If Tina M. Peters is not released from La Vista Prison in Colorado to Federal Authorities by January 31st, 2026; US MARSHALS & JANUARY 6ERS PATRIOTS WILL BE STORMING IN TO FREE TINA!!” Peters has publicly rejected Lang’s plans. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis responded to the symbolic pardon: “No President has jurisdiction over state law nor the power to pardon a person for state convictions. This is a matter for the courts to decide, and we will abide by court orders.”
- Karen Budd-Falen, who spent her private legal career promoting the extremist idea of county supremacy, finds herself caught in an ethics controversy as the third highest-ranking employee at the Department of Interior (DOI). The New York Times reported that in 2018, her husband contracted to sell $3.5 million of water to Lithium Nevada Corp. The company needed a permit for the mine from DOI, where Budd-Falen worked at the time. Her husband’s contract was contingent on the permit. Budd-Falen never publicly disclosed the transaction, which ethics watchdogs say was a conflict of interest.
- In early December, Turning Point USA (TPUSA) Senior Director Josh Thifault joined Texas Governor Gregg Abbott’s announcement encouraging schools in Texas to create chapters of TPUSA to create an environment where TPUSA could “expand and flourish.” Abbot warned any school opposing TPUSA chapters should be reported to the Texas Education Agency so an investigation could be started and “disciplinary action will be taken if necessary.”
- Ed Martin, who personally signed off on President Trump’s Jan. 6 pardons as the interim U.S. attorney for Washington D.C. earlier this year and is now the Department of Justice (DOJ) pardon attorney, is a key leader of a group looking to enforce an executive order by the president. Martin was at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and served on the board of directors for the Patriot Freedom Project which claimed to raise funds for “J6 families.” On Inauguration Day, President Trump issued an executive order for the attorney general “to identify and take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the federal government.” This led to the creation of the Weaponization Working Group, of which Martin is an important figure. According to Reuters, the working group has interviewed at least three pardoned Jan. 6 defendants who pushed for charges against DOJ prosecutors who were involved in Jan. 6 investigations.
- A report released by some members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee detailed at least 23 Jan. 6 participants who have since committed other crimes. The report also noted five individuals who have reoffended since receiving a pardon in January 2025, with charges including burglary, kidnapping and sexual assault.
Anti-LGBTQ+ movement
- Tony Perkins, head of the anti-LGBTQ+ hate group Family Research Council (FRC), applauded a mid-December actions by the Department of Health and Human Services limiting gender-affirming care. The actions prohibit medical providers and hospitals from receiving federal Medicaid and Medicare reimbursement for gender-affirming care for patients under the age of 18 and cuts off all Medicare and Medicaid funding for any hospital that provides gender-affirming care for minors. Perkins wrote in an X post, “This is something [FRC] has long advocated for- and has worked toward both publicly and behind the scenes.” Other anti-LGBTQ+ group celebrants included Gays Against Groomers, Genspect and Do No Harm. January Littlejohn of Do No Harm quoted Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill in an X post: “Men are men, Men can never become women. Women are women. Women can never become men … The denial of fundamental truths can destroy nations from within.”
Conspiracy propagandists
- Alex Jones shared on X in late December that he was trying to keep Infowars on the air, but that he has no money for satellites or payroll. He announced, “If we don’t get the funds in, we shut down.” He’s selling posters, supplements and beef tallow to raise funds. Jones’ most recent appeal to get the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case regarding the $1.4 billion judgment against him for sharing untrue conspiracy theories about the Sandy Hook shooting was unsuccessful.
- Sovereign citizen Derek Keith Williams was found guilty by a jury and given the maximum sentence by a judge after a traffic stop netted Williams multiple criminal charges. When stopped in Philipstown, New York, Williams had no license plate, no driver’s license, no vehicle registration or insurance, and had received nine prior suspensions from the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. Williams used sovereign citizen verbiage that he was “exercising his right to travel” and was not obliged to follow the law. After being charged and convicted, Williams failed to cooperate with the pre-sentencing investigation or to appear at his initial sentencing hearing.
Confederate monuments
- Following closing arguments in December, a federal judge will decide if Confederate names violate the rights of Black students in the NAACP case that “put the Confederacy itself on trial.” In September 2025, a Virginia district court ruled that Confederate names on two Shenandoah County, Virginia, public schools violated students’ rights. In 2020, the school board changed the name of Stonewall Jackson High School to Mountain View High School and removed the Confederate name from a nearby elementary school. In May 2024, a new school board voted to reinstate the Confederate names. In September 2025, a judge ruled that students “cannot be compelled to be carriers of Jackson’s name and the pro-slavery historical legacy he represents.” Should this judge, like the last one, also decide that Confederate names violate students’ rights, the case could lead to the removal of 12 more Confederate school names in Virginia.
- Wildman’s Civil War Surplus Store — full of Confederate memorabilia and harmful symbols of white supremacy — in Kennesaw, Georgia, closed in December after the death of its 90-year-old owner. The store, which sold a white KKK robe and pamphlets on “The Myth of Racial Equality,” had been the subject of protests from community members who, concerned about its offensive content and clearly visible Confederate symbols outside, wanted it shut down.
Image at top: (Left) Right-Wing activist Jake Lang leads a protest against Islam in Dearborn, Michigan, U.S. November 18, 2025. (REUTERS/Rebecca Cook) (Right) Former Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters looks on during her sentencing for her election interference case at the Mesa County District Court, Oct. 3, 2024, in Grand Junction, Colo. (Larry Robinson/The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel via AP)