40 Hate Groups Recognized in NJ - How Many From Somerset County?

A new data analysis by a nonprofit organization that monitors hate groups throughout the country shows New Jersey is the fourth most active state in the nation when it comes to hate groups, with 40 different chapters recognized.

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), New Jersey is rife with groups identifying as skinheads or neo-Nazi, as 31 active groups or chapters throughout the state support the white supremacist movement, including a Ku Klux Klan chapter in Trenton known as the Loyal White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

Those groups are joined by eight black separatist groups and one group that makes racist music, according to SPLC.

Only one of the aforementioned groups was listed as operating in Somerset County. According to the SPLC, the Aryan Strikeforce is active in Somerville.

Atlantic and Bergen counties showed the most activity when it came to active hate groups operating in their regions.

New Jersey only trailed California (57), Florida (50), and New York (44) on the list of states with the most active number of hate groups. Wyoming and Rhode Island each had one, with North Dakota and Maine each claiming two active hate groups.

Mark Potok, a senior fellow at the organization, told the South Jersey Times theskinhead issue in New Jersey has been brewing for the last 10 years.

He told the publication, “Particularly with the AC Skins, around Atlantic City, you see a lot of chapters in places like homogonous suburbs that bump up against cities that are more diverse.”

The data collected by the SPLC were for the 2014 calendar year. Nationally, according to the organization, Patriot groups grew from 149 in 2008 to 1,360 in 2012. That figure fell to 874 in 2014.

See the full map here.

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