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 nine active hate and anti-government groups in West Virginia in 2022. Adjusting for population, this comes out to about 5.0 extremist groups for every million people, the 20th highest concentration among states.
The number of hate groups operating in the state climbed by 50.0% since 2021. Active extremist groups in West Virginia today include three anti-government groups and three white nationalist groups.
All data in this story is from the SPLC report The Year in Hate & Extremism 2022.
RankStateExtremist groups per 1M people, 2022Total number of extremist groups, 20221-yr. change in active extremist groups (%)1Wyoming15.593502Idaho11.0212503Montana10.9122004New Hampshire10.8151505North Dakota10.383006South Dakota8.981007Delaware7.07758Maine6.691259Rhode Island6.47133.310Nebraska6.11233.311South Carolina5.83076.512Oregon5.72414013Pennsylvania5.67214015Alaska5.5430014Hawaii5.5810016Utah5.41880017Arizona5.43977.319Arkansas5.31677.818Colorado5.33172.221Virginia5.04311520West Virginia5.095023Ohio4.75517522Tennessee4.73317.924Vermont4.635025Indiana4.329107.128Maryland4.125127.326Florida4.18967.927North Carolina4.14353.630Iowa3.81250029Nevada3.81233.331Washington3.72952.633Wisconsin3.6217532Missouri3.62229.434Minnesota3.319111.135Oklahoma3.31344.436Connecticut3.11157.137Michigan2.92961.138Illinois2.83552.239New York2.75351.440California2.610358.541Alabama2.613045New Mexico2.4540043New Jersey2.42283.342Texas2.47238.544Mississippi2.47-12.546Georgia2.224047Kansas2.065048Kentucky2.09049Massachusetts1.611-21.450Louisiana1.57-53.3
