SPLC - White nationalist groups espouse white supremacist or white separatist ideologies, often focusing on the alleged inferiority of nonwhites. Groups listed in a variety of other categories—Ku Klux Klan, neo-Confederate, neo-Nazi, racist skinhead and Christian Identity—could also be fairly described as white nationalist.

The number of white nationalist groups dipped in 2020, down 27 groups from 2019. While COVID-19 partially explains the change, most of the decline was due to the disbanding of American Identity Movement, one of the largest and mostly active white nationalist groups in the country in recent years. This year, activity plummeted until Patrick Casey finally announced the group’s dissolution in November. Much of that energy has shifted toward the so-called Groyper movement, which is not organized into a formal group.

Chapters of The Right Stuff also declined as the leaders focused their energy on their podcast platform and the National Justice Party. They have also faced criticism from other white power activists for placing monetary gain above growing their movement.

Many white nationalist groups have failed to find footing on mainstream social media sites and fled to platforms like Telegram and Parler.

White nationalists have had difficulty raising money online because many payment processors have banned them from their services. Most now rely on cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin and Monero.

The federal government provided a boost to 14 hate groups, including American Renaissance, by providing them with PPP funds meant to provide relief from the pandemic.

The white nationalist movement is on two different tracks. One is focused on harnessing populist anger and frustration at Trump’s loss to channel people into their movement. Figures like Nick Fuentes are attacking mainstream conservatives while painting themselves as the future of the right in America. Most of the people associated with this part of the white nationalist movement do not belong to groups and likely will not join any in the near future.

The other part of the movement believes in the strategies of accelerationism. While some join groups like The Base, the movement is increasingly decentralized. Most adherents exist as part of the online accelerationist subculture, where they absorb extremist ideas without some of the risks involved in joining a group. This does not mean the movement is any less dangerous; lone actors motivated by white power ideology remain a persistent threat.

There is increasing overlap in the rhetoric of these two tracks. Among the whole of the white nationalist movement there is a growing belief that “political solutions” are no longer viable – an idea that seems especially convincing in the aftermath of Trump’s loss. Intimidation and other acts of violence are increasingly accepted on the far right, perhaps best exemplified by its embrace of Kyle Rittenhouse. Increasingly violent language is common within the movement’s rhetoric and anti-democratic ideas will likely seep further into the political mainstream.

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2020 white nationalist hate groups

Southern Poverty Law Center

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