The number of white nationalist, hate and anti-government groups around the U.S. dropped slightly in 2024, not because of any shrinking influence but rather the opposite.

A new study reveals a concerning trend in America, with more than a quarter of Americans expressing support for violence to advance political objectives. The rise of political violence, coupled with an anti-governmental movement, raises concerns for the upcoming year. Hate crime statistics have reached record levels, while conspiracy theories dominate conversations, highlighting the potential for political violence in 2024. The public's increasing acceptance of extreme measures, such as the assassination of political leaders, is alarming. Researchers urge caution as they track the chat rooms, speeches, and rallies where fear is being weaponized, calling for vigilance against the potential for violence.

Several civil rights groups are challenging Florida’s new immigration law in a federal lawsuit.

Over his six years at the Southern Poverty Law Center, Esteban Gil watched colleague after colleague leave.

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has raised a billboard in Putnam County that pushes for the removal of a Confederate monument that stands at the entrance of the county’s Courthouse.

Two families with transgender teens and two physicians have sued the state of Alabama to block a law that makes it a crime for doctors to treat trans youth under 19 with puberty blockers or hormones to help affirm their gender identity.

The number of white nationalist, neo-Nazi and anti-government extremist groups across the U.S. fell for a third straight year in 2021, even as some groups were reinvigorated by the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol last year.

The Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday released the third edition of its “Whose Heritage?” report, which tracks memorials honoring the American Confederacy and its leaders throughout the United States.

Bad weather didn’t stop a protest in front of City Hall Friday morning by members of Take 'Em Down Jax who are upset about a Confederate moment still standing in a Springfield park. That statue is likely to remain in place despite legislation introduced by Mayor Lenny Curry to have it removed.

The fight to allow felons who are too poor to pay their court-ordered fines and fees continued Thursday in an Atlanta appellate court.

More groups are challenging Florida’s new elections laws.

Duval County Public Schools is being sued after an award-winning teacher was removed from her classroom.

FILE - In this July 7, 2020, file photo, crews attach straps to the statue Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Va. At least 160 Confederate symbols were taken down or moved from public spaces in 2020. Ad“These racist symbols only serve to uphold revisionist history and the belief that white supremacy remains morally acceptable,” SPLC chief of staff Lecia Brooks said in a statement. In December, a state commission recommended replacing Lee’s statue with a statue of Johns. He served as president of the Confederate States of America after becoming a U.S. senator, not before becoming a U.S. senator.

In its annual report, released Monday, the Southern Poverty Law Center said it identified 838 active hate groups operating across the U.S. in 2020. AdThe Montgomery, Alabama-based law center said many hate groups have moved to social media platforms and use of encrypted apps, while others have been banned altogether from mainstream social media networks. White nationalist organizations, a subset of the hate groups listed in the report, declined last year from 155 to 128. The number of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim and anti-LGBTQ hate groups remained largely stable, while their in-person organizing was hampered by the coronavirus pandemic. People who support or express hatred and bigotry are not always card-carrying members of far-right groups.

Go ahead, who would you like me to condemn?”Wallace: “White supremacists.”Trump: “Proud Boys, stand back and stand by. Sheri Zvi, regional director of Florida’s Anti-Defamation League, said the Proud Boys represent an unconventional strain of American right-wing extremism. Proud Boys have chapters in most states and several international chapters in Britain, Norway and Australia, according to ADL. CNN correspondent Elle Reeve spoke with members of the Proud Boys at a recent event. In Jacksonville, a firefighter who hinted at a connection to the Florida Proud Boys was reassigned after the city discovered inflammatory statements posted on social media.

The resolution claimed that it puts conservative groups or voices at risk of attack.The SPLC, which conducts investigations and engages in civil rights litigation, said in a statement Monday that the resolution gave comfort to hate groups and accused the RNC of being selective in its condemnation. community with dehumanizing rhetoric.The resolution was the latest clash between the SPLC and conservative groups over the Alabama-based organizations Hatewatch list, which tracks radical and extremist groups. The civil rights group, championed by many on the left, has denied that assertion, saying that groups with beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics make their list. The RNC resolution cited the presence of the anti-abortion Family Research Council (FRC) on the list, accusing the SPLC of leading to a 2012 shooting at the FRC. The RNC also approved resolutions defending the federal celebration of the Christopher Columbus holiday; condemning cancel culture and reaffirming its support for President Donald Trump.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The Florida Department of Corrections is restricting new inmate intakes for the rest of the month as the state takes steps to curb the spread of coronavirus. Yet that decision has created a new potential problem: overcrowding in the state’s jails. The corrections department is placing transfers of inmates from local jails to state prisons on hold until March 30. “People are being forced to live in even more cramped, and therefore unsanitary, conditions than typically exist in the jails,” Saleh said in a statement. Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, president of the Florida Sheriffs Association, said county sheriffs will work hand-in-hand with the corrections department in an effort to eliminate those concerns.

He and GOP lawmakers say that to regain the right to vote, felons must not only serve their time but also pay all fines and other legal financial obligations. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday could be consequential because of the razor-thin margins that sometimes decide election contests in Florida — a perennial battleground state. Voting rights groups immediately sued for a temporary injunction that would let felons continue registering to vote and cast ballots until the merits of the law can be fully adjudicated. He agreed with voter rights advocates that imposing the debt requirement on impoverished felons amounted to a poll tax. Earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court issued a non-binding advisory opinion agreeing with the Republican governor.

iStock/allanswartIn separate but parallel lawsuits, civil-rights and legal groups are challenging Florida's use of solitary confinement in prisons and juvenile detention centers -- but are facing pushback from state agencies. "Unfortunately, it is clear that plaintiffs' purpose in bringing this lawsuit is not to gain relief from some violation of constitutional rights," the Department of Juvenile Justice motion said. Data provided by the Southern Poverty Law Center shows the state placed more than 14,000 children in isolation while in the care of the juvenile justice department during the 2017-2018 fiscal year. Outside of court, the Department of Corrections has defended its use of confinement as a safety measure. Michelle Glady, a department spokeswoman, told The News Service of Florida in May that confinement is used for security reasons or to effectively manage prisons.

- A white supremacist group filmed a video in front of the Emmett Till Memorial in Sumner, Mississippi, over the weekend, officials say. "We are all here are the Emmett Till monument that represents the civil rights movement for blacks," a man is heard saying. The memorial sign marks the spot where 14-year-old Emmett Till's body was pulled from the Tallahatchie River in 1955. The sign has been vandalized in the pastThe Emmett Till Memorial was recently rededicated and made bulletproof after multiple acts of vandalism -- including getting riddled with 20 bullet holes. The photo prompted their fraternity, Kappa Alpha, to suspend them and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division to launch an investigation.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The legal effort to keep armed school employees out of Jacksonville's public schools hit a snag Monday in a hearing over whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by parents and activist non-profit organizations. Circuit Judge Robert Dees appeared to side with arguments made by the Duval County School Board's attorneys, who contend that the school district has the authority to employ school safety assistants, or armed citizens hired to patrol schools and intervene in the event of an active shooter situation. At the heart of the lawsuit is whether these school safety assistants can legally carry firearms on school property. They contended that the presence of armed people who lack the training of law enforcement could make students and staff less safe. "Its very clear what school safety assistants have to do."

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - A judge ruled Monday that the Duval County School Board can employ school safety assistants, dealing a major setback to a lawsuit filed by parents seeking to keep armed employees out of Jacksonville schools. DOCUMENTS: Read a copy of the lawsuitThe hearing on the School Board's motion to dismiss the lawsuit capped months of legal back-and-forth over the legality of school safety assistants. The two sides have clashed over whether these assistants are exempt from state law barring anyone besides law enforcement from carrying firearms on campus. "The judge upheld that the program does comply with existing Florida law, though we did make clear that the law is ambiguous and is open to interpretation," Boyd said. While the School Board has filed a motion for sanctions in the case, Dees said he was unlikely to grant that motion.

Getty ImagesPHOENIX - A group of activists has agreed to back down from its campaign of harassment against pastors and churches helping immigrants and asylum-seekers in Arizona. The AZ Patriots organization and four of its leaders have agreed to not to trespass on church properties in the Phoenix area, according to court documents. Several anti-immigration groups in Arizona have taken videos and posted them on Facebook encouraging people to contact pastors and churches helping asylum seekers. Face-to-face confrontations have also occurred between sometimes virulent anti-immigration groups and church leaders trying to help those seeking asylum. Antone said she no longer protests outside churches but supports the rights of others to do so.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Nearly two months after the Southern Poverty Law Center sued the Florida Department of Corrections for "widely overusing" solitary confinement in state prisons, the group has added new plaintiffs to the case. The lawsuit, filed in early May, focused, in part, on five inmates who said they were put in solitary confinement for extended periods though they had been diagnosed with mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. This week, the lawsuit was amended to add two new plaintiffs, said Larry Hannan, a spokesman for the Southern Poverty Law Center. But she said solitary confinement is used only when "absolutely necessary." Also incorporated into the case was Juan Espinosa, who the Southern Poverty Law Center said has a permanent loss of voice.