Southern Poverty Law Center Report Highlights Hard-Right Influence in US Government
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has released a report revealing that hard-right groups have significantly expanded their influence within the US government. This development coincides with the US government pursuing federal fraud charges against the civil rights organization.
Published on Tuesday, the report identified 1,263 hate and anti-government groups operating nationwide in 2025. This release comes less than two months after the SPLC was targeted by the government it asserts has been infiltrated by the hard right.
According to the SPLC’s annual Year in Hate and Extremism report, the administration of Donald Trump has "radically transformed government policy in favor of far-right interests and individuals" since the beginning of his second presidency in early 2025.
Among the report’s findings are the administration’s presidential pardons of approximately 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6 Capitol attack in 2021. Additionally, the report highlights a shift in federal law enforcement priorities from combating violent crime to focusing on immigration raids targeting marginalized communities.
The report states that 23% of all FBI agents have been reassigned to immigration enforcement duties. This reassignment has resulted in reduced personnel in other critical areas, including white-collar crime, counter-terrorism, organized crime, and cybercrime.
"The Trump administration’s shift away from traditional law enforcement priorities, staffing and funding, along with its embrace of dangerously aggressive and reckless immigration enforcement tactics, has made US citizens less safe and more likely to be victimized," the report asserted.
Furthermore, the SPLC report claims the administration has "downplayed the threat of right-wing extremist violence," which has contributed to an increased threat from far-right extremism.
The report draws attention to the US Senate’s confirmation of senior administration officials such as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, FBI Director Kash Patel, and former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, all of whom have expressed far-right views.
In addition to the administration’s dismantling of a national database that tracked domestic terrorism and hate crimes, the SPLC report references the Justice Department’s removal of a peer-reviewed study from its website. This study had found that far-right attacks continue to "outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism."
The report also notes a rise in younger, digitally savvy right-wing individuals who have gained unprecedented access to the federal government. These individuals have acquired political power by creating content that supports the administration’s policies targeting immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, women, and economically disadvantaged groups.
The SPLC report mentions conservative influencer Andy Ngo, who during an October roundtable with Trump suggested that "perhaps the State Department should designate Antifa – its international arm – a foreign terrorist organization."
Trump responded, "Would you like to see it done? You think it would help? I’d be glad to do it. I think it’s the kind of thing I’d like to do. Does everybody agree? If you agree, I agree. Let’s get it done."
Antifa refers to the anti-fascist movement. Following the roundtable, the Trump-led US State Department designated four left-wing military groups as foreign terrorist organizations.
The SPLC report stated, "Throughout 2025, the administration and its allies leaned on an increasingly extreme set of influencers to sell their reactionary, hierarchical vision of the world to a younger generation."
Call to Action from SPLC
In a statement accompanying the report, Erin Wilson, director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project, urged public engagement to address the rising threat posed by hard-right groups.
"Communities are facing the harsh realities of this hard-right power grab. From kitchen table conversations to mass-mobilizing marches, everyone has a role to play right now.
There is power in civic engagement and everyday acts of solidarity, education and action."
