Extremist Groups Rise 244% Nationwide; Missouri Now Has 10 "Patriot" Brigades

The Southern Poverty Law Center has released a report suggesting that the number of extremist groups operating in the U.S. grew by 244 percent last year.

According to the report, the number of these anti-government movements went from 149 in 2008 to 512 in 2009 -- an addition of 363 new groups in a single year. The rise was particularly acute among militias associated with the right-wing "Patriot" groups, reports the SPLC. Those militias went from 42 in 2008 to 127 last year.

"This extraordinary growth is a cause for grave concern," said Mark Potok, editor of the SPLC's Intelligence Report. "The people associated with the Patriot movement during its 1990s heyday produced an enormous amount of violence, most dramatically the Oklahoma City bombing that left 168 people dead."

The SPLC doesn't label tea parties as extremist groups, but notes that "they are shot through with rich veins of radical ideas, conspiracy theories and racism."

A list of the the Missouri and Illinois organizations that the Southern Poverty Law Center considers "extremist groups" after the jump.

MISSOURI (9)
America First Party of Missouri
Imperial
Constitution Party
Arnold
John Birch Society
St. Peters
Liberty Restoration Project
St. Louis
Missouri Militia *
Kansas CitySt. Louis
Oath Keepers
Statewide
United American Freedom Foundation
Grandview
We the People
Statewide
 

ILLINOIS (10)
135th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry *
Statewide
America First Party of Illinois

Rolling Meadows
Camp FEMA
Northbrook
Constitution Party
East Peoria
Illinois State Militia (Unorganized) 167th Battalion, 21st FF *
Statewide
John Birch Society
Statewide
Martial Law Survival
Thomson
Oath Keepers
Statewide
Restore the Republic
Northbrook
We the People
Statewide