The number of hate groups in the U.S. has increased dramatically over the past three years, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, with opposition to President Barack Obama fueling the rise.

The SLC counted a record 1,018 hate groups in 2011, up from 1,002 the year before. The bulk of the increase was attributed to the "Patriot" movement, in which anti-Obama sentiments play a central role.

"For many extremists, President Obama is the new symbol of all that's wrong with the country - the Kenyan president, the secret Muslim who is causing our country's decline,” Mark Potok, a senior fellow at SLPC, said in a press release. “The election season's overheated political rhetoric is adding fuel to the fire. The more polarized the political scene, the more people at the extremes.”

The SLPC identified hundreds of anti-immigrant, White supremacist, anti-gay and other bias groups.

Get the Story:
Number of U.S. Hate Groups Is Rising, Report Says (The New York Times 3/8)

Get the Report:
The Year in Hate and Extremism 2011 (SLPC Spring 2012)