‘White hot’ rage at gun ban plan

Published on 06/03/2013 00:00

A US civil rights group has warned that president Barack Obama’s tenure and the gun control debate after last year’s Connecticut school shooting have led to a surge in anti-government “patriot” groups.

The Southern Poverty Law Centre yesterday told of the rising numbers in its annual report on extremist groups.

The number of patriot groups, one category of extremist organisations tracked by the centre, has risen dramatically over the past four years, from 149 groups in 2008 to 1,360 today.

Senior Fellow Mark Potok said the December school shooting and the gun control debate that followed created a “white-hot rage” among extremist groups.