Last week, chaos erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia, when a white nationalist group rallied, sparking protests and violence. Three people were killed, including one protester who was hit by a car and two police officers who died in a helicopter crash.
The Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center recently unveiled a map of what it identifies as "hate groups" in America, breaking them down by states.
Ryan Lenz, a senior investigative reporter for the law center’s Hatewatch project, told KFOR in Oklahoma City that his team constantly looks for hate groups across the nation.
The team complies the list using publications and websites, law enforcement and civilian reports, and news reports. The groups include anti-LGBT organizations and those who don’t believe in interracial marriage.
“All hate groups have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics,” the law center explains.
There are 917 "hate groups" nationwide and Utah has three, according to the law center. They are the American Vanguard, the Fundamentalist Latter Day Saints (FLDS) and the National Socialist Movement.
For comparison, Texas has "55 active racist and separatist groups," according to The Downtown Austin Patch.
American Vanguard is defined as a “white nationalist” group, while the National Socialist Movement is a neo-Nazi and National Socialist Movement group.
The FLDS group, listed as being headquartered in Hildale, Utah, is defined by the website as “general hate,” which means they “espouse a variety of rather unique hateful doctrines and beliefs that are not easily categorized,” according to the law center.
The mainstream LDS Church, or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, is headquartered in Salt Lake City and has 15 million members worldwide. This past week, the LDS Church condemned racism and "white supremacist attitudes."
The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City also released a statement.
"We must strive to love one another as Christ loves us; to love all of our neighbors as ourselves, and to put that love into concrete action against violence, hatred and injustice," the Catholic Diocese said in a statement.