Report: KKK chapters drop steeply despite 'hate group' surge

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MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — An organization that tracks far-right extremists says the number of Ku Klux Klan chapters in the U.S. is plummeting as a new generation of khaki-clad racists rejects hoods and robes for a "hipper" brand of hate.

The Southern Poverty Law Center said in a report Wednesday that its count of Klan groups fell from 130 in 2016 to 72 last year.

SPLC Intelligence Project Director Heidi Beirich says the Klan seems to be "collapsing" because younger white supremacists are turned off by its "old-school" traditions.

The Alabama-based law center reported a surge in neo-Nazi groups — from 99 in 2016 to 121 last year. And it counted a total of 954 active "hate groups" in 2017, an increase of 4 percent over the previous year.