Keep Factually independent
Whether you agree or disagree with our analysis, these conversations matter for democracy. We don't take money from political groups - even a $5 donation helps us keep it that way.
Which KKK factions have active membership and chapters in the U.S. as of 2025?
Executive summary
Available reporting indicates the Ku Klux Klan in the U.S. remains fragmented and much smaller than in past decades, with roughly "just over thirty" active Klan groups in recent ADL reporting and about 10 Klan groups counted in a 2023 SPLC-derived Statista dataset [1] [2]. Contemporary coverage describes a churn of local factions—some long-standing (e.g., Loyal White Knights historically) and several newer or resurgent names such as the Maryland White Knights, Sacred White Knights, Ku Klos Knights, Silent Knights, and Trinity White Knights—though specific membership counts and chapter maps are often not public [3] [4].
1. Fragmented movement, not a centralized organization
The Klan today is not a single, national organization but a patchwork of small, often short-lived groups that form, splinter and rebrand. The Anti-Defamation League described the movement as “a collection of mostly small, disjointed groups” with many new formations in recent years and estimated just over thirty active groups nationally [1]. Statista’s use of SPLC data counted about ten KKK groups in 2023, underscoring differences in how researchers define and track “active” Klan organizations [2].
2. Faction names that appear in 2024–2025 reporting
Recent reporting and extremist monitoring list several Klan factions active or newly visible in 2024–2025: Maryland White Knights, Sacred White Knights, Ku Klos Knights, Silent Knights and Trinity White Knights (TWK). The Southern Poverty Law Center reported that the Maryland White Knights and Sacred White Knights emerged from the collapse of larger chapters like the Old Glory Knights and Loyal White Knights; SPLC also noted Ku Klos Knights’ resurfacing and Silent Knights’ recruitment activity [3]. Local reporting highlighted TWK distributing flyers around Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia under leader William Bader [4].
3. Where activity is reported, and what “active” means
States in the Southeast—Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee—are repeatedly flagged as having higher concentrations of Klan activity in public datasets and state-level rankings [5]. ADL and SPLC reporting emphasize that “active” can mean anything from organized local chapters and repeated propaganda distribution to intermittent rallies or online organizing; precise membership numbers are elusive because the groups operate clandestinely and often keep membership confidential [5] [1].
4. Decline in scale but persistent visibility
Majorities of expert sources describe a long-term decline in Klan membership and national influence even as small groups remain capable of attracting attention. Britannica and other background sources note that membership has fallen to the low thousands compared with historic peaks [6]. ADL’s 2023 snapshot estimated roughly 3,000 Klan members nationwide while stressing that many groups are tiny and short-lived [1]. These figures are approximate and depend on methodology; not all sources use the same criteria for counting groups or members [1] [2].
5. Recent reorganizations and chapter collapses
SPLC’s May 2025 resource describes the collapse of previously larger chapters—specifically naming Old Glory Knights and Loyal White Knights—as triggering reorganization and the rise of newer factions such as the Maryland White Knights and Sacred White Knights [3]. Other monitoring lists and later SPLC pages (not in the current file set) catalog local city chapters and names, suggesting that names and local configurations change rapidly (p1_s10 snippet) [3].
6. Limitations in the public record and why names matter
Available sources emphasize two limits: researchers cannot reliably enumerate individual members because of secrecy, and lists of “active” groups change as splinters form and dissolve [1] [2]. Some reports focus on propaganda incidents (e.g., Trinity White Knights flyers and a littering citation for William Bader) to document activity when membership data are absent [4]. If you need a definitive, current roster of chapters by state or membership counts for 2025, available sources do not provide a single, authoritative list.
7. Competing interpretations and agendas in sources
Monitoring groups like SPLC and ADL emphasize public-safety risks and track dozens of groups; their methodologies prioritize incidents, chapter listings and organizational continuity [3] [1]. Aggregate data providers such as Statista summarizing SPLC snapshots may report different totals [2]. Wikipedia and historical encyclopedias provide context on factionalism across eras but are not primary trackers of 2024–2025 activity [7] [8] [6]. Each source frames the Klan’s significance differently—either as a declining franchise of hate or as a persistent network of small-but-active cells—so readers should weigh methodology when comparing counts.
If you’d like, I can: (A) compile the specific faction names mentioned in each source into a consolidated list with locations cited; or (B) search for state-by-state chapter lists from SPLC/ADL reporting to map where those named factions have been reported in 2024–2025.