League of the South
The League of the South began in 1994 in Killen, Alabama. It was founded by a group that included many Southern university professors. The League denounces the federal government and many northern and coastal states, believing them to be part of “the Empire.” Advocates of a second secession from the United States, the League envisions a country run by Anglo-Celtic, Christian theocracy in which whites dominate other minorities.
The League of the South spread quickly due to its academic founding and appearance. Within four years of its creation, the League had over 4,000 members in the Southern states. By the early 2000s, the League’s numbers swelled to over 15,000, and the Southern Poverty Law Center officially listed is as a hate group.
On April 11, 2015, the League of the South hosted an event celebrating the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The group’s Facebook page stated, “Join us in April to celebrate the great accomplishment of John Wilkes Booth. He knew a man who needed killing when he saw him.”