The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is facing serious allegations of diverting millions to at least eight leaders and members of hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan’s “Imperial Magicians” and neo-Nazi fundraisers, supposedly to serve as informants. One nonprofit leader compared this approach to hiring an arsonist to assist in quelling a fire.
This Alabama-based nonprofit organization has been indicted by the Justice Department on charges such as wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering. The accusations suggest that they concealed from donors the fact that over the last decade, they had channeled more than $3 million to “local sources” tasked with infiltrating violent extremist groups. This was announced by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel.
According to the indictment, these field sources—referred to as “Fs”—were allegedly compensated secretly by the SPLC between 2014 and 2023.
Gene Hamilton, a former Justice Department official now with America First Legal, remarked on Wednesday that it is quite unprecedented for a tax-exempt nonprofit to use donor funds to pay informants tied to violent extremist organizations.
He criticized commentary from some leftists who suggested this was a long-standing tactic used by governments to infiltrate groups. “It’s a different matter when it’s the government. The government can prosecute people,” he stated.
Hamilton also drew an analogy between this situation and paying an arsonist to help put out a fire.
He expressed frustration over what he perceives as a hypocrisy in his MAGA-affiliated groups funding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) officials while simultaneously raising funds to combat DEI initiatives. “That’s just mind-bogglingly stupid,” he said.
Liora Rez, founder of Stop Antisemitism, expressed outrage over the alleged actions of the SPLC, suggesting that their attempts to tackle antisemitism have noticeably declined over the years. He couldn’t fathom that a civil rights group might fabricate biases to solicit donations from concerned citizens. “If this is what the SPLC did, it is shameful and outrageous,” Rez emphasized.
SPLC CEO Brian Fair responded to the indictment by claiming that the organization is being politically targeted, alleging that the Trump administration is using the Justice Department as a weapon. He described the payments as going to “confidential informants to gather reliable information about extremely violent groups.”
While the indictment does not name the informants, it does mention an “Imperial Magician” from the National Klan of America. SPLC has faced scrutiny in the past; a 2013 article linked it to the 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, which claimed four young lives.
The court filings indicate that several figures in leadership roles within these extremist groups received funding from the SPLC. For instance, one informant participated in an “online leadership chat group” that organized the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville and reportedly posted racist comments at the SPLC’s request, while also arranging transportation for other attendees.
The SPLC reportedly paid out a total of $270,000 to informants between 2015 and 2023.
Additionally, a veteran neo-Nazi informant was compensated with $1 million during the same timeframe, which included an incident of him allegedly stealing 25 boxes of documents from a violent extremist group’s headquarters. The Justice Department identified him as a fundraiser for a neo-Nazi faction.
The SPLC later compensated another informant from the same organization $6,000 for restitution related to that theft, according to the filings.
Another informant was said to have received over $300,000 from 2014 to 2020 while serving on the board of the National Socialist Movement and affiliated with the Aryan Nations-connected Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club.
The indictment also mentioned that a former president of the National Alliance was paid $140,000 from 2016 to 2023, as noted in the SPLC’s “Extremist Files.” This resource lists various extremist figures and their affiliations.
There were also payments to a former Aryan Nations director, who was a Ku Klux Klan member, amounting to $70,000 from 2014 to 2016. Meanwhile, the national president of the American Front, previously convicted of federal racketeering, received $19,000 from the SPLC between 2016 and 2019.
Moreover, a Klan “Noble Cyclops” was alleged to have received $3,500 as part of a past court case. Additionally, around $160,000 was supposedly funneled to leaders of other violent extremist groups, including a former Grand Wizard of the KKK, according to court documents.
During the same period, the Biden Justice Department reportedly requested the SPLC’s assistance with cases under the Civil Rights Division, granting them exclusive access to federal hate crime data. Documented communications indicated that the department’s lawyers frequently sought advice from SPLC officials on follow-up inquiries and invited left-wing groups to participate in quarterly meetings.
Hamilton argued that by supporting certain actors and compensating them significantly to fight their battles, they perpetuate a narrative that ultimately seeks government action to validate their existence. He drew parallels between this and school board memos that rationalize government actions against protesting parents.
SPLC has not yet responded to requests for further comment.
