Some prominent donors to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a left-leaning nonprofit, have notably remained silent after the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) charged the organization with fraud and money laundering this week.
One high-profile donor, actor George Clooney, has yet to release any statements regarding the allegations. Additionally, the foundations of billionaire George Soros and MGM Resorts have also refrained from commenting, as reported by New York Post.
According to reports, the SPLC is accused of misdirecting “over $3 million to the hate groups it claims to fight against.”
A federal grand jury in Alabama has brought forth 11 charges against the nonprofit, including wire fraud, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to conceal money laundering, as detailed by Breitbart News.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges via social media earlier this week. He stated:
The SPLC allegedly ran extensive fraud schemes aimed at enriching itself by misleading donors and hiding its questionable practices from the public. The organization promised to dismantle violent extremist groups, deceived its supporters, and actually funneled money to the leaders of these extremist factions, effectively empowering them to commit various state and federal crimes. This is illegal and a full investigation is underway.
According to Breitbart News, Patel noted in late 2025 that the FBI had severed ties with the SPLC, criticizing the group for abandoning its mission of civil rights work in favor of becoming a partisan attack organization targeting Americans.
Indeed, the SPLC has been accused of putting groups like “Moms for Liberty” and other parent rights organizations on its “hate map.” Other targets included Turning Point USA, linked to the tragedy involving its founder Charlie Kirk, and the conservative nonprofit PragerU.
Back in 2017, the SPLC received a $1 million grant from the Clooney Foundation for Justice, aimed at combatting hate groups. The foundation expressed its commitment to addressing hate, especially following the violence at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
In light of the events in Charlottesville, we’re partnering with the SPLC to bolster its efforts to tackle hate groups in the U.S. Such incidents require a unified stand against hate, as emphasized by George Clooney and Amal Clooney.
It appears that some donors, including Clooney’s foundation, might not have been aware of the allegations that funds were allegedly funneled to individuals involved in organizing the Charlottesville rally, as reported by the Post.
Other SPLC supporters include former Apple CEO Tim Cook, JPMorgan, OpenAI, and Chick-fil-A, among others. Chick-fil-A clarified that their involvement was limited to a one-time $2,500 donation made a decade ago at the request of a former advisory board member, asserting no ongoing association with the SPLC.
Meanwhile, former leadership of the SPLC faces accusations of making the organization increasingly partisan and using it as a tool against conservative and religious groups.
