Southern Poverty Law Center Indicted

The Ministry of Justice announced on Tuesday that the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been indicted for allegedly diverting funds to extremist organizations.

The SPLC claimed it is being “targeted” by the Trump administration, suggesting that this might connect to payments made to informants who gather intelligence on hate groups.

“We will not be intimidated into silence or repentance, nor will we abandon our mission or the communities we serve.”

In a social media update, the Justice Department revealed that the SPLC had paid $1 million to an affiliate of the National Alliance, $300,000 to an Aryan Nation affiliate, and $73,000 to former Ku Klux Klan members.

“According to the indictment, the SPLC wasn’t dismantling these groups; it was essentially fabricating the extremism it claims to oppose by funding entities that promote racial hatred,” remarked Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche during a media briefing.

The specific charges include six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.

“The indictment explains that the SPLC compensated members of these extremist groups and subsequently produced reports detailing the activities they engaged in,” Blanche added. “In doing so, they were countering their stated goals to their donors.”

SPLC’s Interim President and CEO, Brian Fair, addressed the situation in a preemptive video post.

“The scrutiny seems to center on the SPLC’s long-standing use of paid informants to obtain accurate information on highly violent organizations,” he stated. “Using informants was necessary due to ongoing threats of violence.”

He mentioned that the SPLC shared the findings from informants with law enforcement while ensuring the confidentiality of the informants.

“Today, the federal government is being used to undermine the rights of our country’s most vulnerable groups,” Fair concluded.

“We will not be intimidated into silence or repentance, nor will we abandon our mission or the communities we serve,” he reiterated.