On Friday, former President Trump suggested that if the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is found guilty of fraudulent payouts totaling $3 million to various white supremacist groups, the results of the 2020 election should be “permanently wiped from the books.”
He referred to the SPLC as being involved in what he called one of the most significant fraud cases in U.S. political history, labeling it a “Democratic hoax” similar to others, such as Act Blue.
Trump advocated for the annulment of his election loss to Joe Biden if the SPLC is determined to have engaged in conspiracy relating to wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.
“If that were the case, the 2020 presidential election should be permanently erased from the books with no further force or effect!” he stated.
The SPLC was indicted earlier this week, facing allegations that from 2014 to 2023, they funneled $3 million in donations to groups like the Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party.
Historically, the SPLC has taken pride in combating white supremacy, beginning a network of informants in the 1980s who were linked to extremist factions.
The recent indictment claims that these informants, dubbed Field Sources or F, were quietly compensated while donors were under the impression that their contributions were being used to dismantle these groups.
A leader from the 2017 “Unite the Right” protests in Charlottesville allegedly received over $270,000 in payments, though their identity hasn’t been disclosed.
This leader was part of a digital network that orchestrated the rally and coordinated transportation for participants.
Additionally, one informant, identified as F-9, allegedly received over $1 million from the SPLC to illegally take 25 boxes of documents from the neo-Nazi group National Union.
Another individual is said to have been paid $6,000 by the SPLC after wrongly claiming credit for the theft.
Charges also reference a former director of the Aryan Nations, who was part of the KKK and had been included in the SPLC’s “extremist file,” despite allegedly receiving $70,000 between 2014 and 2016.
Moreover, the SPLC reportedly paid $19,000 between 2016 and 2019 to an informant convicted of cross-burning.
Brian Fair, the CEO of the SPLC, argued that the organization is being singled out for its effective use of paid informants to acquire reliable information on violent groups.
However, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche responded to the allegations, asserting that the SPLC is not actually dismantling these extremist organizations.
In fact, Blanche claimed, “rather, by paying sources to incite racial hatred, we were creating the extremism we purport to oppose.” He continued, insisting that the indictment and investigation are devoid of any political motives.
In a related note, earlier last October, FBI Director Kash Patel distanced the SPLC from the FBI, stating, “The Southern Poverty Law Center abandoned the civil rights movement long ago and became a partisan smear machine.” He condemned their “hate map” for maligning everyday Americans and inciting violence, labeling the SPLC unsuitable for any collaboration with the FBI.
