WASHINGTON (AP) — The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted Tuesday on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly raised millions of dollars to pay informants to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.
The civil rights group faces charges including wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the case brought by the Justice Department in Alabama, where the organization is based.
The indictment came shortly after SPLC revealed the existence of a criminal investigation into its program to pay informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities. The group said the program was used to monitor threats of violence and the information was often shared with local and federal law enforcement.
SPLC CEO Bryan Fair stated that the organization “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work.”
Blanche noted that SPLC paid at least $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to individuals affiliated with extremist groups, claiming these payments effectively encouraged the very extremism the group seeks to combat.
The indictment also raises questions about the SPLC’s transparency with its donors regarding how funds were used in this informant program, which SPLC argues was necessary to protect informants’ safety and prevent violence.
The SPLC, a nonprofit organization founded in 1971, has become a target for criticism from conservatives, particularly surrounding its labeling of various groups as extremist. This legal situation adds another layer of complexity to discussions about its role and practices in monitoring hate groups.
