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Civil-rights groups are reportedly panicking after the Department of Justice indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) this week for funneling money to the very “extremist” groups it claimed to be fighting.
The New York Post reports, “In rounds of calls immediately following the indictment, advocates discussed how to support the SPLC, which federal prosecutors accused of illegally funneling funds to hate groups in support of its informant network.
“The calls were part of a coordinated response that had been planned for more than a year, in anticipation to heightened scrutiny by the Trump administration.
“In a flurry of behind-the-scenes coordination, civil rights groups dug in for a potential wave of indictments and audits meant to cripple their activities.”
A coalition of over 100 activist groups published a letter pledging solidarity with groups that are “unjustly targeted” by the federal government.
The SPLC was a signatory to the letter, which made no mention of the indictment.
The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, as the coalition is called, said, “An attack on one is an attack on all.
“We will share knowledge, resources, and support with any organization threatened by abuses of power.”
On Friday, President Trump called the SPLC “one of the greatest political scams in American history.”
“The Southern Poverty Law Center, one of the greatest political scams in American History, has been charged with FRAUD,” he wrote on Truth Social.
“This is another Democrat Hoax, along with Act Blue, and many others. If it is true, the 2020 Presidential Election should be permanently wiped from the books and be of no further force or effect! Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
On Tuesday the Department of Justice indicted the SPLC on federal fraud charges alleging the organization improperly raised millions of dollars which it covertly paid to individuals associated with the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups.
“Between 2014 and 2023, the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and National Socialist Party of America,” a DOJ press release said.
“The SPLC is manufacturing racism to justify its existence,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said. “Using donor money to allegedly profit off Klansmen cannot go unchecked. This Department of Justice will hold the SPLC and every other fraudulent organization operating with the same deceptive playbook accountable. No entity is above the law.”
Blanche held a news conference with FBI Director Kash Patel on Tuesday where they discussed the charges in the indictment:
“The SPLC allegedly engaged in a massive fraud operation to deceive their donors, enrich themselves, and hide their deceptive operations from the public,” Patel said. “They lied to their donors, vowing to dismantle violent extremist groups, and actually turned around and paid the leaders of these very extremist groups – even utilizing the funds to have these groups facilitate the commission of state and federal crimes. That is illegal – and this is an ongoing investigation against all individuals involved.”
