US EditionSouthern Poverty Law Center Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges Related to Past Use of Paid Informants
The indictment alleges at least $3 million in donor money was routed through fake entities to pay informants inside hate groups, prosecutors said.
- On Tuesday, the Justice Department indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 counts, including wire fraud and money laundering, alleging the organization secretly funded extremist groups instead of dismantling them.
- Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche alleged the SPLC funneled at least $3 million to the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups between 2014 and 2023 using shell companies and prepaid cards to conceal payments from donors.
- CEO Bryan Fair promised the SPLC "will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work" while asserting that intelligence gathered from informants saved lives by monitoring violent threats.
- Critics, including FBI Director Kash Patel, have long accused the SPLC of being a "partisan smear machine," intensifying partisan disputes over whether the indictment represents legitimate law enforcement or political targeting.
- The federal indictment threatens the SPLC's legal standing and donor trust, while Patel indicated other organizations could face similar scrutiny as the DOJ continues investigating potential nonprofit misconduct.
334 Articles
334 Articles
WASHINGTON. The SPLC human rights group is being accused of paying money to informants in far-right groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. One of the sources was a leading figure behind the 2017 Charlottesville riots. The news is jet fuel for conspiracy theorists on the American right.
DOJ says Southern Poverty Law Center secretly funneled $3M+ to extremist groups, funded Charlottesville ‘false flag’
DOJ says Southern Poverty Law Center secretly funneled $3M+ to extremist groups, funded Charlottesville ‘false flag’ –The SPLC was paying roughly $270,000 to a member of the leadership group that planned the Unite the Right protests [false flag] in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, that resulted in the death of one person and injured dozens more. | 21 April 2026 | FBI Director Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a swe…
Accountability at Last? SPLC Faces Indictment for Subsidizing the Hate It Condemned
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has spent years pretending to be a fearless watchdog against extremism. In truth, it has operated more like a sophisticated fundraising machine that labeled decent Americans as dangerous while quietly promoting the hateful messages it purported to condemn. But there is renewed hope that accountability might finally be coming in response to their deception. This week, a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alab…
US Department of Justice charges Southern Poverty Law Center with fraud over paid informant program • Oklahoma Voice
The headquarters of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama on February 8, 2023. The organization is facing a criminal probe by the U.S. Department of Justice into its use of paid informants. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)A grand jury indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering brought by the U.S. Department of Justice, which alleges payments the organization made to informan…
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