US EditionSouthern Poverty Law Center Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges Related to Past Use of Paid Informants
Prosecutors say the group paid more than $3 million to informants inside extremist organizations and misled donors about how the money would be used.
- 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.
428 Articles
428 Articles
DOJ's indictment of Southern Poverty Law Center recalls Jewish groups' use of informants to fight extremism
Jewish social justice organizations are sharply criticizing the Trump administration’s decision to indict the Southern Poverty Law Center, framing the move as part of a broader campaign against civil society groups that monitor extremism. The Department of Justice alleges that SPLC engaged in bank and wire fraud and conspired to commit money laundering, arguing that its use of paid informants to monitor extremist groups amounted to a funding mec…
‘Certainly Disreputable’: WSJ Editorial Board Tries to Make Sense of Trump DOJ SPLC Indictment
Todd Blanche, Deputy Attorney General of the United States speaks on stage during day 1 of CPAC Conference at Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center in Grapevine, TX on March 26, 2026. (Photo by Lev Radin/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images) The Wall Street Journal editorial board tackled the recent Trump Justice Department indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) in a Friday editorial that both questioned whether the indictment was …
'A Warning Shot': DOJ Indictment of Southern Poverty Law Center Sparks Outcry Across Civil and Women's Rights Movement
The U.S. Department of Justice’s criminal case against the Southern Poverty Law Center marks a stunning escalation in the federal government’s attacks and aggression toward civil rights organizations. A grand jury has indicted the SPLC on charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering—allegations the organization has called false and politically motivated. The charges are rooted in bad-faith characterizations of payments SPLC made to inf…
InsideNoVA.com
Trump administration’s indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center breaks with norms – and may lack evidence of criminal wrongdoing
It’s unusual for federal authorities to take this kind of action when federal funding is not involved. And the SPLC does not accept government grants.
Trump's DOJ Charges Southern Poverty Law Center With Fraud In Shocking, Controversial Move
In a shocking and controversial move, the Justice Department announced Tuesday that it was charging a major anti-extremist organization with funneling money to the very extremists that the organization opposes. The charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center stem from payments made to confidential informants within white supremacist organizations, with defenders of the watchdog organization arguing that these payments are standard practice f…
‘It's About Intimidation’: DOJ Indicts Civil Rights Group It Says Illegally Duped Donors By Paying Informants to Infiltrate the KKK and Other Hate Groups
The Department of Justice on Tuesday charged the Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization that has for decades investigated and exposed
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