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Former Federal Prosecutors See Legal Flaws in DOJ's Indictment of Southern Poverty Law Center

Prosecutors say the civil rights group paid at least $3 million to informants tied to extremist groups while hiding the payments from donors.

  • On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 counts of wire and bank fraud, alleging the organization deceptively funneled donor funds to extremist groups between 2014 and 2023.
  • Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche alleged the SPLC created fictitious bank accounts to shield at least $3 million in payments to informants affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan and other extremist groups, designed to hide the money trail.
  • SPLC CEO Bryan Fair denied the allegations, stating the informant program was necessary to monitor threats of violence from extremist groups. "To be clear, this program saved lives," Fair said.
  • With nearly $800 million in assets, the SPLC faces intensifying public scrutiny as research analyst Robert Stilson noted Americans are questioning whether the group's operations align with its tax-exempt status.
  • Legal experts described the indictment as an unusual prosecutorial approach, with some questioning whether investigative tradecraft constitutes fraud, while the DOJ stated this remains an ongoing investigation against all individuals involved.
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Mississippi Today broke the news on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
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