Federal Prosecutors Expand Their Indictment Of SPLC
The Department of Justice has expanded its case against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), accusing the prominent civil rights organization of misleading donors while secretly paying informants connected to…
The Department of Justice has expanded its case against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), accusing the prominent civil rights organization of misleading donors while secretly paying informants connected to extremist groups, including members of the Ku Klux Klan.
A federal grand jury in Alabama returned a superseding indictment last month that largely preserves the charges originally filed in April while adding new details about the alleged scheme.
According to the Justice Department, the SPLC funneled more than $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to confidential informants embedded within a range of extremist organizations. Those groups allegedly included the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, the National Socialist Movement, participants in the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, and members of the Aryan Nations-affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club.
Federal prosecutors claim the organization concealed the payments from donors while publicly condemning the same groups on its website and through its advocacy work.
“The SPLC’s paid informants engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website,” the indictment states.
The nonprofit faces 11 criminal charges, including six counts of wire fraud, four counts of making false statements to a federally insured bank, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Prosecutors also allege that the SPLC used bank accounts associated with fictitious entities to disguise payments made to confidential sources and conceal the movement of donor funds.
According to court filings, the organization’s informant network dates back to the 1980s. The government argues that the SPLC continued operating the program for decades while concealing its activities from donors and financial institutions.
One example outlined in the indictment involves two alleged informants connected to the Ku Klux Klan. Prosecutors claim the pair considered leaving the organization but were encouraged by an SPLC employee to remain involved. The employee allegedly offered them a monthly salary of $1,200, which prosecutors say was paid using donor funds.