Federal prosecutors say the Southern Poverty Law Center ran a secret program that paid more than $3 million of donor money to informants inside extremist groups. A grand jury indicted the civil rights group on Tuesday, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced.
The Justice Department alleges the SPLC cheated its donors, spending their gifts to bankroll the extremism it publicly fought. Counts include wire fraud and bank fraud, plus a conspiracy to launder money. The case was filed in federal court in Alabama, where the organization is based. Prosecutors say some of the money was used by extremists to carry out other crimes, though court papers did not include specific examples.
“The SPLC was not dismantling these groups,” Blanche said. “It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.”
What the indictment describes
The indictment says the program began in the 1980s. It details at least nine unnamed informants who, inside the SPLC, were known as field sources or “the Fs.”
One was allegedly paid more than $1 million between 2014 and 2023 while affiliated with the neo-Nazi National Alliance. Another, according to the indictment, belonged to the online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. That person attended the rally at the SPLC’s direction and helped arrange transportation for several others, the indictment says, and was allegedly paid more than $270,000 between 2015 and 2023.
To move the money, prosecutors say, the group made false statements to banks and opened accounts for fictitious entities such as “Fox Photography” and “Rare Books Warehouse.” Those accounts carried donor money to informants and hid what it was for, the indictment alleges. Prosecutors also say donors were never told about the program. Blanche said nonprofits are required to be transparent and honest about “what they’re telling donors they’re going to spend money on.”
SPLC response
The SPLC said it “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work” against what it called false allegations. The charges came shortly after the group disclosed a criminal investigation into the now-disbanded informant program. It said the program was used to monitor threats of violence and that the information was often shared with local and federal law enforcement.
Interim CEO and president Bryan Fair said the work was dangerous but vital. “Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do,” he said in a statement. He added that the DOJ’s actions “will not shake our resolve.” The SPLC said the secrecy protected informants’ safety and that the program saved lives.
A frequent Republican target
Founded in 1971 and based in Montgomery, the SPLC built its name on civil lawsuits against white supremacist groups. Conservatives have long accused it of unfairly labeling right-wing organizations as extremist because of their views, and it regularly condemns Trump’s rhetoric and policies on voting rights, immigration and other issues.
FBI Director Kash Patel said last year that the agency was cutting ties with the center, calling it a “partisan smear machine.” House Republicans held a hearing on the SPLC in December. The group drew fresh scrutiny after the assassination last year of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, when attention turned to its report describing Turning Point USA, the group Kirk founded, as “A Case Study of the Hard Right in 2024.”
The investigation could add to concerns that the Trump administration is using the Justice Department against opponents of conservatives and critics of the president, following other investigations of Trump foes.
