DOJ Targets SPLC, Claims They Helped Fund KKK Leaders and Charlottesville March
by John Gage
(Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Justice)
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on 11 charges of wire and bank-fraud, claiming the group helped privately bankroll the same white supremacist groups they oppose publicly. The DOJ said in its announcement Tuesday night that SPLC had funneled $3 million to members of white supremacist and extremist groups.
“The SPLC is manufacturing racism to justify its existence,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche in a statement Tuesday announcing the charges. “Using donor money to allegedly profit off Klansmen cannot go unchecked. This Department of Justice will hold the SPLC and every other fraudulent organization operating with the same deceptive playbook accountable. No entity is above the law.”
FBI Director Kash Patel also weighed in, saying the SPLC “lied” to donors and funded federal crimes.
“The SPLC allegedly engaged in a massive fraud operation to deceive their donors, enrich themselves, and hide their deceptive operations from the public,” Patel said on Twitter. “They lied to their donors, vowing to dismantle violent extremist groups, and actually turned around and paid the leaders of these very extremist groups - even utilizing the funds to have these groups facilitate the commission of state and federal crimes.”
“That is illegal – and this is an ongoing investigation against all individuals involved,” Patel added.
The SPLC has risen to prominence in its efforts to combat white supremacist and hate groups, running an ongoing “hate map” that shows a list of groups across the country that the SPLC has identified as extreme.
Conservatives have long criticized the group, accusing the SPLC of lumping in mainstream conservative groups with more radical organizations. In Nebraska, the SPLC labels 11 groups as hate groups, including Neo-Nazi groups like the National Socialist German Workers Party in Lincoln and Third Reich Books in Fairbury, but also considers Moms for Liberty, a conservative action group that has gotten involved in school board fights, as a hate group.
The charges filed by the DOJ include explosive claims, including that the SPLC funded KKK members and at least one individual involved in the Charlottesville “Unite the Right” rally. The indictment says the SPLC funded a field source that made “racist postings under the supervision of the SPLC and helped coordinate transportation” to the Charlottesville rally in 2017.
The indictment also alleges donor money was given to “the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, and the National Alliance” under the auspices of getting “field sources” within the organization. “The covert nature of the accounts allowed the SPLC to disguise the true nature, source, ownership, and control of the fraudulently obtained donated money the SPLC paid the field sources,” the DOJ claimed. “In order to keep the scheme going, the SPLC made a series of false statements related to the operation of the accounts.”
The SPLC has denied the DOJ’s accusations that the group did anything illegal, saying the sources within the hate groups were important to help save lives in the long run.
“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. To be clear, this program saved lives,” Bryan Fair, the chairman of the SPLC, said. “The actions by the DOJ will not shake our resolve to fight for justice and ensure the promise of the Civil Rights movement becomes a reality for all. SPLC will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff and our work; we will continue to fight hate; and we will continue to envision and create a safer and more just world.”
John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.