The Southern Poverty Law Center pleaded not guilty Thursday to federal fraud and money laundering charges tied to its use of paid informants within extremist groups, with the organization vowing to aggressively fight the case.
The SPLC was arraigned Thursday afternoon in federal court in Montgomery, Alabama, where federal prosecutors accused the group of improperly using more than $3 million in donor funds to pay informants connected to organizations including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations affiliates, and individuals who helped organize the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Federal prosecutors allege the SPLC paid at least $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to informants tied to extremist organizations while misleading donors about how contributions were being used. The charges include six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Following the hearing, SPLC interim President and CEO Bryan Fair called the charges “provably wrong” and defended the organization’s informant program as a lifesaving effort that helped prevent violence and gather intelligence on extremist activity.
“Our informant program was successful in accomplishing its purposes: Threats and attacks were prevented, criminal activity was stopped, and information was gathered to dismantle the efforts of hate and extremist groups,” Fair said in a statement.
Fair also said the SPLC would continue “to fight white supremacy and various forms of injustice” despite the prosecution accusing them of misusing donor funds by funneling them to certain hate groups and organizations.
The indictment, announced last month by the Department of Justice, marked a major escalation in the Trump administration’s conflict with the Alabama-based nonprofit organization, which conservatives have long criticized over its labeling of certain right-leaning organizations as extremist groups.
The SPLC has denied wrongdoing and recently filed motions seeking access to grand jury materials tied to the case. The organization argued it should know whether acting Attorney General Todd Blanche made inaccurate statements to grand jurors similar to remarks they accuse him of later making publicly about the SPLC’s relationship with law enforcement.
Blanche was accused by the organization of making false statements after he claimed on Fox News’s The Ingraham Angle that the DOJ did not possess information showing that the SPLC “Shared what they learned with law enforcement,” while the group has maintained their informants have helped the government arrest violent hate purveyors.
In a subsequent Fox News interview on April 26, Blanche acknowledged that the SPLC has historically shared information with law enforcement agencies.
“That’s well documented, and there’s no dispute there,” Blanche said. “They aren’t charged with any of that conduct,” he said, drawing a distinction
U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson, who is handling the case, rejected the SPLC’s claims Thursday that the case was politically motivated.
SPLC SPENT OVER $1 MILLION INFILTRATING HATE GROUP IT PUBLICLY CLAIMED WAS ‘ALMOST IRRELEVANT’
“There was nothing vindictive about this prosecution,” Davidson told reporters.
The U.S. attorney also submitted a filing Tuesday noting that Blanche’s second statement to the media addressed the SPLC’s concerns and false statements allegations, arguing that the SPLC’s motion seeking grand jury transcripts should be rejected.