Last week, thanks to the leadership of acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, a grand jury issued a superseding indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center for alleged fraud against its donors. Based on the shocking allegations in the indictment, the Treasury Department and the IRS are well-positioned to strip the SPLC of its legal status as a nonprofit organization.
The SPLC markets itself to liberal elites as an activist group fighting “hate” and “racism.” But it turns out that, according to the indictment, the SPLC was using its liberal donor money to fund hateful extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, and the National Socialist Movement.
It appears as though the SPLC was using donor money to fabricate new examples of hate with which to frighten donors into giving it more money. DOJ investigators and attorneys have uncovered previously secret bank accounts opened in the name of fictitious entities that the SPLC used to funnel millions of donated dollars to “informants” in these hate groups. The superseding indictment claims that the funds were used for cross burnings and even Klan robes. Even the most radical liberal could not defend this alleged behavior.
MAGAZINE: FAKING HATE CRIMES? THE SPLC ALLEGEDLY DID ONE BETTER
The SPLC has labeled this prosecution “political.” But its argument does not add up. First, the alleged conduct is egregious. SPLC was indicted on charges of deceiving donors and funding some of the most radical groups in the world. This is not a “ticky-tack” paperwork error or a missed filing deadline, but large-scale fraud. Second, has the SPLC identified any other nonprofit organizations that engaged in similar behavior but were not prosecuted? Without such evidence, the SPLC cannot plausibly claim political targeting.
The SPLC is facing heavy fines if convicted in court. It is worth noting that if individuals, rather than the organization, were charged with the same crimes, then they could face lengthy prison sentences. Each count in this case would mean up to 20 years in prison.
But the worst part of this scandal is that it wasn’t just the SPLC that was allegedly subsidizing hate. It is that, in a sense, so were you, the taxpayer. The SPLC enjoys nonprofit status, and legally, this hateful, twisted organization is considered a “charity.” Donations to the SPLC, even now, remain tax-deductible. For decades, rich liberals have been funding the SPLC’s nefarious activities and then writing it off on their taxes. In effect, honest taxpayers — teachers, truck drivers, police officers — have been partly reimbursing these rich liberal elites for funding the SPLC’s slander machine. Now it turns out that those funds may have been used to break the law.
The SPLC has a long history of repugnant activities, such as its 2014 slander of Dr. Ben Carson, one of the world’s top neurosurgeons. The SPLC baselessly published an “extremist file” on Carson because of his belief in the traditional definition of marriage, a belief shared by all of the Abrahamic religions and by President Barack Obama until 2012. Ultimately, the SPLC withdrew the “file” and apologized to Carson.
SPLC’s slander of the conservative organization Family Research Council led to an attempted mass shooting in 2012, where the shooter openly cited the SPLC as his inspiration. The SPLC frequently slandered Charlie Kirk and TurningPoint USA as “the hard right.” Kirk’s suspected assassin is alleged to have said that he murdered Kirk because he “spreads hate.” Today, we see a growing number of unbalanced people inspired to commit violence because groups like the SPLC tell them that they are “fighting hate,” and that anyone to their right is “fascist” or “an existential threat.”
The SPLC’s business model seems clear: generate hatred, fear, and division, and then enjoy the liberal donor cash. In the words of one former SPLC employee, it’s “a highly profitable scam.” This does terrible damage to the fabric of our society, but it’s good business: SPLC rakes in some $120 million per year. Their CEO makes $500,000 a year, their chief legal officer makes $300,000 per year, and their “Chief Program Officer” makes $296,000 per year. Not bad for “nonprofit” “charity work.”
The SPLC appears to be part of the Left’s massive network of fraud that, for decades, has redistributed wealth from taxpayers to professional left-wing activists and given Democrats an unfair advantage in elections. Thanks to President Donald Trump, Vice President JD Vance, and Blanche, the federal government is finally protecting taxpayer dollars and leveling the playing field.
If the SPLC wants to continue publishing its ridiculous hate speech, then it is free to do so under the First Amendment. But it is not protected by the Internal Revenue Code. Rich liberals like George Clooney can continue to donate millions of dollars — but they should not expect a write-off.
REP. JIM JORDAN ASKS WHETHER SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER PAID JAN. 6 CONFIDENTIAL SOURCES
Despite the SPLC’s best efforts to divide us, America is the most tolerant nation in history, a diverse republic of more than 300 million people.
It is time for the Trump Treasury Department to finish what the Trump DOJ started and protect taxpayers and preserve the integrity of our tax code by stripping the SPLC of its nonprofit status.
Chad R. Mizelle is the former chief of staff to the attorney general of the United States, former acting General Counsel of the Department of Homeland Security, former chief of staff at DHS, and former associate counsel to President Donald Trump. Previously, Mizelle clerked on the D.C. Circuit.