SPLC Indicted on Federal Fraud Charges

UPDATE Apr 21, 2026 5:15 PM CDT

The Southern Poverty Law Center has been indicted on federal fraud charges related to its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups, Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday. The civil rights group faces charges including wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering in the case brought by the Justice Department in Alabama, where the organization is based, the AP reports.

• The indictment came shortly after SPLC revealed the existence of a criminal investigation into its program to pay informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities. The group said the program was used to monitor threats of violence, and the information was often shared with local and federal law enforcement. SPLC CEO Bryan Fair said the organization "will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work."

Apr 21, 2026 8:58 AM CDT

The Southern Poverty Law Center says it's the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and faces possible charges over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups. The civil rights group made the announcement on Tuesday, reports the AP, saying President Trump's administration appears to be preparing legal action against it or some of its employees. "Although we don't know all the details, the focus appears to be on the SPLC's prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups," CEO Bryan Fair said in a statement. The Justice Department had no immediate comment.

The SPLC had previously paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities, often sharing it with local and federal law enforcement, Fair said. The program was used to monitor threats of violence, he said, adding that it was kept quiet to protect the safety of informants. "When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the Civil Rights Movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system," Fair said. "There is no question that what we learned from informants saved lives." He said the organization "will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work."

• The SPLC was founded in 1971 and uses civil litigation to fight white supremacist groups. The nonprofit has become a popular target among Republicans who see it as overly leftist and partisan. The investigation could add to concerns that Trump's administration is using the Justice Department to go after conservative opponents and his critics.
• The Southern Poverty Law Center has faced intense criticism from conservatives, who have accused it of unfairly maligning right-wing organizations as extremist groups because of their viewpoints. The SPLC regularly condemns Trump's rhetoric and policies around voting rights, immigration, and other issues.
• The SPLC came under fresh scrutiny after the assassination last year of conservative activist Charlie Kirk brought renewed attention to its characterization of the group that Kirk founded and led. The SPLC included a section on that group, Turning Point USA, in a report titled "The Year in Hate and Extremism 2024" that described the group as "A Case Study of the Hard Right in 2024."
• FBI Director Kash Patel said last year that the agency was severing its relationship with the SPLC, which had long provided law enforcement with research on hate crimes and domestic extremism. Patel said the SPLC had been turned into a "partisan smear machine," and he accused it of defaming "mainstream Americans" with its "hate map" that documents alleged anti-government and hate groups inside the United States.