Southern Poverty Law Center attorneys make first court appearance in fraud case
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center appeared in court today for the first time since the civil rights group was charged with defrauding donors by failing to disclose that money would be paid to informants inside extremist groups.
The grand jury indictment was filed April 21 by the U.S. Justice Department against the Montgomery-based organization, which works to combat discrimination and racism particularly in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Mississippi.
The SPLC denies wrongdoing, and no individual is charged.
The group has drawn criticism from conservatives including FBI Director Kash Patel, especially after it included Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA in a report about “hate and extremism.” Kirk was killed during a Utah college appearance in 2025.
Supporters say the SPLC is being unfairly targeted by the Trump administration for its civil rights triumphs.
Today, an arraignment was held in federal court in Montgomery on charges of money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud and false statements to a bank.
The Justice Department accuses the organization of defrauding donors by using their money to fund the same extremism it says it fights. At least $3 million went to informants affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, the National Socialist Party of America and other groups between 2014 and 2023, the indictment says.
CEO Bryan Fair said the payments went to confidential informants to monitor threats of violence from the extremist groups. The information gathered helped save lives, he said, and was frequently shared with the FBI.
“The charges against the SPLC are provably wrong; they are based on inaccurate facts and a misapplication of law,” Fair said in a statement today. ”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. There is no question that the information the SPLC shared with law enforcement saved lives.”
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche recently acknowledged that the organization has a history of sharing information with law enforcement after he was challenged for saying the opposite.
“That’s well-documented, and there’s no dispute there. They aren’t charged with any of that conduct,” Blanche said.
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