A left-wing group long trusted by the Biden Justice Department now stands accused of secretly paying extremists to fuel the very hate it claimed to fight.
Story Snapshot
- Federal prosecutors say the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) covertly funneled over $3 million to extremists over nearly a decade.
- House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan says Biden’s Justice Department partnered “closely” with SPLC, even letting it train federal prosecutors.[3][4]
- Allegations include payments tied to Ku Klux Klan-linked figures, shell companies, and even support activities around the 2017 Charlottesville rally.[3]
- SPLC denies wrongdoing, but its witness refused to answer key questions in Congress, leaving serious concerns about donor fraud and weaponized “hate” labels.[4]
Indictment Alleges SPLC Money Reached Extremists
Federal grand jury charges now at the center of this fight claim the Southern Poverty Law Center secretly pushed more than $3 million in donor money to people tied to violent extremist groups between 2014 and 2023.[3] Court filings and related reporting say those recipients included individuals linked to the Ku Klux Klan, the United Klans of America, and National Socialist organizations.[3] Prosecutors accuse insiders of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and lying to a federally insured bank, all tied to these covert payments.[3]
Reports based on the superseding indictment say the scheme allegedly used shell companies and intermediaries to hide where the money went and who controlled it.[3] Some of this money is said to have paid for rallies, uniforms such as robes and hoods, and even materials used for cross burnings.[3] One informant reportedly helped organize transportation for the 2017 Charlottesville rally while on the SPLC payroll, raising the charge that donor funds helped stage events later used to justify more “hate group” alarms and fundraising appeals.[3]
Jordan: Biden DOJ “Partnered Closely” With SPLC
House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan has launched an aggressive probe into how the Biden-Harris Justice Department relied on the SPLC while these alleged payments were underway.[3][4] In a formal letter to SPLC President Bryan Fair, Jordan writes that publicly available records show the Justice Department scheduled regular meetings with SPLC, gave the group early access to federal law-enforcement data, and even let SPLC employees train federal prosecutors on civil-rights enforcement.[3][4]
Jordan’s committee also points to an internal Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) system that held at least 13 documents citing SPLC materials, including the infamous Richmond memo that smeared “radical traditional Catholics” as potential violent extremists.[3] According to the committee’s summary, Biden-era officials in the Civil Rights Division met repeatedly with SPLC staff while using its lists and reports to shape enforcement priorities.[3][4] Jordan argues this tight partnership, built on a group now under indictment, is fresh proof of how the Biden administration weaponized federal law against people of faith and conservative causes.[4]
“Manufacturing Hate” and Fundraising Off the Fire
During a heated House hearing, Jordan accused SPLC of “running a scam” by paying “informants” to stir up the very hate and chaos the group then used to drive donations and government influence.[2] He cited reporting that SPLC’s fundraising exploded after high-profile clashes like Charlottesville and after it branded pro-life and Christian groups as extremists, jumping from tens of millions of dollars to well over one hundred million dollars in a single year.[3] In Jordan’s framing, SPLC did not just respond to hate—it had financial incentives to keep hate in the headlines.[2][3]
Jordan and allied witnesses argued that SPLC’s pattern looks like “create the fire, then get rich claiming to put it out.”[2] They tied this to the Biden-era use of SPLC material in enforcing the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act against pro-life activists, saying prosecutors were trained by a group that openly called the pro-life movement “fundamentally anti-democratic.”[2][4] To many conservatives, that combination—secret money to extremists, public smears of mainstream believers, and deep access inside the Justice Department—looks less like neutral civil-rights work and more like a political weapon aimed at their faith and free-speech rights.[2][4]
SPLC Pushes Back but Dodges Key Questions
At the House hearing labeled “The Southern Poverty Law Center: Manufacturing Hate,” SPLC’s chosen witness and allies denied the broader narrative but often refused to address the specific money trail now at issue.[4] Reports say SPLC leaders maintain that the indictment is wrong and that their use of confidential informants has helped law enforcement track dangerous extremists in the past.[3][4] However, they chose to route most responses through lawyers, citing the ongoing criminal case, instead of answering directly under oath.[4]
Video from the hearing shows Jordan pressing Democratic witness Maya Wiley on whether SPLC paid racists to act as racists online and in person, only to be met with deflections and process answers.[2] Wiley repeatedly declined to tackle the substance of the payments, saying pending litigation limited what she could say. That refusal means many of the sharpest accusations—about shell companies, Charlottesville logistics, and donor deception—remain uncontested in public, even as the SPLC insists it is a neutral watchdog unfairly targeted by conservatives.[3][4]
Sources:
[2] Web – Jim Jordan demands SPLC documents after federal indictment is filed
[3] YouTube – ‘I DIDN’T ASK IF IT’S LAWFULL OR NOT…’: Jordan rips into SPLC …
[4] Web – DOJ expands case against SPLC over alleged KKK payments – WCIV
