A federal grand jury in Alabama has indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on 11 counts alleging fraud tied to the nonprofit’s investigations of extremist groups. The indictment, announced Tuesday by the Justice Department, charges the organization with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the indictment, the SPLC ran a paid informant program in which it provided money to individuals associated with far‑right organizations. Prosecutors allege the group failed to disclose those payments to donors and to banks. The complaint says more than $3 million in donated funds were funneled to people linked to extremist groups, including organizations described as neo‑Nazi and Ku Klux Klan‑linked. It also alleges the SPLC paid the leader of a group involved in planning the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, where counterprotester Heather Heyer was killed.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the SPLC “purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred” but accused the group of not dismantling such organizations and instead “manufactur[ing] the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.” Those comments mirror the central allegation in the indictment that the payments helped create or exaggerate extremist activity.
The SPLC rejected the charges. Interim president and CEO Bryan Fair called the allegations false and said the organization is “outraged” and will “vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work.” Fair previously acknowledged that the group had been the subject of a Department of Justice probe related to a now‑defunct paid confidential informant program.
Acting AG Blanche said the paid informant program continued through at least 2023. He described the investigation as having spanned multiple years, paused for a period during the Biden administration and later being revived. The indictment and DOJ statements set up what both the agency and the SPLC describe as a likely contentious legal fight.
The SPLC is widely known for tracking white supremacists and other hate groups and has been a frequent target of criticism from allies of former President Donald Trump. The indictment formalizes criminal allegations that will be resolved in court; the organization has not been convicted of the charges and has denied wrongdoing.