SPLC Indicted With 11 Counts in Fraud Scheme That Included the KKK

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has been indicted with 11 felony counts in a decade-long fraud and money‑laundering scheme involving the covert payment of individuals tied to white supremacist and extremist organizations.

“Between 2014 and 2023, the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party),” reads a Department of Justice statement. The other extremist groups include United Klans of America, National Alliance, Nationalist Socialist Movement, American Front, and the leadership group that planned the 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, VA.

While this indictment represents a dramatic legal challenge for the SPLC, the organization is also embroiled in several other legal fights which involve Liberty Counsel. In King et al. v. Southern Poverty Law Center, Liberty Counsel represents the Dustin Inman Society (DIS) which claims the SPLC falsely designated it as a “hate group” for its advocacy for legislative reform to curtail illegal immigration. Currently, a district court has denied access to the SPLC’s internal editorial processes (emails, policies, methodologies) to see how it concluded DIS was a “hate group,” and Liberty Counsel has appealed to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals seeking the access it needs to prove claims the SPLC acted with actual malice in its “hate group” labeling.

In Jenkins v. Miller, a federal district judge awarded a complete and total victory for Liberty Counsel over the SPLC’s false allegations it was involved in a conspiracy to aid in international kidnapping. The case centers around Janet Jenkins who was awarded legal parent status to the daughter of her former spouse Lisa Miller in a custody battle, whereafter Miller subsequently fled to Nicaragua with her daughter until she turned 18. Jenkins falsely alleges Liberty Counsel was involved since Miller is a former Liberty Counsel client, yet extensive investigation clearly shows that Liberty Counsel did not know about and was not involved in Miller’s disappearance. The SPLC has appealed the district court’s exoneration and Liberty Counsel has urged the appeals court to “put an end to this baseless ligation.”

According to this week’s indictment, made by a federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama, prosecutors allege the SPLC engaged in wire fraud, made false statements to federally insured banks, and conspired to conceal financial transactions by funneling donor funds through fictitious entities.

The indictment, stemming from an investigation led by the FBI with assistance from the IRS, leads prosecutors to say that donors were misled into believing their contributions were being used solely to dismantle these groups, yet a portion of the funds was instead diverted to members or leaders within them.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a press conference that the SPLC “purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred,” but that “the SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose.”

Specifically, the grand jury’s indictment states the SPLC directed funds in the amounts of:

• more than $1 million to the National Alliance;
• more than $300,000 to the Aryan Nations;
• more than $270,000 to a member of the “Unite the Right” rally;
• more than $140,000 to the former chairman of the National Alliance;
• more than $73,000 to former Ku Klux Klan members;
• and more than $19,000 to the president of American Front.

Acting AG Blanche noted the investigation began years ago but that the Biden administration, who worked closely with the SPLC, shut it down.

In response to the indictment, SPLC interim President and CEO Bryan Fair confirmed that the organization had paid informants within extremist groups. However, Fair characterized those payments were for informants in the interest of staff safety and intelligence gathering purposes due to threats to the SPLC rather than any criminal wrongdoing.

However, federal officials contend the payments went beyond intelligence gathering and were knowingly directed to individuals in leadership positions within the extremist movements. If convicted, the SPLC could face forfeiture of any financial gains linked to the alleged scheme, stated the DOJ release.

Liberty Counsel’s Founder and Chairman Mat Staver said, “The Southern Poverty Law Center has falsely labeled Liberty Counsel and many other Christian conservative groups as ‘hate groups’ in a baseless, reckless attempt to damage the reputations of those with which it merely disagrees. Now, this indictment alleging more deceptive practices by the SPLC warrant thorough legal and judicial examination. Any organization that purports its mission as confronting extremist activities yet engages in questionable financial activities with those extremist organizations needs accountability. Transparency and accountability are essential to public trust and the rule of law.”

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