Southern Poverty Law Center attorneys make first court appearance in fraud case
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center will appear in court Thursday 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 filed April 21 by the U.S. Justice Department is an extraordinary strike against the Alabama-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.
An arraignment on charges of money laundering conspiracy, wire fraud and false statements to a bank was set for Thursday in federal court in Montgomery.
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.
“We are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC,” Fair said when the charges were filed.
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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Associated Press writer Ed White in Detroit contributed.
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