The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a prominent US civil rights organisation, has been indicted on federal fraud charges related to payments made to confidential informants infiltrating extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan. The US Department of Justice announced an 11-count indictment, including wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering, following an investigation by the US attorney for the middle district of Alabama.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche alleged that the SPLC was “doing the exact opposite of what it’s told its donors it was doing – not dismantling extremism, but funding it”. FBI Director Kash Patel called the informant programme “a serious and egregious violation” that “only fueled the hatred”. Prosecutors claim the SPLC covertly funnelled more than $3m to confidential sources between 2014 and 2023, using fictitious entities such as “Center Investigative Agency” and “Fox Photography” to conceal the transfers.
The SPLC’s chief executive, Bryan Fair, called the allegations “false” and said the informant programme “saved lives”. He argued that the use of paid informants was necessary due to threats of violence, including a 1983 fire-bombing of their offices. The SPLC no longer uses paid informants, Fair added.
Legal experts expressed scepticism about the case. Andrew Tessman, a former federal prosecutor, noted that proving intent to defraud for a corporate entity is “exceptionally difficult”, but suggested that charges of making false statements to banks could be more viable. The indictment was unsealed shortly after the DOJ confirmed a criminal inquiry into the SPLC’s informant practices.
