SPLC Indicted: The Organization That Labels Christians as Hate Groups Was Allegedly Paying Millions to the KKK

Southern Poverty Law Center Indicted on 11 Federal Counts for Allegedly Funneling $3 Million to KKK and White Supremacist Leaders

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama has indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on 11 counts, including wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that the SPLC allegedly distributed approximately $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to at least eight individuals connected to extremist organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and the National Alliance.

Specific payments cited in the indictment include $270,000 to an individual involved in planning the 2017 Charlottesville "Unite the Right" rally, $1 million to a National Alliance affiliated informant, over $300,000 to an Aryan Nations affiliated motorcycle club officer, $140,000 to a former National Alliance chairman, and $70,000 to a former National Socialist Party leader.

According to the indictment, the SPLC opened bank accounts connected to fictitious entities such as "Fox Photography" and "Rare Books Warehouse" to disguise the true nature and source of the money being funneled to these individuals.

Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche declared at a press conference:

The SPLC is manufacturing racism to justify its existence. Using donor money to allegedly profit off Klansmen cannot go unchecked.

FBI Director Kash Patel also addressed the charges:

They lied to their donors, vowing to dismantle violent extremist groups, and actually turned around and paid the leaders of these very extremist groups.

SPLC Interim President and CEO Bryan Fair defended the organization, calling the payments part of a paid confidential informant program.

This use of informants was necessary because we are no strangers to threats of violence. For decades, we engaged in unprecedented litigation to dismantle the Klan and other hate groups.

Fair characterized the indictment as evidence that "the federal government has been weaponized to dismantle the rights of our nation's most vulnerable people." The SPLC has vowed to "vigorously defend" itself against the charges.

DOJ Indicts SPLC for Wire Fraud and Money Laundering Over Secret Payments to Extremist Group Leaders

The case is being prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. The indictment alleges that the SPLC used these shell entities to conceal the ownership and control of fraudulently obtained donor funds, routing them to individuals embedded in the very hate groups the organization publicly claimed to oppose.

The charges mark a significant legal confrontation with one of the most prominent civil rights organizations in the United States, which has long been known for its "hate map" and controversial designations of groups as hate organizations.

The Crusader's Opinion

Let me get this straight. The organization that has spent decades labeling faithful Christian ministries as "hate groups" was secretly writing million dollar checks to actual Klansmen? The SPLC has smeared churches, family organizations, and Christian nonprofits with the same brush they use for the KKK, all while allegedly funding the real thing with donor money.

This is the very definition of hypocrisy. For years, the SPLC has been the weapon of choice for those who want to silence Christian voices in the public square. They labeled organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom and the Family Research Council as "hate groups" simply for holding to biblical truth. Meanwhile, $3 million allegedly flowed to white supremacists and violent extremists through fake bank accounts.

Evil always reveals itself. The mask has slipped, and the world can now see who was really profiting from hate.

Take Action

• Share this story widely so others know the truth about organizations that smear Christian ministries while allegedly funding actual extremism.
• Support Christian legal organizations like Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) that defend religious liberty and have been unfairly targeted by the SPLC's "hate group" labels.
• Contact your representatives and urge them to support accountability for nonprofits that misuse donor funds. Find your representative at house.gov.
• Pray for justice and truth to prevail in this case, and for the protection of Christian organizations that faithfully serve their communities.
• Support organizations that defend persecuted Christians worldwide at www.TheShepherdsShield.org and Open Doors.