SPLC Indictment Reactions

A federal fraud indictment against a civil rights nonprofit shocked many Americans

Late Tuesday afternoon, the Department of Justice announced a criminal indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, a 55-year-old civil rights group founded to help poor people in the American South fight Jim Crow-era segregation and discrimination.

Reactions to the indictment:

“We are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC — an organization that for 55 years has stood as a beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multi-racial democracy where we can all live and thrive. Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do. To be clear, this program saved lives.” — Bryan Fair, CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center

“Lemme get this straight A civil rights group is being criminally charged for paying informants to get info about the KKK & neo-Nazis that was then shared with law enforcement? That’s basically what the FBI does! Should they prosecute themselves?” — Norm Eisen, co-founder and publisher of The Contrarian, former ambassador, former White House ethics counsel

“Let’s be clear: The Trump Admin’s vendetta against the SPLC is a sign of how impactful their work is. The SPLC has been at the forefront of exposing some of America’s most notorious hate groups, like the KKK. The fact that the Trump Admin feels threatened by that speaks volumes.” — Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)

“This indictment really is absurd. Trump’s DOJ and FBI are accusing the SPLC of sponsoring far-right extremism instead of combating it. Even though the FBI worked with SPLC to combat extremism until last year. The indictment is ridiculous.” — Tom Joscelyn, senior fellow at Just Security, former Jan. 6 Committee senior professional staffer and principal drafter of committee’s final report.

“The theory of the case -- that the SPLC defrauded donors by promising to “dismantle” hate groups while secretly paying informants inside said hate groups, a tactic that it has carried out for nearly half a century -- is completely absurd.” — Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council.

“The SPLC has spent decades tracking hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacist organizations. Republicans have increasingly accused the group of unfairly branding conservative and Christian organizations as extremists.” — Alt National Park Service

“Fresh from moving to vacate the DOJ’s own criminal convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers for seditious conspiracy, Todd Blanche and Kash Patel have now criminally indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center for infiltrating extremist groups with paid informants—exactly what the FBI does! There seems to be zero legitimacy to the charges. This is vindictive prosecution of a civil rights group for opposing the violent white nationalists Trump pardons and pampers.” — House Judiciary Dems

“Rooting out organized extremism is among the hardest and most dangerous work in American civil society…. At LULAC, we know something about standing in the path of that hate. Our community has lived through a record surge in anti-Latino hate crimes, through political rhetoric that dehumanizes immigrant families, and through the downstream consequences of movements that SPLC has been tracking and exposing for decades. The intelligence, the reporting, and the legal work SPLC has produced has been a resource for our community and for the entire civil rights coalition. We are worse off if that work is silenced. It is not lost on me, or on anyone watching carefully, that this indictment arrives at a moment when civil rights organizations, law firms, universities, and foundations are being targeted in ways that appear designed to chill advocacy and punish dissent. That context matters. It should matter to every American who believes that the answer to hate is more speech, more transparency, and more accountability, not less. SPLC will have its day in court, and I am confident that the full record of its work, honestly examined, will stand on its own. In the meantime, LULAC stands with SPLC. I stand with Bryan Fair, with the board, and with every member of the staff and legal team who will keep showing up to do this work despite the pressure being brought to bear on them. I have supported this organization in the past, I support it now, and I will always continue to do so. The fight against hate in America does not stop because it becomes inconvenient to a few powerful people. Neither will we.” — Juan Proaño, CEO, League of United Latin American Citizens

“The Trump administration is waging a vindictive campaign against the organizations that safeguard our democracy. Weaponizing the DOJ to indict long-standing watchdogs is a message: if you defend voting rights, fight white supremacy, or protect civil rights, you’re next. This is an assault on the institutions that make freedom real for everyone. They will not succeed.” — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)

“The Southern Poverty Law Center has spent decades protecting Americans from fascism and white supremacy and ensuring we can all live our lives free from discrimination and hate. It’s thus not surprising that they are now the target of the Trump administration and its politicized Department of Justice, which stands for everything the SPLC fights against. But it should deeply concern every American when any administration–be it Democrat or Republican–can weaponize an agency against a civil rights non-profit simply because they disagree with their aims. They are trying to intimidate SPLC and all civil rights organizations from speaking out and doing our work. If they can come for one of us, they can come for all of us. We stand with SPLC and all of our colleagues advancing civil rights in these trying times. Our work is more important now than ever.” — Kelley Robinson, president, Human Rights Campaign

“Trump sees a “threat” and goes after it with any lever of power he can grasp. It’s the same story time and time again. But the “threat” that Trump sees is an organization that’s been at the forefront of the fight for a more equal and just society.” — Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ)

“Indictment of @splcenter.org is based on clear false narrative. False: DOJ and Kash Patel’s claim that SPLC supported white supremacist groups via paying informants. Reality: “We frequently shared what we learned from informants with local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI.” — Ryan Goodman, co-editor-in-chief of Just Security, chaired professor at New York University Law School, former special counsel in the Defense Department.

“The Southern Poverty Law Center has been at the forefront of the fight against hate groups and violent white supremacist organizations for more than five decades, often at great risk. Such extremist groups are a scourge on our democracy. For years, the Department of Justice has recognized white supremacy as a fundamental threat to our national security…. Reprehensibly, the Trump administration has not brought these groups to justice. LDF condemns in the strongest possible terms any effort to deploy government resources to target civil rights organizations committed to exposing white supremacy instead of trying to combat it. The federal government is duty bound to protect the rights and liberties of all people in the United States and not act as an instrument of intimidation. We stand in solidarity with SPLC and reject this apparent attempt to distract from this failure and other failures of this administration.” — Janai Nelson, president and director-counsel of the Legal Defense Fund

“According the AG Blanche, “The SPLC is manufacturing racism to justify its existence.” This is some whacked out far-right fantasy. Hard to imagine this theory will hold up in court, but the lives of paid informants who infiltrated hate groups will be at risk.” — Barb McQuade, University of Michigan Law School professor, MSNOW legal analyst, The Contrarian contributor, former U.S. Attorney in the Eastern District of Michigan.

“I’ve seen a lot of shocking things in the last ten years, but as someone who has admired the work of the SPLC in documenting and calling out hate groups for decades, this is truly up there.” — Elizabeth Cronise McLaughlin, founder of
the Gaia Leadership Project and The Ripple Effect Institute and host of
ResistanceLive on YT.

“Let’s be clear about what is happening. This government is using the full weight of federal prosecution to target an organization whose mission is rooting out violent extremism. This is part and parcel of Trump’s attack on free speech, on nonprofits, and one anyone who dares disagree with him. First it was lawfare against political
opponents. Then it was revoking the tax status of universities. Now it’s a federal indictment against one of the most historic civil rights organizations in America. The SPLC has saved lives. It will not be silenced — and neither will we.” — Sen.
Cory Booker (D-NJ)

“The DOJ uses paid informants all the time —why is it OK for them but not the SPLC? @splcenter plays a vital role in fighting hatred, yet has been unfairly targeted by Trump and House Republicans since day one. This politicized intimidation needs to stop, now.” — Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-NY), lead counsel of Trump Impeachment 1.0 and former assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

“The so-called indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center announced by Todd Blanche and Kash Patel is baseless and illegitimate. These partisan hacks who continue to weaponize the criminal justice system against perceived opponents will never intimidate us. And all of them will be held accountable for their corrupt
behavior no matter what it takes.” — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)

“By going after the Southern Poverty Law Center, the Trump administration has dramatically escalated its attack on civil rights organizations and its defense of white
supremacists. These intimidation tactics won’t succeed. “ — Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA)

“The administration’s latest targeting of the Southern Poverty Law Center
marks another step in a progression of dangerous abuses of executive power and
another direct attack on the nonprofit sector. Nonprofits are essential to protecting communities, advancing civil rights, and strengthening civil society. Efforts to intimidate or silence them undermine the very institutions that sustain our democracy. The National Council of Nonprofits strongly condemns this misuse of authority and stands firmly with organizations facing politically motivated attacks.” — Diane Yentel, president & CEO The National Council of Nonprofits

“What should trouble any lover of liberty is that the right has had SPLC and other civil rights groups in its crosshairs for some time. This administration has been explicit about punishing anyone it perceives as an enemy and that is definitely how it perceives civil rights groups. It has now gone so far as to [indict] a mainstream civil rights organization that tracks hate, fights for voting rights and fights for work that pays and healthy care access, with crimes.” — Maya Wiley, president & CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil & Human Rights and author of “Remember You Are A Wiley.”

“Civil rights organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center play a critical role in our democracy, working to protect people from hate and discrimination and safeguard Americans’ fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to vote. Dismantling civil rights protections while attacking organizations that exist to defend those rights is an alarming escalation of this administration’s ongoing efforts to undermine our cherished democracy and advance an authoritarian agenda. We stand with our partners in the broad and diverse coalition of organizations working to defend the freedom to vote, the right to dissent, and the rule of law.” — Trevor Potter, president of the nonpartisan nonprofit Campaign Legal Center

“The Department of Justice’s indictment is a declaration of war on the civil rights movement. This is a malicious attempt to criminalize advocacy and clear the path for absolute power. By targeting the SPLC, this administration is declaring that anyone who confronts hate and discrimination does so at their own peril. This is a total inversion of justice. While this administration pardons insurrectionists, it weaponizes the federal government against an organization that has fought the Klan and Christian nationalism for over 50 years. They are rewriting history to make civil rights work itself look like a crime. We are not fooled. This is about dismantling the protections that allow marginalized communities to exist. When you attack the organizations working to end unjust imprisonment and fighting against discrimination, you attack the heartbeat of American democracy. The administration’s strategy is simple: intimidation. The League of Women Voters and our partners across the movement will not be intimidated. An attack on one is an attack on all Americans.” — The League of Women Voters

“No President — whether Trump or whoever comes after — should be able to weaponize the government against their political opponents. Adding to the absurdity of this administration’s indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center is the fact that the SPLC — a deeply rooted civil rights organization — has long been a partner of law enforcement in their shared work to keep communities safe from violent extremists. We stand united with them against this dangerous abuse of government power.” — Cole Leiter, executive director of Americans Against Government Censorship

“The investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center is yet another example of the Trump administration’s extreme attempts to silence its critics. This administration’s continued weaponization of the Justice Department to target organizations speaking out against its agenda is anti-American behavior harkening back to the McCarthy era. The ACLU stands in solidarity with the Southern Poverty Law Center. The SPLC’s work fighting hate, racism, and injustice in the American South has played a critical role in strengthening the civil rights of millions of Americans. While the Trump administration may not agree with the SPLC’s civil rights mission or work, its efforts to target the organization are fundamentally wrong. The Trump administration’s attack against the Southern Poverty Law Center is a direct threat to the values that make America great. In this time of unprecedented peril for our democracy, we urge all Americans of good conscience to join us as we stand in support of the Southern Poverty Law Center.” — Anthony D. Romero, executive director, ACLU

“We are clear that this is a sham case built on illegitimate claims, and it is meant to create a chilling effect on anyone standing on the side of justice and civil rights; particularly those fighting hate groups, white supremacist groups, and those standing up against this administration’s corruption and self-dealing. For more than 55 years, the SPLC has done some of the most difficult and most necessary work in American society: tracking the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, neo-Nazi networks, and other violent extremist organizations that threaten the safety of Black communities, Jewish communities, immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, and anyone else these groups target. The pattern here is unmistakable. This indictment follows a string of investigations into perceived opponents and critics of the Trump administration that have raised serious questions about whether the Justice Department has been turned into a political weapon. FBI Director Kash Patel publicly announced earlier this year that the FBI had severed its relationships with the SPLC, and the administration has made no secret of who it wants to protect and who it wants to destroy based on their loyalty to Donald Trump. Charging a civil rights organization with fraud for exposing the operations of violent hate groups turns the rule of law upside down. The message this indictment sends is simple. If you investigate white supremacists, the federal government will investigate you. If you name extremism, you will be accused of manufacturing it. If you stand up to this administration, you will be targeted. That is the chilling effect, and it is by design.” — Common Cause

“The indictment of veteran civil rights organization @splcenter.org is the Trump admin’s latest attempt to silence critics, perceived opponents, and those who continue to pursue justice, equality, and the rule of law. SPLC has made clear it won’t be silenced. The rest of us should do the same.” — Protect Democracy

“This administration has targeted people and institutions whose philosophies run contrary to its own, even as it has protected and rewarded its allies, disappearing convictions of people like Steve Bannon and January 6 defendants convicted on serious insurrection charges. Indicting the Southern Poverty Law Center sends a message—part of their work involves tracking white supremacists, like some of the people who overran the Capitol on January 6. The Justice Department is going after SPLC on a tenuous theory; at the same time, it’s making sure the kind of people the Center tracks are walking free. The message is: it’s open season, as long as you support the president.” — Joyce Vance, former United States Attorney, currently a law professor, legal analyst for MSNBC, and co-host of the #SistersInLaw and Cafe’s Insider podcasts.

“Today, the Trump administration’s Department of Justice indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center. We at the Vera Institute of Justice are in full solidarity with SPLC and condemn this action unequivocally. This is not an isolated event. It is a coordinated effort to eliminate organizations that train poll workers, fight discrimination, run food banks, and staff domestic violence hotlines—the people who make sure everyone can live, love, vote, and simply be themselves, free from hate and discrimination. SPLC has spent five decades documenting hate and fighting it. That work has saved lives. Silence right now is a choice—and we’re choosing to speak.” — Vera Institute of Justice

“He pardons violent extremists—January 6 offenders—while charging @splcenter, a civil rights organization that’s spent decades taking on the KKK.” — Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY)

“These charges are not about transparency – this is about political retaliation against a civil rights organization that challenges the administration’s power and its hateful agenda. The Southern Poverty Law Center has spent decades exposing hate and bigotry to protect our communities from violence. This is an organization that is actively fighting terrorism, not stoking it. To suggest otherwise is reprehensible; to weaponize our government against it is a blatant misuse of executive power. This is what fascism looks like, and the message is clear: bow to us, or you will be targeted. Let’s not forget, this indictment is coming from the same administration that pardoned Jan. 6 insurrectionists and protects sexual abusers. This administration does not suddenly care about reining in extremism – all it cares about is taking down a civil rights organization that it views as a threat. We stand firmly behind the Southern Poverty Law Center and the critical role it plays in keeping our communities safe and our democracy intact.” — National Women’s Law Center

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