Federal authorities on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, accusing the prominent civil rights group of orchestrating a years-long fraud scheme that allegedly funneled money to extremist organizations.
The charges were announced by Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, who said a grand jury in Alabama returned an 11-count indictment including wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the alleged scheme ran from 2014 through 2023 and involved more than $3 million in donor funds.
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Prosecutors claim the SPLC “secretly funneled” that money to individuals tied to extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the National Socialist Movement, and other organizations the nonprofit publicly identifies as threats.
Blanche said the payments were tied to the organization’s research and reporting efforts, but argued the conduct contradicted its stated mission.
“[SPLC] was doing the exact opposite of what it told its donors it was doing — not dismantling extremism but funding it,” Blanche said at a press conference.
Officials also alleged the nonprofit used shell companies to disguise the source of payments, allowing transactions to pass through financial institutions without raising suspicion.
Patel described the conduct as a “widespread, decade-long, multimillion dollar fraud,” accusing the organization of deceiving both donors and banks.
The SPLC, however, forcefully rejected the allegations.
In a public statement, CEO Bryan Fair said the group is reviewing the charges but called them “false,” defending the organization’s decades-long mission to combat hate and extremism.
“We are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC,” Fair said, adding that the organization’s work has “saved lives” and remains essential to confronting violent groups.
The nonprofit also signaled it will mount a full legal defense, vowing to continue its operations despite the charges.
The case sets up a high-stakes legal battle that could reshape one of the country’s most recognizable advocacy groups — and test how far law enforcement can go in scrutinizing organizations that track and engage with extremist movements.
Watch the clip below:
NEW: Bombshell DOJ report says the Southern Poverty Law Center lied to donors and funneled $3M+ to white supremacist and extremist groups like the KKK for nearly a decade. | @davidspunt @FaulknerFocus pic.twitter.com/eAkt9UrBtP
— Fox News (@FoxNews) April 22, 2026
