The Trump administration appears to be on a mission to rid us of the most divisive, left-wing/communist/Marxist influences on the country, and I’m just going to remind my readers that yeah, I voted for this.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has reported that the Justice Department is conducting a criminal investigation into the organization, which may lead to federal charges due to its use of paid informants to infiltrate groups it opposes. The SPLC announced the investigation in a public statement, noting that the DOJ “is preparing to bring criminal charges against the SPLC or some of its staff”:
The Southern Poverty Law Center says it’s the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and faces possible charges over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.
The civil rights group made the announcement on Tuesday, saying President Donald Trump’s administration appears to be preparing legal action against it or some of its employees.
“Although we don’t know all the details, the focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups,” CEO Bryan Fair said in a statement.
The Justice Department had no immediate comment.
The Southern Poverty Law Center previously paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups and gather information on their activities, often sharing it with local and federal law enforcement, Fair said. It was used to monitor threats of violence, he said, adding that the program was kept quiet to protect the safety of informants.
“When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the Civil Rights Movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system,” Fair said. “There is no question that what we learned from informants saved lives.”
The SPLC has used informants to monitor extremist groups, with those sources also sharing information with local and federal law enforcement agencies. The organization has said it maintains confidentiality around the program to protect the safety of its informants.
Prior to the investigation, the SPLC maintained working relationships with federal agencies, including during the administration of former President Joe Biden. The group provided research used by the U.S. Department of Justice in areas such as training and civil rights enforcement.
House Republicans later examined those ties in a hearing titled “Partisan and Profitable: The SPLC’s Influence on Federal Civil Rights Policy,” where some lawmakers accused the organization of coordinating with the Justice Department in ways they said disproportionately affected certain religious and political groups.
It comes in mens and womens and lets your friends know you're happy to express your views and don't care what anyone thinks! Cheers!
FBI Director Kash Patel announced in October that the Bureau had cut ties with the SPLC. In a statement, he noted that “the Southern Poverty Law Center long ago abandoned civil rights work and turned into a partisan smear machine” and that its “so-called ‘hate map’ has been used tot defame mainstream Americans and even inspired violence.”
For years, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has faced criticism for its misleading tactics, particularly regarding its “hate map,” which identifies nearly 1,400 organizations and individuals it designates as hateful extremists. Notably, the SPLC primarily targets right-wing figures and groups while often overlooking those on the left.
For example, it classified Turning Point USA as an “anti-government” or “hard right” organization, placing it alongside groups like the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazis. In many instances, the SPLC has also misrepresented regular conservative and Christian organizations in a similar fashion.
As they say, karma is slow, but she’s almost always on time.
