The Department of Justicerevealed on Tuesdaya grand jury returned an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, a purported anti-hate group, for wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to conceal money laundering.
The charges stem from the SPLC allegedly and secretly providing funds to members of extremist groups under the guise of documenting and fighting against hate.
“The SPLC is manufacturing racism to justify its existence,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “Using donor money to allegedly profit off Klansmen cannot go unchecked. This Department of Justice will hold the SPLC and every other fraudulent organization operating with the same deceptive playbook accountable. No entity is above the law.”
The indictment says over many years, the SPLC funded members of these groups to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars and in one case one million.
$1 million to an affiliate of the National Alliance
$300,000 to an affiliate of the Aryan Nations
$270,000 to an “Unite the Right” member
$73,000 to former Klu Klux Klan members
“As the indictment describes, the SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred,” said Blanche.
SPLC CEO Bryan Fair said the organization “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work,”according to the AP.
Source: PolitiBrawl
