By The Department of Justice has indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on multiple federal charges, accusing the civil rights nonprofit of secretly directing more than $3 million in donor funds to individuals tied to white supremacist and other extremist groups over nearly a decade.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges Wednesday, outlining what prosecutors described as a scheme in which the Alabama-based organization paid at least eight figures connected to hate groups to act as informants while publicly condemning those same organizations. The indictment includes counts of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, reported to The New York Post.
According to court documents, the payments took place between 2014 and 2023 and were routed to so-called “field sources” embedded within extremist circles. Prosecutors allege the organization concealed these arrangements from donors, who were told their contributions would be used to combat and dismantle such groups.
The indictment details payments to individuals with direct ties to organizations including the Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups. Among those allegedly compensated were an Imperial Wizard of the United Klans of America, a fundraiser for a neo-Nazi organization, and participants involved in planning the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia.
One informant reportedly received $270,000 while helping organize transportation to the rally and posting racist content at the organization’s direction, according to prosecutors. Another individual linked to the National Alliance was paid roughly $1 million and allegedly stole documents from the group’s headquarters that later informed a published exposé. A second individual tied to the same group received $6,000 to take responsibility for the theft.
SLPC paid one of the organizers of Charlottesville $270k – I’m floored!
“F-37 was a member of the online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 "Unite the Right" event in Charlottesville, Virginia and attended the event at the direction of the SPLC. F-37 made racist… https://t.co/ajmmLYQtD8
— Chris Heatherly (@chrisheatherly) April 21, 2026
Additional payments allegedly went to individuals affiliated with the National Socialist Movement, Aryan Nations, the American Front, and various Ku Klux Klan factions, including figures identified as an Exalted Cyclops and a former Grand Wizard. Prosecutors also allege that one recipient, a former National Alliance chairman, was simultaneously profiled in the organization’s own “Extremist Files” database while receiving $140,000.
Critics say the alleged conduct raises fundamental questions about the nonprofit’s practices. Gene Hamilton, president of America First Legal and a former DOJ official, called the arrangement unprecedented for a tax-exempt organization. “It’s mind-bogglingly dumb,” he said, comparing it to a group opposed to diversity initiatives secretly funding more such programs while soliciting donations to oppose them.
Liora Rez of StopAntisemitism also criticized the alleged scheme, saying it was “unimaginable” that an organization claiming to fight bigotry would manufacture or amplify it to generate contributions.
The organization pushed back against the charges. CEO Bryan Fair said it is being politically targeted and defended the payments as legitimate compensation for confidential informants gathering intelligence on violent threats. He said the information collected was shared with law enforcement.
Prosecutors allege the group used fictitious entities and bank accounts to move funds while continuing to promote its work monitoring extremism to attract donor support.
Founded in 1971 with roots in civil rights litigation, the organization has long produced reports identifying what it considers hate groups and extremists. Those designations have influenced media coverage, corporate policies, and government agencies.
The case also revives scrutiny of the organization’s broader influence. Past FBI training materials reportedly drew on its resources, and critics have argued its classifications have expanded to include mainstream political and religious viewpoints. During the previous administration, the group maintained contacts with the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, with officials reportedly consulting it on issues related to domestic extremism. A whistleblower claimed that the Biden White House used the SPLC to label pro-lifers are extremists to be targeted.
Federal prosecutors argue the alleged conduct not only defrauded donors but may have inflated narratives of racial hatred, potentially reinforcing the organization’s role and influence.
The case remains pending in federal court.
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