US Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during a press conference at the Department of Justice in Washington, DC on April 21, 2026. The US Department of Justice announced the indictment on April 21 of a prominent US civil rights organization over its use of donor money to pay confidential informants in extremist groups. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) faces charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP via Getty Images)
  • A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on 11 counts, including wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. Two forfeiture actions were also filed to recover alleged proceeds.
  • The SPLC is accused of secretly funneling more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals associated with the Ku Klux Klan, National Alliance, National Socialist Movement, Aryan Nations-affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, and other white supremacist groups that the organization publicly denounced. Donors were told contributions would fight racism and dismantle white supremacy.
  • The indictment alleges the SPLC operated a hidden network since the 1980s, using fictitious entities and undisclosed bank accounts to conceal payments while making false statements to banks. No SPLC employees are named in the charges.
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