It's being called the federal government's brazen attack on an esteemed civil rights organization. Of course, I'm describing the indictments against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) handed down this past week by Acting US Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel.

Interestingly, the indictments say that SPLC was funding extremist groups rather than protecting us from them. The 11 indictments show that for nearly a decade (2014-2023), SPLC funneled more than $3 million in donations to people associated with various violent groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations (a neo-Nazi group), and the National Socialist Party of America.

A "Civil Rights" Organization

Before we delve further into the mess SPLC has created for itself, let's look at the history. The organization was founded in Montgomery, Alabama in 1971 by two civil rights attorneys, Morris Dees and Joseph Levin Jr., a Christian and a Jew, respectively. (Interestingly, SPLC fired Dees in 2019 for hitting on young women, and black employees internally accused Dees of racism.) Wow.

Its purpose was to legally represent (for free) poor people in the south, and to ensure that the new civil rights laws were enforced. The organization has brought many lawsuits against segregation and discrimination, and they continue an expanded mission today. Per their own website, they call themselves a beacon of hope for 55 years, by expanded focus on voting rights, children's rights, economic justice, immigrant justice, LGBTQ rights, and mass incarceration.

What About The Money Laundering?

On the surface, the mission sounds right and just, so where does the money laundering come into the picture? SPLC is charged with bank fraud, wire fraud, concealing money laundering, and making false statements to a federally insured bank. The US Attorney's Office in Alabama, the FBI and the IRS Criminal Investigation Unit all investigated SPLC thoroughly, and that investigation led to the double-digit indictments.