WASHINGTON (AP) — This week’s criminal indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center has drawn outrage but not surprise from civil rights leaders who have been bracing for more than a year for increased legal scrutiny by the Trump administration and a coordinated response.
Advocates discussed in several rounds of phone calls after the indictment was released how to support the SPLC, a Montgomery, Alabama-based civil rights group founded in 1971 that has tracked white supremacist groups and been outspoken on voting rights, immigration and policing issues. Organizers agreed in a conference call that winning the court of public opinion was crucial as the judicial process began, leading to dozens of public rallies in support of the statement and plans.
Legal counsel for civil rights groups urged organizers to prepare for similar criminal prosecutions, lengthy legal proceedings that could drain resources and audits of their staff and internal documents.
The series of behind-the-scenes coordination represents a remarkable mobilization of activist groups that, like many universities, law firms and nonprofits, have been at loggerheads with the federal government since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last year.
“These organizations have learned from the law firm fiasco and have become a powerful force,” said Vanita Gupta, a former deputy attorney general at the Justice Department during the Biden administration, referring to deals struck by some major law firms with the government. Gupta led a call to rally activists.
“The government’s goal is often to shut down and paralyze an organization so that they have to stop working in self-defense. We hope that through extensive efforts to defend the SPLC, this will not happen,” Gupta said.
Organizers said they were prepared to support the SPLC’s legal fight.
“This is a blatant attack on civil rights and civil liberties designed to whitewash the foot soldiers of the Great Replacement theory and other extremists. This coalition will not remain silent,” said Maya Wiley, president and CEO of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, an umbrella group of hundreds of civil rights groups.
A coalition of more than 100 activist groups did not respond to the indictment on Tuesday, instead issuing a letter pledging solidarity with groups who have been “unfairly targeted” by the federal government. SPLC is a signatory to the agreement.
“An attack on one is an attack on all,” the alliance declared. “We will share knowledge, resources and support with any organization threatened by abuse of power.”
DOJ alleges criminal conduct in SPLC’s long-term informant network
The Justice Department alleges that the SPLC, which rose to prominence by prosecuting and tracking hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, violated federal law through its network of paid informants within extremist groups. The U.S. Department of Justice claimed the payments funded hate groups and misled SPLC donors.
The SPLC currently faces charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering in a case filed in federal court in Alabama, where the organization is based.
“The SPLC is creating racism to justify its existence,” Acting Attorney General Todd Branch said at a news conference announcing the charges. Branch promised that the department “will hold accountable the SPLC and all other fraudulent organizations that operate using the same deceptive tactics.”
Longtime civil rights activists find the claims a dishonest and partisan move that could empower extremist groups.
“This indictment is nakedly political and represents an attack on the Justice Department’s self,” said Mark Morial, president of the National Urban League. “It effectively puts the Department of Justice in the position of defending white supremacist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.”
Supporters also see the indictments as part of a broader effort by the administration to subvert civil rights laws and the Justice Department’s prosecution of Trump’s political opponents.
In recent years, the SPLC has become something of a nuisance among conservatives who are unhappy with watchdog groups designating several right-wing groups involved in Republican politics as hate or extremist groups.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, which has been designated a hate group by the SPLC, said the government should not only hold those convicted but also provide compensation to those harmed by the SPLC.
“For years, the SPLC has used its platform to label and target organizations with which it disagrees, often blurring the line between legitimate concerns and ideological attacks,” Perkins said in a statement. “Such reckless characterizations not only damage reputations, they put lives at risk.”
In October, FBI Director Kash Patel canceled the agency’s long-standing counter-extremism partnerships with the SPLC and the Anti-Semitism Anti-Defamation League. At the time, Patel called the SPLC a “partisan smear machine.”
The Justice Department and SPLC did not respond to requests for comment.
Indictment represents notable shift in civil rights efforts
Supporters dispute the DOJ’s description of the SPLC’s work.
“The problem is that the indictment basically alleges that it was a fraud for SPLC donors to use funds to fight the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis and other white supremacist groups, and that’s exactly why people donated to the organization,” said Norm Eisen, founder of Action for Democracy Defenders, which works with groups involved in legal disputes with the Trump administration.
Eisen added: “The idea that using informants and protecting their identities to prevent white supremacist violence is misguided, but in fact that’s not just what the SPLC does, it’s what the FBI itself stocks and trades.”
Civil rights groups are now preparing for further legal action. Over the last year, organizations have reviewed their document retention, tax compliance and audit policies to guard against any investigations or litigation.
Some civil rights groups have also proposed creating new organizational structures that would better withstand legal scrutiny. On another recent call, activists proposed restructuring some groups into for-profit entities or possibly developing new financial channels for donors to ensure staff can be paid if an organization’s assets are seized or frozen.
The preparations represent a notable shift for many civil rights leaders, who in recent years have viewed the Justice Department under both Democratic and Republican administrations as a reliable ally in key civil rights battles.
“What we are seeing in real time is the administration trying to use its position to target individuals and organizations that disagree with its political ideology,” said NAACP President Derrick Johnson, who said the Justice Department has been “armed by dangerous forces.”
But for other leaders, the SPLC indictment stokes fears of a return to a previous era, when the Justice Department spied on civil rights leaders to disrupt their activities.
“We are not going to back down, but we are clear-headed. If you are targeted by this administration, everyone is potentially in some form of danger,” said Juan Proano, CEO of United Latin American Citizens. The coalition is a civil rights group suing the Trump administration over executive orders involving birthright citizenship and mail-in voting.
“That’s what they want; they want this to have a chilling effect,” Proano said.
