Justice Department Expands Charge Against SPLC for Allegedly Funding KKK, Other Extremists
The Justice Department expanded its indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, accusing the nonprofit civil rights organization of funneling millions in tax-exempt funds to extremist groups. The accusations include purchasing materials for KKK robes, facilitating cross burnings and funding travel for extremist demonstrations. FBI Director Kash Patel vowed to “follow the money” to bring everyone involved to justice, and emphasized the ongoing investigation into criminal conduct.
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A top Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) official has been accused of helping funnel more than $1.2 million in donor funds to a confidential informant who infiltrated a neo-Nazi organization (a source prosecutors say was also the official's secret romantic partner).
The details were revealed in a superseding indictment filed June 2 by the Department of Justice (DOJ) against the SPLC, which has faced increasing scrutiny over allegations that it funded people linked to extremist groups it publicly opposed.
According to the document, the director of the SPLC Intelligence Project was in a secret romantic relationship with a paid field source who infiltrated a neo-Nazi organization known as the National Alliance under the direction of the SPLC.
The SPLC director reportedly shared a home with the source and allegedly used a fake company to funnel charitable funds to the partner. A significant portion of the money reportedly ended up in a shared bank account that was used to fund their life together.
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SPLC Intelligence Project Director Heidi Beirich speaks during an event on January 12, 2018. (David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
According to the details set forth in the superseding indictment, the individual was identified only as the “person who would become Director of the SPLC Intelligence Project.” The official reportedly carried out the financial transactions between 2015 and 2021.
According to congressional and SPLC documents, the director at the time was Heidi L. Beirich, an extremism researcher who held the position from 2012 to 2019.
The SPLC declined to comment to Fox News Digital.
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The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) building seen in March 2020 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Barry Lewis/InPictures via Getty Images)
Prosecutors allege that a bogus shell company created by the SPLC, known as “Tech Writers,” was used to funnel donor money directly to the official's romantic partner.
“The SPLC actively led donors to believe that their donations would be used to 'dismantle' violent extremist groups,” the indictment states. “However, the SPLC concealed from donors the fact that a portion of the donated funds were secretly used to support extremist groups and finance their violent, racist and extremist activities.”
Neo-Nazis, alt-right and white supremacists the night before the 'Unite the Right' rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, where white supremacists marched with tiki torches across the University of Virginia campus. (Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Investigators reportedly traced approximately $140,000 in donor funds directly from the SPLC's main operating account through the shell company Tech Writers and ultimately to the couple's shared personal bank account.
Prosecutors said those funds represented about two-thirds of the money held in the couple's joint accounts and were used to pay everyday household and living expenses.
