Overview
- The Southern Poverty Law Center faces 11 federal counts that accuse it of wire fraud, false statements to a bank, and a money‑laundering conspiracy tied to years of covert informant payouts.
- Prosecutors say the group routed roughly $3 million from 2014 to 2023 through shell entities and spread funds across accounts, with one source allegedly paid more than $1 million.
- Justice Department leaders assert the SPLC hid the payments and “manufactured” extremism, and the acting attorney general said he saw no evidence the paid intelligence was shared with law enforcement.
- SPLC attorneys counter that paying confidential sources is a long‑standing practice used to gather tips for police and the FBI, and they moved to obtain grand‑jury materials and to correct what they call prejudicial DOJ remarks.
- A magistrate judge ordered the DOJ to respond to those defense motions, and a federal court in Montgomery set an arraignment for the case.