Federal grand jury indicts Southern Poverty Law Center for wire fraud and money laundering

A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, returned an 11-count indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center on April 21, 2026, charging the civil rights organization with wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel announced the charges, alleging the SPLC secretly paid at least $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to individuals embedded in the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nations, and other extremist groups. The DOJ alleges the SPLC used fictitious entities including fake businesses named Fox Photography and Rare Books Warehouse to disguise the payments from donors. The SPLC denied the allegations, saying its informant program saved lives by providing intelligence to law enforcement including the FBI itself. Critics of the prosecution argue the Trump DOJ is using fraud charges to target a civil rights organization that has spent decades tracking and suing hate groups.