House Judiciary Committee Intensifies Investigation into Southern Poverty Law Center

The House Judiciary Committee has escalated its scrutiny of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), demanding documents from the nonprofit organization following federal indictments alleging the group funneled millions in donor funds to extremist organizations.

Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) sent a letter to SPLC President Bryan Fair on Thursday, requesting extensive documentation by April 30. The committee is investigating potential coordination between the SPLC and the Biden administration’s Department of Justice and FBI, both of which have utilized the left-wing nonprofit as a resource for civil rights enforcement.

“Publicly available documents revealed how the Justice Department partnered closely with the SPLC during the Biden-Harris Administration, including scheduling regular meetings, giving the SPLC early access to federal law-enforcement data, and allowing SPLC employees to train federal prosecutors,” Jordan wrote in his letter. “The new information about the SPLC alleged in the indictment only raises further questions.”

The congressional probe comes after the Department of Justice charged the SPLC with multiple counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors allege the organization defrauded donors for more than a decade by using shell companies to mask how donor funds were being utilized.

According to the indictment, more than $3 million was funneled through these shell companies to informants who participated in activities involving extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan and the neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement. In a particularly troubling allegation, prosecutors claim one informant helped plan the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, which turned violent and resulted in one death.

“The SPLC’s paid informants… engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website,” prosecutors stated in court documents.

The congressional investigation builds upon previous scrutiny from Jordan’s committee, which has criticized the SPLC for “maligning several mainstream conservative and religious organizations as ‘hate groups,'” including Moms for Liberty and Turning Point USA.

Jordan’s letter also highlighted concerns about the FBI’s use of SPLC materials in its law enforcement activities. He specifically referenced a controversial internal memo from the FBI Richmond Field Office that characterized “radical-traditionalist Catholics” as potentially prone to violent extremism. FBI Director Christopher Wray later retracted the memo, calling it an “appalling” breach of religious freedom. Jordan pointed out that this memo was among more than a dozen FBI documents that cited the SPLC as a resource.

Senate Republicans have joined the investigation, focusing on Nancy Abudu, the SPLC’s former litigation director who was appointed by President Biden to serve a lifetime appointment on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit.

“Every individual associated with SPLC should have to answer for what they knew about the organization’s extremist ties, and when,” Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans stated on social media.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has hinted that more indictments related to the SPLC investigation may be forthcoming, suggesting the legal troubles for the organization could expand further.

Before the DOJ announced charges, SPLC President Bryan Fair defended the organization in a public statement, characterizing the federal investigation as politically motivated rather than sincere. Fair acknowledged that the group no longer works with paid informants but added that these individuals had “risked their lives” to infiltrate extremist groups.

The SPLC, which has built its reputation on monitoring hate groups and extremist organizations, saw its revenues surge after the Charlottesville rally, according to DOJ allegations. The organization now faces serious questions about its practices, funding sources, and relationships with federal agencies as investigations by both the Justice Department and Congress continue to unfold.