DOJ expands indictment against SPLC for allegedly funding KKK, other extremists
The Department of Justice expanded its indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center, accusing the civil rights non-profit of funneling millions in tax-exempt funds to extremist groups. Allegations include purchasing materials for KKK robes, facilitating cross-burnings and funding travel for extremist rallies. FBI Director Kash Patel vowed to ‘follow the money’ to bring all involved to justice, emphasizing the ongoing investigation into the 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 mounting scrutiny over allegations that it funded individuals tied to extremist groups it publicly opposed.
According to the document, the director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project was in a secret romantic relationship with a paid field source who infiltrated a neo-Nazi organization known as the National Alliance at the direction of 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 used to fund their life together.
NEO-NAZIS, ‘SADISTIC’ BIKERS AND CHARLOTTESVILLE ORGANIZER: 5 OF THE MOST SHOCKING SPLC INFORMANTS
SPLC Intelligence Project Director Heidi Beirich speaks during an event on Jan. 12, 2018. (David Buchan/Variety/Penske Media via Getty Images)
Based on details laid out in the superseding indictment, the individual was identified only as the “person who would become Director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project.” The official reportedly conducted the financial transactions between 2015 and 2021.
According to congressional and SPLC documents, the director at that time was Heidi L. Beirich, an extremism researcher who served in the role from 2012 to 2019.
The SPLC declined to comment to Digital.
DOJ SAYS SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FUNNELED $3M+ TO WHITE SUPREMACIST AND EXTREMIST GROUPS
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) building seen in March 2020 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Barry Lewis/InPictures via Getty Images)
Prosecutors allege that a fake 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 stated. “However, the SPLC hid from donors the fact that a portion of their donated funds was being secretly used to support extremist groups and to fund 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 through the University of Virginia campus. (Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Investigators reportedly traced roughly $140,000 in donor funds directly from the SPLC’s main operating account through the Tech Writers shell company and ultimately into the couple’s shared personal bank account.
Prosecutors said those funds accounted for roughly two-thirds of the money held in the couple’s joint accounts and were used to pay everyday household and living expenses.
