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Radical activist groups circle wagons around Southern Poverty Law Center amid federal charges
DOJ charges SPLC with fraud, alleges millions funneled to extremists
The Department of Justice charges the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with fraud, accusing the organization of funneling over $3 million to various extremist groups. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel detailed the accusations, highlighting payments to KKK members and Aryan Nations affiliates. GW University Law Professor Jonathan Turley adds that an earlier probe into the SPLC was mysteriously closed by the Biden administration.
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Left-wing nonprofits are rallying behind the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as the self-described «beacon of hope» for «fighting white supremacy» faces federal fraud charges.
In a blog post written by National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Senior Policy Advisor Mel Wilson, Wilson said, «it is important that we stand with and support The Southern Poverty Law Center until the legal travails are complete — with full confidence that SPLC will be vindicated.»
Below her commentary, Wilson listed a number of «coalition members» that are standing with SPLC and are a part of «The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.»
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, left, and SPLC interim President and CEO Bryan Fair are shown in a split image as the Justice Department pursues charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images; USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)
The list included more than one hundred non-profit organizations.
SPLC INDICTMENT BUILDS MOMENTUM FOR BESSENT’S TREASURY TO PROBE PARTISAN NONPROFITS
Separately, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a press release defending SPLC, saying that it stands with the nonprofit, and accusing the Department of Justice of «targeting» the organization.
«This reported federal targeting of SPLC appears to be a transparently political attack on the rule of law meant to undermine the vital role civil rights groups play in countering hate groups. This is unacceptable and must not stand,» CAIR’s statement read.
«We encourage all Americans and elected officials to stand in solidarity with the SPLC and all other organizations dedicated to the protection of civil rights,» the statement continued.
BLACK CHURCH GROUP RETRACTS ‘INAPPROPRIATE’ CALL FOR AL SHARPTON’S SUSPENSION OVER DONATIONS FROM HARRIS CAMP
CAIR was named a co-conspirator during The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial from 2007-2008, where five members of the HLF were convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization, providing material support, money laundering and tax fraud after allegations that HLF funneled $12.4 million to Hamas in the early 2000s.
Hussam Ayloush, executive director of the Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, leads a press conference with CAIR California leaders amid calls from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith for an IRS investigation into the group’s tax-exempt status. (Leonard Ortiz/Digital First Media/Orange County Register/Getty Images)
While CAIR never faced charges and was only named by prosecutors during the trial, the FBI cut ties with the nonprofit following the case.
SEC. NOEM SAYS HOMELAND SECURITY WILL FREEZE GRANTS TO NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and IRS CEO Frank Bisignano referring CAIR-California for IRS review. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent spoke to reporters following a Senate Republican luncheon. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
Fox News Digital reached out to NASW but did not receive a response.
Federal authorities announced earlier this week that the Southern Poverty Law Center, known for civil rights litigation and racial justice, was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly funneling millions to members of violent extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations and the National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party).
FAR-LEFT AGITATOR WHO ORGANIZED MN CHURCH STORMING RAKED IN OVER $1 MILLION FROM ANTI-POVERTY NONPROFIT
According to the SPLC’s Form 990 filing with the IRS, the 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization posted roughly $129 million in total revenue in fiscal year 2024 with nearly $800 million in total assets.
The organization says that the money was for informants to report back to SPLC and provide information about the groups and their inner workings.
The indictment said that one alleged informant, who was paid $270,000, shared «racist social media posts» under SPLC supervision, and that the nonprofit «helped organize transportation to events» during the deadly 2017 «Unite the Right» event in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Neo Nazis, Alt-Right, and White Supremacists take part a the night before the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, VA, white supremacists march with tiki torchs through the University of Virginia campus. (Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
EX-NONPROFIT BOSS ALLEGEDLY SWIPED $1.2M MEANT FOR HOMELESS PROGRAMS TO FUND LAVISH LIFESTYLE, DA SAYS
«These individuals risked their lives to infiltrate and inform on the activities of our nation’s most radical and violent extremist groups,» SPLC Interim President and CEO Bryan Fair said in a video statement. «When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the civil rights movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system.»
In 1994, an investigative series by the Montgomery Advertiser examined the financials of SPLC at the time, finding that the founder was heavily focused on fundraising for the nonprofit, running the organization like a business or corporation. It also found that the salaries of SPLC were high, and that the nonprofit raised significantly more money than it spent.
The Montgomery Advertiser was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Journalism due to the series on SPLC.
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) building seen in March 2020 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Barry Lewis/InPictures via Getty Images)
SPLC co-founder Joe Levin rejected the paper’s claims at the time.
DOJ SAYS SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER FUNNELED $3M+ TO WHITE SUPREMACIST AND EXTREMIST GROUPS
Margaret Huang, who served as the CEO of the nonprofit until her resignation last summer, made $522,000 a year as reported by Charity Watch, which gave SPLC an «F» rating in May 2025 «due to it having six years’ worth of available assets in reserve.»
The indictments also raise questions about whether SPLC donors were misled on how their money was being spent, including payments made to members of the KKK and other extremist groups.
«The SPLC indictment is legally valid, well-pleaded, and built to survive motion practice, former federal prosecutor and legal expert Andrew Cherkasky told Fox News Digital. «The wire fraud counts rest on specific, quoted solicitations telling donors their money would be used to ‘dismantle’ violent extremist groups, paired with the material omission that more than three million dollars flowed to the leaders, fundraisers, and organizers of those very same groups.»
FBI Director Kash Patel speaks during a news conference at the Justice Department in Washington on April 21, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
OVERSIGHT DEMANDS DOJ ANSWERS ON FOREIGN FUNDING OF AGITATOR GROUPS AS IRAN, ANTI-ICE PROTESTS CONTINUE
Cherkasky noted that paying informants is not illegal, and that journalists, watchdog groups and the government regularly use them. But he noted «a nonprofit is criminally liable for the acts of its agents committed within the scope of their duties and for the organization’s benefit.»
«A high-level SPLC employee coordinated payment for documents stolen by a paid source who twice burglarized an extremist group’s headquarters, and a different source was paid six thousand dollars to falsely confess to the theft,» Cherkasky explained. «If proven, that is sponsored criminal conduct directed from inside the organization, and it carries institutional exposure that extends beyond the criminal counts to potential loss of tax-exempt status, civil liability to victims, and fiduciary exposure for directors and officers.»
FBI Director Kash Patel said Tuesday that SPLC was not honest or transparent with its donors.
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«They lied to their donors, vowing to dismantle violent extremist groups, and actually turned around and paid the leaders of these very extremist groups — even utilizing the funds to have these groups facilitate the commission of state and federal crimes,» Patel said. «That is illegal — and this is an ongoing investigation against all individuals involved.»
Fox News Digital reached out to SPLC, but did not receive a response.
hate crime, fbi, law, investigations, fund raising
INTERNACIONAL
Mamdani dodges on ‘political theater’ of empty Netanyahu arrest threat, calls for US action and NYC protests
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New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani declined Wednesday to say when he learned the city had no authority to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, after repeatedly campaigning on a promise to detain the Israeli leader if he came to New York.
Pressed over whether the now-abandoned arrest threat amounted to «political theater,» Mamdani said his administration had reviewed the applicable laws and concluded that only the federal government could execute the International Criminal Court warrant.
«It’s clear that the city does not have the authority to execute this warrant,» Mamdani admitted at a New York City Hall news conference Wednesday, urging the federal government to act on the ICC warrant even though the U.S. is not a member of the ICC and does not recognize the court’s jurisdiction in the U.S. or over Israel, which is also not a member.
With the Trump administration already fully rejecting his call to arrest Netanyahu for being a «war criminal,» Mamdani called for New Yorkers to take to protest «if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition.»
MAMDANI GOES BACK ON CAMPAIGN PROMISE, SAYS NYC CAN’T ARREST NETANYAHU
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been forced to admit his threat to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no force or measure in the law. (Getty Images)
«I believe that this is an arrest warrant that should be executed, and also that I would follow the laws that we had, and I would be respectful of those laws,» he added. «And that is why I asked my administration to review of all applicable laws. And I believe, however, in that same finding, that the United States government does have the ability to both joining the International Criminal Court and executing that work, and that is something that I want to see happen.»
Short of that, Mamdani suggested that people protest when the Israeli leader visits for the United Nations General Assembly, potentially in September.
«This is a city where, if anyone feels a level of frustration or opposition, protest is something that we will always respect,» Mamdani told reporters. «I leave it to New Yorkers themselves to make that decision.»
The mayor was repeatedly asked why he did not resolve the legal question before taking office, given that experts had challenged the legality of his arrest pledge during the campaign.
HAMAS, HEZBOLLAH FLAGS FLY AT ANTI-ISRAEL PROTEST MINUTES AFTER MAMDANI CONDEMNS TERROR PLOT AGAINST JEWS
Mamdani would not provide a date for when his administration informed him that the city lacked the power to carry out the ICC warrant.
«That’s a review that I asked them to do,» he said. «They made it clear that this is not possible through applicable law.»
Mamdani said Palestinian New Yorkers disappointed that he cannot fulfill his arrest promise had reason to be frustrated, declaring that Netanyahu would no longer be welcomed by City Hall.
«I understand it because we are talking about someone who has been charged with crimes against humanity, someone who has visited the city on many an occasion and who has been welcomed by previous mayors,» Mamdani said.
«I want to make it very clear that that welcome ends with me,» he continued. «I will not be welcoming Benjamin Netanyahu or any other war criminals when they come to this city.»
NYC REPUBLICAN LAWMAKER SLAMS MAMDANI ANTISEMITISM OFFICE AS A ‘BLACK HOLE’ LACKING PUBLIC-FACING RESOURCES
President Donald Trump has forcefully rejected New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s threats to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu under an unenforceable International Criminal Court arrest warrant that the U.S. nor Israel are a party to. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP via Getty Images)
Mamdani also faced questions over criticism that his focus on Netanyahu created a one-sided account of the Israel-Hamas war.
Asked directly whether he considered Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack to be genocide, Mamdani did not use that term.
«I consider Oct. 7 to be a horrific war crime,» he said. «I’ve considered it to be something that should be deeply opposed with every single fiber of our being.»
Mamdani said his approach was rooted in what he called the «universality of humanity,» arguing that officials should not «pick and choose which crimes against humanity we oppose.»
The mayor also said he would support honoring ICC warrants against Hamas leaders as well as Netanyahu.
«My interest in executing that warrant is not specific to Benjamin Netanyahu, but to anyone who they put a warrant towards for war crimes and crimes against humanity,» Mamdani said.
He accused Netanyahu of having «orchestrated this genocide» in Gaza and described the Israeli prime minister as a «war criminal.» Israel has repeatedly rejected genocide allegations and condemned the ICC case as illegitimate.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said his administration is exploring whether the city has legal authority to arrest Netanyahu if he visits for the U.N. General Assembly. (Ronen Zvulun/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
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Mamdani said he remained committed to protecting Jewish New Yorkers, including those who disagree with his position.
«My responsibility to them is to ensure that they are cherished, they are celebrated and they are safe in their city,» he said, «and that never are they made to feel as if their opinions on any one issue is the precondition for that safety.»
zohran mamdani, benjamin netanyahu, new york city, international law, politics
INTERNACIONAL
El avión Pan Am Clipper Endeavor fue encontrado tras haber estado perdido en el fondo del mar por más de 70 años
El vuelo duró menos de nueve minutos; los dos motores del lado derecho perdieron potencia en rápida sucesión mientras el Douglas DC-4 realizaba su ascenso inicial desde San Juan, Puerto Rico, en ruta a Nueva York.
El piloto del Pan American Clipper Endeavor no tuvo otra opción que amerizar el avión. Los 69 pasajeros y miembros de la tripulación sobrevivieron al choque inicial el 11 de abril de 1952, pero el pánico y la confusión se desataron en los pocos y preciosos minutos posteriores al amerizaje.
La sección de la cola del avión se desprendió y el fuselaje se hundió, un accidente que cobró 52 vidas y se convirtió en un catalizador para las instrucciones y procedimientos de seguridad de las aerolíneas para las generaciones venideras.
Durante casi tres cuartos de siglo, los restos del avión, de un tamaño similar al de un Boeing 737, permanecieron perdidos en el abismo del océano Atlántico.
Pero el 2 de junio, tras rastrear una vasta y oscura extensión del fondo marino con un vehículo submarino autónomo con forma de torpedo, equipado con sonar y cámaras sofisticadas, llegó el hallazgo, según un equipo de exploración.
Ahí, a 600 metros bajo la superficie y a unos 8 kilómetros de la costa, unas letras blancas formaban las siglas PAA sobre un fondo azul con el logotipo del globo alado de Pan American World Airways, el mismo que, según los exploradores, había aparecido en la parte delantera del avión.
También pudieron distinguir las letras VOR de “Endeavor”. El resto de la palabra estaba cubierto por sedimentos acumulados con el paso del tiempo y la exposición a los elementos.
“Cuando llegaron esas primeras fotos, fue una conmoción”, dijo en una entrevista Josh Gates, el presentador de Expedition Unknown en el canal Discovery, quien participó en el proyecto. “Me dejó sin aliento porque de verdad superó lo que imaginaba que podríamos encontrar. La aeronave está tan intacta, y ver ese aluminio, que no se corroe, brillando hacia nosotros desde el fondo, fue simplemente asombroso”.
El vuelo 526A de Pan Am, apodado el Easter Special, se dirigía al aeropuerto Idlewild de Nueva York (hoy el Internacional Kennedy) el Viernes Santo cuando dos de sus cuatro motores fallaron, según el testimonio del piloto ante una junta de aeronáutica civil. El piloto, John C. Burn, dio la vuelta hacia San Juan, pero el avión perdía altitud con rapidez sobre el océano, lo que obligó a la tripulación a vaciar el combustible e intentar un amerizaje de emergencia.
Muchos de los pasajeros se negaron a seguir las órdenes del capitán de abandonar la aeronave una vez que amerizó, y permanecieron abrochados a sus asientos, dijo el piloto ante la junta, quien agregó que tuvo que arrojar a la fuerza a algunas personas al agua.
Una barrera del idioma también dificultó la evacuación del avión, según los relatos históricos de los sobrevivientes, quienes dijeron que el mar embravecido y la amenaza de tiburones en el agua llevaron a que algunos pasajeros permanecieran dentro de la cabina. Muchas de las víctimas murieron ahogadas.
Las instrucciones de seguridad antes del despegue y el aterrizaje aún no eran obligatorias en el momento del accidente, que impulsó la creación de nuevas indicaciones sobre qué deben hacer los pasajeros en caso de emergencia.
“Es un accidente que transformó fundamentalmente la aviación tal como la conocemos”, dijo Gates.
Diana Lachatanere, de 80 años, dijo el lunes que tenía 5 años cuando su padre, Romulo Lachatanere, un farmacéutico de hospital y fotógrafo, murió en el accidente. Él regresaba a su casa en Washington Heights, dijo.
“Todavía es un tema sensible”, dijo Lachatanere, una archivista jubilada y exsubdirectora del Centro Schomburg de Investigación de la Cultura Negra en la Biblioteca Pública de Nueva York.
Dijo que no estaba al tanto de que hubiera habido una búsqueda de los restos.
“No hay un cuerpo”, dijo. “Simplemente me entristece porque estoy pensando en él”.
El capitán del vuelo había estado involucrado en otro desastre aéreo de alto perfil en 1943, cuando era tripulante del Yankee Clipper, un hidroavión de Pan Am que se estrelló cerca de Lisboa. Tras ese accidente, ayudó a salvar a la actriz y cantante Jane Froman, quien resultó gravemente herida en el choque y viajaba a Europa para entretener a las tropas con una gira de la USO. Terminaron casándose.
Encontrar los restos del Clipper Endeavor se había convertido en una preocupación durante los últimos siete años para Russ Matthews, presidente y cofundador de la organización sin fines de lucro Air/Sea Heritage Foundation, quien desempeñó un papel central en el proyecto.
En una entrevista, Matthews dijo que el agua donde se hundió el avión era demasiado profunda para que los buzos pudieran llegar a los restos.
Las inclemencias del tiempo se sumaron al desafío, según Matthews, quien dijo que la pandemia de coronavirus había retrasado la búsqueda.
“Tuvimos que esperar un par de años para tener nuestra oportunidad”, dijo.
A finales de la primavera, Matthews se enteró de que el Fugro Brasilis, un buque de reconocimiento, pasaría por la zona de 26 kilómetros cuadrados que era el foco de la búsqueda del Clipper Endeavor.
A bordo del buque iba un vehículo submarino autónomo llamado Miss Millie, cuyo costo oscila entre 10 y 12 millones de dólares. La sonda en forma de torpedo puede alcanzar profundidades de 6096 metros.
Matthews se apresuró al barco, junto con Gates, quien observó cómo la sonda era bajada al agua desde un trineo en la popa del barco. Los discos duros están alojados dentro de un contenedor a prueba de aplastamientos en el interior del vehículo, el cual realizó una serie de casi 30 pasadas sobre el área de búsqueda.
“Pasamos directamente sobre un naufragio del que nadie sabía”, dijo Matthews. “Y fue como: bueno, eso es interesante, pero estamos buscando un avión, así que sigamos adelante”.
En la decimotercera pasada, algo más captó su atención: se parecía a la sección de la cola de un avión. A unos cuantos metros de distancia apareció lo que parecía ser un fuselaje, lo que motivó una revisión más detallada de fotografías de alta resolución de los restos.
El tren de aterrizaje era visible. También lo eran las ventanillas de la cabina principal.
“Es una manera de conectar el presente con el pasado”, dijo Matthews. “Es lo más cerca que estaré de viajar en el tiempo”.
El grupo a bordo del buque llamó a Tony Romeo, director ejecutivo de Eco Minerals, la empresa de exploración involucrada en el proyecto, para reportar el hallazgo.
“Estaba eufórico”, dijo Romeo, para quien la conexión con Pan Am tenía un significado especial. “Mi padre fue piloto de Pan Am”.
Se tomaron más de 350.000 fotografías de los restos, que no fueron alterados, según el equipo de exploración, el cual dijo que no había planes de recuperar ningún resto del lugar. (Señalaron que 39 cuerpos nunca fueron recuperados).
“Esa es probablemente la única lápida que tendrán”, dijo Matthews.
—-
Alain Delaquérière y Michael Levenson colaboraron con la investigación.
Neil Vigdor es un reportero de noticias de última hora en el Times, con énfasis en temas de política.
Alain Delaquérière y Michael Levenson colaboraron con la investigación.
The New York Times, data-cc, data-cc-nyt
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