FBI Director Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced a sweeping indictment Tuesday against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), accusing the far-left nonprofit of fraudulently paying members of extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan.

A grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama returned an 11-count indictment charging the SPLC with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, according to the Justice Department (DOJ). Between 2014 and 2023, according to the DOJ, the SPLC «secretly funneled» more than $3 million in donations to at least eight individuals associated with violent extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, the Nationalist Socialist Movement, Unite the Right, Aryan Nations affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, and more.

According to Blanche, the SPLC paid members of these extremist groups so it could create a «work product that reported on these activities.»

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«To that end, [SPLC] was doing the exact opposite of what it told its donors it was doing – not dismantling extremism but funding it,» Blanche said Tuesday during the press conference announcing the indictment.

The SPLC is a longstanding left-wing nonprofit that claims to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement about them with the goal of dismantling the groups. SPLC’s CEO, Bryan Fair, addressed the probe in a video message posted online, arguing the Trump administration has «made no secret who they want to protect and who they want to destroy.»

«We are reviewing the charges,» a subsequent statement from Fair sent to Fox News Digital added. «However, after today’s Department of Justice press conference, we are outraged by the false allegations levied against SPLC – an organization that for 55 years has stood as a beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multi-racial democracy where we can all live and thrive. Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do. To be clear, this program saved lives.»

«The actions by the DOJ will not shake our resolve to fight for justice and ensure the promise of the Civil Rights movement becomes a reality for all,» Fair continued in his comment to Fox News Digital. «SPLC will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff and our work; we will continue to fight hate; and we will continue to envision and create a safer and more just world.»

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The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) building seen in March 2020 in Montgomery, Alabama. (Barry Lewis/InPictures via Getty Images)

But Patel and Blanche on Tuesday accused the SPLC of conducting «widespread, decade-long, multimillion dollar fraud» funneling money to the very groups it claims to combat. 

The complete list of these groups, according to a Justice Department press release, includes the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, Unite the Right, National Alliance, the National Socialist Movement, Aryan Nations affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party), and the American Front.

Blanche and Patel also argued Tuesday that the SPLC tried to hide its payments to groups the SPLC told its donors it was trying to combat, leading to several of the charges in the indictment.

«They set up shell companies and entities around America so that the financial institutions that we rely on as everyday Americans were deceived in believing that money was not coming from the Southern Poverty Law Center in the perpetration of this scheme and fraud, but rather fictitious entities,» Patel argued during the press conference. «They stood up to perpetuate this ongoing fraud. This is a serious and egregious violation of a group that purported to dismantle violent extremist groups, but in turn actually only fueled that hatred.»  

For example, the SPLC was paying roughly $270,000 to a member of the leadership group that planned the Unite the Right protests in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, that resulted in the death of one person and injured dozens more.

Neo Nazis, Alt-Right, and White Supremacists gather the night before the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville, VA. (Zach D Roberts/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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Another individual, embedded in a neo-Nazi organization, was reportedly paid $1 million to steal more than two dozen boxes of the hate group’s documents.

«This is an important case brought by President Trump’s administration, and we’re thankful to the president for his leadership and funding of not just the FBI and DOJ, but his commitment to go out there and wipe out fraud, and conspiracy, and waste and abuse wherever it occurs, including the Southern Poverty Law Center,» Patel said Tuesday. 

En medio de la incertidumbre por una nueva ronda de negociaciones entre Estados Unidos e Irán y la prórroga de la tregua anunciada unilateralmente desde Washington, el presidente de Estados Unidos Donald Trump anunció mantendrá el bloqueo de las fuerzas estadounidenses a los puertos del régimen en el estrecho de Ormuz.

El mandatario sostuvo que la república islámica “no quiere que se cierre” la vía marítima estratégica a nivel mundial, “sino que se abra para poder ganar 500 millones de dólares al día (¡lo que pierden si permanece cerrado!)“.

“Solo afirman que desean mantenerlo cerrado porque yo lo tengo completamente bloqueado (¡Cerrado!), así que buscan ‘salvar las apariencias’”, expuso Trump a través de la red Truth Social.

El inquilino de la Casa Blanca añadió que, días atrás, recibió mensajes de personas pidiéndole que diera inicio la reapertura del estrecho, pero aseguró que aún no lo permitirá.

“Hace cuatro días, varias personas se me acercaron diciendo: ‘Señor, Irán quiere reabrir el estrecho de inmediato’. Pero si hacemos eso, jamás podrá haber un acuerdo con Irán, ¡a menos que destruyamos el resto de su país, incluidos sus líderes!”, concluyó el mandatario.

Más tarde, utilizó la misma red social para asegurar que el país persa “se está derrumbando económicamente”. “Exigen la apertura inmediata del estrecho de Ormuz. ¡Están desesperados por dinero! Pierden 500 millones de dólares al día. Militares y policías se quejan de que no les pagan. ¡SOS!”, agregó en su perfil.

El presidente de Estados Unidos anunció que la tregua continuará vigente hasta que Irán presente una propuesta unificada en la mesa de negociación. Trump aseguró que el Irán atraviesa profundas divisiones internas y explicó que la decisión de prorrogar el alto el fuego responde a una solicitud expresa de Pakistán, país que actúa como mediador en el proceso.

En línea con el inquilino de la Casa Blanca, Scott Bessent, secretario del Tesoro de los Estados Unidos, adelantó que “en cuestión de días, los almacenes de la Isla de Kharg estarán llenos y los frágiles pozos petroleros iraníes quedarán cerrados”.

El funcionario subrayó la importancia de mantener la política de “máxima presión” mediante la operación «Furia Épica“, con el objetivo de debilitar la capacidad financiera y operativa de Irán, y explicó que el bloqueo naval apunta a frenar las exportaciones de crudo, principal fuente de ingresos del régimen, y forzar el colapso de su economía.

Desde Teherán, las máximas autoridades del régimen no emitieron declaraciones a medios locales o internacionales horas después del anuncio de Trump. Hasta el momento, el comandante de la Fuerza Aeroespacial de la Guardia Revolucionaria iraní, Seyed Mayid Musaví fue el único que brindó comentarios y aprovechó su comentario para amenazar a los países del Golfo.

“Los vecinos del sur de Irán deben saber que si su territorio y sus instalaciones se utilizan al servicio de los enemigos -en alusión a Estados Unidos e Israel– para atacar a la nación iraní, deberán decir adiós a la producción de petróleo en Medio Oriente”, afirmó en declaraciones recogidas por la agencia de noticias Tasnim, próxima a la Guardia.

Aunque Irán no mencionó a ningún país en particular en su advertencia, antes del acuerdo de alto el fuego con Washington, estados como Jordania, Bahréin, Kuwait, Qatar, Arabia Saudita y Emiratos Árabes Unidos fueron blanco de ataques iraníes en represalia por la ofensiva lanzada por Estados Unidos e Israel. En respuesta, Irán atacó objetivos en territorio israelí e intereses estadounidenses en la región.

Por su parte, un asesor del presidente del Parlamento iraní, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, sostuvo que “la continuación del asedio marítimo (de EEUU) no difiere del bombardeo” y que debe responderse “con una acción militar” por parte de Teherán.

“La parte perdedora no puede imponer condiciones. La continuación del asedio no difiere del bombardeo y debe responderse con una acción militar. El momento de tomar la iniciativa es de Irán”, amenazó.

(Con información de Europa Press)

California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, who is running for lieutenant governor, is facing blowback for promising jobs and internships to students at a China-based boarding school accused of committing diploma fraud in conjunction with a California school district, after the school’s founder poured tens-of-thousands of dollars into her campaigns.

Pegasus California School, based in Qingdao, China, was the subject of a probe completed in February by California education officials in Riverside County, following concerns that the Val Verde Unified School District was illegally issuing diplomas to Pegasus’ China-based students. It also identified other potential concerns related to Pegasus and California education officials working for the district and the California Department of Education, indicating there was evidence of them engaging in potential fraud, misappropriation of funds and other illegal fiscal practices. The audit concluded that investigators found «a pattern of favors, official acts, promises, and payments» leading to the California Department of Education’s ultimate approval of a pilot program that allowed wealthy Chinese students to obtain a U.S. high school diploma overseas.

Meanwhile, a post on the school’s website shows Ma visiting in 2023, telling students, parents and teachers there that she would be able to help the enrollees at the school get jobs and internships back in the U.S. The same post on the school’s website heralded Ma’s visit as evidence of «the California government’s recognition and attention to Pegasus,» which became a sister-school to California’s Val Verde Unified School District in 2016 and started its pilot program issuing California diplomas a year later.

«Fiona chose Pegasus as the only school to visit in China, which shows the California government’s recognition and attention to Pegasus,» Pegasus bragged in the now-archived post from its website.

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It then included an excerpt from Ma: «I am honored to come to Qingdao Pegasus California School today to see many students perform and communicate with them. If they want to intern in California, they can come to me, I will provide some internship and employment opportunities.»

Steven Ma, who is unrelated to Fiona Ma but is Pegasus’ founder, directly contributed over $13,200 to her campaigns for State Treasurer and Lt. Gov., according to California campaign finance records dating back to 2021.

The Pegasus founder’s college-admissions consulting firm, ThinkTank Learning Inc. also contributed $23,800 to Ma’s campaigns since 2010, according to state campaign finance records.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Ma multiple times for comment on her visit to the China-based school, and to the Val Verde school district itself to inquire whether it was aware of Ma’s visit, but did not receive a response.

Business Insider released a scathing report in 2021 calling out the Pegasus California School for its improper relationship with the Val Verde Unified School District, which Business Insider argues spurred the recently completed audit into Pegasus by California education officials. The China-based school, according to Business Insider, was charging up to $34,000 a year for students to enroll and, despite drawing on Val Verde resources, it functioned as a private boarding school. The school’s own website describes itself as an «independent» international school that uses a «fee payment and registration» framework for students after gaining admission, similar to how private schools in the U.S. operate, according to a Fox News Digital review.

A Riverside County school district is accused of improperly issuing diplomas to nonresident Chinese students through a partnership with a foreign sister school, according to a lengthy audit that found potential fraud and unlawful financial practices. (Fox News Digital)

A February 2018 Memorandum of Understanding between the China-based boarding school and Val Verde, reviewed by Fox News Digital, indicated that in return for receiving diplomas and teachers from the United States, ten students from the Val Verde school district would be afforded the opportunity to travel to China and attend Pegasus for 10 days at the cost of $300 a student. It also laid out an exchange program for students at Pegasus to visit schools’ in California. While the audit does not appear to identify any clear direct repayment from Pegasus to Val Verde itself, it does highlight travel, consulting opportunities, scholarships and other perks, like «great publicity,» that benefited officials and the district more than its own students.

Meanwhile, Pegasus was allegedly telling its students and parents that it could guarantee them admission to one of the top 100 universities in the U.S., and if that didn’t happen, they would get a complete tuition reimbursement. A 2019 Memorandum of Understanding, included in the California audit, showed the University of California – Riverside even made a commitment that students who met certain academic thresholds would «receive a UCR scholarship.»

Students walk past Sather Gate on the University of California Berkeley campus in Berkeley, Calif. The university’s Board of Regents postponed a vote on allowing immigrant students without legal status to apply for university jobs until 2025 on Jan. 25, 2024. (Ben Margot/AP)

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Following the completion of the audit from Riverside County officials in February, announced publicly in March by Riverside County Superintendent of Schools Dr. Edwin Gomez, the California Department of Education issued a cease-and-desist demanding Pegasus terminate official statements on its website claiming it was founded in 2016 with the department’s «blessing and support.»

«California Business and Professions Code Section 17533.6 makes it unlawful for a non-governmental entity to use a state government name in a manner that could reasonably be interpreted or construed as implying connection, approval or endorsement by the state government,» stated the March cease-and-desist. «The above statement on your website could reasonably be interpreted or construed to imply that the California Department of Education is connected to, approves or endorses Pegasus California School. You are on notice that the California Department of Education is not connected to, does not approve and does not endorse Pegasus California School.»