A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, returned an 11-count indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday, charging the organization with wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, the Justice Department announced.

The charges center on what prosecutors describe as a decade-long scheme in which the SPLC used more than $3 million in donor funds to secretly pay leaders of violent extremist groups as confidential informants, without disclosing where the money was going, according to the DOJ press release. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Alabama, with assistance from the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section.

What the Indictment Alleges

The SPLC created bank accounts for fictitious entities, including "Fox Photography" and "Rare Books Warehouse," to channel donor money to informants embedded in white supremacist organizations, according to the indictment. Prosecutors allege that the structure was designed to conceal the payments from donors, regulators, and the public.

One informant received more than $1 million between 2014 and 2023 while affiliated with the neo-Nazi National Alliance, prosecutors allege. A second informant, who was paid over $270,000 between 2015 and 2023, was a member of the online leadership group that planned the 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, according to the indictment. That informant attended the rally at the SPLC's direction and helped coordinate transportation for other participants, prosecutors said.

The indictment alleges that the SPLC's informant program operated for nearly 10 years and that the organization systematically misrepresented how donor funds were being used in solicitations, annual reports, and tax filings.

The SPLC's Response

The SPLC's interim president and chief executive told NPR on Tuesday that the informant program was kept secret to protect informants as they infiltrated organizations including the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, and other neo-Nazi groups. The organization said the practice has been discontinued and that all donor funds were used in furtherance of the SPLC's mission to monitor and document violent extremism.

In a statement issued Tuesday afternoon, the SPLC characterized the indictment as politically motivated and described the prosecution as part of a broader pattern of the Trump Justice Department targeting organizations it views as adversarial. The organization said it would "vigorously defend" itself against the charges and intended to plead not guilty at its arraignment.

The SPLC has been a frequent subject of conservative criticism for its "hate group" designations. Several organizations on the SPLC's lists, including the Family Research Council and the Alliance Defending Freedom, have publicly contested the designations, and the question of how the SPLC defines "hate group" has been the subject of multiple congressional letters and at least one defamation lawsuit.

What the Charges Cover

The eleven counts include three counts of wire fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1343, four counts of false statements to a federally insured bank under 18 U.S.C. § 1014, three counts of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering under 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h), and one count of obstruction of an Internal Revenue Service investigation. The wire fraud counts carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison per count for any individual defendant. The SPLC, as an organizational defendant, faces potential fines and forfeiture of assets traced to the alleged conduct.

The indictment does not name individual SPLC executives as defendants. The Justice Department said the investigation is ongoing and that additional charges against individuals are possible.

Procedural Posture

The arraignment is scheduled for May 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama. The case has been assigned to Chief Judge Emily Marks. The SPLC has retained the law firm WilmerHale to handle its defense, according to a court filing entered Tuesday afternoon.

The Justice Department's announcement did not address the SPLC's "hate map" or the organization's broader advocacy work, both of which have been the subject of separate criticism but neither of which is referenced in the indictment. The charges are limited to the alleged misuse of donor funds and the alleged misrepresentations to donors and regulators about how those funds were spent.