The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) announced Tuesday it is the subject of a Justice Department criminal investigation and faces possible charges regarding its past use of paid confidential informants to infiltrate alleged “extremist” organizations.
The SPLC has designated dozens of conservative and religious groups and individuals as “extremists,” including Focus on the Family, PragerU, MassResistance, Turning Point USA, Gays Against Groomers, the Family Research Council, Tucker Carlson, Moms For Liberty, “radical traditional Catholics,” and Chaya Raichik (Libs of TikTok).
In October 2014, the group labeled conservative pediatric neurosurgeon Dr. Ben Carson as an “extremist” due to his opposition to same-sex marriage. Following sustained outcry, the SPLC removed him from its list in February 2015 and issued a public apology, stating the profile did not “meet its standards.”
The SPLC stated it believes the Trump administration is preparing legal action against some of its employees and vowed to “vigorously defend” itself. CEO Bryan Fair said: “Although we don’t know all the details, the focus appears to be on the SPLC’s prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups.”
The investigation follows FBI Director Kash Patel’s decision in October to sever ties with the SPLC, accusing the group of being a “partisan smear machine” that defames mainstream Americans through its “hate map.” The SPLC’s “hate group” designations have routinely listed mainstream conservative activists and organizations alongside Ku Klux Klan and neo-Nazi groups over minor disagreements with the SPLC on cultural issues.
The influential hate group was directly connected to the 2012 attempted mass shooting at the Family Research Council (FRC), a division of Focus on the Family. The gunman, Floyd Lee Corkins II, explicitly cited the SPLC’s hate list as his inspiration for selecting the FRC as his target after viewing it online. FBI interrogation videos confirmed this link, and the FRC has repeatedly called for the SPLC to be held accountable for the attack, which injured a security guard.
Thomas Webb Jurgens, an SPLC staff attorney, was arrested in March 2023 and charged with domestic terrorism in connection with violent protests at Atlanta’s Public Safety Training Center site, known as “Cop City.” Jurgens was among 23 individuals charged after protesters threw rocks, bricks, and Molotov cocktails at police and set construction equipment on fire.
The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), has been investigating alleged collusion between the Biden Department of Justice and the SPLC. Last November, Jordan formally requested then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to provide documents detailing interactions between the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division and the SPLC from January 20, 2021, to January 20, 2025.
The committee claims the investigation centers on allegations that the DOJ improperly collaborated with the SPLC, which it describes as a “radical, left-wing” group. Documents obtained by America First Legal (AFL) show the DOJ granted the SPLC early access to federal law-enforcement data, allowed SPLC staff to train federal prosecutors, and cited SPLC materials in internal memos—including one targeting “radical traditional Catholics” as potential extremists.
The committee stated this relationship reflects a broader pattern of the Biden administration weaponizing federal agencies against conservative Americans. Jordan wrote: “The DOJ, during Attorney General Merrick Garland’s tenure, colluded with the radical, left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center on matters relating to federal civil rights enforcement.” AFL also noted the Biden Department of Justice partnered with the SPLC and granted it unprecedented access and influence over federal civil rights enforcement, including training prosecutors, holding standing meetings with DOJ leadership, and conducting regular “coffee and danish” meetings.
