Justice Dept. accuses Southern Poverty Law Center
with crimes related to its defunct informant program.
By P.C. Staff
In a show of solidarity with another civil rights organization, Japanese American Citizens League released a statement denouncing the Department of Justice’s April 21 indictment of Southern Poverty Law Center.
In its April 30 statement, JACL said it “ … categorically denounces the Department of Justice’s indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center,” blaming the Trump administration for the legal action that JACL said “…represents an attack on civil rights work as a whole.”
Expanding on that theme, JACL continued: “The attack on the SPLC is part of a broader scheme to rewrite American history and redefine civil rights and liberties in the United States. A key part of this tactic is erasing, misinterpreting, and falsifying the history and experiences of marginalized communities.”
The DoJ accused SPLC with “11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.” According to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, from 2014-23, SPLC had “ … secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds” to individuals affiliated with such “violent extremist groups” including Ku Klux Klan, American Nazi Party and Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, which is affiliated with Aryan Nations.
Subsequent to the indictments, however, SPLC noted that although it had in its past paid informants who had infiltrated groups named in the indictment and reported the information gleaned to the FBI and other law enforcement organizations, it had since discontinued the practice of working with paid informants who had “ … risked their lives to infiltrate and inform on” such extremist groups.
On April 28, SPLC filed two motions (see here and here) in federal court arguing that DoJ officials made false statements related to its discontinued informant program.
“We strongly deny the allegations in the indictment and their falsity is already being exposed in our court filings. The government is blatantly mischaracterizing our efforts to successfully fight hatred and violent extremism, something we have done for decades,” said SPLC interim President and CEO, Bryan Fair.
JACL also stated: “This indictment will not silence the civil rights movement, and all we have fought to gain. The SPLC will have its day in court. While we wait for that day to come, the JACL stands in solidarity with the SPLC, and we urge our community to join us to do the same.”
The entirety of JACL’s statement can be read here.