The SPLC Was Paying the Ku Klux Klan, DOJ Indictment Claims

EXCLUSIVE: Conservative Florida Insider Looks to Flip Democrat Seat in Florida House

Trump Announces Extension of Ceasefire With Iran

International Commentary

Winning the War, Fighting the Swamp: Trump’s Toughest Battle Isn’t Iran

American Immigration Policy Could Learn From Modern Italy, Ancient Rome, and Plato

EXCLUSIVE: CBP Makes Massive Cocaine Seizure From Bus

Gill Blasts Republicans Who Voted to Keep Protected Status for Haitians

PoliticsSecuritySocietyNews

‘16 Years Is Not Temporary’: Freedom Caucus Members Want TPS Ended for Haitians

AI Isn’t the Future of Our National Security. It’s the Present.

Iran Crumbles, Critics Scramble: Trump’s Long Game Leaves the Media Exposed

LawPoliticsSocietyNews

Heritage Panel: CCP is Murdering Citizens for Organs and Profiting by the Billions

How China Dominates the World’s Critical Minerals Production

Virginia GOP on the Front Lines to ‘Keep Fairness’ in House District Maps

Rep. Cherfilus-McCormick Announces Resignation From Congress

Dem Senator Clarifies ‘Sarcastic’ Post About Iran Breaking US Blockade

22-Term Democrat in Danger of Losing Seat in Ohio

Virginia GOP on the Front Lines to ‘Keep Fairness’ in House District Maps

What if You Were a Justice on Virginia’s Supreme Court?

DOGGONE: California Woman Registered Her Boxer to Vote to Prompt Investigation. Now She Faces Charges.

White House Ramps Up Midterm Plan With Official Closed-Door Strategy Meeting

International SecurityNews

‘Finish the Job’: Mehek Cooke on Iran, the Strait of Hormuz, and Trump’s Defining 120 Hours

Trump Bullish on Iran Deal, but Uncertainty Remains

Where Do Dem Presidential Favorites Stand on Israel?

PoliticsSecurityNews

Trump Claims Gold Star Families Told Him to ‘Finish the Job’ in Iran

Conservative and Proud: Is the Right Representing Women?

Girl Boss vs. Trad Wife: Forced to Choose?

Beyond the Oyster Fork: An Etiquette Expert’s Tips for ‘Relationships, Work, and Life’

Is the Iran Operation ‘America First’?

International Commentary

Winning the War, Fighting the Swamp: Trump’s Toughest Battle Isn’t Iran

International Commentary

Iran Thought It Was Untouchable … Then Trump Changed the Rules

The Implosion of Eric Swalwell: What Was He Thinking?

International Commentary

How Trump Outsmarted Iran While Critics Rooted Against America and the Media Melted Down

The SPLC Was Paying the Ku Klux Klan, DOJ Indictment Claims

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and FBI Director Kash Patel on April 21. (Mandel NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Tyler O'Neil / @Tyler2ONeil

Tyler O'Neil is senior editor at The Daily Signal and the author of two books: "Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center," and "The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government."

The Southern Poverty Law Center has raised money for decades claiming to dismantle white supremacy, but it funneled millions of dollars to white nationalist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, according to a federal indictment handed down Tuesday.

The SPLC claims it was funding informants inside the extremist groups.

While the SPLC “purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a press conference that “the SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose.”

Blanche highlighted one example from the indictment, where the SPLC paid a member of the leadership group that planned the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

?READ ITToday, @DAGToddBlanche & @FBIDirectorKash announced an 11-count indictment against the SPLC.While SPLC raises money by claiming to oppose white supremacy, the indictment accuses the SPLC of paying the Ku Klux Klan?https://t.co/Fl8GtFga9A?1/12 pic.twitter.com/b567v12DAD— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) April 21, 2026

“The Southern Poverty Law Center themselves advertise to raise money to dismantle violent extremist groups… however, the SPLC used the money they raised from their donor network to actually pay the leadership of these very groups,” FBI Director Kash Patel explained at the press conference.

The indictment charges the SPLC with six counts of wire fraud, aiming to “obtain money via donations through materially false representations and omissions about what the donated funds would be used for.” It charges the SPLC with four counts of false statements to a federally insured bank by creating accounts for fictitious entities to funnel the money. Finally, it charges the SPLC with one count of conspiracy to commit concealment of money laundering.

The Justice Department’s indictment claims that the SPLC directed more than $1 million to an affiliate of the National Alliance; more than $300,000 to an affiliate of the Aryan Nations; more than $270,000 to a member of the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017; more than $140,000 to the former chairman of the National Alliance; more than $73,000 to former Ku Klux Klan members; and more than $19,000 to the president of American Front.

?INDICTEDHere's @DAGToddBlanche laying out the payments SPLC allegedly made to white supremacist groups pic.twitter.com/qSm85M774N— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) April 21, 2026

?INDICTEDHere's @DAGToddBlanche laying out the payments SPLC allegedly made to white supremacist groups pic.twitter.com/qSm85M774N

Blanche said the federal investigation began years ago, and the Biden administration shut it down. The Daily Signal previously reported that members of the Biden administration worked closely with the SPLC.

Patel said the FBI’s “investigation revealed that funds were used to facilitate the commission of further state and federal offenses, totaling over $3 million.”

He said the SPLC allegedly engaged in a “widespread, decade-long multi-million-dollar fraud” and proceeded to “hide their criminal activity from our financial banking network.”

A reporter noted that the FBI had previously worked with the SPLC, and asked whether the SPLC revealed to law enforcement that it was funding these entities.

Patel said he did not find it surprising that the SPLC “never told anybody that they were paying off the Ku Klux Klan.”

Bryan Fair, interim president and CEO of the SPLC, revealed the federal investigation Tuesday morning, and admitted that the SPLC had paid informants in white nationalist groups.

Fair added that the use of paid informants was “necessary” because of threats the SPLC faced.

Fair noted that in 1983, members of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan firebombed the SPLC’s offices, and he claimed staff have faced “countless credible threats” since.

“For decades, we engaged in unprecedented litigation to dismantle the Klan and other hate groups,” he said.

“In light of that work, we sought to protect the safety of our staff and the public. We frequently shared what we learned from informants with local and federal law enforcement, including the FBI. We did not, however, share our use of informants broadly with anyone, to protect the identity and safety of the informants and their families.”

The SPLC built its reputation by suing Ku Klux Klan groups into bankruptcy. Now, the group publishes a “hate map” including mainstream conservative and Christian groups alongside Klan chapters.

The SPLC did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment.

This is a breaking news story and may be updated.

Judge Blocked Conservatives From Discovery, Then Dismissed the Case for Lack of Evidence

SPLC Under Criminal Investigation for Paid Informant Program

Tulsi Gabbard Addresses Fulton County FBI Probe

Read the first chapter of The Woketopus right now for FREE

Today, even with President Trump’s victory, leftist elites have their tentacles in every aspect of our government.

The Daily Signal’s own Tyler O’Neil exposes this leftist cabal in his new book, The Woketopus: The Dark Money Cabal Manipulating the Federal Government.

In this book, O’Neil reveals how the Left’s NGO apparatus pursues its woke agenda, maneuvering like an octopus by circumventing Congress and entrenching its interests in the federal government.

You can read the first chapter of this new book for FREE in this eBook, The Woketopus: Chapter One using the secure link below.

The Tony Kinnett Cast

The Daily Signal Podcast

We use cookies on our website. By using our website, you consent to cookies. Learn More .

visit website

The SPLC Was Paying the Ku Klux Klan, DOJ Indictment Claims

© The Daily Signal