America First Legal has obtained documents showing the Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) hosted a "hate crimes" event promoted within President Joe Biden's Department of Justice.
"!!SHOCKING — Newly released documents reveal Biden's DOJ invited the extremist SPLC to help lead a 'hate crimes symposium' for federal prosecutors. Unbelievable hypocrisy," the group wrote in a post to which Elon Musk responded.
SEE: Elon Musk calls Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center a 'criminal organization'
!!
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 17, 2025
The new documents were first revealed by The Daily Signal.
"All Americans should be shocked, appalled, and terrified that the Biden Justice Department was taking advice from a hate-filled, morally bankrupt organization like the Southern Poverty Law Center," Ian Prior, senior counsel at America First Legal, told the outlet in a statement Monday.
The SPLC has come under scrutiny in recent years, with critics and lawmakers pointing out that it has abandoned its historical roots. The organization was founded in 1971 as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit public-interest law firm in the South, representing low-income individuals who couldn't afford to represent themselves in court.
"The SPLC has weaponized its designation of 'hate group' to target conservative persons, organizations, and non-profits who hold opposing viewpoints or policy positions. In 2019, a federal judge concluded that the SPLC's 'hate group' label does not 'depend upon objective data or evidence' and described the designation as 'an entirely subjective inquiry.' Despite this subjective slant, SPLC's labels have been used in the private sector as a basis for decisions to exclude partnerships with certain groups," Chairman James Comer (R-KY) said in a press release as his committee began investigating the organization in 2023.
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