MONTGOMERY — The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was arraigned in federal court and pleaded not guilty on Thursday to all counts of wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements to a federally insured bank.
A Montgomery grand jury returned an indictment in April charging the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and money laundering.
The United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division filed two forfeiture actions to recover alleged proceeds of the organization's fraud scheme.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigated the case with assistance from the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation.
According to the indictment, starting in the 1980s, the SPLC began operating a covert network of individuals who were either associated with violent and extremist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, or who had infiltrated violent extremist groups at the SPLC's direction. Unbeknownst to donors, some of their donated money was being used to fund the leaders and organizers of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website, according to the DOJ.
SPLC interim president and CEO Bryan Fair said on Thursday, "The charges against the SPLC are provably wrong; they are based on inaccurate facts and a misapplication of law. Our informant program was successful in accomplishing its purposes: Threats and attacks were prevented, criminal activity was stopped, and information was gathered to dismantle the efforts of hate and extremist groups. There is no question that the information the SPLC shared with law enforcement saved lives."
"The SPLC is no stranger to legal threats by those on the wrong side of history. In our 55 years, we have faced and prevailed in numerous fights," Fair said in a statement. "The SPLC will continue to fight white supremacy and various forms of injustice in our mission to build a democracy where we can all live and thrive. We will continue that mission no matter what."
A trial date has been set for early October in the case.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama Kevin Davidson told reporters after the hearing, "It's good to finally go to court, start the process of seeking justice in this case. We finally have a trial date, and we'll just see how things progress through the system. We'll just take the case where the evidence takes us."
"This case was investigated by the FBI, presented to my office, and then presented to a grand jury, where members of the grand jury found probable cause to indict on the 11 charges. There's nothing vindictive about this," Davidson said.
Davidson continued, "To the extent of things I've seen in the media since the indictment, most of what I've read has not been correct."
"I don't have any prior dealings with the Southern Poverty Law Center. There's nothing vindictive about this prosecution. The way much of the media has described the charges, it is not accurate. I think the charges speak for themselves if you just read the indictment. I'll leave it at that," Davidson said.
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