The Department of Justice last month announced an indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), alleging that the civil rights nonprofit defrauded donors by secretly paying informants associated with extremist organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan.A federal grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama returned an 11-count indictment in April charging the SPLC with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of making false statements to a federally insured bank and one count of conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, according to the Justice Department.The superseding indictment retains those charges while expanding on the alleged misconduct.According to the DOJ, the SPLC "secretly funneled" more than $3 million in donor funds between 2014 and 2023 to numerous individuals associated with extremist organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, the National Socialist Movement, participants in the Unite the Right rally and the Aryan Nations-affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club.NEO-NAZIS, ‘SADISTIC’ BIKERS AND CHARLOTTESVILLE ORGANIZER: 5 OF THE MOST SHOCKING SPLC INFORMANTSThe Southern Poverty Law Center has widespread influence in education.FILE: Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, left, and SPLC interim President and CEO Bryan Fair are shown in a split image as the Justice Department pursues charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center.
(Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images; USA TODAY Network via Imagn Images)The original indictment alleged approximately $3 million in payments between 2014 and 2023."The SPLC’s paid informants ('field sources') engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website," the indictment states.Prosecutors further allege the SPLC opened bank accounts tied to fictitious entities in order to conceal donor funds that were allegedly routed to confidential sources.MIKE DAVIS: SOUTHERN POVERTY LAW CENTER: A TALE OF...