Left-wing nonprofits are rallying behind the (SPLC) as the self-described “beacon of hope” for “fighting white supremacy” faces federal fraud charges.
In a blog post written by National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Senior Policy Advisor Mel Wilson, Wilson said, “it is important that we stand with and support The Southern Poverty Law Center until the legal travails are complete â with full confidence that SPLC will be vindicated.”
Below her commentary, Wilson listed a number of “coalition members” that are standing with SPLC and are a part of “The Leadership Conference on Civil and .”
The list included more than one hundred non-profit organizations.
Separately, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) issued a press release defending SPLC, saying that it stands with the nonprofit, and accusing the Department of Justice of “targeting” the organization.Â
“This reported federal targeting of SPLC appears to be a transparently political attack on the rule of law meant to undermine the vital role groups play in countering hate groups. This is unacceptable and must not stand,” CAIRs statement read.Â
“We encourage all Americans and elected officials to stand in solidarity with the SPLC and all other organizations dedicated to the protection of civil rights,” the statement continued.
CAIR was named a co-conspirator during The Holy Land Foundation (HLF) trial from 2007-2008, where five members of the HLF were convicted of conspiracy to provide material support to a terrorist organization, providing material support, money laundering and tax fraud after allegations that HLF funneled $12.4 million to in the early 2000s.
While CAIR never faced charges and was only named by prosecutors during the trial, the FBI cut ties with the nonprofit following the case.
Fox News Digital reached out to NASW but did not receive a response.Â
Federal authorities announced earlier this week that the Southern Poverty Law Center, known for justice, was indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly funneling millions to members of violent like the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations and the National Socialist Party of America (American Nazi Party).
According to the SPLCs Form 990 filing with the IRS, the posted roughly $129 million in total revenue in fiscal year 2024 with nearly $800 million in total assets.
The organization says that the money was for informants to report back to SPLC and provide information about the groups and their inner workings.Â
The indictment said that one alleged informant, who was paid $270,000, shared “racist social media posts” under SPLC supervision, and that the nonprofit “helped organize transportation to events” during the deadly 2017 “” event in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“These individuals risked their lives to infiltrate and inform on the activities of our nation’s most radical and violent extremist groups,” SPLC Interim President and CEO Bryan Fair said in a video statement. “When we began working with informants, we were living in the shadow of the height of the civil rights movement, which had seen bombings at churches, state-sponsored violence against demonstrators, and the murders of activists that went unanswered by the justice system.”
In 1994, an investigative series by the Montgomery Advertiser examined the financials of SPLC at the time, finding that the founder was heavily focused on fundraising for the nonprofit, running the organization like a business or corporation. It also found that the salaries of SPLC were high, and that the nonprofit than it spent.Â
The Montgomery Advertiser was a finalist for the 1995 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Journalism due to the series on SPLC.
SPLC co-founder Joe Levin rejected the papers claims at the
