“How do you defend what just happened where [the SPLC] has given money to KKK, they’re supposed to protect people and they’re paying all these people, crooked as can be, millions of dollars.”
President Donald Trump on Thursday slammed the Southern Poverty Law Center following a federal indictment against the organization, while also alleging election issues tied to a recent Virginia redistricting vote. The remarks came as the case against the nonprofit moves forward, and it’s drawing national attention pretty fast.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said, “The election was totally rigged,” referring to the Virginia redistricting outcome. He then went after the SPLC.
“And when you look at what just, excuse me, how do you defend what just happened where your southern law, whatever it is, has given money to KKK, they're supposed to protect people and they're paying all these people, crooked as can be, millions of dollars, millions of dollars going all to all these people that they're supposed to be protecting from but they're actually supporting them because they want to have companies that they can protect and because they want to rig elections,” Trump said.
“That was all a rigged election. All of the things with Charlottesville, all of the stuff that they did and you won't bring that up but you'll bring up some nonsense.”
The comments follow charges announced Tuesday by the Department of Justice against the SPLC, which is based in Alabama. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the organization of fraud tied to a long-running informant program.
The SPLC allegedly raised millions of dollars from donors and then directed some of those funds to individuals affiliated with extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the United Klans of America, and the National Socialist (Nazi) Party of America. Authorities allege at least $3 million in payments were made between 2014 and 2023.
“The SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred,” Blanche said.
The indictment includes charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors allege the organization failed to disclose details of the informant program to donors and routed funds through multiple accounts before distributing them via prepaid cards.
SPLC CEO Bryan Fair responded by saying the organization “will vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work.”
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