Bryan Fair, interim CEO and president of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), testified before the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday as Congress examines federal criminal charges against the civil rights nonprofit.
The organization faces an 11-count indictment secured by federal prosecutors in April, alleging financial crimes including defrauding donors by concealing payments to members of extremist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, and the Aryan Nation.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, is leading the congressional probe into the law center's practices. The panel also examined alleged coordination between SPLC and federal civil rights enforcement during the previous administration.
What the Right Is Saying
Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said Congress is seeking answers about how donor money was spent. "There are a lot of legitimate questions about what the SPLC was doing with donor money and how they were using it to basically fund the type of hate that they were pretending to be going after," Gill told Fox News.
Jordan told Fox News' Sean Hannity that previous administration officials amplified SPLC's work in civil rights enforcement. "For me, the biggest takeaway is the fact that the Biden White House and the Biden Justice Department helped make the Southern Poverty Law Center the standard," Jordan said.
Republicans have criticized use of SPLC's "hate map" to target conservative organizations including Turning Point USA, Moms for Liberty and the Family Research Council. Gill said the practice aimed to suppress conservative messaging. "The purpose of doing that was to basically stifle their ability to get the conservative message out," he told Fox News.
Alveda King, niece of Martin Luther King Jr. and chair of the American Dream at the America First Policy Institute, also testified before the committee alongside Fair.
What the Left Is Saying
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., defended the organization during coverage of the hearing.
"I just think that this is really misplaced and misguided," Jayapal told Fox News. "It's essentially targeting an organization to make an example of them when they have been the leader in taking on antisemitism and taking on white nationalism."
Jayapal suggested Republicans should focus scrutiny elsewhere. "There's a lot of other places we should be looking at if we're worried about organizations that spread hate, maybe start with the administration," she said.
SPLC counsel Abbe Lowell pushed back against the fraud allegations in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The SPLC did not lie to its donors, it did not mislead banks it did business with, and its informant program prevented violence and saved lives," he continued.
Lowell maintained that the nonprofit's practice of placing informants within extremist groups served legitimate purposes in monitoring hate organizations.
What the Numbers Show
Federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment specifying that SPLC covertly transferred more than $4 million in donor funds to bank accounts under fictitious names to pay members of extremist groups between 2010 and 2023.
According to the superseding indictment, one informant received more than $270,000 from the organization. Prosecutors allege this individual helped plan the deadly 2017 "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, Va., and made racist postings under SPLC supervision.
The indictment alleges that two Klan members were paid $1,200 per month to remain in the hate group after approaching the law center in 2010 seeking help to exit. Some funds allegedly went toward cross-burnings and Ku Klux Klan attire expenses.
SPLC's revenue grew from $38.7 million in 2010 to more than $129 million in 2023, representing a 233% increase during the years it operated its informant program, according to figures cited in the superseding indictment.
The law center is charged with 11 counts including bank fraud and donor fraud. The organization has denied any wrongdoing and argued the criminal charges are politically motivated.
The Bottom Line
Tuesday's hearing marks an escalation of congressional scrutiny into SPLC following federal criminal charges against the nonprofit. Jordan's committee has also subpoenaed documents related to alleged coordination between SPLC and civil rights enforcement at the Justice Department.
The testimony comes as SPLC navigates both a federal criminal prosecution in Alabama and Republican-led investigations in Congress. The organization has maintained its informant program served legitimate purposes in monitoring extremism.
What remains unresolved is whether congressional investigators will uncover additional evidence of coordination with federal agencies, and how the criminal case proceeds. Both the House Judiciary Committee probe and the Justice Department prosecution could extend for months or longer.