{"id":2237,"date":"2026-06-09T20:05:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2237"},"modified":"2026-06-09T20:05:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T20:05:34","slug":"southern-poverty-law-center-chair-put-on-defensive-during-heated-congressional-hearing-we-dont-fund-hate-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2237","title":{"rendered":"Southern Poverty Law Center chair put on defensive during heated congressional hearing: \u2018We don\u2019t fund hate groups\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<div>\n<button><br \/>\n<strong><br \/>\n<span><svg>\n<\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<span>Summary<\/span><br \/>\n<\/strong><br \/>\n<span><svg><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<span><svg><\/svg><br \/>\n<\/span><br \/>\n<\/button><\/p>\n<div>\n<ul>\n<li>The Southern Poverty Law Center&#8217;s interim president defended the civil rights organization&#8217;s former undercover informant program during a contentious congressional hearing.<\/li>\n<li>Republican lawmakers questioned Bryan Fair about allegations the SPLC misused donor funds to pay informants in extremist groups.<\/li>\n<li>Democrats said the criminal case against the SPLC was politically motivated by the Trump administration.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div>\n<span>AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.<\/span>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\n            The Southern Poverty Law Center\u2019s interim president and CEO faced tough questions from Republican lawmakers during a hearing Tuesday over the organization\u2019s former program of running informants in racist groups.\n    <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2235\">Vance family installs Victorian-style chicken coop at vice presidential residence<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            The hearing comes as the group faces criminal charges over the program, including allegations that it misused donor money to pay leaders in extremist groups and buy wood used in cross-burning events.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cWe don\u2019t fund the KKK,\u201d the SPLC\u2019s interim president, Bryan Fair, told Republican Rep. Harriet Hageman after being pressed on the program repeatedly. \u201cWe don\u2019t fund hate groups.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cExcept the $4.1 million that you gave to the KKK, the National Socialist Movement, and the Aryan Nations,\u201d Hageman shot back.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Fair, repeating language that he used throughout Tuesday\u2019s hearing, responded that \u201cthose are allegations that will be addressed in the criminal case.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Fair, on behalf of SPLC, pleaded not guilty last month in Alabama federal court to wire fraud, false statements and money laundering charges.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The Justice Department has accused the SPLC of hiding the undercover program from its donors and of using shell companies to fund the people it used to infiltrate White supremacy organizations.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The group, known for its legal and investigative work against violent extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, has been heavily criticized for decades by Republicans who allege the organization unfairly targets and maligns right-wing groups.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            When asked by Rep. Jim Jordan, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, why the SPLC dismantled the program, Fair turned on the government.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cWe stopped the program because we believed hate and extremism has migrated significantly online and into government agencies,\u201d Fair said.\n    <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2231\">NASA reveals Artemis III crew that will take the next big step on its journey back to the moon<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cWow,\u201d Jordan replied. \u201cThat\u2019s big. That makes no sense.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Fair said law enforcement were aware of the program and have benefited from the intelligence gathered by these informants in past cases against the extremist groups.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cWe\u2019ve already asserted in our filings that we did not lie to our donors, that we did not fund any hate groups,\u201d Fair told lawmakers Tuesday. \u201cThe Department of Justice knew that we were working with them.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Democrats came to the SPLC\u2019s defense throughout Tuesday\u2019s hearing, alleging acting Attorney General Todd Blanche brought the case at the behest of President Donald Trump. Trump on Monday formally nominated Blanche to the post.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cWe know why this indictment was brought,\u201d Democratic Rep. Deborah Ross said during the hearing. \u201cIt\u2019s just one of the many weaponized moves that Todd Blanche and the DOJ have taken at the president\u2019s behest to silence dissent for his monthlong audition for attorney general.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            Ross continued: \u201cThis is proving loyalty to Donald Trump, but it\u2019s clearly not loyalty to the law.\u201d\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            A superseding indictment handed up earlier this month alleges the SPLC diverted $4.1 million from 2010 to 2023 through alleged shell companies, much of which prosecutors say was used to pay these informants.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            The indictment also alleges one of the informants was in a romantic relationship with an SPLC employee who oversaw payments to the operatives. The pair allegedly lived together and used some of the funds to pay for living expenses, according to the indictment.\n    <\/p>\n<p>\n            \u201cWe shared information that we learned through our confidential informant program with local, state and federal law enforcement to prevent racial violence against the public at large and to protect our staff,\u201d Fair said in defending the program Tuesday.\n    <\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/relocationtimess.com\/?p=2227\">FDA approves new sunscreen ingredient used for years in Europe and Asia<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Southern Poverty Law Center\u2019s interim president and CEO faced tough questions from Republican lawmakers during a hearing Tuesday over the organization\u2019s former program of running informants in racist groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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