The US Department of Justice (DOJ) indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on Tuesday for wire fraud and other fraudulent crimes in connection to its covert operations.

The indictment alleged that the SPLC misled donors and made false statements to banks in its use and transmission of funds to SPLC individuals. These individuals, referred to as Fs for “field sources,” were part of the SPLC’s efforts to infiltrate and collect data on violent extremist organizations and therefore received compensation from the SPLC. According to the DOJ, because the Fs had infiltrated extremist groups, this means the funds were actually being used to advance extremist causes, in contradiction to SPLC’s purpose of dismantling such groups. The indictment alleges that this defrauded the SPLC donors who sought to support the dismantling of extremist groups. The DOJ accused the SPLC of committing various wire and bank fraud crimes, especially through fictitious entities.

The indictment cited 18 USC § 1343, which makes it unlawful to “cause[] to be transmitted by means of wire…any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing” a fraud. 

The SPLC is a non-profit organization founded “to ensure that the promise of the civil rights movement became a reality for all.” It has targeted white supremacist groups through legal action, “tracking and exposing the activities of hate groups and other domestic extremists.” As a part of these efforts, SPLC interim president Bryan Fair stated that the SPLC operated a network of informants who gathered intelligence on extremist groups but remained confidential for their safety.

Fair characterized the indictment as the Trump administration’s latest attack on the SPLC. He referenced the FBI’s severing of ties between it and the SPLC, as well as a House of Representatives committee hearing which Fair asserts Republicans used to wrongfully accuse the SPLC of partisanship and profiting off its work. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche however argued that the SPLC used its informant program to “manufactur[e] the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.” Fair stated the SPLC will “vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work.” 

The Trump administration has not shied away from conflict with non-profit organizations. In November, the administration issued a new rule making employees ineligible for public service loan forgiveness if their employer is a non-profit organization with a purportedly substantially illegal purpose.