politics
Southern Poverty Law Center Indicted on 11 Counts of Federal Fraud
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a motion Tuesday asking a federal judge to dismiss an 11-count indictment charging the nonprofit with wire fraud and bank fraud. The filing argues the prosecution amounts to vindictive action tied to public statements by President Trump and administration officials.
May 26, 5:40 PM·2m read3 sources
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The Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday asked a federal judge to dismiss the criminal charges filed against it by the Justice Department. The 47-page filing in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama argues the indictment represents a "top-down, retributive campaign" directed by President Trump to target his enemies.
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The motion cites a series of public statements by the president and other top administration officials targeting the center, including one in which Mr. " Lawyers for the SPLC wrote that the case meets "the very definition of a vindictive prosecution" and asked the court to dismiss the indictment as a violation of due process.
The Justice Department secured the 11-count indictment in April, charging the civil rights nonprofit with wire fraud and bank fraud. The indictment alleges that the group lied to donors about paying confidential informants to infiltrate hate groups and deceived banks about the bank accounts used to make those payments.
The SPLC has pleaded not guilty and vowed to fight the charges.
The motion notes that FBI and IRS investigators probed the organization and interviewed several people between 2019 and 2020 but never sought criminal charges. After the group became a frequent target of administration statements, the case was reopened, the filing states.
Prosecutors did not seek new documents or interview current employees in the weeks before informing the group of the indictment. " It references a directive last year from then-Attorney General Pam Bondi instructing the FBI to investigate groups suspected of funding domestic terrorism, as well as public statements by other administration officials criticizing the organization.
