The U.S. Justice Department has charged a former Southern Poverty Law Center executive in connection with the government’s ongoing fraud case against the civil rights organization.
Political extremism expert Heidi Beirich was arrested at her home in Palm Springs, Calif., Aug. 12 and charged with conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit wire fraud. The indictment against Beirich adds her as a defendant to the ongoing criminal action DOJ launched against SPLC.
Heidi Beirich
SPLC has strongly denied wrongdoing and said the Alabama-based group is the victim of retaliation from President Donald Trump and his political appointees.
A federal grand jury returned an 11-count indictment against the Montgomery-based anti-hate group in April, accusing it of money laundering, wire fraud and defrauding donors in the operation of a now-shuttered program that paid informants to monitor white supremacist organizations such as the Proud Boys and KKK.
Despite multiple instances in which SPLC shared intelligence about potential violent actions with federal, state and local law enforcement, the government accuses Beirich and the organization of using contributions to finance racist violence instead of preventing such activities.
“The charges arise from an alleged scheme involving the use of donated funds and financial accounts associated with fictitious entities,” DOJ announced Aug. 12. “As previously alleged, the scheme involved efforts to conceal the source, ownership and control of funds and to make false representations concerning the use of donated money and the operation of financial accounts.”
Beirich, 59, left SPLC in 2019 after two decades with the organization, first as a writer and later tracking anti-government hate groups and making payments to informants as director of intelligence projects. In 2020 she co-founded the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism after leaving the SPLC and has testified before Congress about right-wing extremist movements.
DOJ started investigating SPLC during Trump’s first term, with initial probes into alleged embezzlement and tax-related violations before shifting to the use of bank accounts and payments to informants, CBS News reported. Beirich was not the focus of those early inquiries.
Beirich attorney Michael Proctor denounced DOJ’s case as one of political prosecution against a group known for fighting extremism.
“A free and fair society does not use the justice system to silence its political opponents. Heidi Beirich has dedicated her life to fighting hate groups and extremist movements like the KKK, neo-Nazis, and other white supremacists,” he said. “She has combatted these hateful, ugly and un-American extremists and their repeated uses of violence and intimidation in order to promote a fairer, safer and more just America.”
But those activities have infuriated Trump and Republicans in Congress. In June, the House Judiciary Committee hosted “The Southern Poverty Law Center: Manufacturing Hate,” a series of hearings designed to provide political support for the prosecution of SPLC.
Ryan Bangert
Witness Ryan Bangert, senior vice president of strategic initiatives for the Alliance Defending Freedom, claimed in his testimony that disagreeing with SPLC ideology can be fatal.
“Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk was murdered 24 hours after the SPLC named him in an article sub-headlined ‘Militia and antigovernment movement activity.’ Kirk and TPUSA had been added to the SPLC’s ‘Hate Map’ just months before his assassination.”
SPLC filed a motion in May asking a federal court in Montgomery to dismiss the case as an act of retaliation by the administration.
But U.S. District Judge Emily Marks denied the request, explaining: “Though President Trump has specifically criticized the SPLC, the organization has not provided evidence that the prosecutors working on this case were in any way motivated by his purported animus.”
Marks added she was unimpressed by arguments made by either side in the case. “The parties’ briefing is, like much of our modern political discourse, heavy on heated rhetoric, better suited for cable news or a podcast. It emphasizes noise over substance.”
An SPLC spokesperson said the government’s case “will not shake our resolve,” the Associated Press reported.
“Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do,” the spokesperson said. “We are confident in our position and look forward to presenting the evidence and making our case in court.”
The Alabama Political Reporter said two former federal prosecutors said it was “utterly ridiculous” for DOJ to target SPLC’s previous use of informants to monitor hate groups.
“A source familiar with the SPLC’s informant program told APR recently that information gathered from one such source stopped a planned assassination attempt on a high-profile figure in Montgomery several years ago. The source said there have been numerous other examples of similar situations.”
The publication noted the case against SPLC is part of a “series of questionable, possibly politically motivated” indictments by DOJ.
It cited the recent accusations that former U.S. Olympian David Hearn vandalized the Reflecting Pool at the Lincoln Memorial. While ultimately dismissed, the White House has asked federal prosecutors to consider fresh charges against Hearn, without credible evidence.