SPLC Faces Federal Indictment, Civil Rights Groups Unite

0:00It's April 24th. This is U.S. News Today, AI-powered story shaping the nation. I'm Cory with the story. The Southern Poverty Law Center just got hit with a federal indictment this week from the Justice Department facing charges of wire fraud, bank, fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors say the group, based in Montgomery, Alabama, used paid informants inside extremist outfits like white supremacists. But those payments allegedly funded hate activities and tricked donors out of their cash. Meanwhile, the DOJ paints the SPLC as a scam machine that stirs up racism to stay relevant, with acting Attorney General Todd Blanche vowing to chase down similar outfits. This comes after the FBI cut ties with the SPLC last October, calling it a partisan hit squad for tracking hate groups since 1971. People rights leaders aren't shocked. They've been bracing for this under the Trump administration. Groups jumped on conference calls right away, planning rallies, public support blasts

1:02and resource sharing with over 100 organizations. Signing a solidarity letter, saying an attack on one, isn't an attack on all. Now, advocates are digging in deeper, auditing their own books, tightening document rules, and even brainstorming switches to for-profit setups to. DOJ asset freezes. Things like those from the NAACP and Urban League call it a political weapon to chill their work on voting, immigration, and policing. As this legal storm brews in Alabama courts, the civil rights crew is locked and loaded, refusing to let it paralyze their fight against. Extremism will keep tracking how it shakes out.