The Southern Poverty Law Center, a prominent monitor of hate groups, has pleaded not guilty to federal charges alleging it defrauded donors by failing to disclose payments to informants within extremist organizations.
Attorney Abbe Lowell entered a plea on Tuesday to a superseding indictment that expands on accusations first made in April.
The Justice Department contends the SPLC funded extremist groups even as it publicly claimed to be working towards their dismantling. In response, the SPLC has vehemently denied any wrongdoing, asserting that its informant program yielded crucial intelligence about these groups, information it routinely shared with law enforcement agencies.
The SPLC, in turn, has accused the Justice Department of engaging in a vindictive prosecution, characterizing it as part of a broader retribution campaign against individuals perceived as political adversaries of Donald Trump.
According to the superseding indictment, $4.1 million in donor funds were allegedly diverted to pay informants embedded within extremist organizations. Prosecutors claim some of these funds were used for recruiting new members and even for purchasing Ku Klux Klan robes and materials for cross-burning ceremonies.
The indictment further states that these paid informants included members of the KKK and white nationalists who initially approached the SPLC seeking assistance to leave their extremist affiliations, but were subsequently offered monthly payments and expense reimbursements.
The brief arraignment took place remotely on Tuesday, with the case now slated for trial in October.
