Story perspectives

Jury Indicts SPLC on 11 Fraud Counts, Trump Decries Scam

5/1/2026

Summary

Story summary

A jury in the Middle District of Alabama indicted the SPLC on eleven fraud counts.
The SPLC says the indictment criminalizes its sharing of informant intelligence.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the SPLC of paying sources to stoke racial hatred.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelly Fitzgerald Pate ordered a Justice Department response to the SPLC’s motions by May 5.
President Donald Trump called the case the greatest political scam in American history.

History

Historical Context

When President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act on July 2 1964, the law gave the Attorney General authority to sue for discrimination, passing the Senate 73-27 and the House 290-130. That federal enforcement power underwrites today’s indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center, echoing the Act’s original push to curb hate-group activity.

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Story summary

A jury in the Middle District of Alabama indicted the SPLC on eleven fraud counts.
The SPLC says the indictment criminalizes its sharing of informant intelligence.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the SPLC of paying sources to stoke racial hatred.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelly Fitzgerald Pate ordered a Justice Department response to the SPLC’s motions by May 5.
President Donald Trump called the case the greatest political scam in American history.

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