DOJ Probes SPLC Over Paid Informants in Extremist Monitoring

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a nonprofit civil rights organization based in Montgomery, Alabama, announced Tuesday that it is the subject of a criminal investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate and monitor extremist groups.

In a statement, SPLC CEO Bryan Fair said the probe appears to target the group's prior employment of confidential informants to gather intelligence on violent organizations. "Although we don't know all the details, the focus appears to be on the SPLC's prior use of paid confidential informants to gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups," Fair stated. He noted that the informants' information was often shared with local and federal law enforcement to track threats of violence, while details were withheld publicly to safeguard the individuals' identities.

Fair emphasized the program's historical roots, dating back to the Civil Rights Movement era, when the organization began using informants amid church bombings, state-sponsored attacks on demonstrators, and unsolved murders of activists. "There is no question that what we learned from informants saved lives," he said. Founded in...