Southern Poverty Law Center is under federal investigation [View all]

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/us/politics/southern-poverty-law-center-doj-investigation.html?unlocked_article_code=1.clA.TGY4._3uKQVBhgVLW&smid=url-share

Prominent Civil Rights Group Says It Is Under Federal Investigation
The Southern Poverty Law Center, which is best known for investigating hate groups, has been accused by Republicans of unfairly targeting conservative and Christian organizations.


The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights group that has long tracked hate groups, said on Tuesday that it was under investigation by the Justice Department over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist organizations.

Bryan Fair, the group's interim chief executive, said in a video that the Trump administration had “made no secret of who they want to protect and who they want to destroy.”

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Southern Poverty Law Center was formed in 1971 in Alabama and is best known for investigating groups like the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacy organizations. In recent years, Republicans have accused the group of unfairly targeting conservative and Christian organizations, labeling them as extremists.

The criminal investigation comes as the Trump administration pushes to counter what it calls anti-Christian and anti-conservative bias in the government. Last week, the Justice Department issued a report highly critical of how the Biden administration prosecuted anti-abortion activists under a law meant to safeguard access to abortion providers and church services.