The far-left Southern Poverty Law Center, which routinely labels American organizations that disagree with its pro-abortion, pro-LGBT ideologies as “hate” groups, has been unable to provide evidence that charges against it were part of a “vindictive prosecution.”
So a federal judge in Alabama has declined to dismiss the charges.
It was Judge Emily Marks who said the SPLC, indicted for allegedly boasting to donors about battling radical elements of the anti-government movement while secretly using those donors’ money to fund them, failed to provide evidence of wrongdoing in an indictment.
She found the SPLC failed to show evidence that there should be further discovery on its claim of vindictiveness by the prosecutor, much less a reason to dismiss the entire case, according to a report from the Hill.
“Federal courts are not the proper forum for airing political grievances. For that reason, the doctrine of vindictive prosecution places a heavy burden on the accused, and decades of precedent counsels against its application here. Two things can be true at once: critics are not constitutionally immunized solely because they speak frequently and prosecutorial decisions may be second guessed—if they evince some evidence of animus,” she wrote.
“Missing here is the requisite objective evidence to show that the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama (on its own accord or at the direction of others) prosecuted the SPLC for exercising its First Amendment rights.”
🚨 A federal judge denied the Southern Poverty Law Center’s bid to dismiss its criminal indictment on claims of vindictive prosecution, allowing the case to move forward. The court also refused to let the SPLC obtain discovery into the Justice Department’s prosecutorial motives. pic.twitter.com/d7DeRAqVBg
— SCOTUS Wire (@scotus_wire) August 7, 2026
The report explained the Trump administration has alleged the SPLC defrauded donors by funding individuals who allegedly were spying on white supremacist or extremist organizations.
The indictment charges by paying those so-called informants, the SPLC was funding, with donor money, the very groups it told donors it was battling.
The SPLC, furious over the claims, charged that prosecutors misled the grand jury to gain an indictment. It denies any wrongdoing.
The SPLC, in a statement, said the judge’s ruling was disappointing, but it would continue to fight.
The SPLC has moved far from its original position of fighting groups of the KKK. It now labels anyone who does not subscribe to its pro-LGBT and pro-abortion ideologies as “haters.” That, a few years ago, triggered a now-convict to go to the family-promoting Family Research Council in Washington and try to kill as many people as he could.
He failed, due to the diligence of an FRC security officer.
The SPLC’s “Hate Map,” in fact, repeatedly has condemned mainstream organization’s if they support President Donald Trump, such as Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA.
The FBI, which used to rely on the SPLC’s political advice, cut ties completely.
Kash Patel, the chief of the FBI, said at that time, “The Southern Poverty Law Center long ago abandoned civil rights work and turned into a partisan smear machine. Their so-called ‘hate map’ has been used to defame mainstream Americans and even inspired violence. That disgraceful record makes them unfit for any FBI partnership.”
