Southern Poverty Law Center says it’s being investigated by DOJ

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) announced Tuesday that it is under investigation by the Department of Justice, a move that comes after the Trump administration has repeatedly admonished the civil rights group.

SPLC’s interim CEO Bryan Fair said the group does not have all the details, but that the investigation appears to be focused on a now-abandoned program that used paid informants to gather information on the extremist organizations the group monitors.

“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 said in a recorded video address.

Founded in 1971, the SPLC has tracked the activities of extremist and hate groups such as the Klu Klux Klan, as well as newer movements such as the Proud Boys and Turning Point USA. It also works on voting rights and criminal justice reform.

The group has become a target of the right in recent years, which has accused it of unfairly targeting conservatives.

In October, the FBI severed its ties with SPLC, which had been providing information on hate crimes and domestic extremism. Director Kash Patel called the group a “partisan smear machine,” cutting ties with the Anti-Defamation League that same week.

SPLC no longer uses paid informants but said the information they provided was critical at a time when bombings of churches and the murder of activists “went unanswered by the justice system.”

“These individuals risked their lives to infiltrate and inform on the activities of our nation’s most radical and violent extremist groups,” Fair said.

“There is no question that what we learned from informants saved lives.”

The Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama did not respond to request for comment.

The announcement comes ahead of a scheduled press conference by the Alabama attorney general.

Fair said the group was “unsurprised” by the investigation.

“Today, the federal government has been weaponized to dismantle the rights of our nation’s most vulnerable people and any organization like ours that stands in the breach,” he said.

“They have made no secret of who they want to protect and who they want to destroy.”

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