The Department of Justice announced Tuesday that a federal grand jury has indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on charges of fraud and money laundering, alleging the nonprofit directed millions of dollars to individuals associated with extremist groups over the past decade.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said during a news conference that the 11-count indictment was filed in federal court in Alabama and centers on alleged payments totaling at least $3 million to eight individuals tied to far-right organizations.

According to the indictment, those individuals were connected to groups including the Ku Klux Klan, United Klans of America, Aryan Nations, the Nationalist Socialist Party of American Nazis, and the Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club.

Federal officials said one of the recipients was a leader involved in the 2017 Unite the Right protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, who allegedly received approximately $270,000 over an eight-year period.

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Blanche outlined the government’s allegations against the organization, describing a pattern of activity that prosecutors say extended for years.

“The SPLC is a nonprofit entity that purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement groups, with the goal of dismantling these groups,” Blanche said.

He continued, “As the indictment describes, the SPLC was not dismantling these groups.”

Blanche added, “It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.”

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The Justice Department alleges that the payments were part of a broader effort to mislead donors and conceal the flow of funds.

Officials said the case involves financial transactions routed through various accounts over an extended period.

FBI Director Kash Patel also addressed the indictment, describing the scope of the alleged activity.

He called it a “widespread, decade-long multi-million dollar fraud.”

Patel said the alleged scheme was concealed through a “banking network.”

He further stated that the organization “fraudulently raised money by lying to their donor network, thousands of Americans.”

Patel added that the funds were then used “to go ahead and actually pay the leadership of these supposed violent extremist groups.”

According to federal authorities, the indictment outlines alleged financial arrangements that prosecutors say were inconsistent with the organization’s stated mission.

Investigators said they reviewed records related to the payments and traced funds tied to individuals connected with the listed organizations.

Officials did not provide additional details about how the alleged payments were structured or whether additional individuals may face charges.

The indictment represents the latest development in what authorities described as a multi-year investigation.

The case is now set to proceed through the federal court system in Alabama, where prosecutors will present evidence related to the allegations.

Representatives for the Southern Poverty Law Center have not publicly commented on the indictment at this time.

Federal officials emphasized that the charges are allegations and that the case will be subject to judicial proceedings as it moves forward.

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