A Michigan Democratic gubernatorial candidate is facing fire for her involvement with the Southern Poverty Law Center.
Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, now running for governor, previously worked as an undercover investigator for the left-wing group. She also served on its board between 2014 and 2018, a time when the SPLC was reportedly paying extremist leaders, including an organizer of the deadly Charlottesville rally in 2017.
The payments led to an 11-count federal indictment in April. The Department of Justice accused the group, which has long faced criticism from conservatives, of paying extremist leaders as informants. At the same time, the Southern Poverty Law Center was fundraising off the alleged resurgence of white identity hate groups.
Michigan Republican leaders passed House Resolution 313 last week. It calls on the candidate “to release all information in her possession related to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s operations.”
The leaders want “any details concerning the organization’s alleged payments to individuals associated with extremist groups, and to publicly address her role in the organization.”
State Rep. Joseph Fox, a Republican, explained his support for the resolution.
“The accusations that have been made against the SPLC are extremely troubling,” Fox stated. “When an organization like the SPLC is accused of funding extremists, the people of Michigan deserve to know who was involved and to what extent.”
The Michigan GOP has been critical of Benson’s connection to the Southern Poverty Law Center.
“Benson owes an explanation to the public in what she knows about the SPLC’s alleged criminal behavior, considering the criminal activity started around the same time Benson was named to the Board,” state GOP Chairman Jim Runestad told Fox News in late April.
Benson’s campaign disputed the allegations.
“Jocelyn Benson has spent her career advancing the unfinished work of the civil rights movement and expanding economic opportunity, including helping dismantle white supremacist and neo-Nazi extremist networks responsible for hate crimes across the country,” a spokeswoman told Fox News.
Conservatives have criticized the Southern Poverty Law Center for years, arguing it strayed from its initial mission of fighting racism and violence in the South.
“They lost their way, they morphed into a more generalized political operation that was weaponized against right-of-center people, against Christians,” Legal Insurrection founder William Jacobson told Jewish News Syndicate in April, commenting on the indictment.
The center has labeled mainstream conservative groups such as the Alliance Defending Freedom, Family Research Council, and Turning Point USA as hateful groups.
[Featured image from Jocelyn Benson’s Instagram]
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