Taxpayers Have Sent Millions To The Southern Poverty Law Center
While the Southern Poverty Law Center was reportedly sending checks to white supremacists, taxpayers were also wiring money to the controversial group.
Millions of taxpayer dollars have flowed to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) since 2016, according to a new report from Open the Books.
The government watchdog group already identified $3.85 million that the SPLC has raked in from taxpayers, but said the real amount is likely much higher.
The organization is currently facing federal wire fraud, false statements, and money laundering charges, as previously reported by Legal Insurrection.
The Department of Justice alleges that the organization funneled money to extremist leaders and groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan, ostensibly to act as informants. The SPLC then fundraised off the alleged resurgence of those organizations.
The same group that was paying an organizer of the deadly Charlottesville 2017 rally was also receiving money for its “Teaching Tolerance” curriculum and other K-12 materials.
Open the Books reported:
Since FY 2016, at least $1,352,655.07 worth of taxpayer funds have been paid directly to SPLC from school districts, states, cities, counties, universities and other public entities. Most of the 63 reported payments lack an explanation, but the relatively small amounts suggest payment for materials, speakers or licensing fees.
There is likely more spending out there to uncover, Open the Books suggested.
“A second FOIA related to our investigation of the Pentagon’s K-12 public schools turned up SPLC, too,” the watchdog group said.
Beyond the spending, there might also be “free resources” containing “radical SPLC content” that is showing up in “teacher training or classrooms.” That means the Southern Poverty Law Center’s ideology is continuing to infect teachers and students.
The true work of the Southern Poverty Law Center may continue to be exposed as well in the coming months, as the federal charges progress.
Furthermore, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced his own investigation into the Montgomery-based group.
His office is investigating the group under the “State’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act” and other charitable organization laws, though no charges have been filed yet.
“We have always suspected that they were monetizing hate and trading on race-baiting, it was just a matter of proving it,” Marshall announced on May 11.
“We look forward to learning more about the inner workings of an organization that we have long believed was rotten, but until recently, has been impervious,” he said.
In a recent filing, the Southern Poverty Law Center argues that the informant program is now “defunct” and that law enforcement officials were aware of what it was doing, according to the Associated Press.
Editor’s note: The author of this article is a former intern for Open the Books.
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Comments
A Marxist group looting the Republic.
the sheep are willing led astray by the evilness of the left
Speaking of NGOs, particularly those that take money from governments…
The only effective fix demands bright lines; the prohibition of any Federal funds going to NGOs, no grants, no contracts for ‘service’ and complete transparency by NGOs in fundraising filed monthly listing large donations balance/revenue/expenditure, ban transfers among/between NGOs to include ‘in kind’ donations and require a minimum of 80% funds raised/donated to go to whatever the primary mission is with no more than 20% spent on salaries/overhead/fundraising. Establish draconian civil and criminal penalties and enforce them.
There is way way way too much money in government. Government bozos loot it, give it away to friends, and spend it on their pet causes. They all do it.
The only way to stop looting the public treasury is to drastically cut the money spent and propose severe penalties at every level of government up through president for waste fraud or abuse.
Cutting spending and programs and salaries may mean people die. Too F’g bad. Go migrate to France or Canada or Spain if you don’t like it.
Freedom of speech and the right to petition for redress of grievances is sacrosanct but that does not include my obligation to pay for it.
SPLC is the group currently in the spotlight, but hardly the only such group.
Let’s agree to do two things:
1) Get rid of the tax free status of NGOs.
2) Stop government funding of NGOs specifically and the redistribution of wealth generally that this falls under.
Between waste, fraud and abuse and government giveaways for “social justice”, getting rid of these would balance the budget.
Enough!
Let’s add to that ending SALT deduction. Residents of lower tax, less spending, fiscally responsible States shouldn’t be subsidizing the high tax, big spending, irresponsible fiscally undisciplined policies of blue States. Unfortunately the ‘big beautiful bill’ took us in the opposite direction. To get it passed Trump had to make a deal with lawmakers from NY, IL, CA comprising the ‘SALT caucus’ who demanded an increase from $10K to $40K in the cap on deduction for State/local taxes off Federal income taxes.
Overspending is the issue with Federal budget. Revenue was over $5 Trillion but we spent $7 Trillion. We can’t keep borrowing $ on a ‘buy now, pay later’ basis and sticking younger generations with the bill/tab for our reckless overspending.
What a classic con. Create a new problem, then convince donors you’re the only one who can solve it. And the genius is that they didn’t even need to wait until somebody elected them.
It’s called the Hegelian dialectic.
Thesis
Antithesis
Synthesis
It’s called the Democrat party….
I’m not optimistic they will face consequences.
That’s oh real good and interesting. Who the hell goes to jail for this and for how long?
It is rumored that Kiwi Shoe polish’s near extinction is due to the center’s accusation that its shines were contributing to blackface.
Some of us have been screaming this for years to deaf ears. So who’s toe finally got stepped on?