Bombshell records reveal the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a group with a questionable track record, was cozying up to the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) in ways that raise serious eyebrows inside the Trump White House and beyond, as the New York Post reports.
Documents obtained by America First Legal (AFL) through Freedom of Information Act requests expose a troubling partnership where the SPLC trained DOJ prosecutors, accessed sensitive hate crime data, and influenced civil rights enforcement under Biden’s watch.
Let’s start at the beginning: by 2022, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division was actively seeking input from the SPLC on issues to monitor, even inviting them to quarterly departmental meetings. This isn’t just a casual chat over coffee -- it’s a deliberate collaboration with a group many conservatives view as a partisan attack machine.
On Oct. 28, 2022, Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke reached out to SPLC CEO Margaret Huang, saying, “I hope this message finds you well.” How sweet -- except Clarke was flagging prison conditions in the Deep South for SPLC’s radar, begging the question: since when does the DOJ outsource its priorities to activist groups?
Just weeks later, on Nov. 14, 2022, the SPLC joined a high-profile DOJ meeting alongside other left-leaning organizations like the ACLU, rubbing shoulders with top officials such as Clarke, Lisa Monaco, and Vanita Gupta. If this doesn’t scream ideological echo chamber, what does?
By December 2022, the SPLC was among a select few granted early access to the FBI’s 2021 hate crimes data, crafting talking points before the public even got a peek. This kind of privileged access smells like favoritism, especially for an outfit that’s labeled mainstream conservative groups as extremists.
In March 2023, Clarke visited SPLC’s headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama, during a tour tied to the 1965 Selma march, further cementing this questionable alliance. Meanwhile, the DOJ looped SPLC into a civil rights suit against the Louisville Police Department -- later dismissed under the Trump administration. Coincidence? Hardly.
Fast forward to November 2023, when the DOJ hosted a Hate Crimes Symposium featuring SPLC research analyst R.G. Cravens, who spoke to over 100 prosecutors about bias crime trends, particularly in the anti-LGBTQ sphere. Cravens even linked “viewpoint diversity” to “white nationalism,” a stretch that conveniently ignores real threats like the post-October 7 surge in antisemitic incidents, which the symposium sidestepped.
Cravens also misrepresented AFL’s lawsuit against Target, tying it to bomb threats that were actually from leftists pushing for more LGBTQ merchandise. This kind of sloppy analysis influencing DOJ training is exactly why many question SPLC’s credibility in law enforcement circles.
Let’s not forget SPLC’s past: while they once bankrupted Ku Klux Klan groups in the 1980s, they’ve since pivoted to branding groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom as hate promoters. Their “hate map” even inspired a 2012 attack on the Family Research Council, where a gunman wounded a security guard -- hardly the resume of a neutral partner.
As recently as Sept. 10, SPLC listed Turning Point USA in its “Hatewatch” newsletter, just a day before the assassination of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University. The timing is chilling, and it underscores the danger of SPLC’s smear tactics influencing real-world violence.
SPLC’s rhetoric doesn’t stop there -- their website slams White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller for shaping what they call “racist” immigration policies under Trump. Disagree with policies all you want, but this kind of language from a DOJ partner undermines any claim to objectivity.
Thankfully, not everyone’s buying the SPLC’s act -- FBI Director Kash Patel has announced the termination of all official ties with the group, stating on X, “The FBI will never rely on politicized intelligence.” Finally, a voice of reason cutting through the progressive fog.
Gene Hamilton of AFL also weighed in, noting, “Every American should be bothered by the Biden DOJ acting as a pawn of radical activists.” He’s not wrong -- when civil rights enforcement gets hijacked by agenda-driven groups, the rule of law takes a backseat to ideology.
This saga leaves a bitter taste: a once-respected civil rights organization turned partisan player, embedded in the highest levels of federal justice. The SPLC-DOJ partnership isn’t just a bad look -- it’s a warning about the dangers of letting activist agendas steer government power. Let’s hope Patel’s decision marks the end of this misguided collaboration.
