President links DOJ indictment of advocacy group to broader claims about past election outcome.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump said Friday that the 2020 presidential election should be “permanently wiped from the books” if the Southern Poverty Law Center is convicted in a federal fraud case recently brought by the Department of Justice.
In a post, Trump described the organization as “one of the greatest political scams in American History” and wrote that if the allegations are proven, “the 2020 Presidential Election should be permanently wiped from the books and be of no further force or effect.”
Federal prosecutors allege that the organization directed approximately $3 million in payments between 2014 and 2023 to individuals connected with extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the American Nazi Party, the National Socialist Movement, United Klans of America, and Unite the Right. The indictment claims those payments were used to generate activity that the organization could then cite in fundraising and public messaging.
According to statements made during the announcement of the charges, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the organization “purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred,” but alleged that instead it “was manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred,” as reported.
Blanche added that the investigation began under the prior administration and said, “There is nothing political about this indictment or this investigation.”
The organization’s chief officer, Bryan Fair, said the case reflects retaliation tied to the group’s past use of confidential informants to gather intelligence on violent extremist organizations.
Details cited in charging documents include individual payments ranging from $70,000 to a Ku Klux Klan member to approximately $1 million tied to efforts to obtain internal documents from a neo-Nazi organization. In another instance, an individual connected to organizing the 2017 Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville was alleged to have received more than $270,000 over several years through intermediary entities.
The Charlottesville rally, which followed disputes over the removal of Civil War monuments, drew national attention after violent clashes between demonstrators. Trump linked the event to the 2020 election, stating that its public impact was used as a political issue during the campaign.
The indictment also alleges that an unnamed informant connected to the organization assisted in coordinating transportation for participants attending the rally.
Separately, Trump referenced ActBlue, which has faced scrutiny over donation practices. Its chief executive, Regina Wallace-Jones, is scheduled to appear before a House committee regarding allegations involving potential improper contributions, as reported.
The broader case has also drawn responses from federal law enforcement leadership. Kash Patel said last year that the FBI had ended its working relationship with the organization, describing its prior contributions as “agenda driven intelligence” from an “outside group,” in a statement.
The Department of Justice case remains ongoing, and no verdict has been reached.