WASHINGTON – The Department of Justice filed fraud charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) yesterday, alleging the long-established civil rights group was funding the very extremism it works to dismantle. The allegations mark a new low in the Trump Administration’s rollback of civil rights, fitting within a broader pattern of intimidation designed to destabilize organizations that monitor discrimination and protect vulnerable communities.
In solidarity with SPLC, Rebekah Caruthers, President and CEO at Fair Elections Center, issued the following statement:
“For decades, civil rights organizations like SPLC have led the fight to ensure that all people can live, learn, love, vote, and speak freely—without fear, retaliation, or discrimination. Today, those rights are under direct attack. Our current administration is determined to do whatever it takes to silence those who believe in freedom and flourishing for all. At Fair Elections Center, we know that voting rights are inseparable from all civil rights—thus our work is inseparable from the work of organizations being targeted across the U.S. An attack on one is an attack on all. We refuse to be intimidated. We stand with SPLC because we know the only way forward is through, and the only way through is together.”