Alabama’s attorney general announced Monday that his office has opened a civil investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center’s fundraising practices, days after federal authorities brought criminal charges against the civil-rights monitoring group. In a news release, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said the state’s inquiry will review the organization’s use of money and whether any state charitable or consumer-protection laws were violated.
Marshall said he has sent a subpoena to the SPLC seeking information about its donations and payments to informants. He said his office is trying to determine whether the organization violated Alabama laws related to charitable organizations or deceptive trade practices, according to his announcement.
In describing the investigation, Marshall said he is seeking insight into what he called the “inner workings” of an organization he has long believed was “rotten.” He said the organization had been “impervious” until recently, a reference to the federal case that has now drawn state attention.
The SPLC responded briefly Monday after receiving notice of the subpoena, saying in an emailed statement that it was “currently reviewing.” A spokesperson for the group said it had received notice of the subpoena.
The state investigation comes after the U.S. Department of Justice announced a criminal indictment against the SPLC. Federal prosecutors accused the organization of fraud by using funds to pay informants inside extremist groups, and DOJ’s acting attorney general Todd Blanche described the group’s work as “manufacturing racism to justify its existence.”
The SPLC has denied the federal accusation, calling it “provably wrong.” The organization said its informant program was intended to gather intelligence to help stop attacks and dismantle efforts of hate groups, and it said federal officials have long known about the program and that information has been shared with law enforcement.
SPLC, which is widely known for investigating hate groups, has frequently clashed in legal cases with conservative organizations, the Trump administration and Marshall’s office.