Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall announced Monday that his office has opened a civil investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center’s fundraising practices, issuing a subpoena demanding records of donations and payments to informants. The action follows the unsealing of a federal criminal indictment last week by the U.S. Department of Justice, which accused the prominent civil rights group of fraud, alleging it misused donor funds to pay informants inside extremist organizations.
Marshall, a Republican and long-time critic of the SPLC, said in a statement that the subpoena is part of an inquiry into whether the organization violated Alabama’s laws governing charitable organizations or deceptive trade practices. “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,” Marshall said.
The federal indictment, announced by Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, leveled an accusation against one of the country’s most established civil rights nonprofits. Blanche accused the SPLC of “manufacturing racism to justify its existence,” alleging that the group’s informant program, which paid individuals to infiltrate hate groups, constituted a fraudulent use of charitable donations.
The SPLC, in a brief statement, said it had received notice of the subpoena and was reviewing it. The group has called the Department of Justice’s criminal allegations “provably wrong,” insisting that its informant program gathered intelligence to help prevent attacks and dismantle the efforts of hate groups. The organization said federal law enforcement officials have long known about the program and that information from it has been shared with authorities.
The Montgomery-based nonprofit, founded in 1971, is best known for tracking hate groups and winning civil lawsuits against extremist organizations. It has frequently clashed with conservative figures, including President Donald Trump’s administration and Marshall’s office, which has been a vocal critic. In recent years, the SPLC has come under fire from the right over its “hate map” designations and its influence in shaping public narratives about extremism.
Marshall’s investigation adds a new layer of legal scrutiny at a time when the SPLC is already defending itself against federal fraud charges. The outcome could affect the organization’s ability to fundraise and operate as a beacon of civil rights advocacy.