U.S. Sen Jim Banks said the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) misused donor funds and called for accountability following allegations raised by federal law enforcement officials.
“Let’s get this straight: SPLC solicits donations to fight ‘injustice,’ DOJ found SPLC funds the very groups they claim to oppose and hides it through shell companies, SPLC deceives donors and must be held accountable,” U.S. Sen. Jim Banks wrote in an April 24 post on X. “Stop the grift. Stop the division. It’s time to unite America.”
Banks’ post came in response to remarks and a video shared by FBI Director Kash Patel on April 23.
“The money doesn’t lie. The evidence shows the charity who supposedly fought the Klan funded the Klan. The charity who supposedly fought Neo-nazis funded Neo-nazis,” Patel wrote in an April 23 post on X. “The SPLC engaged in a massive fraud operation to deceive their donors, funded the very hate groups they claim to oppose, and then hid their operations from the public through shell companies and fake entities. The FBI and Attorney General Todd Blanche won’t let them get away with it any longer.”
In the video, Patel said the SPLC “ran a methodical, calculated scheme to defraud their donor base of $3 million” and alleged the group directed money to at least eight organizations it publicly opposed.
According to its official page, the Southern Poverty Law Center is a civil rights organization that began with a focus on legal action against white supremacist organizations and later expanded its work to include tracking extremist movements, public education, and civil rights advocacy. It maintains a “Hate Map” and reports on domestic extremist activity, and is frequently cited by media outlets and researchers, though the organization has also faced criticism from some political figures and advocacy groups over its classifications and methodology. The SPLC operates through private donations and grants and maintains both litigation and advocacy arms as part of its broader mission.
Sen. Jim Banks is a Republican from Indiana who serves in the U.S. Senate after previously representing Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House and serving in the Indiana State Senate. According to his official bio page, he was born and raised in Columbia City, Indiana, and is the son of a factory worker and a nursing home cook. He was the first in his family to attend college, earning a degree from Indiana University and later an MBA from Grace College. He has also served in the U.S. Navy Reserve and deployed to Afghanistan during his time in the Indiana State Senate, taking a leave of absence to complete his military service.
