A sign marking the Southern Poverty Law Center outside the organization's headquarters in Montgomery, Alabama on February 8, 2023. The civil rights group on Tuesday filed a motion to dismiss criminal charges against it, alleging vindictive prosecution. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
Attorneys for the Southern Poverty Law Center Tuesday asked a federal court to dismiss criminal charges brought against it by the U.S. Department of Justice, citing statements made by President Donald Trump and other high-ranking officials as evidence of vindictive prosecution.
The motion highlighted comments made by Trump; Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche; FBI Director Kash Patel and other members of the administration that criticized the organization. In one instance, Trump alleged that the indictment “had nothing to do with the SPLC breaking the law; it had everything to do with the SPLC’s perceived political leaning” a couple of days after the news conference.
The motion also cites an April 24 post made by the president on Truth Social, Trump’s social media platform, on April 24 when he stated that the SPLC is “one of the greatest political scams in American History and has been charged with FRAUD.”
He then called it a “Democrat Hoax” alongside Act Blue.
“The record and timeline of what the SPLC has done and said carrying out its mission, combined with the President’s criticisms that resulted in the indictment in this case, demonstrate that the SPLC is being punished for repeatedly speaking out against President Trump’s policy choices and for having criticized his political goals and allies,” the SPLC motion states.
A message was sent to the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday seeking comment. DOJ had not filed a response as of early Wednesday afternoon.
The Department of Justice alleges that a paid informant program used by the civil rights organization to gather intelligence on racist and far-right groups amounted to aid for those organizations.
“For weeks, we have been arguing against these?false?allegations levied against the SPLC — an organization that for 55 years has stood?as a?beacon of hope fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice to create a multiracial democracy where we can all live and thrive,” said Bryan Fair, interim president and CEO of the SPLC, in a statement. “The government can’t prosecute the SPLC as payback for its protected speech — it violates basic constitutional rights.”
Blanche and Patel announced the indictment at news conference in April. The trial is scheduled for October.
The request is in addition to two others that SPLC attorneys filed with the court to obtain the transcripts of the testimony at the grand jury proceedings and to prevent the government officials from making statements to the public that they said would endanger the integrity of the case.
To be successful, the SPLC must prove that officials in the U.S. DOJ and the Trump administration showed hostility against it and that animus was the justification for levying the charges.
SPLC also referred to comments made by Blanche at the news conference when he said that the SPLC “paid sources to stoke racial hatred” and that the group had perpetrated extremism that it supposedly opposed.
The motion also alleged that Blanche then appeared on the Fox News Channel where he made false statements that he was not aware that the SPLC provided information to federal law enforcement officials to assist with their investigation into extremist groups.
“Counsel for the SPLC had met with then-Acting U.S. Attorney Kevin Davidson and detailed documents which evidenced the SPLC reporting intelligence from an informant to the DOJ which resulted in criminal charges,” the SPLC motion states.
This story was originally produced by Alabama Reflector, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network which includes NC Newsline, and is supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity.
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