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SPLC investigation started under Biden, prompted by scorned neo-Nazi lover’s treasure trove of info: court docs
Court filings show the federal investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) began in 2022, during Joe Biden’s presidency, before the Trump administration revived it in 2025. The case alleges the SPLC paid members of extremist groups it publicly opposed, potentially helping those groups continue operating while the organisation raised funds against them; the SPLC denies wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty.
The filings describe an informant known as “F-9”, a former National Alliance member who also supplied information to the SPLC. SPLC lawyers say he gave investigators 1.2 terabytes of data, exchanged more than 1,800 text messages and met federal agents 20 times after the investigation resumed. They argue he turned against the SPLC after his relationship with an SPLC official ended and his payments were reduced; the group’s motion to dismiss the case as vindictive prosecution was rejected in August. The SPLC reported $787 million in assets in 2024.
In short
- The SPLC investigation began in 2022 under Biden.
- Federal charges allege payments to extremist group members.
- The SPLC denies wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty.
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The case for
The allegations, if proved, raise a serious question about whether the SPLC’s payments to people inside extremist groups went beyond gathering intelligence and materially helped those groups persist. The reported scale of the informant’s data and contacts gives investigators a substantial basis to examine the conduct, while the SPLC’s considerable assets make transparency and accountability especially important.
The case against
Payments to informants can be a legitimate way to understand and monitor extremist organisations, and the allegations remain unproven: the SPLC denies wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty. The informant’s reported falling-out with the organisation and reduction in payments may give the defence reason to question his motives and the reliability or context of the material he supplied; the investigation’s start under Biden also complicates any claim that it was initiated solely as a later political reprisal.
Explained simply
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a US civil rights organisation that tracks extremist groups and campaigns against them. It also raises money to support its work. The case concerns allegations that the SPLC paid people inside some of the groups it opposed.
A former member of the neo-Nazi National Alliance, identified in court papers as “F-9”, had also provided information to the SPLC. Prosecutors say the payments may have helped extremist groups keep operating; the SPLC denies wrongdoing and has pleaded not guilty. Its lawyers say F-9 supplied investigators with a large store of information after a personal relationship with an SPLC official ended and his payments were reduced.
The case raises questions about how the SPLC gathered information on extremist groups and whether its payments crossed legal lines. Court filings say the investigation began in 2022, under President Joe Biden, and resumed in 2025 under President Donald Trump.