Former Southern Poverty Law Center official Heidi Beirich has been arrested after federal prosecutors expanded their case against the civil-rights organisation over its use of paid informants within extremist groups. The case matters because prosecutors allege that donor money intended to combat extremism was covertly used in ways that supported people linked to those groups, while Beirich’s lawyer says the charges are unfounded and politically motivated.

Beirich, 59, faces conspiracy charges involving wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and money laundering. Prosecutors allege that about $4.1 million in tax-exempt funds was routed to informants between 2010 and 2023, including sources linked to the Ku Klux Klan and white-nationalist groups; the SPLC has maintained that its informant work helped monitor threats and provided information to law enforcement.