Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., Tuesday on Newsmax called the federal indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center "pretty explosive," saying it reinforces long-standing concerns from conservatives about the group's activities.
"The Southern Poverty Law Center has been just a sham organization for a long time, going after conservative groups and mislabeling them and trying to generate a lot of hate against those groups," Schmitt told "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
A federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama, charged the SPLC with 11 counts, including wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, the Department of Justice said in a news release.
Prosecutors allege the organization funneled more than $3 million to individuals tied to extremist groups between 2014 and 2023, while concealing the payments through shell entities and misleading donors about how their money was used.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the group was "doing the exact opposite" of its stated mission by allegedly funding, rather than dismantling, extremism.
Schmitt said the allegations fit a broader pattern.
"And now we find out that they were actually funding actual groups in order to, I guess, to keep their racket going and the grift going," he said. "So, I can't say I'm surprised."
The Missouri Republican added that he believes the case could lead to wider scrutiny of nonprofit and political funding networks.
"I actually think once they start getting into these NGO networks, there's some potential with ActBlue laundering money. There's a lot out there," Schmitt said. "And I'm glad the FBI and Department of Justice has moved forward on this."
The SPLC, founded in 1971 and known for tracking hate groups through its "Intelligence Project," has denied wrongdoing. Its leadership said the payments cited in the indictment were tied to confidential informants used to gather intelligence on violent extremist organizations and argued the effort helped save lives.
The organization has vowed to fight the charges, calling them politically motivated.
The case marks a significant escalation in federal scrutiny of one of the nation's most prominent civil rights nonprofits and is expected to draw continued political and legal attention in the weeks ahead.
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