New SPLC Indictment ‘Worse Than We Initially Thought,’ House Judiciary Chair Jordan Says

Craig Bannister
June 5th, 2026 3:56 PM

Text to Speech

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“The only thing we get wrong is: it’s always worse than we initially thought,” House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said Thursday, commenting on the superseding indictment the Justice Department (DOJ) filed against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) this week.

“Cross burnings. Extremist rallies. Ku Klux Klan (KKK) robes. All funded by the SPLC,” the committee noted in a social media post regarding news of the superseding indictment.

In April, the DOJ obtained an 11-count indictment of the SPLC related to how the organization, without informing its donors, used donor money to help fund the very organizations it was raising money to fight because it had deemed them to be “hate” groups.

Tuesday’s superseding indictment provided additional details to its allegations, such as how money SPLC gave to the groups it was “fighting” had been used to buy crosses for burning and KKK robes.

Additionally, the indictment says, SPLC even paid two KKK members who wanted to leave the group $1,200 to remain in the infamous organization. Prosecutors also allege the SPLC opened bank accounts tied to fictitious entities in order to conceal donor funds that were allegedly routed to confidential sources.

In an interview with Fox News Host Sean Hannity on Thursday, Rep. Jordan decried the absurdity of SPLC paying money to entice people to stay in the KKK:

“Here you have people trying to get out of the hate group and the Southern Poverty Law Center says ‘No, no, no – stay in, create more hate and we’ll pay you. And oh, by the way, we’re not going to tell our donors and we’re going to keep letting them think that we’re fighting it all the way.’ This is how ridiculous it was.”

“But, for me, the biggest takeaway is the fact that the Biden White House and the Biden Justice Department helped make the Southern Poverty Law Center the standard,” Jordan said, noting that the DOJ held quarterly meetings with the SPLC.

The Biden DOJ, which was the source of the notorious memo branding traditional Catholics as violent extremists, gave credibility to the SPLC by using its “hate” list to vilify organizations that objected to the administration’s policies, Jordan recalled.

“So, they helped make them the standard when, in fact, it was all a scam,” Jordan said. “That’s how ridiculous and wrong this is.”

“The Biden Justice Department knew about this, they were investigating it, but they didn’t bring the charges. And I think the reason is obvious: of course you can’t charge them when you’re making them the standard,” Chairman Jordan said.

On Tuesday, June 9, the House Judiciary Committee will question SPLC Interim President and CEO Bryan Fair at a hearing titled "The Southern Poverty Law Center: Manufacturing Hate, Part II."

 

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