{"id":2643527,"date":"2026-08-12T08:58:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T12:58:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignindicted-for-fraud-the-splc-is-flailing-and-losing-in-court\/"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:04:31","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T13:04:31","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignindicted-for-fraud-the-splc-is-flailing-and-losing-in-court","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignindicted-for-fraud-the-splc-is-flailing-and-losing-in-court\/","title":{"rendered":"Indicted For Fraud, The SPLC Is Flailing And Losing In Court"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignindicted-for-fraud-the-splc-is-flailing-and-losing-in-court%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2643527&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the recent indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) on charges of wire fraud and false statements, including creating fake bank accounts and paying informants with stolen funds. In response, SPLC hired lawyer Abbe Lowell to mount a victimhood defense, claiming political persecution by the current administration. Despite media support and protests, a federal judge in Alabama rejected SPLC\u2019s motion to dismiss the charges, criticizing their use of rhetoric over <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/msnbc-guest-says-the-hardest-part-of-judge-ketanji-brown-jacksons-hearings-will-be-not-punching-republicans\/\" title=\"MSNBC Guest Says The Hardest Part Of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson\u2019s Hearings Will Be Not Punching Republicans\">substantive legal arguments<\/a>.The judge noted that SPLC failed to provide evidence of prosecutorial bias or animus. A jury trial is scheduled to begin on October 5. The article emphasizes that the charges are serious and that SPLC\u2019s efforts to dismiss the case appear insufficient, highlighting ongoing legal proceedings and political debates surrounding the organization.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=m6UTZAbY0P0\">AP Archive \/ YouTube<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/12\/indicted-for-fraud-the-splc-is-flailing-and-losing-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Indicted For Fraud, The SPLC Is Flailing And Losing In Court&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/12\/indicted-for-fraud-the-splc-is-flailing-and-losing-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Indicted For Fraud, The SPLC Is Flailing And Losing In Court&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/12\/indicted-for-fraud-the-splc-is-flailing-and-losing-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/12\/indicted-for-fraud-the-splc-is-flailing-and-losing-in-court\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Indicted For Fraud, The SPLC Is Flailing And Losing In Court&#038;body=The SPLC, the judge wrote, &#039;has failed to offer some evidence tending to show animus on the part of the prosecutors involved in bringing this case.&#039;%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/08\/12\/indicted-for-fraud-the-splc-is-flailing-and-losing-in-court\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;Indicted For Fraud, The SPLC Is Flailing And Losing In Court&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/regulation\/court-battles\/6017806-splc-vindictive-prosecution-trump-administration\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">isn\u2019t working<\/a>, and we <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/04\/28\/analysts-splc-fraud-money-laundering-charges-could-be-the-tip-of-the-iceberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told you<\/a> it wouldn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><\/figure>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the Southern Poverty Law Center <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/federal-grand-jury-charges-southern-poverty-law-center-wire-fraud-false-statements-and\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">was indicted<\/a> in April on allegations that it lied to banks and created accounts for fake businesses to pay informants (and <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/03\/indictment-leftist-mega-nonprofit-splc-paid-for-wood-and-gas-for-kkk-to-burn-crosses\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">buy them<\/a> Klan robes and crosses to burn), the organization hired Democrat fixer and Hunter Biden lawyer Abbe Lowell to fire up a theatrical <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lawdork.com\/p\/splc-seeks-dismissal-of-charges\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">victimhood defense<\/a>: Mean Orange Man is trying to hurt the SPLC for being brave and anti-racist, and the whole thing is just a cruel political attack. <\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-101334594\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Legacy media journalists, being stupid and dishonest, have generally <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chicagotribune.com\/2026\/04\/27\/column-southern-poverty-law-center-federal-charges-page\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">babbled along<\/a> with that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tuscaloosanews.com\/story\/opinion\/columns\/2026\/05\/19\/splc-prosecution-raises-questions-about-democracy-gary-cosby-jr\/90124637007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nonsense story<\/a> like a choir of toddlers following a conductor.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Federalist, discussing the charges with people who <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >understand anti-money laundering laws<\/a>, has been <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/05\/the-new-splc-indictment-is-probably-also-just-the-tip-of-the-iceberg\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reporting<\/a> since the indictment that the charges were serious, and the SPLC\u2019s theatrically loud defenses were mostly pretty silly. The SPLC has due process rights and is entitled to a presumption of innocence, but their defense so far has been a media campaign and an attempt to distract, not an effort to address the substance of the allegations.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In May, in one of many pre-trial legal maneuvers, the SPLC filed a motion to dismiss the charges as the product of vindictive prosecution. Activist groups piled in to support the organization, filing <a href=\"https:\/\/societyfortheruleoflaw.org\/amicus-brief-vindictive-prosecution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">amicus briefs<\/a> arguing that brave leftists were being unfairly prosecuted by an administration made up of mean right-wingers. But The Federalist <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/06\/15\/doj-rolls-its-eyes-at-splc-claim-of-vindictive-prosecution\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said this<\/a> about the motion: \u201cThough Lowell and the SPLC\u2019s other lawyers are speaking with the expected dramatic language about politics and meanness, the legal argument will be hard to win.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It was. On Friday, a federal judge in Alabama rejected the SPLC\u2019s motion to dismiss the charges. You can read the whole opinion from District Court Judge Emily Marks <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courtlistener.com\/recap\/og-lookup\/?file_path=recap\/gov.uscourts.almd.90264\/gov.uscourts.almd.90264.112.0.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>, or a curated set of excerpts from the legal scholar Eugene Volokh <a href=\"https:\/\/reason.com\/volokh\/2026\/08\/10\/federal-court-refuses-to-dismiss-case-against-southern-poverty-law-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">here<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The judge wasn\u2019t impressed. \u201cThe parties\u2019 briefing is, like much of our modern political discourse, heavy on heated rhetoric, better suited for cable news, or a podcast,\u201d Marks wrote. \u201cIt emphasizes noise over substance.\u201d She just described Abbe Lowell\u2019s entire adult life, by the way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Searching through the dramatic language of the briefs, the judge couldn\u2019t find the <em>legal<\/em> argument and the evidence to support it. The SPLC, she wrote, \u201chas failed to offer some evidence tending to show animus on the part of the prosecutors involved in bringing this case.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A jury trial is scheduled to begin on October 5.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Chris Bray is a senior correspondent at The Federalist and a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army. He has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Chris Bray<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/chrisbray\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/abbe-lowell\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Abbe Lowell<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/amicus-briefs\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">amicus briefs<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/bank-fraud\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">bank fraud<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/district-court\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">District Court<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/doj\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">DOJ<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/federal-courts\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">federal courts<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/fraud\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Fraud<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/indictment\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Indictment<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/judge-emily-marks\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Judge Emily Marks<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/motion-to-dismiss\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">motion to dismiss<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/prosecution\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">prosecution<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/splc\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">SPLC<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SPLC indictment fails; legal case moves forward<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2643528,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lowell-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32417,6909,8673,32869,15303],"class_list":["post-2643527","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-court-case","tag-fraud","tag-indictments","tag-legal-battle","tag-splc"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/lowell-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2643527"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643527\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2643536,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2643527\/revisions\/2643536"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2643528"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2643527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2643527"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2643527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}