Hey there, it's the NPR Politics podcast. I'm Tamara Keith. I cover politics. And I'm Odette Yousaf. I cover

domestic extremism. And I'm Ryan Lucas. I cover the Justice Department. Today on the show, the Southern

Poverty Law Center is facing federal charges for financial crimes. The prominent civil rights group

has been tracking and disrupting

hate groups for decades. But now the Justice Department alleges one of the ways it did that

was criminal. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges this week.

The SPLC is a non-profit entity that purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by

reporting on extremist groups and conducting research to inform law enforcement groups with the

goal of dismantling these groups. As the indictment describes, the SPLC was not dismantling

these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.

So we will get to the details of this 11-count indictment. But first, Odette, tell us about the SPLC's work and its history.

Right. So the SPLC has been around since 1971. It was founded by two attorneys and civil

rights advocates. It's based in Montgomery, Alabama. And it is just what has been described.

It's a nonprofit civil rights group, a legal advocacy group that focuses on fighting extremism.

I think it's best known for some of its successful litigation that has taken down extremist groups or figures over the decades.

You know, it's taken on clan groups, for example.

It effectively eliminated Aryan nations, which was a neo-Nazi group that was operating in North

Idaho. We're talking about the 90s now. It basically bankrupted Tom Metzger, who was kind of the

godfather of the neo-Nazi skinhead movement.

But it is a fairly large organization with a number of areas of work. So, you know, outside of the

legal work, Tam, you know, there's also the intelligence project, which is really the focus of what's

alleged in this indictment.

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