State Watch

Paxton investigation Southern Poverty Law Center in Texas

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by Max Rego - 05/18/26 10:41 PM ET

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by Max Rego - 05/18/26 10:41 PM ET

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) on Monday opened an investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) over its alleged funding of extremist groups it claimed to oppose.

Last month, a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Ala., indicted the SPLC on six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, as the Department of Justice (DOJ) accused the civil rights group of using donations to fund violent extremist groups, such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).

In a release, Paxton said that the “radical, woke” SPLC “was funding the very groups it was claiming to oppose.”

The Republican Senate candidate added, “My office will ensure that the organization is held accountable for its blatant deception. Donors of the SPLC deserve to know if they have been manipulated into supporting a non-profit that gives millions of dollars to the KKK and other groups that they thought they were opposing.”

Paxton’s office noted in the release that his investigation will determine “the extent” of SPLC’s “deceptive donor solicitations and other violations of Texas law.” The office also stated that it has issued a Civil Investigative Demand, a discovery tool typically issued before a complaint is filed, to the organization.

In announcing the indictment against the SPLC last month, the DOJ alleged that the group secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals associated with the KKK and the American Nazi Party, among other groups, between 2014 and 2023. The 11-count indictment states that the SPLC opened bank accounts connected to a series of fictitious entities to disguise the transactions.

“The SPLC is manufacturing racism to justify its existence,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said at the time. “Using donor money to allegedly profit off Klansmen cannot go unchecked. This Department of Justice will hold the SPLC and every other fraudulent organization operating with the same deceptive playbook accountable. No entity is above the law.”

The SPLC pleaded not guilty to the charges earlier this month and has strongly denied the allegations. The organization was founded in 1971 and works on criminal justice reform, voting rights and monitoring extremist groups.

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