The Southern Poverty Law Center, a longstanding anti-hate group, is asking a federal court to dismiss the Trump administration’s case against it, calling the effort a flagrantly “vindictive prosecution.”
In a filing Tuesday in Alabama federal court, the SPLC accused the White House of seeking to “muzzle and intimidate” the organization for criticizing the president and highlighting connections between the Republican Party and extremist ideologies.
The SPLC, which collaborated with the FBI until late last year, alleged it was “being punished for repeatedly speaking out against President Trump’s policy choices and for having criticized his political goals and allies.”
The White House deferred questions to the DOJ, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Last month, a federal grand jury indicted the SPLC on allegations that it deceived donors and banks about its program paying confidential informants inside hate groups.
The SPLC, which denied the allegations, argued that the indictment was a part of the president’s revenge campaign against perceived rivals and his long-running attempt to sow doubt about his 2020 election loss.
The group pointed to April comments from the president as evidence of this alleged partisan angle.
In a Truth Social post, Trump called the group “one of the greatest political scams in American History” and alleged that its activities meant “the 2020 Presidential Election should be permanently wiped from the books.”
In an interview that month, the president claimed the SPLC’s informant program was behind the “total fake” 2017 Charlottesville hate rally, which was part of “rigging” the 2020 election.
The irregularities began before the indictment, though, according to the SPLC.
Prosecutors allegedly did not request interviews or documents from the SPLC before seeking the indictment, the group alleges, echoing whistleblowers who told Congress that a top DOJ official pressured prosecutors to hastily launch a case.
Even before that, the group had infuriated conservatives by identifying Trump administration official Stephen Miller and conservative activist Charlie Kirk as influencing extremist ideology.
In October, the FBI cut ties with the SPLC, alleging the group had become a “partisan smear machine” and accusing the group of fomenting violence, which it denies.
There is a recent precedent that could work in the SPLC’s favor.
Last week, a federal judge dismissed a criminal case against wrongly deported Salvadoran immigrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who accused the administration of unlawfully targeting him as part of a smear campaign after he challenged his arrest and removal.
President Trump campaigned on ending the alleged “weaponization” of the DOJ for partisan purposes, though his critics allege the Republican has pursued just that since taking office.
As part of a highly unusual settlement agreement in the president’s case against the IRS, the federal government agreed to drop any tax investigations against Trump and his family and set up a nearly $1.8 billion compensation fund for individuals who claim they’ve been harmed by past DOJ prosecutions.
Critics allege the latter is a “slush fund” for Trump allies, and could see the federal government paying Trump supporters who carried out a violent attack on the U.S. government on January 6, 2021.
