Several Republican House members urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday (11th) to revoke the tax-exempt status of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), citing allegations that the organization has funded activities aimed at manipulating and spreading extremist groups.

This letter comes after a federal grand jury in April approved indictments against the organization for wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and other criminal charges.

According to testimony submitted to the House Judiciary Committee, the indictment claims that the SPLC secretly funneled approximately $4.1 million in tax-exempt donations to fraudulent accounts.

In a letter to Bessent, Representative Mark Harris (Republican, North Carolina) argued that the organization is not operating as a nonprofit but as a biased "left-wing political organization," violating Section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code by targeting conservative and Christian groups while receiving tax-exempt benefits.

He wrote in the letter, "As you know, organizations seeking tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code must be organized and operated primarily for charitable, educational, or similar purposes. Furthermore, such organizations are prohibited from engaging in political activities."

"However, the SPLC has consistently engaged in partisan targeting, including conservative groups on its so-called 'hate map' alongside organizations like the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and the Aryan Brotherhood," he added.

"The Southern Poverty Law Center has strayed far from its founders' original intentions," Harris stated in a press release. "Instead of fighting hate, it is now fomenting the very division it claims to oppose. Political organizations should not receive the benefits afforded to charitable entities."

Representatives Barry Moore (Republican, Alabama), Mary Miller (Republican, Illinois), Byron Donalds (Republican, Florida), Harriet Hageman (Republican, Wyoming), and Andy Ogles (Republican, Tennessee) also signed the letter.

The allegations against the Southern Poverty Law Center, a prominent American nonprofit legal advocacy group founded in 1971 with the goals of combating racism, protecting civil rights, and monitoring extremist and hate groups in the United States, are expected to send significant shockwaves.

To date, the SPLC has been involved in monitoring and tracking hate groups, providing free legal representation and civil litigation to protect the rights of vulnerable populations such as minorities, immigrants, children, and inmates, and conducting anti-discrimination education through its 'Learning for Justice' program.

The SPLC has countered the indictment by stating that the funds were part of a legitimate 'Paid Informants Program' designed to monitor threats and gather information from within extremist groups.

They assert that this information has saved numerous lives and been shared with the FBI, and they strongly contend that the indictment represents the current administration politically weaponizing law enforcement to suppress critical human rights organizations.

Conversely, prosecutors believe the funds were misused to sustain and promote the activities of extremist groups, beyond merely compensating informants.

Regardless of the truth, the SPLC's integrity has been severely damaged. According to the indictment, approximately $3 million in donations from contributors was channeled through shell companies to members of extremist organizations that the SPLC was supposed to be monitoring.

Subsequently, federal prosecutors filed a superseding indictment with the federal court, expanding the original $3 million charge to a total of $4.1 million through money laundering and shell company tracing.

This has led the SPLC to face its greatest crisis of credibility since its founding, caught between its past reputation as a symbol of the civil rights movement and criminal charges of allegedly solidifying extremism through opaque management of donations.

By Hong Sung-koo, Chief Reporter, NNP USA / Special Contribution NNP info@newsandpost.com