Back to News & Commentary Targeting Southern Poverty Law Center, a major civil rights organization, is the Trump administration's latest effort to punish groups it doesn't like. , National Director of Policy & Government Affairs , ACLU May 20, 2026 The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has spent years fighting hate, racism, and injustice in the American South and has played a critical role in strengthening the civil rights of millions of Americans. It has even worked closely with the FBI in that effort. Now, the Trump administration claims that the SPLC was actually involved in some kind of con to further the missions of hate groups. We can’t take this prosecution at face value. SPLC has been in the Trump administration’s crosshairs because of their central role in calling out right wing extremism.…