TRUE

On April 21, 2026, the United States Department of Justice obtained a criminal indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) 2 5. The charges, brought by a federal grand jury, include 11 counts ranging from wire fraud and false statements to a bank to conspiracy to commit money laundering 1 2. FBI Director Kash Patel and Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges publicly, alleging the organization engaged in a massive fraud operation to deceive donors 1 7. A subsequent superseding indictment was also obtained, introducing additional charges against the nonprofit 8. While organizations like the ACLU and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law have criticized the move as a campaign of intimidation, the existence of the formal legal indictment is confirmed by multiple sources 9 11 12.