Did a Civil Rights Non-Profit Fund the KKK?

🗂️ Background: The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) – a non-profit founded in 1971 to advance the civil rights movement – has been charged by a federal grand jury with secretly funneling $4.1 million in tax-exempt donations between 2010-2023 to individuals associated with violent extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), neo-Nazis, and other white supremacist organizations. The SPLC claims the money they paid informants helped save lives. On Tuesday (June 9, 2026), the House Judiciary Committee held its second hearing on the issue.

The case has placed renewed focus on the 2017 Charlottesville tragedy – where a man fatally drove his car into a group of protestors during a "Unite the Right" rally. The grand jury indictment claims the SPLC paid a "field source" – who was not a member of an extremist organization before seeking employment with the SPLC – more than $300,000. The source then became a member of the online leadership chat group that helped plan the Charlottesville Unite the Right rally, and – at SPLC’s direction – attended the event and "assisted in arranging transportation for others involved in the movement".

According to the indictment, the Unite the Right rally led to a "massive fundraising windfall for the SPLC with open-source media reporting that the SPLC more than doubled their previous year's reported revenue from private and corporate donations" following the rally. 

Several days after the rally, President Trump gave a press conference where his comments regarding "very fine people on both sides" ignited outrage. However, resurfaced footage of Trump’s full statement refutes initial reporting and further challenges the Charlottesville narrative. 

Both issues are explored below (including a transcript of Trump’s comments) – and today’s The Left Has a Point is one you won’t want to miss.

What happened in Charlottesville?

The following timeline provides important context:

• March 2016: Charlottesville City Council receives a petition to remove the statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from (previously named) Lee Park
• February 2017: City Council announces plans to remove the statue and rename the park (see the Council’s February 6, 2017 Meeting Minutes for background)
• March 20, 2017: Opponents of the City's plans file a lawsuit
• June 13, 2017: Local resident Jason Kessler (who later admitted in court to extremist organization ties) gets a permit to conduct a demonstration – protesting the City’s plans – called “Unite the Right” in Lee Park on August 12, 2017
• June 2017: In the following weeks, the City also grants permits to groups supporting the City’s plans to counter-protest in other nearby parks (but not in Lee Park)
• August 7, 2017: The City revokes Kessler’s permit
• August 11, 2017: Kessler sues and is granted preliminary injunctive relief – meaning he can proceed with his permit and demonstration
• August 12, 2017: The Unite the Right protest takes place; counter-protests are held nearby; during the protest, a man named James Fields drives a car into a group of the counter-protestors, killing one person, Heather Heyer, and injuring nine others
• August 15, 2017: President Trump holds a press conference, giving his "very fine people" statement

NOTE: Lee Park was eventually renamed "Emancipation Park" and later "Market Street Park".

What did Trump actually say?

Trump’s "very fine people" comment occurred during a wide-ranging press conference. A transcript of the relevant sections – both before and, more importantly: after the actual quote – is provided below (with minute markers):

[ 13:50 ]

Trump: What about the alt-left that came charging, as you say, at the alt-right? Do they have any semblance of guilt? Let me ask you this: What about the fact that they came charging with clubs in their hands, swinging clubs? Do they have any problem? I think they do. As far as I am concerned, that was a horrible, horrible day – wait a minute, I’m not finished. I'm not finished, Fake News. That was a horrible day.

And I will tell you something. I watched this very closely, much more closely than you people watched it, and you had a group on one side that was bad and you had a group on the other side that was also very violent. And nobody wants to say that, but I will say it right now. You had a group on the other side that came charging in without a permit, and they were very, very violent.

PRESS: You think what you call the "alt-left" is the same as neo-Nazis?

TRUMP: Excuse me. I’ve condemned neo-Nazis. I’ve condemned many different groups. But not all of those people were neo-Nazis, believe me. Not all of those people were white supremacists, by any stretch. Those people were also there because they wanted to protest the taking down of a statue, Robert E. Lee. 

[ 17:25 ]

PRESS: Are you putting what you're calling the "alt-left" and white supremacists on the same moral plane? 

TRUMP: I’m not putting anybody on a moral plane. What I'm saying is this: You had a group on one side and you had a group on the other and they came at each other with clubs, and it was vicious and it was horrible and it was a horrible thing to watch. But there is another side. There was a group on this side, you can call them "the left" – you’ve just called them the left – that came violently attacking the other group. So you can say what you want, but that’s the way it is. 

PRESS: You said there was hatred and violence on both sides…

TRUMP: Yes, I think there is blame on both sides. You look at both sides, I think there is blame on both sides, and I have no doubt about it and you don’t have any doubt about it either. And if you reported it accurately, you would say it. [...] And you had some very bad people in that group, but you also have people that were very fine people, on both sides. You had people in that group – excuse me, excuse me – I saw the same pictures as you did. You had people in that group that were there to protest taking down of – to them – a very, very important statue and the renaming of a park from Robert E. Lee to another name.

[ 19:08 ]

TRUMP: How about Thomas Jefferson? What do you think of Thomas Jefferson? You like him? 

PRESS: I love Thomas Jefferson.

TRUMP: Good. Are we going to take down his statue? Because he was a major slave owner. Now are we going to take down his statue? You’re changing history, you’re changing culture, and you had people – and I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis or the white nationalists, because they should be condemned totally – but you had many people in those groups other than neo-Nazis and white nationalists. And the press has treated them absolutely unfairly. Now, in the other group also you had some fine people, but also had trouble-makers and you see them come with the black outfits and with the helmets and with the baseball bats, you had a lot of bad people in the other group, too. 

PRESS: I just need to understand – you were saying the press has treated white nationalists unfairly? I just want to understand what you’re saying.

TRUMP: No, no. There were people in that rally, and I looked the night before – if you look, there were people protesting very quietly the taking down of the statue of Robert E. Lee. I'm sure in that group there were some bad ones. The following day it looked like they had some rough, bad people – neo-Nazis, white nationalists, whatever you want to call them. But you had a lot of people in that group that were there to innocently protest – and very legally protest, because I don’t know if you know: they had a permit, the other group didn’t have a permit. So I only tell you this: There are two sides to a story.

✏️ The Left Has a Point: Several factors – including alleged SPLC funding of Unite the Right activities and media manipulation of Trump’s statements (above) – have altered perceptions of the Charlottesville tragedy on both sides. However, a third variable may have also played a role:

On August 24, 2017, the City of Charlottesville retained law firm Hunton & Williams LLP to conduct an "independent assessment" of the events surrounding the Charlottesville tragedy. The 220-page analysis – which became a source of truth cited in good faith by both the media and left-leaning commentators – was authored by Timothy J. Heaphy. 

While this report makes no assertion re: the credibility of the Charlottesville review – or, more specifically: Mr. Heaphy’s work – it is notable that President Obama nominated Heaphy for U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia in 2009. In an interesting twist, Heaphy later served as Chief Investigative Counsel for the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. 

Between these various influences, it is not only understandable – but frankly, unavoidable – that perceptions of the Charlottesville narrative vary widely.

The Southern Poverty Law Center

Founded in 1971 to "ensure that the promise of the civil rights movement became a reality for all", the SPLC describes itself as "a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people."

The SPLC is a tax-exempt, charitable organization – primarily supported by donor contributions – that does not receive government funding. (For those wanting to do more research, SPLC’s tax identification number is 63-0598743.)

On April 21, 2026, a federal grand jury in Montgomery, Alabama issued an indictment (see updated/superseding version here), claiming:

"...unbeknownst to donors, some of [the SPLC's] donated money was being used to fund the leaders and organizers of racist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, and the National Alliance. The SPLC's paid informants ('field sources') engaged in the active promotion of racist groups..."

The DOJ outlined 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering.

To see details re: how much the SPLC allegedly paid to each extremist group "field source" (and what the sources then did), reference the June 2nd superseding indictment.

NOTE: An indictment isn’t a conviction – its charges start the criminal process (see the DOJ’s step-by-step guide for a better understanding of how the judicial process works).

Here’s quick look at the case timeline so far:

• April 21, 2026: Indictment issued
• April 28, 2026: SPLC motions for retraction of a "false prejudicial" statement made by Attorney General Todd Blanche on Fox News; also requests transcript of the grand jury proceedings that secured the original indictment  
• May 7, 2026: SPLC pleads not guilty on all counts
• May 20, 2026: First House Judiciary Committee hearing 
• May 26, 2026: SPLC files motion to dismiss (claiming "vindictive prosecution")
• June 2, 2026: DOJ files superseding indictment
• June 9, 2026: Second House Judiciary Committee hearing (featuring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece, Dr. Alveda King)

NOTE: The Judiciary Committee hearings are focused on congressional oversight; they are not formally related to the legal case.

If convicted, the SPLC could face fines, probation, and orders to forfeit funds and/or pay restitution. To follow along as the case moves through the judicial process, track court filings here.

Happy News

🏠 Veteran homelessness has reached a record low!

📊 Data from the Department of Veterans Affairs shows a 56.1% decline since 2010.

🤝 To learn how you can help homeless Veterans, visit the V.A.’s outreach page :-)

Bible Verse

✝️ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. – Psalm 46:1

Enjoyed answering questions on Quick Conservative's Instagram Stories re: the Spencer Pratt election toolkit – will be jumping on later today to address SPLC and Charlottesville. See you there!