Southern Poverty Law Center Moves To Dismiss DOJ Fraud Indictment As Vindictive
On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a motion asking a federal judge to dismiss an April indictment, saying the Justice Department's prosecution is vindictive and politically motivated.[1]
The filing says DOJ officials told SPLC counsel during a requested pre-indictment meeting that the decision to charge was already made.[1] It says prosecutors did not interview current SPLC employees and did not seek the group's documents until after warning counsel that charges were coming.[1] SPLC lawyers call the case the "culmination of a top-down, retributive campaign" against President Trump's perceived political enemies.[2]
An earlier FBI and IRS inquiry into the SPLC's paid-informant program was closed without charges, the motion says, and the group says the case was later reopened and accelerated.[1] The filing explicitly links the indictment to the human-smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, which a judge dismissed on May 22, 2026, as vindictive.[1] The motion says those threads show the prosecution is driven by White House and FBI leadership retribution rather than new evidence.[1]
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche initially said the SPLC did not share informant-derived information with law enforcement, then later appeared to walk that back by saying the group had "selectively" shared information.[1]
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📌 Key Facts
- On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, SPLC lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the April indictment, arguing it is a vindictive prosecution and the "culmination of a top-down, retributive campaign" against President Trump’s perceived political enemies (SPLC lawyers).
- The motion directly challenges Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s prior public claim that the Southern Poverty Law Center did not share informant-derived information with law enforcement, noting Blanche later appeared to walk that back by saying the group had "selectively" shared information (Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche).
- Defense lawyers say the Justice Department decided to indict the SPLC without interviewing any current employees and did not seek documents from the group until after informing counsel that charges were coming, which the motion says undercuts the prosecution's legitimacy (Defense lawyers).
- The motion alleges DOJ officials told SPLC counsel during a requested pre‑indictment meeting that the decision to bring charges had already been made, cited as evidence the outcome was predetermined (pre‑indictment meeting).
- SPLC’s filing explicitly ties its case to the human‑smuggling prosecution of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, which was dismissed on May 22, 2026, as vindictive, invoking that ruling as a parallel example of abusive prosecutorial power (Kilmar Abrego Garcia).
- The motion asserts an earlier FBI/IRS investigation into the SPLC’s paid‑informant program had been closed without charges and portrays the reopened, accelerated case as driven by White House and FBI leadership retribution rather than new evidence (FBI/IRS investigation).
📰 Source Timeline (2)
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- On Tuesday, May 26, 2026, SPLC lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the April indictment, arguing it is a vindictive prosecution and the 'culmination of a top-down, retributive campaign' against President Trump’s perceived political enemies.
- The motion directly challenges Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche’s prior public claim that SPLC did not share informant-derived information with law enforcement, noting he later appeared to walk that back by saying SPLC had 'selectively' shared information.
- Defense lawyers say DOJ decided to indict the SPLC without interviewing any current employees and did not seek documents from the group until after informing counsel that charges were coming.
- The motion alleges DOJ officials told SPLC counsel, during a requested pre-indictment meeting, that the decision to bring charges had already been made, citing this as evidence that the outcome was predetermined.
- SPLC’s filing explicitly ties its case to the human-smuggling prosecution of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, which was dismissed on May 22, 2026, as vindictive, and invokes that ruling as a parallel example of abusive prosecutorial power.
- The motion asserts that an earlier FBI/IRS investigation into SPLC’s paid-informant program had been closed without charges and portrays the reopened, accelerated case as driven by White House and FBI leadership retribution rather than evidence.