SPLC paid informants include Klan leaders, sadistic bikers, and more

The Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted this week on federal fraud charges stemming from a years-long secret paid informant program that Justice Department officials say donated millions of dollars to a network of informants affiliated with or closely affiliated with White supremacist and neo-Nazi groups.

The 11-count indictment charges the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) with wire fraud, making false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

SPLC sent nearly $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to its paid informants — including individuals affiliated with the United Klans of America, the National Socialist Party of America and the Aryan Nations-affiliated “Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club,” according to the Justice Department.

Senior Trump administration officials have targeted the secret paid informant program, which funnels outside donations at least in part to informants affiliated with the same extremist groups that the SPLC was founded decades ago to oppose.

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“As stated in the indictment, the SPLC was not disbanding these groups,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters at a news conference Tuesday.

“Instead, by paying resources to fuel racial hatred, he was producing the extremism he claimed to oppose.”

SPLC’s paid informant program funded individuals with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, the National Socialist Party of America and others, including a member of an online “leadership chat group” that helped plan the deadly “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville, authorities said.

Here are the five most notable paid informants revealed in this week’s indictment.

1. Charlottesville coordinator

The paid informants named in the indictment include a member of an online “leadership chat group” that Blanche said helped plan the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” event in Charlottesville, Virginia.

According to the indictment, the individual, referred to only as “F-37,” attended the event at the direction of the SPLC and received payments of more than $270,000 for serving as an informant between 2015 and 2023.

The indictment alleges that the person “made racist social media posts and helped organize transportation to the events” regarding the deadly rally.

The news that the whistleblower helped coordinate at least a small part of the logistics for the deadly rally while under SPLC supervision is significant, especially considering that the event sparked a new influx of donations to the nonprofit in its wake.

“They lied to their donors, promised to dismantle violent extremist groups, and actually turned around and paid the leaders of those extremist groups — even using the funds to facilitate the commission of state and federal crimes by those groups,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. he said. “This is illegal and this is an ongoing investigation against all individuals involved.”

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Clashes occurred at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va., on August 12, 2017. (via Getty Images for Evelyn Hockstein/Washington Post)

2. A million dollar thief

A longtime member of the National Alliance, a white supremacist group involved in numerous violent attacks, profited significantly from the SPLC through his work as a paid informant.

According to the indictment, the SPLC paid the National Alliance member more than $1 million for this role over a nine-year period; this included undercover activities such as breaking into the group’s headquarters and stealing approximately 25 boxes of documents, which he photocopied and distributed to the SPLC.

It is understood the group then used these documents to create a report on the National Alliance.

Following partial public use of the stolen documents, the SPLC paid another National Alliance member $6,000 to falsely claim responsibility for the theft.

The National Alliance and its founder’s writings have been closely associated with a series of violent attacks since the 1980s, including the multi-state shootings targeting minorities and Jewish Americans in 1999 and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.

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Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Assistant Attorney General Colin McDonald of the Fraud Section leave the Department of Justice following a news conference on the Trump administration’s anti-fraud efforts in Washington on April 7, 2026. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP)

3. Head of the ‘extremist file’

SPLC also paid more than $140,000 to a paid informant who headed the neo-Nazi group National Alliance.

The indictment accuses SPLC of funneling tens of thousands of dollars to the individual between 2016 and 2023.

At least some of the payments occurred while the National Alliance president was listed on the SPLC’s website as part of the publicly available “Extremism Dossier” website; This was a striking and somewhat ironic fact, considering that the site warned the public about how dangerous the individual was.

4. Clan ‘Imperial Mage’

The paid informants included the “Imperial Wizard” of the United Klans of America, a white supremacist group that the SPLC has linked to the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, in 1963, which killed four teenage girls and injured more than a dozen others.

Martin Luther King Jr. described the bombing, in which 19 pre-placed sticks of dynamite were detonated under the steps of a local church, as “one of the most brutal and tragic crimes ever committed against humanity.” It was unclear how much the paid informant received from the SPLC.

SPLC also funneled funds to a Ku Klux Klan member and the wife of a “Great Cyclops,” or a local Klan leader charged with overseeing membership, organizing meetings, and directing activities.

According to the indictment, the informant’s connection to the SPLC was discovered during his application to participate in the KKK chapter’s “Adopt a Highway” program, resulting in more than $3,500 in known payments from the SPLC.

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Department of Justice building seen in Washington DC (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty)

5. 300 thousand dollar ‘Sadistic Spirits’ motorcyclist

Over the six-year period between 2014 and 2020, the SPLC sent a staggering $300,000 to F-27, a paid informant who was stationed at both the National Socialist Movement group and the Aryan Nations-affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club.

SPLC also sent nearly $160,000 to other extremist groups, including the former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.

Although no person’s name is included in the indictment, Blanche stated at a press conference on Tuesday that the investigation is continuing.

According to federal prosecutors, the SPLC’s paid informant program began in the 1980s, shortly after its founding in the 1970s, and allegedly relied on a series of bank accounts opened for fictitious assets and used to transfer secret payments to informants.

“Under the laws regarding nonprofits, they are required to have a certain level of transparency and honesty in terms of telling donors what they are going to spend money on, what their mission statement is, and what they are raising money for,” Blanche said.

The news comes as the SPLC has seen a surge in public support in recent years; this includes donations from prominent donors such as George Clooney and Apple CEO Tim Cook following the 2017 Unite the Right rally.

“Donors gave their money believing they were supporting the fight against violent extremism,” Kevin Davidson, acting U.S. attorney for the Middle District of Alabama, said in a statement. he said.

“As alleged, the SPLC instead diverted a portion of these funds to benefit the individuals and groups they claimed to oppose,” Davidson added.

“This type of deception undermines public trust and social cohesion.”

A spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center told Fox News Digital earlier this week that they were reviewing the indictment. The group denied all the accusations.

“Combatting violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous jobs there is, and we believe it is also among the most important jobs we do,” SPLC interim president Bryan Fair said in a statement this week. he said. “DOJ’s actions will not shake our resolve to fight for justice and ensure that the promise of the Civil Rights Movement becomes a reality for everyone.”

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A spokesperson for the SPLC defended its work monitoring white supremacist groups and other violent extremist organizations (including through its paid informant program), telling Fox News Digital that their use “save lives.”