US charges anti-extremism group over payments to informants in hate groups

US charges anti-extremism group over payments to informants in hate groups10 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMax MatzaGetty ImagesActing US Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges on TuesdayUS officials have announced fraud charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights group that tracks extremist organisations and played a prominent role in confronting the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).In a news conference on Tuesday, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche accused the non-profit of secretly funding the very groups that it says it opposes, through paying informants who infiltrated them - including within the KKK. An indictment charges the SPLC with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.The organisation's president has said they would "vigorously defend ourselves, our staff, and our work".The SPLC has long had a sour relationship with the Trump administration. In October, the FBI ended its relationship with the group after accusing it of being a "partisan smear machine".Some Republicans have also accused the group of unfairly targeting conservative groups such as Turning Point USA, the Family Research Council and Moms for Liberty, as well as individuals aligned with the Trump administration.SPLC interim leader Bryan Fair said in video statement before the details of the case were announced that the Alabama-based non-profit organisation has dedicated the last 55 years to "fighting white supremacy and various forms of injustice"."We are therefore unsurprised to be the latest organisation targeted by this administration," he continued. He noted that the use of informants by the organisation "was necessary because we are no stranger to threats of violence". He went on to describe a 1983 firebomb attack on the group's office, and repeated threats that SPLC members face.Tuesday's indictment from the Depar...