SPLC faces blowback from ‘hate map’ targets after DOJ fraud indictment
The DOJ’s fraud indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center is prompting swift reaction from groups named on its "hate map," many casting the charges as vindication after years of...
By Fox News · Fox News
The DOJ’s fraud indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center is prompting swift reaction from groups named on its " hate map ," many casting the charges as vindication after years of being labeled extremist. After a grand jury in the Middle District of Alabama returned an 11-count indictment charging the SPLC with six counts of wire fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, attention turned to groups the allegedly hate-group-linked organization itself has labeled as hate groups. One of the more prominent names on SPLC’s "hate map" is the Family Research Council, which was the target of a 2012 attack by an armed man who allegedly found the group’s information on the SPLC’s website. FRC President Tony Perkins said at the time that Floyd Lee Corkins II of Fairfax County — since sentenced to 25 years in prison — was responsible for wounding his building manager but believes "he was given a license by a group such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, who… labeled us a hate group because we defend the family and we stand for traditional, orthodox Christianity." 'WHITE SAVIORS'' USE OF WHISTLES CAUSES BITTER INTERNAL RIFT INSIDE ANTI-ICE MOVEMENT Corkins’ signed statement of offense acknowledged he targeted FRC because of its views, including advocacy against gay marriage, and intended to kill "as many employees" as he could. The SPLC denied the connection at the time and did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on the blowback from groups featured on its hate map. On Tuesday, Perkins called the indictment of the SPLC a "welcome development" that marks the beginning of a "long pattern of misrepresentation and harm." "For years, the SPLC has used its platform to label and target organizations with whom it disagrees, often blurring the line between legitimate concern and ideological attack," he said, before noting Corkins’ attack. "With over $750 million in their endowment which includes offshore ac…