America First Legal (AFL) has released documents obtained through Freedom of Information Act requests and litigation showing that the Biden Department of Justice (DOJ) partnered extensively with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), granting the organization unprecedented access and influence over federal civil rights enforcement.
The records reveal SPLC involvement in training DOJ prosecutors, attending standing quarterly meetings with DOJ leadership, and participating in regular informal gatherings with top DOJ officials.
According to AFL, the documents show that the DOJ not only allowed SPLC a seat at the table but provided early access to FBI data, encouraged SPLC’s participation in quarterly meetings, and invited the group to lead official training for federal officials. Communications included the DOJ Civil Rights Division and the Office of the Deputy Attorney General. AFL has obtained thousands of pages of records and plans to release additional findings in the coming weeks.
The documents depict a formalized relationship that embedded SPLC, an organization known for labeling mainstream groups such as Turning Point USA and Moms for Liberty alongside the KKK on its “hate map,” in the DOJ’s civil rights agenda. Emails show SPLC received embargoed FBI hate-crime data before public release, enabling staff to draft talking points and coordinate with DOJ officials. Kristen Clarke, then-Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, reportedly asked SPLC whether there were “federal civil rights matters of concern that we should be tracking,” signaling DOJ reliance on the group to shape enforcement priorities.
DOJ leadership held additional consultations with SPLC, the NAACP, and the ACLU, providing guidance on hate crime enforcement, voting rights, and transgender issues. AFL notes that this alignment occurred alongside broader narratives from the Biden administration, including assertions from the Department of Homeland Security’s Homeland Intelligence Experts Group that “most of the domestic terrorism threat” comes from supporters of the former president.
SPLC has continued to target mainstream conservative organizations, including Charlie Kirk and Turning Point USA, labeling them as extremists in its “Hatewatch” newsletter, published a day before Kirk was fatally shot. SPLC did not issue an apology or condemnation following his death.
