Updated May 20, 2026 Rule of Law
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern Ongoing
DOJ Indicts Southern Poverty Law Center for Hate-Group Monitoring Operations (May 2026)
Trump's DOJ indicted the SPLC — the nation's leading hate-group monitor — on fraud and money laundering charges for using paid informants to infiltrate white supremacist organizations, a standard law enforcement and investigative journalism practice. The SPLC pleaded not guilty on May 7–8, 2026. Legal experts called the prosecution 'as unprecedented as it is irregular.' The case is the most direct attack to date on civil society organizations that document extremism.