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Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

politico.com

11–20 of 67 posts

Re: Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

#11
“The SPLC was not dismantling the groups,” Blanche said. “It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.”

There was always something suspicious about the SPLC, almost like a big brother of the ADL. Both organizations profit greatly from the very thing they supposedly fight. Why dismantle something when you can turn it into a cash cow?

The past decade has been a real eye opener for me. It pays to critique absolutely everything, especially those deemed above reproach.

There are less than 4,000 neo-Nazis in the US, and less than 8,000 KKK members. 12,000 equates to just 0.0035% of the U.S. population, the same number as people who suffer from dwarfism.

Combined, the SPLC and ADL are worth about a billion dollars.

Re: Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

#13
post #8
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>The scam was roughly the same as firemen paying arsonists to justify their salaries. What about paying low level arsonists to rat out their boss?

Private non-profits don’t do that. Police do that.

Why? It's not obvious why only cops can pay money for informants. You might say that they're paying criminals, but that's not clear either. The US has quite liberal free speech laws. You can say a lot of objectionable things without violating any laws.

Re: Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

#14
post #6

They were paying KKK members and Nazis. The scam was roughly the same as firemen paying arsonists to justify their salaries.

They were paying people to infiltrate the KKK and Nazi groups. It is the same as the arson investigator paying someone to hang out with the kids who play with matches to see who is starting the fires.

The only "criminal" thing they did was encouraging non-white people to use their right to vote. How dare they do such a thing before the mid-term elections!

Re: Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

#15
post #6

They were paying KKK members and Nazis. The scam was roughly the same as firemen paying arsonists to justify their salaries.

Certainly checkbook journalism has had a past in the USA, but I don't recall anyone ever being charged with a serious crime over it.

Re: Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

#16
post #11

“The SPLC was not dismantling the groups,” Blanche said. “It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.” There was always something suspicious about the SPLC, almost like a big brother of the ADL. Both organizations profit greatly from the very thing they supposedly fight. Why dismantle something when you can turn it into a cash cow? The past decade has bee…

>Combined, the SPLC and ADL are worth about a billion dollars.

To be fair, that seems like the vast majority weighted to the ADL.

But otherwise, yes, if you have ever looked at SPLC, it’s been a little curious at best. I believe nothing right away, but if the claim is that the demand for racism outweighed the supply, I can image less plausible things that the indictment.

Edit: I had no idea SPLC was so big. I guess I was confusing ADL for AIPAC.

Re: Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

#17

By Trump's personalist DoJ. Presuming good faith on the part of Trump admin feds is a journalistic mistake.

[flagged]

> what kind of mindless ideologue thinks this was just a whim for giggles?

Likely not a single one - it's been starkly clear for more than a year that the current US Federal DoJ is being wielded not on a whim for shits and giggles but for revenge and manipulation.

Re: Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

#18
post #13
post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Private non-profits don’t do that. Police do that.

Why? It's not obvious why only cops can pay money for informants. You might say that they're paying criminals, but that's not clear either. The US has quite liberal free speech laws. You can say a lot of objectionable things without violating any laws.

> You might say that they're paying criminals, but that's not clear either. The US has quite liberal free speech laws.

You specified paying arsonists in your first comment.

I assume arson is a criminal action and not protected by free speech.

Re: Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

#19
post #11

“The SPLC was not dismantling the groups,” Blanche said. “It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.” There was always something suspicious about the SPLC, almost like a big brother of the ADL. Both organizations profit greatly from the very thing they supposedly fight. Why dismantle something when you can turn it into a cash cow? The past decade has bee…

[dead]

Re: Southern Poverty Law Center indicted for fraud, money laundering

#20
post #14
post #6

They were paying KKK members and Nazis. The scam was roughly the same as firemen paying arsonists to justify their salaries.

They were paying people to infiltrate the KKK and Nazi groups. It is the same as the arson investigator paying someone to hang out with the kids who play with matches to see who is starting the fires. The only "criminal" thing they did was encouraging non-white people to use their right to vote. How dare they do such a thing before the mid-term elections!

>They were paying people to infiltrate the KKK and Nazi groups.

Is there even the slightest bit of proof to this claim? Has SPLC released details on this yet?

Because the crime is not sending KKK and neonazi groups more than a million dollars.

It’s that the committed wire fraud and money laundering to do it - allegedly.

>The only "criminal" thing they did was encouraging non-white people to use their right to vote.

The indictment is linked above. You should read it.

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