This month, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) released its annual "Hate Map,” routinely used as a political weapon to target organizations and individuals the Left disagrees with. SPLC’s self-described mission is to act as "a catalyst for racial justice in the South and beyond, working in partnership with communities to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements, and advance the human rights of all people."

In order to qualify for SPLC’s “Hate Map,” organizations must be found guilty of practicing one or more of the following beliefs: “Radical Traditional Catholicism, Christian Supremacy, Christian Identity, Anti-LGBTQ, Anti-Muslim, Anti-Immigrant,” and several other categories, including “General Hate.”
 
We’re in good company. Focus on the Family, the Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom, and dozens of other family policy councils from around the country were also on the map for their “radical” Christian views.

It's tempting to dismiss the SPLC's “Hate Map” as little more than a political stunt, but the reality is that the organization's reckless labeling has had real and devastating consequences.

In 2012, Floyd Lee Corkins II opened fire at the Washington, D.C. headquarters of the Family Research Council after using the map to identify his target. A building manager was shot and severely wounded. The SPLC has continually denied any responsibility for the attack and kept FRC on the map ever since.

The incident at FRC is one of many that have helped reveal the true nature of the SPLC. The organization’s reputation has been unraveling for years, coming to a head over the past several months as new allegations surface.
In April 2026, the U.S. Department of Justice handed down an 11-count federal indictment against the SPLC for wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. A grand jury ruled that enough evidence exists to prosecute the organization for funneling more than $3 million in donor funds over the course of nearly 10 years to covert informants embedded in extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and the American Nazi Party.

Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche put it plainly: the SPLC was "doing the exact opposite of what it told its donors it was doing – not dismantling extremism, but funding it."

In other words, they were “manufacturing extremism.”

The same day SPLC published this year's “Hate Map” and accompanying report, the organization’s interim president, Bryan Fair, appeared before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions regarding the fraud indictment.

When Rep. Chip Roy and Rep. Lance Gooden pressed Fair about whether the SPLC had listed any Islamic-oriented groups on the hate map, Fair struggled to give a straight answer. When pressed about Antifa's glaring absence from the list, the same difficulty arose. The double standard was clear: the SPLC's map includes mainstream conservative organizations while leaving off groups with documented ties to vandalism, violence, and attacks on churches and pro-life centers. Watch the exchange here:
 
The SPLC's "Hate Map" was not designed to protect communities or eradicate hate. At its core, it is a blacklist. As Rep. Gooden highlighted, the FBI's since-retracted Richmond memorandum, which flagged traditionalist Catholics as potential domestic terrorism suspects, drew in part on SPLC materials. That is the real-world consequence of allowing an ideologically driven organization to masquerade as a research authority.

“Under your criteria, Turning Point USA, Family Research Council, and other conservative Christian groups are considered hate groups, but Antifa and Jane’s Revenge aren’t,” Gooden stated at the hearing. “I frankly think it’s disgusting.”

Dr. Alveda King, niece of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who has been personally targeted by the SPLC's hate list, also testified at the hearing: “I reject the notion that Americans who hold traditional Christian beliefs should be treated as threats, or terrorists, simply because they disagree with a prevailing political thought.”

Ryan Bangert of Alliance Defending Freedom told the committee that the SPLC has "drifted from its founding purpose" and now uses its hate map to target mainstream Christian organizations, then "mobilizes corporate America to crush their voices" by pressuring banks and tech platforms to cut them off. ADF, like FACT, holds pro-life convictions and opposes gender-affirming care for minors. For that, the SPLC calls us hate groups.

For 20 years, FACT has advocated for the traditional family, for life, and for religious liberty – convictions held by millions of Tennesseans and rooted in the Word of God. The SPLC’s labels will never change who we are or what we do.

We hold no ill will toward the SPLC or its adherents, but we hope they are held accountable in both the court of law and the court of public opinion for the lies, fraud, and harm their distributions have caused.