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US Justice Dept indictment alleges ex-Southern Poverty Law Center official steered $1.2 million to neo-Nazi informant

The indictment alleges that the former employee shared bank accounts and a residence with the informant, and that donor funds were used for personal expenses.

Gavel, Courtroom
Gavel on a courtroom table. Credit: Joe Gratz via Wikimedia Commons.

The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a superseding indictment alleging that a former Southern Poverty Law Center official directed more than $1 million in donor funds to a neo-Nazi informant with whom she was romantically involved.

The June 2 indictment identifies the official as “Employee 2,” a former senior member of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project. Based on details contained in the filing, multiple media outlets have identified the individual as Heidi Beirich, the former director of the SPLC’s Intelligence Project and a co-founder of the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism.

According to prosecutors, an informant identified as “F-9" received roughly $1.2 million from the SPLC over more than two decades while remaining active in the National Alliance, a neo-Nazi organization. The indictment alleges that F-9 continued fundraising for the group while receiving payments from the SPLC.

Prosecutors further allege that Employee 2 and F-9 were in a romantic relationship and “shared a house and two bank accounts.” Between 2015 and 2021, approximately $140,000 in donor funds allegedly flowed into those accounts and was used to pay the couple’s living expenses, according to the indictment.

The accusation is part of the Justice Department’s indictment against the SPLC for allegedly “manufacturing extremism” by funneling millions of donor funds to individuals affiliated with white supremacist and extremist groups, including the National Alliance, the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations.

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