The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) thinks it’s perfectly OK to put a bull’s-eye on pro-life, pro-family, and conservative organizations, labeling them as “hate groups” and putting them on a “Hate Map.” Liberty Counsel is fighting back to preserve your rights and defend these hardworking, compassionate groups. Last week, we announced we have become legal counsel in a lawsuit against the SPLC regarding its “hate group” list. The case has survived a motion to dismiss. Now we will begin intensive discovery to uncover and stop the hate-filled schemes of the SPLC.

The SPLC hasn’t hidden its agenda. At the 2007 Michigan Alliance Against Hate Crimes Conference, the former editor-in-chief of the SPLC Intelligence Report publication, Mark Potok, said, “We try and tackle these groups. Let me say that our, our aim ... and sometimes the press describes us as ‘monitoring’ hate groups ... I want to say plainly that our aim in life is to destroy these groups, completely destroy them.” (emphasis added)

The SPLC “hate” label is dangerous, it’s false, and Liberty Counsel is taking the SPLC to court. Read on about our latest case.

But first, please consider making a generous donation to our legal fund. Every donation made today will be DOUBLED IN IMPACT by a special Challenge Grant. — Mat

On a Father’s Day weekend in 2000, 16-year-old Dustin Inman and his parents were heading to the North Georgia mountains for a special fishing trip. They never made it. Instead, the Inmans buried their teenage son Dustin after an illegal immigrant, who had been granted a valid North Carolina driver’s license despite his illegal status, slammed into the family’s car at a high rate of speed.

Dustin died instantly. His mom, Kathy, spent the next five weeks in a coma while his father, Billy, grieved the loss of his son and prayed his wife would wake up. Kathy survived but permanently lost the use of her legs. The illegal immigrant who shattered the Inman family fled to Mexico and was never brought to justice for killing Dustin or paralyzing Kathy.

In 2005, the Dustin Inman Society (DIS) was formed by Donald “D.A.” King with Billy and Kathy’s blessing. The organization was founded to “end illegal immigration, illegal employment, and the illegal administration and granting of Public Benefits and services through the equal application of existing laws” in the state of Georgia.

To add insult to the Inmans’ tragic loss and injury, the SPLC designated DIS as an “anti-immigrant hate group” in its annual Intelligence Report published in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021. The SPLC also classified DIS as a “hate group” in its annual Intelligence Report and Hate Maps published in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The SPLC also stated that D.A. King “focuses on vilifying all immigrants.” Nothing could be further from the truth.

According to Potok, the SPLC’s stated motivation is to “destroy” groups with which it disagrees, and it accomplishes this objective by falsely labeling nonviolent organizations as “hate groups.”

Not only is this label false, it’s also flat-out dangerous. Groups on the SPLC’s “Hate Map” have experienced threats and violence. The SPLC and others who put out false labels must be stopped. I will share one example below.

Help us END the SPLC “Hate Maps.”

In 2013, Floyd Corkins was sentenced to 25 years in prison after he attempted a mass murder in 2012 at the Family Research Council (FRC) offices in Washington, D.C. Corkins admitted he selected FRC as his target because it was on the SPLC’s “hate group” list.

Corkins intended to stuff Chick-fil-A sandwiches into the mouths of those he murdered. Fortunately, an alert security guard stopped Corkins, but not before he shot the guard.

Media Matters uses the SPLC “hate group designation” as a source for critical statements on its website about pro-family and conservative organizations. SPLC’s labeling is treacherous, spawning acts of violence against groups smeared with its “hate” label.

Tragically, the SPLC today has the attention of liberal politicians and corporations. The Biden administration has had a number of meetings with the SPLC at the White House. Amazon, through its Amazon Smile charity program, used the SPLC hate map to exclude or revoke fundraising abilities of organizations listed on the SPLC “Hate Map.”

The SPLC calls the American College of Pediatricians an “extremist group” because, in part, it opposes mutilating surgeries for minors. As a result of these false “hate” labels, many law-abiding organizations have had to increase security, have had credit card landing pages shut down, have lost donations, and much worse.

For far too long, the SPLC has been allowed to destroy people and organizations with its false “hate” label. It’s time to hold the SPLC accountable, which is exactly what Liberty Counsel is doing.

Last week, Liberty Counsel announced we have stepped into the legal ring against the SPLC as legal counsel representing the Dustin Inman Society and its founder and president, D.A. King, in their claims against the SPLC.

Our stellar legal team includes a nationally recognized defamation attorney who represented Nick Sandmann, a student at Covington Catholic High School in Kentucky who attended the 2019 March for Life event in Washington, D.C., wearing a MAGA hat. The defamation lawsuits against the Washington Post and CNN for 250 million and 275 million dollars, respectively, were settled in 2020 for undisclosed amounts.

An Alabama federal judge already ruled against the SPLC’s motion to dismiss this important case. Now we can begin extensive discovery of the SPLC, exposing the ways it has inflicted harm on our client and so many others.

We seek justice as we continue to fight in courtrooms across the country and at the U.S. Supreme Court for the right to life, religious liberty, and the natural family. We won all four of the cases we argued or briefed before the High Court last year and two cases so far this year … and we aren’t done winning yet!

YOU can be part of the victorious blessing with your generous donation today, which will be DOUBLED IN IMPACT by a special Challenge Grant. Please, give generously today.

Mat Staver
Founder and Chairman
Liberty Counsel

P.S. One last thing! Join me for a life-changing tour of the Holy Land! Our next travel dates are in October of this year and in April 2024. Don’t miss your chance to deepen your faith by walking the paths our Savior walked. Learn more at CJTravel.org.

Sources:

“Liberty Counsel Represents Immigration Policy Group against SPLC.” Liberty Counsel, July 10, 2023. Lc.org/newsroom/details/071023-liberty-counsel-represents-immigration-policy-group-against-splc.

“Mark Potok Speech 1.” YouTube, September 11, 2007. Youtube.com/watch?v=fnTz2ylJo_8.

“Mission Statement.” New Dustin Inman Society. Accessed July 10, 2023. Newdustininmansociety.org/mission-statment/.

“Who Was Dustin Inman?” New Dustin Inman Society. Accessed July 10, 2023. Newdustininmansociety.org/who-was-dustin-inman/.