Rep. Mark Harris is escalating his campaign against the Southern Poverty Law Center, urging Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to strip the organization of its tax-exempt status in a move that could ignite a major political and legal battle over one of the country’s most influential civil rights groups.
The North Carolina Republican argues that the SPLC, long known for tracking hate groups and extremism, has strayed far from its stated mission and now operates as a partisan political organization while allegedly engaging in conduct that should disqualify it from nonprofit status.
In a letter sent to Bessent, Harris called for the Internal Revenue Service to examine whether the SPLC should continue to enjoy the benefits of its 501(c)(3) designation. Under federal law, organizations receiving that status must primarily serve charitable, educational, or similar purposes and are restricted from engaging in partisan political activity.
According to Harris, the SPLC has crossed that line.
“The SPLC has reached a point where it’s become extremely obvious that they are certainly not the organization anymore that they were maybe even founded to be,” Harris told Fox News Digital. “They’ve become a strong left-wing political organization.”
At the center of Harris’ criticism is the SPLC’s controversial “Hate Map,” which identifies organizations the group considers extremist or hateful. Conservatives have long accused the organization of unfairly labeling mainstream right-leaning groups as hate organizations while allegedly overlooking violent groups on the political left.
Harris pointed specifically to organizations such as the Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom, both of which have appeared on the SPLC’s lists. He argued that many of the groups targeted by the organization share one common characteristic.
“They happen to be just conservative groups in this country that stand on conservative principles,” Harris said.
The controversy surrounding the SPLC’s classifications has been debated for years, but Harris is now tying those concerns to more recent allegations involving the Department of Justice.
The congressman referenced the Biden administration’s monitoring of what officials described as “radical traditionalist Catholics,” arguing that federal authorities relied in part on SPLC materials when developing their assessments. Critics of the administration cited that episode as evidence of government agencies relying too heavily on information produced by politically controversial advocacy groups.
Harris also pointed to one of the darkest chapters associated with criticism of the SPLC. In 2012, a gunman attacked the Family Research Council’s Washington headquarters and wounded a security guard. The attacker later indicated he had learned about the organization through information published by the SPLC. The civil rights group condemned the shooting, but critics have continued to cite the incident when questioning the impact of the organization’s classifications.
The most explosive allegations, however, involve claims referenced in a Department of Justice indictment. Harris alleges that donor funds were routed through shell entities and ultimately used to support activities connected to extremist organizations, including the Ku Klux Klan.
“Through what we’re learning in this indictment by the Department of Justice,” Harris said, “one example was that they actually funded a Ku Klux Klan rally and funded the cross burning and paid for the gas to burn the cross.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center has denied the allegations referenced in the DOJ case.
Harris argues that if the accusations prove true, they represent a fundamental betrayal of the organization’s mission.
He also highlighted testimony discussed during a recent congressional hearing involving allegations that the SPLC benefited financially from heightened racial and political tensions, including claims connected to the aftermath of the 2017 Charlottesville rally.
“That’s the way these groups work because, again, it becomes a money-making machine,” Harris said. “If they can keep things stirred up, if they keep people fighting, if they keep people divided … then they accomplish what they want to accomplish.”
His letter ends with a direct appeal to the Treasury Department to investigate whether the SPLC should retain its nonprofit status.
“The evidence is clear,” Harris wrote. “The SPLC does not operate as a charitable organization and should therefore lose its tax-exempt status.”
Whether the IRS or Treasury Department acts on the request remains uncertain. But Harris’ challenge places the SPLC under renewed scrutiny and adds another chapter to the long-running fight over the organization’s influence, fundraising practices, and role in defining extremism in American public life.
