FBI cuts ties with far-left SPLC, a ‘partisan smear machine’

The FBI announced Oct. 3 it has severed ties with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a left-wing group long accused of labeling mainstream conservative groups and Catholics as extremists on its “hate map.” 

FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the move on social media, saying the SPLC “long ago abandoned civil rights work and turned into a partisan smear machine.”

“Their so-called ‘hate map’ has been used to defame mainstream Americans and even inspired violence. That disgraceful record makes them unfit for any FBI partnership,” he said, adding, “Under this FBI, all ties with the SPLC have officially been terminated.”

In his post, Patel noted that he had warned in April at a Justice Department task force on anti-Christian bias that the bureau would not rely on “politicized or agenda-driven intelligence from outside groups — and certainly not from the SPLC.”

For years, the SPLC has lumped organizations such as the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) and Family Research Council (FRC) alongside the Ku Klux Klan on its “hate map,” while also labeling traditional Catholics as extremists, CatholicVote has reported.

The group describes the map as “an interactive map” that “has been available to track hate since 200,” though critics say it has fueled hostility toward Christian and conservative organizations.

In 2012, a gunman allegedly used that map to target FRC headquarters in Washington, D.C., in an attempted mass shooting, CatholicVote previously reported. CatholicVote has also reported that the Biden-era FBI cited SPLC sources in drafting its infamous Richmond memo targeting “radical traditional Catholics.” 

The SPLC added Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk to its “hate map” just months before he was assassinated, according to a Sept. 11 letter from House Republicans urging the creation of a committee to investigate the “radical left” and its ties to political violence.

>> House Republicans call for new committee to probe 'radical left,’ citing political violence <<

The FBI decision comes one day after Patel announced the FBI had also cut ties with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which recently faced criticism for labeling TPUSA an extremist group. Following the backlash, the ADL — whose mission is “to stop the defamation of Jewish people” — removed its entire “Glossary of Extremism and Hate” on Oct. 1.

“James Comey wrote 'love letters' to the ADL and embedded FBI agents with them - a group that ran disgraceful ops spying on Americans,” Patel wrote on X. “That era is OVER. This FBI won’t partner with political fronts masquerading as watchdogs.”