SPLC Civil Rights Memorial Center

A Justice Department indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center is part of a “top-down” campaign of retribution against President Donald Trump's perceived political enemies and constitutes a vindictive prosecution that must be dismissed, lawyers for the nonprofit argued in urging a judge to toss the case out.

Alabama’s attorney general announced a civil investigation Monday into the Southern Poverty Law Center's fundraising practices in the wake of a federal indictment against the organization. AG General Steve Marshall said he has sent a subpoena to the center seeking information about its donations and payments to informants. He said he is seeking to determine if the organization violated state laws related to charitable organizations or deceptive trade practices.

Lawyers for the Southern Poverty Law Center will appear in court Thursday for the first time since the civil rights group was charged with defrauding donors by failing to disclose that money would be paid to informants inside extremist groups. The SPLC denies wrongdoing, and no individual is charged.

The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted Tuesday on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly raised millions of dollars to secretly pay leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups for inside information.

The Southern Poverty Law Center says it's the subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department and faces possible charges over its past use of paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups.

The Civil Rights Memorial Center, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Alabama State Office, opens Jubilee weekend with its annual wreath laying ceremony. The event is set for Friday, March 1, at 1:00 p.m. in downtown Montgomery.

The Southern Poverty Law Center's Civil Rights Memorial Center is offering a day of free admission in honor of former South African President Nelson…