South Carolina Republican Representative Nancy Mace publicly criticized the Southern Poverty Law Center on Saturday, describing the nonprofit organization as “one giant grift” focused on “funding racism” in the United States. Speaking during a Fox News interview with guest host Jonathan Hunt, Mace alleged that the group collaborated with Democrats and former President Joe Biden to target Christian Americans and “American patriots,” asserting that its leadership should face prison time.
The congresswoman’s remarks follow a series of federal actions against the organization. Last month, Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced 11 criminal charges against the SPLC, including bank fraud and money laundering.
According to the Department of Justice, the SPLC secretly funneled $3 million to hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, and toward the 2017 white supremacist “Unite the Right” rally. The DOJ also alleges the SPLC paid $1 million to an informant inside a neo-Nazi organization to obtain stolen documents.
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“The SPLC, the left, it is one giant grift,” Mace said during the broadcast. “We now know they were funding racism, paying for racism, grifting off of racism. It was one giant grift, I believe, in concert with the Democrats and the Biden administration. And they were going after Christians, they were going after American patriots, American citizens, making this country more divisive than it’s ever been because of their hatred.”
The House Judiciary Committee, led by Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH), held a meeting last week examining the allegations against the nonprofit. Mace expressed support for the congressional inquiry, stating, “They need to be held to account. They should probably all be sitting in prison, and I look forward to Jim Jordan getting to the bottom of this.”
During the interview, Hunt questioned whether it was fair to say the SPLC was “stoking hatred almost to justify their own existence.” Mace agreed completely with the assessment.
“That was the sole purpose of their existence,” Mace replied. “If they can’t portray people as racist, they don’t have a reason to exist. This is wrong, this is illegal, and every single one of ’em should go to jail.”
Mace added that if SPLC leader Bryan Fair declines to testify before Congress voluntarily, the committee should issue a subpoena. “He needs to be subpoenaed, given a date, and he needs to show up or be behind bars,” Mace said.
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