The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has terminated its partnership with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), citing concerns over the organization’s shift from civil rights advocacy to partisan activities. Director Kash Patel criticized the SPLC for abandoning its original mission, calling it a “partisan smear machine.”
Patel specifically condemned the SPLC’s “hate map,” which included Turning Point USA (TPUSA) alongside groups like the Ku Klux Klan, arguing that the list has been used to vilify mainstream Americans and incite violence. He stated, “That disgraceful record makes them unfit for any FBI partnership.”
The decision follows similar actions against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), which also labeled TPUSA as extremist while defending Antifa—a group later designated a domestic terror threat by former President Donald J. Trump. Patel criticized previous FBI leadership for fostering ties with such organizations, calling it an “unacceptable betrayal.”
Efforts to distance the FBI from the SPLC intensified after the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk, allegedly by radical leftist Tyler Robinson, who cited Kirk’s alleged “hatred” as motivation. Figures including Raheem Kassam and Jack Posobiec had long advocated for the split, framing it as a necessary step to purge federal institutions of far-left influence.
