[ April 23, 2024 ]
The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Acting Director of Congressional Affairs, Jill C. Tyson, received a letter (07-23-18) from Repr. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) who reports: “In email correspondence, the FBI has admitted to working with the Southern Poverty Law Center. This is surprising and worrisome, as the SPLC is known to use its platform in order to denigrate and disparage certain groups by labeling them ‘hate groups.’”
“[I]n some cases, this designation is well deserved,” Gaetz contrasts: “Other groups, however, appear to be deemed ‘hateful’ by the SPLC due to their political and social beliefs, rather than by any actual threat they pose.”
“The SPLC’s conflagration of mainstream political advocacy groups with legitimate hate groups and domestic terror groups is absurd, frequently indiscriminate, and dangerous,” concludes Gaetz, “Accordingly, I ask:
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* Do you actively work with the SPLC in determining groups to investigate?
* How much weight does the FBI give the SPLC’s designation of a group as a ‘hate group’ in its choice to investigate a group or association?
* Does the FBI receive briefings, training, or any other material support from the SPLC?
If so, please elaborate.
* What information, if any, does the FBI provide to the SPLC?”
Letter courtesy of Fox News.
What is the FBI’s mission and priorities?
The FBI’s mission: “To protect the American people and uphold the Constitution of the United States.” Its priorities, in part: to “Protect civil rights” and “Combat significant violent crime.”
For fiscal year 2016, the FBI’s “total, direct-funded budget … [was] … approximately $8.7 billion … The FBI employs 35,000 people … around the globe. Along with our Headquarters in Washington, D.C., we have 56 field offices located in major cities throughout the U.S., more than 350 satellite offices called resident agencies in cities and towns across the nation, and more than 60 international offices called legal attachés in U.S. embassies worldwide.”
Defining a Hate Crime
As defined by the FBI: “A Hate Crime is a traditional offense like murder, arson, or vandalism with an added element of bias. For the purposes of collecting statistics, the FBI has defined a hate crime as a ‘criminal offense against a person or property motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender, or gender identity.’ Hate itself is not a crime – and the FBI is mindful of protecting freedom of speech and other civil liberties.”
The FBI’s role
“To combat the problem of hate crimes,” the FBI performs roles of investigative activities and law enforcement support, but also:
“Hate Crimes Working Groups (HCWGs): The majority of the FBI’s field offices participate in local Hate Crime Working Groups. These Working Groups combine community and law enforcement resources to develop strategies to address local hate crime problems.”
“Public Outreach: The FBI has forged partnerships nationally and locally with many civil rights organizations to establish rapport, share information, address concerns, and cooperate in solving problems. These groups include such organizations as the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, American Association of University Women, Anti-Defamation League, Asian American Justice Center, Hindu American Foundation, Human Rights Campaign, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Center for Transgender Equality, National Council of Jewish Women, National Disability Rights Network, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, National Organization for Women, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, The Sikh Coalition, Southern Poverty Law Center, and many others.”
“Training: The FBI conducts hundreds of operational seminars, workshops, and training sessions annually for local law enforcement, minority and religious organizations, and community groups to promote cooperation and reduce civil rights abuses. Each year, the FBI also provides hate crimes training for new agents, hundreds of current agents, and thousands of police officers worldwide.”
It is likely that the above-referenced, liberal organizations affirmatively contacted the FBI.
Yet, notice the conspicuous absence of conservative organizations. Did the FBI attempt to work with conservatives? For example, the Geller Report; Focus on the Family’s Research Council, which was attacked based on the SPLC’s Hate list; or dozens of other conservative persons and organizations, signatories to a joint statement.
The SPLC’s role
The FBI’s press releases include the Southern Poverty Law Center’s roles:
Under President George W. Bush’s administration (43), the FBI reported (04-27-07) a partnership with the SPLC: The Civil Rights Era Cold Case Initiative.
Under President Donald J. Trump’s administration (45), the FBI reported (08-29-17) the SPLC’s involvement in the Conference on Law Enforcement and Civil Rights.
In the above-referenced contexts, the SPLC hopefully limited its scope of analysis to cases involving civil rights.
Countering Violent Extremism
On the FBI’s website: “It’s the FBI’s primary responsibility – working with its many partners – to protect the nation from attacks by violent extremists.”
The FBI defines Violent Extremism: “Violent extremism is “encouraging, condoning, justifying, or supporting the commission of a violent act to achieve political, ideological, religious, social, or economic goals.
The FBI’s website lists a half dozen, specific categories of “Domestic, Extremist Ideologies.”
In today’s political discourse, conservative principles are construed as “hate speech” and equivalent to violence.
Is the SPLC a credible source?
As reported on the Geller Report: The liberal Southern Poverty Law Center attempts to define hate for its HateWatch, Hate Map, and How Tech Supports Hate. Also, in its Extremist Files, the SPLC profiles persons and groups in an attempt to delegitimize opposing views, particularly of conservatives who adhere to the traditional Judeo-Christian heritage, and critics of Islam.
As reported by PJMedia: “In the words of SPLC former spokesman Mark Potok (who spent 20 years as a senior fellow at the SPLC and only retired this year [2017], according to LinkedIn), the group does not exist to monitor hate groups. ‘Sometimes the press will describe us as monitoring hate groups, I want to say plainly that our aim in life is to destroy these groups, completely destroy them,’ Potok declared at an event in Michigan in 2007.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center in a settlement paid more than $3 million, and apologized, to the Quilliam Foundation and its founder, Maajid Nawaz, as reported by Fox News.
Also, the SPLC apologized to other journalists, as reported by Fox News.
The Southern Poverty Law Center, and media which rely on the SPLC, are exposed to liability, according to a joint statement by conservative persons and organizations, as reported by PJMedia here and here.
The “SPLC finally admits that Orlando Jihadi Omar Mateen wasn’t a right-wing terrorist,” as reported by the Geller Report.
Conclusion
Congress has a role of oversight of the Executive branch, which includes the Department of Justice, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Congress needs to determine whether the FBI’s “sources and methods” are credible to achieve its mission to investigate legitimate cases linking “hate speech” and actual cases of violence. Repr. Gaetz did not indicate a deadline for a response from the FBI. Critics suggest that, like other Congressional demands for information, the DOJ-FBI appear to be “slow-walking” responses to avoid delivery before mid-term elections. If Democrats take control of the U.S. House and / or U.S. Senate, the fear is that this information will not be produced at all.
Gerald Lostutter is a Florida licensed attorney, college professor, and journalist. This article does not create an attorney-client relationship. You should consult a licensed attorney for advice.
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20 Comments
5 years ago
No, it should not. The esteemed “Center” of “Law” probably promotes more division and hatred every year than it prevents. I hope this administration can find a way to end the government’s relationship with the Center once and for all.
5 years ago
Reply to
R. Arandas
Ideally SPLC should be ended and people prosecuted for their anti-American advocacy.
How the FBI could ever work with them or partner with them is beyond me!
5 years ago
Reply to
felix1999
If I recall, there was more to it than just working. The FBI was paying them for info. ????
5 years ago
Reply to
R. Arandas
Its loaded with Dem/Clinton mafia. Clinton mafia still active after Trump takeover as they kill another witness
to email investigation http://tinyurl.com/y8p9cv5l
They know their hold overs in FBI / DOJ /NSC will help them out !
Unless they are totally purged including Left/Liberal judges to keep out their bias …its uphill task to prosecute them.
5 years ago
George Soro’s SPLC defined Numbers USA – the gumball guy who warns of illegal chain migration exponential population growth problems a HATE group. More like the opposite.
5 years ago
At the rate the FBI is going it makes little difference. The FBI, CIA, NSA and DOJ are anti-American and
out to keep a two tiered system in place against legal Americans. It’ not just the upper floors that are corrupt. It is in the rank an file too. A thorough house cleaning must be made to restore mu confidence. In normal times this question would not need to be asked. IT only demonstrated how corrupt our government is.
5 years ago
Just for perspective, remember that it was Mueller’s FBI that missed the signals on 9/11, Ft. Hood, and the Boston Marathon bombing and his successor Comey’s who missed on Orlando and San Bernardino.
My uncle who was in the FBI during WWII and was part of Einstein’s protection detail is not turning over in his grave, he’s spinning!
What, SPLC neglected to mention the Merry Wives Garden Club?
5 years ago
Reply to
Drew the Infidel
“…remember that it was Mueller’s FBI that missed the signals on 9/11, Ft. Hood, and the Boston Marathon bombing and his successor Comey’s who missed on Orlando and San Bernardino.”
Maybe they didn’t “miss it.” Maybe they were part of it.
5 years ago
Reply to
CreoleGumbo
…..I’ve been thinking the same thing…..if they weren’t in on it…then they are most incompetent law enforcement and intel people on the planet…..and as we post here there are “no go zone” camps all across America training Muslims on how to kill us….
5 years ago
Reply to
ladywarrior
As of 2016 there were 22 Jihad training camps in the US and to the best of my knowledge the official FBI statement was that there was nothing they could do about it. Now just recently this came out: https://clarionproject.org/exclusive-fbi-confirms-jihadi-training-camps-america
I also find it hard to believe that there were no phone calls made to the CIA or the FBI about those Arabs taking flying lessons and rejecting lessons on how to land the planes. I took flying lessons and I assure you that learning how to land and get out of an impending crash is the most important thing that is stressed. I believe they were warned by many people but because of the stupid Affirmative Action Room Temperature IQ people who take the calls they were simply ignored. OR if they were given credibility by the unusual intelligent person who may have answered the phone that the idiots over them ignored the tips.
5 years ago
Reply to
CreoleGumbo
I’m not much of a conspiracy theorist but it did look awfully suspicious when they conveniently dropped the ball regarding Pamela’s “Draw Mohammed” cartoon contest. They had tracked those two terrorists in their car drive from AZ to Dallas and never tipped off the local authorities. Luckily, she had hired her own security and a traffic cop with his service handgun stopped the assault cold.
5 years ago
Reply to
Drew the Infidel
Why does everyone listing the shooting tragedies forget Chattanooga? Obama’s National Guard not allowed to carry guns while on duty….shot down like fish in a barrel by a Muslim who was brought here as a child, reared in a privileged neighborhood, got an education that most parents can only dream of for their kids……and still went out shooting.
It’s the MOSQUES, folks…..take down the mosques where the orders go out to their followers to kill people.
It’s exactly like Michael Youssef said in his book: JESUS, JIHAD, AND PEACE….”there is no such thing as a moderate Muslim.” If they are called to kill they have to obey or they themselves will be killed.
Michael, a former ME Muslim turned to Christianity, came to America, and founded THE CHURCH OF THE APOSTLES in Georgia. He has written many books on Islam and their methods of taking over countries and people. His books are inexpensive on Amazon. I learned more about the Muslim Death Cult from him than all the pundits on television put together.
5 years ago
Reply to
ladywarrior
I too have studied some of his books…He is spot on….tells it the way it really is inside the cult of Death..(Islam)…
5 years ago
There should be no such thing as a “hate crime.” This entire thing is anti-White racism.
If a crime, such as a murder, has been committed what difference does it make if the motive was hate for a particular demographic group, or a personal dislike for the individual, or maybe for just money, or any other motive for that matter?
The only reason the designation of “hate crime” came about was to punish Whites more severely than Blacks for the same crime because after all if a White kills a Black it is “hate” but if a Black kills a White then it is just a plain murder not motivated by hate and therefore gets a lesser sentence. Of course the victims of both are equally dead.
5 years ago
Reply to
CreoleGumbo
Gee, it couldn’t possibly be because blacks hide their motives better than whites? Whites tend to have diarrhea of the mouth.
5 years ago
Yes, the ultimate HATE group telling the FIB (grammatically correct way) who to hate. Too funny…..
5 years ago
The FBI and the SPLC work for the same deep state so i am not surprised one bit and both need to be shut down!
5 years ago
It’s bad enough what we now know goes on in the DOJ and FBI….but now we hear they are working with the horrific SPLC….but I recall that the Muslim Marxist Obama gave SPLC an office in D.C. and paid them taxpayer money to point out “hate groups”…..while at the same time ignoring CAIR and Antifa…..
Every time you think things can’t get worse on THE LEFT….they do. I’m to the point I want to go with Ed Rollins idea of disbanding the FBI…turn everything over to the US Marshall’s office….who have a 200 year history of NO SCANDALS.
Rollins said that the good FBI agents could move over to the Marshals….
….when you go after a cockroach infestation you don’t just smack down the visible ones….you fumigate the whole house.
The SPLC was Obama’s Gestapo….and they are still working with the SWAMP and George Soros who also funds them.
5 years ago
SPLC: Smear Phishing Libtard Campaign.
If anyone has a better acronym please reply.
