Civil rights group says federal charges are political

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  Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast.

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  I'm Tamara Keith.

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  I cover politics.

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  And I'm Odette Youssef.

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  I cover domestic extremism.

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  And I'm Ryan Lucas.

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  I cover the Justice Department.

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  Today on the show, the Southern Poverty Law Center is facing federal charges for financial crimes.

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  The prominent civil rights group has been tracking and disrupting hate groups for decades.

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  But now the Justice Department alleges one of the ways it did that was criminal.

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  Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche announced the charges this week.

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  The SPLC is a non-profit entity that purports to fight white supremacy and racial hatred by reporting on extremist groups

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  and conducting research to inform law enforcement groups with the goal of dismantling these groups.

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  As the indictment describes, the SPLC was not dismantling these groups.

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  It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.

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  So we will get to the details of this 11-count indictment.

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  But first, Odette, tell us about the SPLC's work and its history.

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