House Judiciary Committee Hearing to Amplify Corrupt DOJ’s Bogus Indictment of SPLC
People For the American Way President Svante Myrick released the following statement about the House Judiciary Committee’s May 20 hearing targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center:
The Southern Poverty Law Center has saved lives and safeguarded civil rights by taking on bigots, haters, and violent extremists. It forced a murderous Klan organization into bankruptcy. It has infiltrated extremist groups and provided on-the-ground intelligence to law enforcement officials working to track and prevent violent threats. Americans should be grateful for the work SPLC has done for many years.
Because the SPLC has also documented and criticized hateful misinformation disseminated by allies of the Republican Party and Donald Trump, right-wing groups have repeatedly sought to smear and undermine the SPLC.
The bogus, politically motivated indictment of the SPLC is a sign of how corrupt the Justice Department has become during President Trump’s second term. And this week’s hearing is further evidence of the ways that congressional Republicans have abandoned their constitutional oversight responsibility. Rather than promoting the ridiculous charge that the SPLC is “manufacturing” extremism, Congress should be investigating the corruption and abuse of power in Trump’s Injustice Department.
The Justice Department was once the civil rights community’s partner and ally. Under Trump it has become a weapon to undermine rather than protect civil rights.
We affirm our commitment to the civil and human rights principles that have moved America closer to its promise. We affirm our solidarity with our colleagues in the struggle to make those promises real for every person.
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About People For the American Way:
People For the American Way is a national progressive advocacy organization that inspires and mobilizes Americans to defend freedom, justice, and democracy from those who threaten to take them away. For more than four decades, we have been dedicated to making the promise of American ideals real for everyone and have worked toward a vision of a vibrant America where basic rights and freedoms are upheld for all, not just the wealthy and the powerful. Learn more at peoplefor.org.
