WASHINGTON – In a seismic shift that underscores America's deepening political polarization, the FBI has officially severed its relationship with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a prominent civil rights organization renowned for tracking extremist groups. The move comes amid a firestorm of criticism from conservatives who accuse the SPLC of contributing to a climate of violence following the recent assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
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| FILE PHOTO: FBI Director Kash Patel gestures as he testifies before a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on oversight of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 16, 2025. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo |
The decision was announced in a scathing social media post on Friday by FBI Director Kash Patel. He accused the SPLC of devolving from a civil rights advocate into a "partisan smear machine" and declared that his agency was cutting all ties.
"Their so-called 'hate map' has been used to smear mainstream Americans and even inspire violence," Patel wrote on the platform X, without providing specific details for the latter claim.
The SPLC, a decades-old institution, has long been a key resource for law enforcement and journalists for its work monitoring hate groups, from the Ku Klux Klan to neo-Nazi organizations. However, its "Hate Map," which currently lists nearly 1,400 groups, has increasingly drawn the ire of conservatives for including organizations they view as part of mainstream political discourse.
The flashpoint for this rupture was the SPLC’s designation of Kirk's Arizona-based youth organization, Turning Point USA, which it describes as an "anti-government" group.
The FBI and SPLC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. However, a Justice Department official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, indicated the working relationship had already been terminated for several months, suggesting Patel's announcement was a formal declaration of a pre-existing reality.
This move did not occur in a vacuum. It comes just two days after Patel announced the FBI would also be ending its partnerships with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), a leading Jewish organization that tracks antisemitism. The ADL had similarly faced conservative backlash after including Turning Point USA in its "Extremism and Hate Glossary," a list it later removed from its website following intense criticism from billionaire Elon Musk and others.
The backdrop to these decisions is the tragic assassination of Charlie Kirk last month during an appearance at a Utah university campus. His murder has amplified national anxieties over escalating political violence and prompted President Donald Trump to issue stronger condemnations of what he terms the "radical left."
The 22-year-old suspect in the killing, Tyler Robinson, allegedly told a roommate that he was motivated by Kirk's "hatefulness," according to prosecutors. Authorities have stated they believe Robinson acted alone.
In the aftermath, high-profile figures have amplified the narrative that watchdog groups share responsibility. Elon Musk, in a post on X, noted that Kirk had been mentioned in an SPLC newsletter the day before his death and accused the organization of being "culpable" in inciting the murder, a claim he made without providing direct evidence.
The FBI’s break with the SPLC marks the end of a once-cooperative relationship and signals a profound realignment in how the nation's top law enforcement agency engages with civil rights monitors. It leaves a fractured landscape where the very definition of "hate" is at the center of a bitter and increasingly dangerous political conflict.
