Conservative figures, including billionaire Elon Musk, have voiced strong opposition to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s critiques of Charlie Kirk’s Turning Point USA.
Published On 3 Oct 2025
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has declared it will discontinue its collaboration with the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), aiming to dissociate from organizations it accuses of exhibiting political partiality.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced on social media last Friday that “all connections with the SPLC have been officially severed.”
Patel criticized the SPLC for abandoning its original mission of civil rights advocacy, instead transforming into what he described as a “partisan defamation operation.”
He specifically condemned the SPLC’s interactive “hate map,” which catalogs groups linked to hate and anti-government activities, pinpointing their locations.
“Their so-called ‘hate map’ has been weaponized to malign ordinary Americans and has even incited violence. Such a deplorable history disqualifies them from any partnership with the FBI,” Patel stated.
This announcement follows another significant move earlier in the week, when the FBI also ended its relationship with the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), accusing the Jewish advocacy organization of surveilling conservative individuals.
These decisions represent a substantial shift in the FBI’s longstanding alliances with key civil rights organizations, coinciding with Patel’s swift efforts to reform the nation’s leading federal law enforcement agency.
Historically, both the SPLC and ADL have contributed valuable research on hate crimes and domestic extremism, provided training for law enforcement, and offered other critical services. However, they have faced criticism from conservative circles, who argue that these groups unfairly label their perspectives as extremist.
The controversy intensified following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, which sparked renewed scrutiny of the SPLC’s portrayal of Turning Point USA, the organization Kirk founded.
For example, the SPLC’s 2024 report titled “The Year in Hate and Extremism” featured Turning Point USA as a “prime example of the hard right.”
High-profile conservatives, including Elon Musk, condemned the SPLC’s characterizations this week.
“Incitement to violence by malicious propaganda groups like the SPLC is intolerable,” Musk tweeted. He added, “This rhetoric is endangering innocent lives,” without providing further details.
A representative for the SPLC, an advocacy and legal organization established in 1971, did not directly respond to Patel’s remarks on Friday.
However, the spokesperson emphasized that the SPLC has been publicly sharing data for decades and remains dedicated to exposing hate and extremism while empowering communities with information to protect the rights and safety of marginalized populations.
Criticism of the SPLC from far-right factions predates Patel’s announcement by several years.
Republican lawmakers have frequently accused the SPLC of unjustly targeting conservative groups. In October 2023, Senators James Lankford and Chuck Grassley called on the FBI to sever ties with the SPLC, labeling it biased and unreliable for designating faith-based and conservative organizations as “hate groups.”
They contended that the SPLC functions not as an impartial civil rights monitor but as a partisan entity whose data should be excluded from official use.
