SPLC claims to have collected Patriot Front intelligence through hidden informant

Patriot Front's masked march through the nation's capital over the Fourth of July weekend has renewed attention on the group's operations — and on a Southern Poverty Law Center report claiming that an anonymous informant provided the organization with Patriot Front communications.

Published last year, the report from the SPLC's Hatewatch blog claimed an anonymous source provided the organization with Telegram audio messages from early 2024 in which a Patriot Front leader accused the founder of a like-minded group of failing to adequately support Patriot Front.

'The SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups.'

The Hatewatch report did not include the alleged Telegram audio messages.

The report's description of an anonymous individual supplying internal Patriot Front communications to the SPLC mirrors allegations later made by the Department of Justice that the SPLC covertly financed confidential sources embedded within extremist organizations while publicly portraying itself as fighting those same groups.

In April, the SPLC was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

"Between 2014 and 2023, the SPLC secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds to individuals who were associated with various violent extremist groups including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and National Socialist Party of America,” federal prosecutors alleged.

In addition, the SPLC allegedly "had a field source who was a member of the online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 'Unite the Right' event," according to the indictment.

The SPLC has pleaded not guilty and denies all wrongdoing. CEO Bryan Fair admitted in April that the SPLC previously had "paid confidential informants" tasked with gathering credible intelligence on extremely violent groups but that the SPLC no longer uses them.

The SPLC and Patriot Front did not respond to a request for comment from Blaze News.

RELATED: SPLC director allegedly used donor cash to fund secret romance with neo-Nazi informant: Indictment

Elizabeth Frantz/Bloomberg/Getty Images

On the morning of America's 250th birthday, hundreds of Patriot Front members paraded down streets near the Capitol, chanting and flying Patriot Front, Confederate, and both right-side-up and upside-down American flags.

Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) seemed to call for an investigation into Patriot Front on Monday after the group's weekend rally.

“What I find odd about Patriot Front is how under Biden they were never investigated. Well funded. Never investigated. FBI under Biden looked into Catholics instead. So, looks like @GOPoversight should do some digging."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!