Pro-Life Group Says SPLC Should Pay Restitution for Leftist Who Shot Up Its Office

A leading pro-life and pro-family advocacy group is calling for the Southern Poverty Law Center to face restitution to those harmed by its practices.

The request is following a federal indictment accusing the leftist organization of funneling millions of dollars to extremist groups.

The Family Research Council said accountability for the SPLC should include restitution for victims of violence linked to its “hate map” and labeling practices, which it argues have incited attacks against pro-life and pro-family organizations.

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In 2012, Floyd Lee Corkins II entered FRC’s Washington, D.C., headquarters and shot and wounded a security guard after targeting the group based on its listing as a “hate group” on the SPLC’s website. Corkins pleaded guilty to charges including committing an act of terrorism and told authorities he intended to kill as many people as possible.

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins responded to the recent indictment by connecting the SPLC’s actions to the attack.

“The indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center is a welcome development, especially if it marks the beginning of the end of its long pattern of misrepresentation and harm,” Perkins said. “For years, the SPLC has used its platform to label and target organizations with whom it disagrees, often blurring the line between legitimate concern and ideological attack. That kind of reckless characterization doesn’t just damage reputations, it has put lives at risk.”

“Our own organization, Family Research Council, experienced this firsthand when a gunman entered our building over a decade ago, citing SPLC’s materials,” Perkins continued. “We’ve talked with the FBI to help them understand how these designations have real-world consequences.”

The federal grand jury indictment charges the SPLC with 11 counts including wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering. Prosecutors allege the organization secretly funneled more than $3 million in donated funds between 2014 and 2023 to individuals associated with violent extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan and others.

Perkins stated that if wrongdoing is proven, “justice should include restitution to those harmed. With over $750 million in their endowment which includes offshore accounts, the SPLC should be held responsible not only for what was done, but for the damage left behind.”

FRC has long criticized the SPLC for what it calls reckless labeling of pro-life, pro-family, and Christian organizations as hate groups. The SPLC has condemned the 2012 attack but continues its designations of certain groups.

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