WASHINGTON—Lawmakers at a Dec. 16 subcommittee hearing debated the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC’s) “Hate Map” and other research it has produced.
While Democrats defended the group’s civil rights record and its right to free speech, Republicans questioned connections the SPLC has drawn between conservative groups and extremism.
The debate over the SPLC has intensified since the assassination of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk.
The organization, known decades ago for its litigation against the Ku Klux Klan, profiled Turning Point USA in a 2024 Hate & Extremism Report. The report was released in May, several months before Kirk was shot and killed in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10….
At Hearing, Lawmakers Debate SPLC’s ‘Hate Map’
