Trump administration arrests Southern Poverty Law Center expert for fraud

Heidi Beirich, an expert on far-right extremism, has been charged over the alleged misuse of donor funds to pay informants.Published On 12 Aug 202612 Aug 2026A leading expert on far-right groups in the United States has been charged by the administration of President Donald Trump for her alleged role in the use of donor money to secretly pay confidential informants.On Wednesday, the Justice Department served an arrest warrant to Heidi Beirich, 59, the former director of intelligence for the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), a civil rights nonprofit based in Montgomery, Alabama.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4FBI cuts ties with civil rights watchdog SPLC after conservative pressurelist 2 of 4Trump administration sues Southern Poverty Law Center on fraud chargeslist 3 of 4How the US far-right weaponised ‘inshallah’ against Abdul El-Sayedlist 4 of 4Rights groups launch new legal challenge to Trump campaign against ICCend of listIt also issued a superseding indictment to include Beirich in its ongoing prosecution of the SPLC, which the Trump administration has accused of deceiving donors. An initial indictment was made against the group in April.Beirich has been charged...