Justice Department Uses Civil Rights Group Informant in Prosecution

Federal prosecutors have enlisted a longtime informant for the Southern Poverty Law Center to help build a criminal case against the civil rights organization, according to court filings submitted by the center's lawyers on Wednesday. The documents allege that the Justice Department used the informant's financial difficulties and potential exposure to indictment to shift his role from infiltrating hate groups to assisting the government's investigation. The Justice Department charged the organization in April with defrauding donors.

Prosecutors alleged that the center secretly directed money to informants inside white supremacist groups, raising questions about whether its informant program served its stated purpose of combating extremism. The informant, identified in the court documents only as F-9, had worked with the center for decades. According to the filings, he became a significant participant in the federal investigation, prompting the center's lawyers to question whether his involvement extended beyond that of an ordinary government witness.

The lawyers argue that prosecutors effectively incorporated F-9 into their investigative efforts. The court papers provide the most detailed account yet of his role in the prosecution, although it remains uncertain whether the government will be permitted to use his participation to its advantage.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the center's lawyers, F-9 began speaking with investigators as early as March 2022 during an earlier tax investigation involving the organization. That inquiry ended without criminal charges, but the filings say the informant later helped prompt authorities to reopen the investigation and redirect its focus.

The renewed inquiry began last year and concentrated on the center's informant program, the same operation in which F-9 had participated for decades. The filings contend that his familiarity with the program and his cooperation with investigators placed him in a consequential position as the government pursued its case.