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May 26, 2026 / 5:12 PM EDT
/ CBS News
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Washington — The Southern Poverty Law Center on Tuesday asked a federal judge to dismiss the criminal charges filed against it by the Justice Department, saying the indictment represents a "top-down, retributive campaign" directed by President Trump to target his enemies.The 47-page filing in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama documents a series of public statements by the president and other top administration officials targeting the center, including one in which Mr. Trump called it "one of the greatest political scams in American History.""This is the very definition of a vindictive prosecution," lawyers for the SPLC wrote. "The Court should dismiss the indictment as a violation of due process."The Justice Department secured an 11-count indictment in April, charging the civil rights nonprofit with wire fraud and bank fraud. The indictment alleges that the group, which is best known for its work to oppose the Ku Klux Klan, lied to donors about paying confidential informants to infiltrate hate groups and deceived banks about the bank accounts used to make those payments.The SPLC has pleaded not guilty to the charges, and vowed to fight them. It is generally difficult to prevail in getting charges dismissed on the grounds of vindictive prosecution, but such requests have become increasingly common amid rising concerns among current and former Justice Department officials about cases being driven by political retribution.Just last week, a federal judge dismissed smuggling charges against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran-born Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration last year. The judge found that the Justice Department's prosecution was vindictive.
