Southern Poverty Law Center President Bryan Fair faced sharp questioning from House Republicans on Tuesday over why the organization’s widely cited hate map does not appear to include violent antifa-affiliated groups, the left-wing pro-abortion-rights Jane’s Revenge, or Islamic organizations that oppose LGBT individuals.
“Under your criteria, Turning Point USA, Family Research Council, and other conservative Christian groups are considered hate groups, but Antifa and Jane’s Revenge aren’t,” Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) told Fair during the hearing. “I frankly think it’s disgusting.”
Destroying pregnancy resource centers or Catholic churches does not qualify as hate under the Southern Poverty Law Center's definition.Turning Point USA holding a rally does.Add me to your hate map, @splcenter. pic.twitter.com/P8OqnB8l6S— Lance Gooden (@Lancegooden) June 9, 2026
The exchanges came during a House judiciary committee hearing examining the SPLC’s hate group designation practices and broader allegations surrounding the group’s operations, including a recent federal indictment accusing the organization of funding extremist actors while presenting itself as an anti-hate watchdog.
Republicans repeatedly challenged Fair over what they described as ideological inconsistencies in the SPLC’s criteria for labeling organizations as hateful.
