A naturalized U.S. citizen from Iran entered a guilty plea in federal court earlier today, admitting to running a sophisticated human smuggling operation that compromised national security and possessing graphic child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
As the Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/new-york-based-iranian-national-pleads-guilty-alien-smuggling-and-receiving-child-sexual">reported,</a> Sharon Gohari, who split his time between Roslyn, New York, and Iran, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Ann M. Donnelly to charges of unlawfully smuggling aliens into the United States and the intentional receipt of CSAM.
Federal prosecutors revealed that between December 2020 and May 2025, Gohari operated a lucrative criminal enterprise. Charging thousands of dollars per client, he facilitated the illegal entry of Iranian nationals and others into the U.S., primarily through a pipeline spanning Central and South America and Mexico.
The investigation took a more urgent turn when it was discovered that at least one of Gohari’s clients had direct ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a U.S.-designated Foreign Terrorist Organization. According to court documents, Gohari orchestrated this individual&#8217;s travel from Iran through Turkey and Mexico in early 2021. The individual was eventually detained by Border Patrol and admitted to performing tasks for the IRGC.
“Gohari made a business of smuggling aliens&#8230; at least one of whom had ties to the [IRGC],” said Assistant Attorney General John A. Eisenberg. “We cannot protect our national security without a secure border.”
The case against Gohari expanded significantly when law enforcement searched his devices. Investigators discovered multiple videos of child rape — some involving victims as young as five years old — and records of Gohari expressing his intent to seek out sexual partners at a high school.
Furthermore, agents found hundreds of surreptitious photos and videos of women across New York City, including several taken from upskirt angles. The evidence suggested a pattern of stalking. Several videos depicted the same women in multiple locations, including cafes and subways, recorded without their knowledge. Gohari reportedly shared this illicit content with Iran-based accounts in exchange for further CSAM.
The conviction was the result of a massive collaborative effort by the FBI’s New York Joint Terrorism Task Force, the NYPD, and Homeland Security Investigations.
“The defendant exploited and endangered vulnerable individuals for profit,” stated U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. “[He] put our national security at risk and circumvented the vital procedures that are in place to vet those entering our country.”
Gohari now faces a mandatory minimum of five years for the CSAM charge and three years for alien smuggling, with a combined maximum sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison.

Daily Life In Washington, D.C.

Iranian-American Pleads Guilty To Smuggling IRGC-Linked Operative Into U.S.

Department of Justice

Iran

IRGC

Islamic terrorists

The Justice Department charged a foreign shipping company and an Indian national on Tuesday in connection with the destruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge more than two years ago. 
The charges target Singapore and India-based entities of Synergy Marine, the operator of the motor vessel Dali, a container ship that caused billions of dollars in damage when it crashed into Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge in March 2024. Also charged is 47-year-old Radhakrishnan Karthik Nair, an Indian national who worked as the Dali&#8217;s technical superintendent and for Synergy Marine. 
Nair and Synergy Marine are <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.603602/gov.uscourts.mdd.603602.1.0_1.pdf">charged</a> with conspiracy to defraud the United States and with causing the death of six construction workers who were on the bridge at the time of its collapse. 
“The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge was a preventable tragedy of enormous consequence,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “This indictment is a critical step toward holding accountable those whose reckless disregard for maritime safety regulations caused this disaster.”
The indictment says the Dali lost power twice on March 26, 2024, while attempting to depart the Port of Baltimore. This power outage was caused by the ship&#8217;s lack of proper safety measures, according to prosecutors. 
If the Dali had “used the proper fuel supply and booster pumps, then the vessel would have regained power in time to safely navigate under the Key Bridge,” the indictment said. 
Following the crash, prosecutors say Nair and other Synergy officials lied to investigators about the ship&#8217;s emergency procedures and preparedness for power outages. 
Similar power outages had occurred on other vessels operated by Synergy before the crash, but no corrective action had been taken or safeguards put in place, prosecutors said. 
The indictment further claims that Synergy had “a history of failing to document and address significant safety risks. SYNERGY failed to report hazards, casualties, and other safety issues to the United States Coast Guard (‘U.S. Coast Guard’) and other regulatory authorities. SYNERGY shoreside technical managers fabricated and directed the fabrication of safety inspections and certifications related to many vessel systems, including the fuel supply system.”
Both Synergy entities are also charged with violations of the Clean Water Act, Oil Pollution Act, and Refuse Act related to the discharge of pollutants into the Patapsco River in Maryland. 
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown announced Tuesday that the state has reached a $2.25 billion settlement with Synergy over charges related to the bridge collapse.

Crews Continue To Work To Reopen Shipping Lane At The Site Of The Francis Scott Key Bridge Collapse In Baltimore

Trump DOJ Charges Foreign Shipping Firm, Engineer In Deadly Bridge Collapse

Baltimore

Francis Scott Key Bridge

India

Maryland

President Donald Trump&#8217;s administration carried out a recent crackdown on the Venezuelan gang known as Tren de Aragua, hitting 25 alleged members of the criminal organization with federal charges.
The Department of Justice <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/more-25-defendants-charged-nationwide-tren-de-aragua-crackdown-resulting-seizure-over-80">announced</a> Monday that it filed charges in six states against the accused gangbangers for firearms trafficking, drug trafficking, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, among others. Many of the accused are illegal immigrants from Venezuela, Colombia, and Honduras, the Justice Department said.
The operation took place the last week of April, resulting in the seizure of more than 80 firearms and roughly 18 kilograms of drugs, including fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, ketamine, MDMA, and Tusi, or pink cocaine, a mixed substance that contains ketamine and/or MDMA. Federal authorities also confiscated more than $100,000.
“In a few days, the Justice Department and its partners on Joint Task Force Vulcan carried out a nationwide takedown of vicious Tren de Aragua terrorist networks — depraved, violent offenders who have illegally invaded our country and preyed upon American communities,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement Monday.
“This effort underscores the Trump Administration’s dedication to restoring public safety, dismantling violent firearms and drug trafficking networks, and enforcing law and order,&#8221; Blanche said.
As part of the recent sweep, the Trump administration <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-co/pr/two-venezuelan-nationals-charged-firearms-trafficking">targeted</a> two Venezuelan nationals in Colorado accused of selling numerous firearms to a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) undercover agent. The department said the pair came to the United States during former President Joe Biden&#8217;s administration.
Between October 2025 and April 2026, Wilmer Jose Bolano-Sanchez and Jeremmy Andres Boscan-Delfin sold seven firearms, including two firearms with obliterated serial numbers, to an undercover ATF agent, according to court documents. They also allegedly sold the undercover federal agent several high-capacity firearm magazines, including a 60-round drum magazine, and ammunition.
The undercover ATF agent, along with a confidential informant working with federal authorities, told the accused that they planned to take the guns to Mexico, according to court documents. Boscan-Delfin also allegedly sold tusi to the undercover agent, who said he was going to bring it to girls at a club in Colorado Springs.
Federal authorities arrested five individuals, three of whom are illegal immigrants living in Tennessee, for allegedly trafficking firearms and narcotics. Two of the accused are believed to be associates of Tren de Aragua or of the gang&#8217;s splinter faction “Anti-Tren.”
During multiple undercover operations targeting the group, federal authorities seized 25 firearms, hundreds of rounds of ammunition, extended magazines, a drum magazine, more than $8,000 cash, as well as methamphetamine, MDMA, ketamine, and cocaine, according to the Justice Department. Eight of the 25 guns were previously reported as stolen, while two were tied to previous shootings that occurred in Nashville.
Three other illegal immigrants with alleged ties to Tren de Aragua are accused of working as associates of another federally charged defendant accused of having ties to the Venezuelan gang, according to the Justice Department. The associates allegedly were part of the sales of large amounts of narcotics and firearms that took place in Florida.
ATF agents seized 500 MDMA pills, two firearms, cocaine, ketamine, and methamphetamine while investigating the trio.
Since Trump&#8217;s second inauguration, the Justice Department has hit more than 260 members and associates of Tren de Aragua with federal charges.
Tren de Aragua originated as a prison gang in Venezuela. Its members began flooding across the U.S.-Mexico border when the Biden administration was releasing illegal migrants en masse.
A number of the gangbangers came across the border without tattoos or markings showing their affiliation with the gang, making it difficult for them to be easily identified by sight. The federal government at the time also had no cooperation with the Venezuelan regime to access criminal histories.
Many of the illegal border crossers ended up in cities like Aurora, Colorado, where they took over apartment complexes and terrorized residents.
The gang has also been tied to sex trafficking rings across the country and has made pink cocaine its drug of choice. A member of the gang also murdered 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley while she was out for a run in February 2024.
On the campaign trail, Trump pledged to carry out &#8220;Operation Aurora&#8221; to “target and dismantle every migrant criminal network operating on American soil.”

Untitled design – 2026-05-11T142114.209

Trump Admin Targets 25 ‘Terrorists’ In Tren De Aragua Crackdown

Tren De Aragua

The Justice Department is pushing to strip several terror suspects of their American citizenship as part of a massive denaturalization effort.
In recent months, the Trump administration has kicked off a campaign to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-opens-door-to-yanking-citizenship-as-part-of-war-on-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">denaturalize</a> foreign-born United States citizens, securing 15 denaturalization orders as of April. In total, the Department of Justice has filed 35 denaturalization complaints.
By comparison, the federal government secured 54 denaturalizations under the Biden administration, the DOJ said.
This week alone, the Trump administration filed denaturalization cases against 12 individuals, some of whom are accused of terror ties.
Among them is Somali-born Salah Osman Ahmed, 43, who &#8220;began providing material support&#8221; to the terrorist group al-Shabaab just months after he became an American citizen in 2007, according to the Justice Department.
At one point, Ahmed flew to Somalia to join the U.S.-designated terrorist organization and &#8220;fight and kill Ethiopians,&#8221; the department said. He pleaded guilty to providing material support to terrorists in 2009.
Under federal law, individuals can be denaturalized if they join a terrorist organization within five years of becoming a citizen. Authorities may also pursue denaturalization in cases where citizenship was obtained through fraud or misrepresentation.
Another case involves Khalid Ouazzani, 48, who prosecutors say &#8220;was planning—with two men later convicted of trying to bomb the New York Stock Exchange—ways to support Al-Qaeda&#8221; as early as 2003, roughly three years before he became a naturalized U.S. citizen. The Trump administration is now pursuing a denaturalization case against him.
In 2007, one year after obtaining his citizenship, the Morocco-born man allegedly &#8220;sent Al-Qaeda tens of thousands of dollars in financial support with money that he had fraudulently obtained.&#8221;
The next year, &#8220;he took an oath of allegiance&#8221; to the terror group. Ouazzani pleaded guilty to bank fraud, money laundering, and providing material support to Al-Qaeda in 2010.
Ali Yousif Ahmed, 48, an Iraqi national, is also facing denaturalization. He came to the United States in 2009, claiming he and his family were attacked by Al-Qaeda, according to the Justice Department. The Iraqi government contacted the federal government in 2019, requesting that Ahmed be extradited to face criminal charges for the premeditated murder of two Iraqi police officers in 2006.
Ahmed was accused of murdering the officers while serving as an Al-Qaeda leader.
The Justice Department accused Ahmed of &#8220;illegally&#8221; obtaining American citizenship by lying &#8220;under oath about his criminal and family history.&#8221;
The Trump administration&#8217;s latest crackdown commenced as part of President Donald Trump’s “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-opens-door-to-yanking-citizenship-as-part-of-war-on-fraud" target="_blank" rel="noopener">war on fraud</a>,” with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) “prioritizing those who’ve unlawfully obtained U.S. citizenship — especially under the previous administration” for denaturalization.
The Trump administration gave USCIS orders to pursue “100-200 denaturalization cases per month,” <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/17/us/politics/trump-immigration-citizenship-denaturalization.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to The New York Times.

TOPSHOT-SOMALIA-UNREST-SHABAB

Trump Admin Targets Citizenship Of Naturalized Terror Suspects

citizenship

Immigration

Todd Blanche

The northern border has historically been open season for smugglers, who exploit its harsh terrain and wall-less boundary for profit.
Edgar Sanchez-Solis, 23, himself an illegal immigrant from Mexico, helped smuggle hundreds of others through the U.S.-Canada border on a weekly basis for years. Now, the Daily Wire can exclusively report that he&#8217;s pleaded guilty to his role in international conspiracy.
The illegal immigrant led the smuggling operation while living in Kansas City, Missouri, according to court documents.
The group brought hundreds of illegal immigrants from Mexico, Central America, and South America, into the United States through New York each week, <a href="https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/ice-leads-investigation-4-mexican-nationals-charged-international-smuggling" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Each migrant presented thousands of dollars in profits for the smuggling ring.
Once his customers crossed into the United States, Sanchez-Solis&#8217; organization sent drivers to pick them up and take them farther south, according to court documents. The group also instructed the smuggled illegal immigrants &#8220;to make testimonial videos touting the enterprise’s services,&#8221; Matthew R. Galeotti, Head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, previously said.
For Sanchez-Solis&#8217; part, he directed and participated in the smuggling operations with other top dogs in the group.
The smuggling organization also engaged in dangerous, high-speed chases with border agents on several occasions.
Smugglers set off a Border Patrol sensor in Franklin County and fled the scene at a high rate of speed in April 2023. Border Patrol caught up to them and stopped the car, apprehending the smugglers, who had seven adults and three children in tow.
During one of the smuggling operations in May 2023, Border Patrol engaged in a high-speed chase with a van loaded with illegal immigrants. The agents had to call off the pursuit because of the dangers it posed to the community.
The Clinton County Sheriff&#8217;s Office eventually stopped the vehicle using a tire-deflation device, but the smugglers and their customers fled on foot.
In August 2023, another smuggling vehicle struck a motorist while fleeing Border Patrol agents in Plattsburgh, New York. The driver and six illegal immigrants fled the scene of the collision on foot and were eventually caught.
Sanchez-Solis pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit alien smuggling and five counts of alien smuggling for commercial advantage and private financial gain, according to the Justice Department. He now awaits sentencing.
He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years behind bars and a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Three other Mexican illegal immigrants were arrested and charged alongside Sanchez-Solis. Two of them were previously deported from the United States, according to ICE.

Untitled design – 2026-05-07T104619.832

EXCLUSIVE: How An Illegal Immigrant Smuggled In Thousands More, And Got Rich Doing It

Canada

Illegal Immigration

Smuggling

Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-KY) told reporters on Wednesday that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick was not &#8220;100% truthful&#8221; about his past relationship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Lutnick arrived on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning for a closed-door deposition before the Oversight Committee to answer questions on his relationship with Epstein. Before the deposition began, Comer took questions from reporters and said the Commerce secretary has not been fully honest in some of his past statements on Epstein.
Lutnick claimed last year that he vowed never to go near Epstein after a strange encounter with the financier in 2005. Photos released by the Justice Department in its trove of Epstein documents, however, show Lutnick with the disgraced financier on his infamous private island in 2012 — four years after Epstein pleaded guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.
&#8220;We&#8217;ll let the American people judge whether the credibility was damaged,&#8221; Comer <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/2052041254582497381">said</a> before the Oversight Committee hearing began. &#8220;But at the end of the day, I haven&#8217;t seen wrongdoing in the email correspondence. But he wasn&#8217;t 100% truthful with whether or not he had been on the island.&#8221;
<div id="attachment_1053025" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1053025" class="wp-image-1053025 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602-1024x576.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/03/Untitled-design-2026-03-03T151929.602.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Credit: Justice Department</div>
Comer added that the Oversight Committee would ask Lutnick more questions about his visit to Little Saint James.
&#8220;We haven&#8217;t talked to too many people that have admitted they&#8217;ve been on the island,&#8221; he <a href="https://x.com/cspan/status/2052041606396563913?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2052041606396563913%7Ctwgr%5Eaf21514ed8f52cc35fd510d98c61f2c482bcb7a4%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mediaite.com%2Fmedia%2Fnews%2Fjames-comer-hits-lutnick-ahead-of-epstein-testimony-he-wasnt-100-truthful-about-island-visit%2F">said</a>. &#8220;It&#8217;s my understanding he wasn&#8217;t on the island very long. He was there with his wife and kids, but we&#8217;ll see what he says.&#8221;
The Oversight Committee chairman promised to release the full transcript of Lutnick&#8217;s deposition in the coming days.
During a Senate hearing in February, Lutnick <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-cabinet-secretary-confirms-he-visited-epsteins-island-with-wife-and-children-in-2012">confirmed</a> he visited Epstein&#8217;s Little Saint James Island and said he was accompanied by his wife and four children, as well as another couple and their children. Lutnick told senators that he had lunch with Epstein on his island for around an hour while he was on vacation with his family. He has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein&#8217;s sex crimes.
The Commerce secretary has been ripped by Democrats and some Republicans who expressed concern about his previous storyline.
“It’s now clear that Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been lying about his relationship with Epstein. He said he had no interactions with Epstein after 2005, yet we now know they were in business together. Lutnick must resign or be fired. And he must answer our questions,” Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the ranking Democratic member on the House Oversight Committee, said in February.
Lutnick is the first Trump administration official to be questioned under oath before the Oversight Committee on the Epstein investigation. The Commerce secretary went in for a closed-door deposition voluntarily.
&#8220;I&#8217;ve been on the Oversight Committee 10 years, and there&#8217;s never been a chairman [who has brought] in Cabinet secretaries of their own party,&#8221; Comer added.
Former U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is also slated to appear before the committee for questioning on the Epstein case in the coming weeks. Bondi was fired as attorney general in early April as President Donald Trump was frustrated with the lack of criminal prosecutions of Democrats who committed lawfare against him. Bondi also faced scrutiny over how she handled the Epstein investigation.

Howard Lutnick

House Oversight Chair Says Lutnick ‘Wasn’t 100% Truthful’ About Epstein Ahead Of Hearing

House Oversight Committee

James Comer

Jeffrey Epstein

A former FBI official who oversaw the agency&#8217;s production of an infamous memo targeting “Radical Traditional Catholics” joked about how it would make good fodder for a memoir, according to emails viewed by The Daily Wire. 
Stanley Meador, who now works in Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger&#8217;s administration, ran the FBI’s Richmond field office when it produced an <a href="https://judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/republicans-judiciary.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/fbi-anti-catholic-memo.pdf">internal memo</a> attempting to link traditional Catholic beliefs to criminal activity. After backlash to the memo, Meador downplayed it and suggested that one of the agents who produced it include it in their memoirs, according to emails released by the Justice Department. 
“No apology needed [redacted],” he wrote on July 7, 2023. “I’m glad you are on the team and thankful for your commitment. Keep that head up, this too shall pass. Will make for a great chapter in your memoirs some day!”
<div id="attachment_1086743" style="width: 1601px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1086743" class="size-full wp-image-1086743" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.05.35-PM.png" alt="" width="1591" height="495" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.05.35-PM.png 1591w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.05.35-PM-300x93.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.05.35-PM-1024x319.png 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.05.35-PM-768x239.png 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Screenshot-2026-04-29-at-2.05.35-PM-1536x478.png 1536w" sizes=" (max-width: 1591px) 100vw, 1591px" />Justice Department report.</div>
The emails were included in a Justice Department report released Thursday morning on anti-Christian bias from the federal government during the Biden administration. 
The document, referred to as the “Richmond Memo,” relied on the leftist Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), now facing criminal wire fraud charges, to link racially or ethnically motivated violent extremists with what the agency called “radical-traditionalist” Catholic beliefs. The memo was retracted shortly after it was leaked in February 2023, generating outrage from Republican lawmakers and Catholics. 
Meador’s July 7 email came after one of the FBI agents involved in crafting the memo apologized over the document.
“I am terribly sorry for all that everyone has had to endure as a result of this product. Each person negatively impacted is a trusted colleague and/or supervisor whom I deeply respect and admire,” the unidentified FBI employee wrote. “I feel personally responsible as I should have known the potential DT pitfalls and the susceptibility to politicization surrounding this paper better than anyone. Thanks for supporting us and please accept my sincerest apologies.”
Meador, now <a href="https://www.governor.virginia.gov/cabinet/name-1081469-en.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Secretary</a> of Public Safety and Homeland Security in Virginia, was removed from the FBI in June 2025 after serving for over two decades with the agency. 
The Richmond Memo was an FBI product known as a “Domain Perspective,” or an internal threat assessment document. The document argued that the FBI should pursue threat mitigation based on the interest in violent extremists in so-called “radical-traditionalist Catholic (RTC) ideology.” Using SPLC data, the FBI identified nine of these groups.
Other documents included in Thursday&#8217;s Justice Department report showed that intelligence officers inside the FBI expressed concerns about the citation of the SPLC, but were ignored by leadership. 
“This product cites more subjective information from SPLC (a list of hate groups) without examining SPLC’s threshold for determining a hate group or explanation of how that threshold aligns with the FBI’s definition,” one intelligence officer wrote. “This product’s Source Summary Statement does not address factors that would affect the quality and credibility of SPLC as a source for subjective information, such as it previously issuing apologies and retracting its naming of individuals or groups as extremist.”
The DOJ wrote in its anti-Christian bias report that the FBI used “an unsubstantiated claim by the Southern Poverty Law Center that several traditional Catholic churches were ‘hate groups’ — as justification to launch a two-pronged attack against traditional Catholics.”
“FBI Richmond thus assessed that traditional Catholics and racially motivated violent extremists may share ‘common cause’ on issues of ‘abortion rights, immigration, affirmative action, and LGBTQ protections,’” the DOJ wrote Thursday. “In an appendix, the Domain Perspective cited to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s identification of radical traditional Catholics.”
As criticism mounted, former President Joe Biden&#8217;s FBI Director Christopher Wray said the Richmond Memo did &#8220;not reflect FBI standards.”
“We do not conduct investigations based on religious affiliation or practices, full stop,” Wray said. “We have also now ordered our inspection division to take a look at how this happened and try to figure out how we can make sure something like this doesn’t happen again.”
In an interview with the task force investigating anti-Christian bias, FBI Director Kash Patel said his team did a deep dive into the Richmond Memo. 
“We came to learn that companies like the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League were out there working with the FBI, giving them false information to generate a memo that allowed law enforcement a [] &#8216;justification&#8217; to go after and attack people of faith,” Patel said. 
The DOJ report also details how the Biden administration targeted pro-life Christians for peaceful protests and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-biden-partnered-with-abortion-activists-to-track-and-imprison-pro-lifers?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=BREAKING%3A+How+Biden+Partnered+With+Abortion+Activists+To+Track+And+Imprison+Pro-Lifers">outlines</a> other Biden-era policies that suppressed Christian expression.
The release of the report comes one day after The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-biden-doj-lawyers-fantasized-about-prosecuting-catholic-nuns-emails-show?topStoryPosition=undefined&amp;author=Mary+Margaret+Olohan&amp;category=Exclusive&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=1&amp;rowHeadline=Top+Stories&amp;rowType=Top+Stories&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Biden+DOJ+Lawyers+Fantasized+About+Prosecuting+Catholic+Nuns%2C+Emails+Show">obtained text messages</a> from Biden-era DOJ prosecutors discussing their desires to target Catholic nuns. One prosecutor said he would &#8220;like to prosecute any nun who still wears the head habit,&#8221; when working on January 6-related cases.

MixCollage-29-Apr-2026-03-15-PM-9949

READ IT: The Internal ‘Joke’ That Followed The Biden-Era FBI Targeting Of Catholics

abigail spanberger

Biden Administration

Catholic Church

Christopher Wray

kash patel

Trump Administration

Virginia

The man arrested and charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump last weekend took a selfie in his hotel room and monitored updates on Trump&#8217;s travel to the Washington Hilton.
Just minutes before charging through a security checkpoint — armed with a shotgun, handgun, and knives — Allen was watching Trump&#8217;s movements and arming himself for the occasion, according to documents filed by the Justice Department on Wednesday.
The court <a href="https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/28083136/allen.pdf">documents</a> include a photo that 31-year-old Cole Allen took of himself in his Washington Hilton hotel room, showing how he&#8217;d armed himself for his planned attack on the White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner. The documents were submitted by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, as the Justice Department submitted requests to a judge to keep Allen behind bars as he awaits trial.
<div id="attachment_1086249" style="width: 1022px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1086249" class="wp-image-1086249 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T094114.136-1012x576.jpg" alt="" width="1012" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T094114.136-1012x576.jpg 1012w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T094114.136-300x171.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T094114.136-768x437.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T094114.136.jpg 1200w" sizes=" (max-width: 1012px) 100vw, 1012px" />Credit: DOJ</div>
The items numbered by prosecutors in the photo are believed to be an ammunition bag (item 1), shoulder holster (item 2), sheathed knife (item 3), and pliers and wire cutters (item 4). Authorities recovered an ammunition bag, knife, and pliers and wire cutters that are consistent with the items seen in the photo, according to prosecutors.
As he prepared for the attack in his hotel room, Allen monitored Trump&#8217;s movements on multiple websites, including Civic Tracker&#8217;s &#8220;Presidential Schedule&#8221; page, according to the Justice Department. At 8:27 p.m. Saturday, just a few minutes before leaving his room, Allen visited a media company&#8217;s website to view a video titled, &#8220;WATCH LIVE: President Trump, first lady en route to White House Correspondents’ Dinner,&#8221; the court documents state. On another website, Allen watched live media coverage of Trump getting out of his vehicle after arriving at the hotel for the White House Correspondents&#8217; Dinner, the documents add.
After leaving his hotel room around 8:30 p.m., Allen made his way toward the event. As he approached a security checkpoint, Allen threw off a long black coat he was wearing that concealed his shotgun and then charged through the security checkpoint and headed in the direction of a staircase leading to the ballroom where the dinner was being held.
&#8220;As the defendant did so, he held a shotgun in both hands in a raised position parallel to the ground. A USSS officer observed the defendant fire the shotgun in the direction of the stairs leading down to the ballroom,&#8221; The Justice Department states. &#8220;USSS officer and others at the checkpoint heard the gunshot. The USSS officer drew his service weapon and fired five times at the defendant. The defendant fell to the ground, was restrained by law enforcement, and was placed under arrest.&#8221;
Allen was not hit by any of the gunfire, but he suffered a minor knee injury, according to the court documents. Federal prosecutors did not say that Allen&#8217;s shot struck anyone. The Secret Service agent who was hit was protected by a bulletproof vest.
The Mossberg 12-gauge pump-action shotgun recovered by authorities after the attack contained &#8220;one spent cartridge in the barrel and eight unfired cartridges in the magazine tube,&#8221; according to prosecutors.
&#8220;An additional six unfired cartridges were attached with Velcro to the shotgun in a detachable ammunition carrier, and the defendant possessed another ten unfired cartridges in a small leather bag,&#8221; the court documents state.
Authorities also recovered a Rock Island Armory 1911 .38 caliber pistol, which was loaded with ten rounds of ammunition, and two additional handgun magazines loaded with nine rounds each.
<div id="attachment_1086279" style="width: 659px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1086279" class="wp-image-1086279 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T100517.199-649x576.jpg" alt="" width="649" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T100517.199-649x576.jpg 649w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T100517.199-300x266.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T100517.199-768x681.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T100517.199.jpg 770w" sizes=" (max-width: 649px) 100vw, 649px" />Credit: DOJ</div>
<div id="attachment_1086285" style="width: 574px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1086285" class="wp-image-1086285 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T100644.724-564x576.jpg" alt="" width="564" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T100644.724-564x576.jpg 564w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T100644.724-294x300.jpg 294w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/04/Untitled-design-2026-04-29T100644.724.jpg 669w" sizes=" (max-width: 564px) 100vw, 564px" />Credit: DOJ</div>
The Justice Department argues that Allen, a California native, traveled across the country with the intention to assassinate President Trump, adding, &#8220;Had the defendant achieved his intended outcome, he would have brought about one of the darkest days in American history.&#8221; In their request for Allen to be held behind bars, prosecutors also pointed to his manifesto, in which he stated that he was willing to kill anyone at the dinner who stood in the way of his objective to murder top administration officials.
Allen is charged with attempting to assassinate the president of the United States, transportation of a firearm and ammunition in interstate commerce with intent to commit a felony, and discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence. If convicted, he faces life in prison.

Cole Allen / Donald Trump

Chilling Hotel Selfie Shows Suspect Minutes Before He Attempted To Murder Trump

assassination attempt

Donald Trump

Jeanine Pirro

Media

Politics

After finding out that the Justice Department official who spearheaded prosecutions against pro-life activists had been fired, one of the defendants imprisoned by the Biden administration over a peaceful protest celebrated and said he would like to attend some “firing parties.”
Calvin Zastrow, 65, who spent 100 days in federal prison for his role in a non-violent protest at an abortion facility in Tennessee, told The Daily Wire he was pleased to hear some of those involved in Biden’s crackdown on pro-lifers had been held accountable. Zastrow’s comments came after the Justice Department <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-biden-partnered-with-abortion-activists-to-track-and-imprison-pro-lifers?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=11&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=BREAKING%3A+How+Biden+Partnered+With+Abortion+Activists+To+Track+And+Imprison+Pro-Lifers" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> a bombshell report detailing how Biden officials worked closely with pro-abortion groups to monitor, track, and prosecute pro-life activists.
Before the report was released, it was announced that Sanjay Patel, the official who led the prosecutions against the pro-lifers, had been fired.
“I want to come to some firing parties, I think that&#8217;s fun to watch. That&#8217;d be a good time to celebrate,” Zastrow said. “I&#8217;d like to see accountability on the unnamed FBI agents who filed reports on us, and we still don&#8217;t know their names, who followed us, who tracked us, who messed with our family.”
Zastrow, a devout Christian who travels the country engaging in evangelism and pro-life events, was convicted in January 2024 of violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, a Clinton-era statute that makes it a crime to block the entrances of abortion facilities. He and 22 other pro-life activists were <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/pardoned-pro-life-activist-says-hes-running-on-adrenaline-and-the-holy-ghost-after-trump-pardon" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pardoned</a> by President Donald Trump his first week in office.
The DOJ report revealed that the Biden administration weaponized the FACE Act by closely working with radical groups like the National Abortion Federation to keep tabs on pro-life activists. Zastrow said he would like to see FACE repealed, saying that “the federal government shouldn&#8217;t have this big of a club.”
Emails revealed earlier this month showed abortion groups were tracking Zastrow and were working closely with Patel.
In one email included in the DOJ’s report from September 2021, Patel reached out to the National Abortion Federation to ask if they knew Zastrow’s travel plans. “Do you have any info on Zastrow and Co’s travel to Montana?” Patel wrote.
Zastrow said he wasn’t surprised that pro-abortion groups tracked him and his family, saying that had been going on for years. Yet he did agree with one thing the pro-abortionists said about him and his fellow activists.
“They&#8217;re trying to make us to be wild-eyed, religious zealots,” he said. “And that&#8217;s because we are wild-eyed, religious zealots for Jesus.”
Paul Vaughn, a Tennessee father who was placed on house arrest after being <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/a-glorious-struggle-pro-life-father-of-11-targeted-by-biden-awaits-sentencing-over-pro-life-protest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">convicted</a> on the FACE Act, also welcomed the report from the Justice Department.
“We’re thrilled the truth is coming out,&#8221; he told The Daily Wire. &#8220;We knew that the Biden DOJ was acting inappropriately and maliciously behind the scenes.&#8221;
Vaughn’s home was raided by armed FBI agents without warning in 2022 and his young children were outside getting ready for school.
“We had no warning, we had no knowledge that we were even being investigated, let alone charged, until they showed up and arrested me at gunpoint in front of my children,” he said. “It&#8217;s just wickedness. It was designed to instill fear in a segment of the population that is pro-life that believes abortion is murder, and it believes it shouldn&#8217;t be a part of a civil society.”
In the days leading up to Vaughn’s arrest by the FBI, emails showed that the Justice Department officials discussed the optics of arresting the defendants rather than allowing self-surrender. In one email, Patel wrote that the “unspoken reason” the FBI was going to stage dramatic arrests rather than allow self-surrender was because “the FBI really likes to make arrests.”
Steve Crampton, a lawyer with the Thomas More Society who represented many of the pro-life defendants, praised the Trump administration for its extensive investigation into Biden’s use of the FACE Act.
“It is just extraordinary to me that the Trump DOJ has taken such pains to right the egregious wrongs of the previous administration,” Crampton told The Daily Wire. “I think this is, you know, the word unprecedented is overused these days, but this is unprecedented.”
He said the hundreds of pages of documents included in the report showed that the Biden administration engaged in selective prosecution, discrimination on the basis of religion, and discrimination on the basis of political allegiances.
Part of the Biden administration’s novel strategy against the pro-life defendants was to pair the FACE Act charges with conspiracy against rights, a felony charge that can be punished with over a decade in prison.
One email flagged by Crampton revealed a Justice Department official saying that the conspiracy against rights charge was specifically being used to take away the gun rights of defendants. An official said that prosecutors were “inclined” to bring the conspiracy charge so that the defendants in Detroit would have felonies and would be &#8220;barred from possessing firearms.”
Crampton added that the emails revealed the political bias of the Justice Department under Biden.
“It just exposes the ideological underpinnings of the DOJ, and it&#8217;s a love affair, really, with the poor abortion movement,” he said. “It just kind of makes my skin crawl to think that these are the folks that are charged with and empowered with the full weight of the federal government to apply the law in an even handed way.”
He said he was grateful to see Patel and three other FACE Act prosecutors cut from the DOJ on Monday.
“It&#8217;s astonishing to read and to know that this is the way it ought to be, trying to restore the rule of law is an awfully difficult undertaking after it&#8217;s been trampled underfoot by the Biden administration,” Crampton said. “But God bless President Trump and his team for trying to restore some faith in the system.”

IMG_20240820_065228419_HDR

Pro-Lifer Imprisoned By Biden Responds To DOJ Shakeup: ‘I Want To Come To Some Firing Parties’

Abortion

FACE Act

The United States Department of Justice announced on Tuesday that Dr. David Morens, once a top aide to Dr. Anthony Fauci, was indicted for his role in hiding data on the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Morens, according to a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-senior-niaid-official-indicted-concealing-federal-records-during-covid-19-pandemic-0">press release</a> from the DOJ, was &#8220;charged with conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal, or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting.&#8221;
Morens served as a top adviser in the NIAID’s (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Office of the Director for 16 years, from 2006-2022 — where Fauci served as the director from 1984-2022.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/fauci-unmasked">RELATED: FAUCI UNMASKED</a>
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche issued a statement on the indictment, saying, &#8220;These allegations represent a profound abuse of trust at a time when the American people needed it most — during the height of a global pandemic. As alleged in the indictment, Dr. Morens and his co-conspirators deliberately concealed information and falsified records in an effort to suppress alternative theories regarding the origins of COVID-19. Government officials have a solemn duty to provide honest, well-grounded facts and advice in service of the public interest — not to advance their own personal or ideological agendas.&#8221;
&#8220;Circumventing records protocols with the intention of avoiding transparency is something that will not be tolerated by this FBI,&#8221; FBI Director Kash Patel added in a separate statement. &#8220;Not only did Morens allegedly engage in the illegal obfuscation of his communications, but he received kickbacks for doing so. If you have engaged in activity conspiring against the United States, we will not stop until you face justice.&#8221;
At NIAID, much of the information the so-called &#8220;experts&#8221; had was funneled through channels that Morens either had access to or influence over, and the indictment alleges that he used that position to manipulate the data that eventually became public knowledge with regard to COVID-19 and its origins. Morens allegedly accomplished this in part by steering grant funding away from research that might support theories that strayed from the accepted narrative. He and others involved also allegedly conspired in writing to <a href="https://nypost.com/2024/05/22/us-news/explosive-emails-show-top-nih-adviser-deleted-records-used-secret-back-channels-to-help-fauci-ecohealth-evade-covid-transparency/">hide their efforts</a> to manipulate public data lest someone use the Freedom of Information Act to obtain access to it in the future.
&#8220;[I] learned from our foia [sic] lady here how to make emails disappear after I am foia’d [sic] but before the search starts,” Morens explained in a Feb. 24, 2021, email. &#8220;Plus I deleted most of those earlier emails after sending them to gmail [sic].&#8221;
“[T]here is no worry about FOIAs. I can either send stuff to Tony on his private gmail [sic], or hand it to him at work or at his house,” Morens wrote in April of 2021. “He is too smart to let colleagues send him stuff that could cause trouble.&#8221;
In another email sent the same year, he advised the addressees to only send such communications directly to his Gmail account to avoid the extra hassle of forwarding and deleting them from his official accounts.
Even in June of 2020, Morens was eyeing the possibility that certain communications could potentially raise red flags. &#8220;We are all smart enough to know to never have smoking guns, and if we did we wouldn’t put them in emails and if we found them we’d delete them,&#8221; he wrote at the time.<iframe style="aspect-ratio: 9/16; max-width: 220px; display: flex; justify-content: center; width: 100%; margin: 20px auto 5px; border: 0;" src="https://player.mux.com/006T3IDuGH7D01ET64iu024a5HPHryXvn2g?metadata-video-content-type=short&amp;metadata-video-id=8cfcc1ad-ba0c-4820-a397-31cc59dfbbf9&amp;metadata-video-stream-type=on-demand&amp;metadata-video-title=DOJ%20charges%20Fauci%20adviser%20as%20email%20trail%20could%20reopen%20COVID%20origin%20debate&amp;poster=https%3A%2F%2Fdailywireplus-v2.imgix.net%2Fimages%2Fshorts%2F87c15e82-bded-489c-b40e-b660277b9b46.jpg&amp;autoplay=false&amp;accent-color=%23DB3D3B&amp;primary-color=%23ffffff&amp;secondary-color=%23000000" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
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According to the DOJ press release, Morens could face up to five years in prison for the charge of conspiracy against the United States — as well as up to 20 years on each count of destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations. He could also face up to three years for each count of concealment, removal, or mutilation of records. His sentence, should he be convicted, would be determined by a federal judge following consultation of U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.
The case was investigated by the FBI in conjunction with the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services, and will be prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph R. Baldwin and Bijon A. Mostoufi for the District of Maryland.

fauci_adviser

Fauci Adviser Bragged About Making COVID Emails ‘Disappear.’ The DOJ Just Indicted Him.

Top Fauci Adviser Indicted As 'Co-Conspirator' In Scuttling COVID Origins Data

Anthony Fauci

COVID-19

Crime

Pandemic

U.S.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-wing organization that has found itself as the subject of a massive federal indictment, previously urged the Biden administration to release a transgender immigrant convicted of sexually assaulting a child, according to documents obtained by the Oversight Project.
In a 2021 <a href="https://static.itsyourgov.org/2024-00001_Docs_625_Released_(1_Of_3).pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">email</a> obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request, a then-SPLC attorney asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to &#8220;release&#8221; the detainee &#8220;as soon as possible&#8221; due to the transgender-identifying woman&#8217;s &#8220;hypertension and severe anxiety,&#8221; citing a COVID-era lawsuit that resulted in the release of some immigrants with certain comorbidities.
The SPLC attorney argued that the individual, a female who identifies as a male, &#8220;does not fall within the administration&#8217;s public safety enforcement priority&#8221; and must be released due to trauma she had experienced related to her transgender identity.
The immigrant, who held a Green Card, had previously served more than eight years behind bars for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old girl. At the time, the transgender-identifying woman was 19-years-old. They had a two-year online relationship before the woman drove to meet the minor victim in 2011.
At the time, the Filipino national learned that the girl had lied about her age and revealed that she was just 14 years old. Still, the transgender-identifying woman proceeded with the meet-up where &#8220;they engaged in sexual conduct,&#8221; the email stated.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
In 2021, DHS got an e-mail from the Southern Poverty Law Center, Mich Gonzalez (pronouns el/he/they), requesting an early release for this biological woman who engaged in statutory rape of a minor girl. <a href="https://t.co/iGj3er47vn">pic.twitter.com/iGj3er47vn</a>
— Oversight Project (@ItsYourGov) <a href="https://twitter.com/ItsYourGov/status/1953500608759312459?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 7, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;Although conviction on its face appears grave and justly concerning,&#8221; the SPLC attorney wrote to Homeland Security officials, adding that there was a need to present &#8220;additional context&#8221; that included the detainee&#8217;s feeling of isolation as a child &#8220;with respect to his gender identity.&#8221;
In a July 6, 2021, email, a Homeland Security official responded that &#8220;career officials determined&#8221; that the detainee &#8220;should be released&#8221; with a tracking device.
The SPLC, which has long advocated against so-called hate groups, was the subject of a federal indictment announced Tuesday that accused the group of secretly giving millions of dollars to white supremacist groups.
A grand jury indicted the SPLC on multiple counts of fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering over its informant practices, Justice Department officials announced late Tuesday.
The SPLC “secretly funneled more than $3 million in funds to white supremacist &amp; extremist groups,” such as Aryan Nations, members of the Ku Klux Klan, and a member of the leadership group that planned the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, the indictment said.
“It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said Tuesday.
The SPLC has labeled its political opponents as racists and maintains a “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/parental-rights-groups-now-on-hate-map-with-kkk-southern-poverty-law-center-decides?author=Mairead+Elordi&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Parental+Rights+Groups+Now+On+%E2%80%98Hate+Map%E2%80%99+With+KKK%2C+Southern+Poverty+Law+Center+Decides" target="_blank" rel="noopener">hate map</a>” that places the conservative parental rights group Moms for Liberty alongside the Ku Klux Klan.

Untitled design – 2026-04-22T135529.009

Southern Poverty Law Center Pressured Biden Admin To Release Convicted Trans Sex Offender

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)

For years, the legacy media has uncritically pointed to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) as an authoritative source on extremism, frequently relying on its designations of &#8220;hate lists&#8221; in coverage of political and cultural issues, going so far as including Christian groups alongside neo-Nazi organizations and the KKK.
On Tuesday, however, the Justice Department accused the SPLC of secretly using donor money to pay leaders within white supremacist groups. The SPLC, which labels organizations like the Alliance Defending Freedom as a hate group, was charged with multiple financial crimes, including money laundering and bank fraud. 
Prosecutors say the SPLC directed more than $3 million between 2014 and 2023 to such individuals while obscuring the transactions through accounts tied to &#8220;a series of fictitious entities.&#8221;
The charges come years after legacy media outlets have repeatedly cited the SPLC in reporting on conservative organizations and activists. 
The New York Times, for example, frequently refers to SPLC experts in articles on conservative figures and movements, including the late Charlie Kirk, whose Turning Point USA was labeled a “hate group.” In an article published on the day of Kirk’s assassination, the Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/10/us/politics/trump-charlie-kirk-ally.html?searchResultPosition=12">wrote</a> that his “rhetoric was long cast as racist, xenophobic and extreme by groups that study hate speech, including the Southern Poverty Law Center.”
The paper&#8217;s obituary of conservative activist David Horowitz also <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/30/us/politics/david-horowitz-dead.html?searchResultPosition=28">quoted</a> the SPLC, which labeled him “the godfather of the modern anti-Muslim movement.”
Other outlets have similarly relied on SPLC reports and designations. When the conservative grassroots group Moms for Liberty was added to the list in 2023, NPR <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/06/07/1180486760/splc-moms-for-liberty-extremist-group">reported </a>that the SPLC compared the parental rights group to “pro-segregationist parent groups.” CBS News, in its coverage, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/gov-desantis-appoints-moms-for-liberty-co-founder-to-state-commission-on-ethics/?intcid=CNM-00-10abd1h">pointed</a> to the SPLC&#8217;s claims that the group had a history of &#8220;harassing community members, advancing anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation and fighting to scrub diverse and inclusive material from lesson plans.&#8221;
The SPLC&#8217;s designation of groups opposed to transgender ideology on kids or that hold to traditional Christian beliefs has received much coverage over the years.
One article from NBC <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-news/groups-opposed-gay-rights-rake-millions-states-debate-anti-lgbtq-bills-rcna21016">cited</a> the SPLC to identify groups like the Alliance Defending Freedom, the Family Research Council, and the American College of Pediatricians as the core of the “anti-gay movement.&#8221; Similarly, the Washington Post <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2024/10/09/colorado-flag-program/">turned</a> to the SPLC to label the group Gays Against Groomers as “an anti-LGBTQ+ hate group.”
Groups concerned about Sharia law have also faced criticism from the SPLC. An article from NBC <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/smart-facts/what-shariah-law-n859981">pointed</a> to the SPLC as a source in a report about momentum to ban Sharia law in the United States. It noted that one anti-Sharia group had been labeled a hate group by the SPLC. 
The Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/22/white-nationalist-hate-extremist-groups">framed</a> the SPLC&#8217;s 2024 hate list as driven by people critical of diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. 
Reporting in 2017 on the annual hate group list, CNN ran a headline titled “Here are all the active hate groups where you live,” providing a “hate map” that included groups that held traditional Christian beliefs. They later changed that headline to “The Southern Poverty Law Center’s list of hate groups” after <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/302442/cnn-modifies-story-on-the-southern-poverty-law-centers-bogus-list-of-hate-groups-adds-editors-note/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">complaints</a> from conservatives.

The New York Times Co. Post An 82 Percent Decline In 2nd Quarter Profi

Legacy Media Relied On SPLC’s Hate Rankings To Bash Conservatives

Legacy Media

New York Times

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