The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has filed a lawsuit under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, in the District of Columbia federal court, against Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) president Richard Cohen and Heidi Beirich, who runs SPLC’s “Hatewatch” blog.


SPLC has labeled CIS as a “hate group” and it has lost financial support because of the label. They are the first to challenge SPLC under RICO, bringing a racketeering charge because they claim SPLC is committing wire fraud over the internet by falsely labeling CIS as a “hate group” with the intention to cause financial harm. An example of financial damages incurred include AmazonSmile’s removal of CIS from its charity program, citing SPLC’s label, as the reason. According to CIS, the removal from AmazonSmile cost them at least $10,000.

SPLC has used the “hate group” label in an attempt to destroy many organizations including Christian, pro-family, and conservative groups, such as Liberty Counsel. Their false labeling is defamatory and dangerous and has caused acts of violence against groups smeared with SPLC’s “hate label.” 

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