Conservatives rejoice as the Southern Poverty Law Center announces mass layoffs, restructuring
“Far-left propaganda group SPLC is tanking,” former Arkansas Governor Huckabee posted on X. “About time! They lost their way years ago."
The Southern Poverty Law Center, a left-wing activist organization, has announced the layoff of more than 60 of its employees which are said to include top officials in its union – which was formed in 2019 to fight inequitable practices at the organization, Fox News Digital reported.
The SPLC is known for its cataloging of what it labels “hate groups” and “enabler” groups or individuals which has included numerous evangelicals, Catholic entities, conservative members of Congress, and the late radio icon Rush Limbaugh.
The SPLC Union publicly denounced the move by its employer to lay off a majority of its staff in a statement posted to X/Twitter late Wednesday, June 19.
“Today, @splcenter- an organization with nearly a billion dollars in reserves, given an F rating by CharityWatch for ‘hoarding’ donations - gutted its staff by a quarter,” the post said. “SPLC’s decision has a catastrophic impact on the organization’s work in support of immigrants seeking justice and its mission to dismantle white supremacy, strengthen intersectional movements and advance human rights through support of educators.”
Conservative media figures, including former Arkansas Governor and Southern Baptist pastor Mike Huckabee, denounced the organization online following the announcement. Huckabee criticized the SPLC for departing from its original mission.
“Far-left propaganda group SPLC is tanking,” Huckabee posted on X. “About time! They lost their way years ago. Sat on big bank account of millions & pretended to be fighting for ‘little guys.’ They are a hate group that labels others ‘hate group.’”
Jack Posobiec, a conservative political activist, responded to the news of the layoffs by posting a gif of former President Donald Trump wearing sunglasses and smiling to his more than 2 million followers on X.
SPLC workers were informed of the layoffs on Thursday, June 20. Margaret Huang, the organization’s president and CEO, told staff that she and the executive board had decided to restructure the organization. Some major SPLC projects, such as Learning for Justice, the Southeast Immigrant Freedom Initiative, and the Economic Justice Project, are shutting down, according to media reports.
The SPLC, founded in 1971, is a nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Ala., it is known for legal cases against white supremacist groups, for its classification of hate groups and other extremist organizations, and for promoting tolerance education programs. It was founded by Morris Dees, Joseph J. Levin Jr., and Julian Bond in 1971 as a civil rights law firm in Montgomery.