A former Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) executive was arrested Wednesday on charges that she was secretly paying informants inside of white supremacist groups, CNN reported. Heidi Beirich, former director of SPLC's Intelligence Project, was arrested in California and is suspected to have been engaged in a romantic relationship with one of the key informants she was allegedly making payments to. 

Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed the arrest during a press conference, saying, "I believe she was part of the effort to open bank accounts in completely fictitious companies’ names and make payments to individuals for reasons that were not accurate as described." He reasserted that investigators and U.S. attorneys working the case would continue to do so following the initial indictment.

The SPLC was indicted by the Justice Department back in April, with numerous counts including wire fraud, conspiracy to submit false statements to banks, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. SPLC was known for placing mainstream conservative advocacy groups on its "target lists," equating organizations like Moms for Liberty with violent white supremacy groups. Beirich played a critical role in this, heading the hate-group tracking "Intelligence Project" within the SPLC.  

Prosecutors say that Beirich "oversaw payments of donors' money" to people inside those hate groups, including one "Imperial Wizard" in the KKK. She was also allegedly in a romantic relationship with one of the sources who infiltrated and stole documents from the white supremacy group called National Alliance. Beirich reportedly shared a bank account with the source, which contained $140,000 from SPLC payments. The same person has also been paid over $1 million by the SPLC, with payments dating back to 2007. 

Following the April indictment, the New York Post identified Beirich as one of the leaders associated with accusations that SPLC was opening bank accounts in fake company names to pay the leaders of certain hate groups. Her arrest comes as part of the larger indictment, which SPLC has fought vehemently.

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Beirich headed the SPLC Intelligence Project from 2012 to 2019, but her time with the organization dates back to 1999. After leaving in 2019, she co-founded her own "anti-hate" group called Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) in 2020. There, she served as the Chief Strategy Officer, and referred to herself on LinkedIn as an "expert on the American and European far right, including white supremacist, antisemitic, anti-immigrant, antigovernment and other extremist movements." 

Michael J. Proctor, Beirich's attorney, is denying the charges on her behalf, saying, "Dr. Beirich is innocent, and this case is without merit. We believe the charges against her and the SPLC are politically motivated, and Dr. Beirich has been targeted in this case because of the important work she has done to combat hate groups and extremists.” 

Beirich's current organization, GPAHE, has not yet spoken on the arrest.