A leader in the Michigan governor’s race had volunteered at and served on the board of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which was recently indicted for 11 counts of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson investigated hate groups and hate crimes for the SPLC, according to her bio at Wayne State University.
The SPLC allegedly paid millions of dollars to hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, the Aryan Nation, and the National Alliance between 2014 and 2023, according to the indictment.
“The SPLC's paid informants ("field sources") engaged in the active promotion of racist groups at the same time that the SPLC was denouncing the same groups on its website," the indictment said. "The SPLC also had a field source who was a member of the online leadership chat group that planned the 2017 "Unite the Right" event in Charlottesville, Virginia. That field source made racist postings under the supervision of the SPLC and helped coordinate transportation to the event for several attendees.”
The SPLC allegedly paid informants in racist groups to coordinate events and then used those groups' events to fundraise money to fight racism. The indictment raises questions about how much Benson knew about the group's alleged crimes.
In 2015, Benson said that she was “very proud” to be on the SPLC’s board.
On Detroit PBS in 2015, Jocelyn Benson said she was "very proud" to be on the Southern Poverty Law Center board: pic.twitter.com/DZovlsDgUA
— The Midwesterner (@Th_Midwesterner) April 24, 2026
Benson Oversaw SPLC While It Allegedly Funded Nazis @downi75 https://t.co/WWsLerLwqU pic.twitter.com/8oEObMdadY
— Michigan Enjoyer (@mich_enjoyer) April 23, 2026
Benson resigned from the SPLC board in 2019, according to a 2019 tweet from the Michigan Department of State.
Upon taking office as Michigan Secretary of State, Secretary Benson informed SPLC leadership that she would be stepping down from the board. Her responsibilities in Michigan are her priority and focus.
— Michigan Department of State (@MichSoS) March 26, 2019
🚨WHAT DID SHE KNOW?
— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) April 24, 2026
Michigan Sec of State Jocelyn Benson was on the SPLC board when it was funding white nationalists. She’s touted her history with SPLC while running for governor. I asked her campaign for comment: no response.
🧵1/9https://t.co/KgFzgdJMEx
Jocelyn Benson was appointed to the Board of the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2014—the same year that the Department of Justice says the SPLC started paying the KKK and other extremist groups.
— Michigan GOP (@MIGOP) April 24, 2026
Jocelyn Benson—the current Michigan Secretary of State and leading Democrat… pic.twitter.com/IwxYTSRM1b
In today’s episode of truth is stranger than fiction: Jocelyn Benson’s cozy ties with the Southern Poverty Law Center. https://t.co/w7S1R8q2DS pic.twitter.com/KjtWeJ3Epe
— John James (@JohnJamesMI) April 22, 2026
I am finding the entire discussion surrounding the SPLC revelations to be insane. We can argue the specific charges, but how can anyone defend what they were doing?
— AG (@AGHamilton29) April 25, 2026
The defense some people have settled on here is that they were paying informants, like law enforcement sometimes…
Other groups have called on the SPLC to lose its tax-exempt status.
🚨 JUST NOW: Calls are surging for the Southern Poverty Law Center to have its tax exempt status FULLY REVOKED
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) April 25, 2026
YES! They scammed America, funded white supremacist hoaxes to the tune of millions of dollars and got CAUGHT in fraud
The SPLC must be ripped apart and never given the… pic.twitter.com/eoOnTA3uP8