Former SPLC executive pleads not guilty in DOJ prosecution of nonprofit
Aug 25, 2026 | 4:36 pm ET
Description
The headquarters of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Alabama on February 8, 2023. Heidi Beirich, the former director of a covert program that paid confidential informants embedded with white supremacy groups, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to charges brought by the U.S. Department of Justice. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
A former Southern Poverty Law Center executive pleaded not guilty Tuesday to conspiracy charges of wire fraud and making false statements as part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s prosecution of the civil rights nonprofit.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Kelly F. Pate announced that Heidi Beirich, director of the Intelligence Project for SPLC, would plead not guilty during the arraignment Tuesday afternoon, held over videoconference. Beirich did not appear on the teleconference; her attorneys stood in for her.
DOJ charged SPLC in April with 11 counts of fraud over a paid informant system the organization began in the early 1980s to gather information on and disrupt the activities of white supremacist and extremist groups. DOJ alleges that the payments to the informants amounted to fraud on donors to the SPLC, citing the use of shell companies to pay them.
SPLC says the now-terminated program saved lives and that information gathered was shared with law enforcement, and has accused the Trump administration of prosecuting it for political purposes. The organization said the use of shell companies was essential to protecting the identities of its informants.
Beirich, who supervised the program from 2012 to 2019, was added as a defendant in a case two weeks ago after the federal government filed a superseding indictment that increased the number of charges to 14.
SPLC pleaded not guilty to all 14 counts and has requested the court impose additional rules pertaining to jury selection.
Pate scheduled the trial to begin on the same date as the trial for the SPLC on Oct. 5. However, Michael Proctor, Beirich’s attorney, said due to personal obligations he will not be ready for trial by that date and plans to request a trial start date in late January.
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama Kevin P. Davidson agreed to provide the evidence in the case for the purpose of discovery. The parties anticipate there would be pretrial motions in the case.
Montgomery
