Statement from Congresswoman Beatty on the Department of Justice’s Attack on the Southern Poverty Law Center

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Today, U.S. Congresswoman Joyce Beatty (OH-03) issued the following statement regarding the Department of Justice's (DOJ) attack on the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC):

"I am deeply disturbed by the Department of Justice's decision to charge the Southern Poverty Law Center - a historic non-profit civil rights organization. Founded in 1971 in Montgomery, Alabama, this critical organization has been at the forefront of holding extremist hate groups accountable for their abuses against African Americans and played a significant role in confronting the Ku Klux Klan (KKK)."

"This abhorrent attack on the SPLC is part of Trump's systemic attempts to roll back hard-fought civil rights protections, in addition to the 150+ Executive Orders he has issued, that are explicitly weaponized against marginalized communities."

"Let me be clear - we will not be intimidated or silenced by this latest attack, and we will continue to fight against this Administration's repeated attempts to dismantle, gut, and suffocate civil rights protections for hardworking Americans. No one - not even the President of the United States - can erase the impact of the civil rights giants that came before us, and the advocates that continue to hold the line and fight for democracy, today."

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