Trump will ‘deliver’: RNC chair signals midterms confidence despite ‘doom and gloom’
EXCLUSIVE — Despite facing a rough political environment, Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters remains optimistic the GOP will successfully defend its slim Senate and razor-thin House majorities in this year’s midterm elections. “I think we’re on track. I still think that we have a chance to defy history and win the midterms,” Gruters said this week in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. Republicans — as the party currently in power — were already up against traditional political headwinds that lead to a loss of congressional seats. Add to that the challenging climate fueled by persistent inflation, rising gas prices tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran, and President Donald Trump’s underwater approval ratings. “I know it’s all doom and gloom out there, but we have the best messenger in President Trump that’s ever existed in the party.” The GOP is facing a low-propensity problem: MAGA voters who don’t always go to the polls when Trump’s name isn’t on the ballot. WHAT THE LATEST FOX NEWS NATIONAL POLL SAYS ABOUT DEMOCRATS AND REPUBLICANS The RNC chair, a longtime Trump ally who the president picked last summer to steer the national party committee, said Trump will be “barnstorming the country” later this year, adding, “I think what he’s doing is rallying people. I think he could deliver these low propensity voters over and over again.” The RNC currently holds a massive fundraising and cash-on-hand advantage over the rival Democratic National Committee (DNC). Gruters, who was a certified public accountant (CPA) before taking over the RNC and who still serves as a Florida state senator, touted his party’s “superior resources.” “If we focus on what’s important to us, and that’s the making sure we have the resources, making sure we have good candidates, following the president and his messaging, I think we will be successful,” he predicted. Deep concerns over inflation boosted Trump and Republicans to sweeping victories at the ballot box in 2024, as they won back the White House and Senate and kept their House majority. DEMOCRACY ’26: STAY UP TO DATE WITH THE FOX NEWS ELECTION HUB But Democrats say their decisive victories in November’s 2025 elections, and their overperformances in special elections and other ballot box showdowns last year and, so far this year, were fueled by their laser focus on affordability amid persistent inflation. The latest Fox News national poll indicates that just 28% of voters give Trump a thumbs up on handling inflation, which voters rank as the most pressing issue. The survey also says Democrats have an eight point advantage over Republicans when it comes to handling high prices. During his first year back in the White House, Trump regularly touted lower gas prices when asked about his administration’s efforts on affordability. But the surge in gas prices – the national average for regular is hovering slightly above $4 per gallon – due to the Trump-ordered attacks on Iran, has given the Democrats plenty of political fuel. “Donald Trump started a war that no one wanted, and now Americans are paying the price. Gas prices are soaring and families who were already struggling in Trump’s economy are forced to stretch their budgets even further while footing the bill for this war,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement. Martin charged that Trump “stuck everybody else with higher costs with no relief in sight. Americans literally can’t afford the Trump presidency.” TRUMP HITS KEY BATTLEGROUNDS TO SELL TAX CUTS, BOOST GOP AHEAD OF MIDTERMS But Gruters told Fox News Digital, “This conflict is temporary. I think the President knows exactly what he’s doing…I think by the time we hit November, I think we’re going to be in stride.” Democrats are energized, thanks to their ballot box victories and overperformances. “Nearly every week, we’re seeing red districts go blue with historic, game-changing victories up and down the ballot,” Martin emphasized. “We have momentum on our side, but we refuse to take a single day for granted. Democrats are all hands on deck ahead of November, because it’s time to send the Republicans packing.” Gruters isn’t buying the Democrats’ messaging. “These special elections are special for a reason,” he said. “The Democrats are motivated because of anger, because every time the president does something good, they get angrier.” And the RNC chair predicted, “by the time we hit the midterms, I think we’re going to be in full stride. We have great candidates, we have the right messaging, and I think we’ll be successful.”
Mississippi governor says he will call special session to redraw district maps after SCOTUS ruling
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Friday said he will call a special legislative session to redraw district lines after the U.S. Supreme Court issues a ruling in a key redistricting case. Reeves said the session would take place 21 days after the court rules in Louisiana v. Callais, a case that could reshape how states apply the Voting Rights Act. The case centers on Louisiana’s 2024 congressional map, which added a second majority-Black district and is being challenged as an unconstitutional racial gerrymander. The outcome could influence redistricting battles nationwide, particularly in Republican-led states, ahead of this year’s midterms. SCOTUS CONSERVATIVES SIGNAL READINESS TO CURB LATE-ARRIVING MAIL BALLOTS Reeves said the ruling could also affect a separate Mississippi case requiring the state to redraw its Supreme Court district lines. That lawsuit, filed by groups including the Southern Poverty Law Center and the American Civil Liberties Union, argues the current map dilutes the voting strength of Black voters in violation of federal law, according to WLBT. The state appealed the decision to the U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which paused the ruling pending the outcome of Callais. JUDGE SET TO CHOOSE NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP IN FIGHT THAT COULD RESHAPE HOUSE CONTROL “It is my belief, and federal law requires, that the Mississippi Legislature be given the first opportunity to draw these maps,” Reeves said on X. “And the fact is, they haven’t had a fair opportunity to do that because of the pending Callais decision.” He added that he is using his authority to allow lawmakers to redraw maps once the Supreme Court provides clarity. “For those reasons, I am using my constitutional authority to allow the Mississippi Legislature to use their constitutionally recognized right to draw these maps once the new rules of the game are known following Callais,” Reeves said. REPUBLICANS APPEAL JUDGE’S DECISION REJECTING NEW YORK CITY GOP DISTRICT LINES Reeves said the decision could “forever change the way we draw electoral maps.” In October, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority appeared open to weakening a key Voting Rights Act provision that bars states from diluting minority voting power. Critics have warned such a ruling could further erode protections for minority voters. The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision by the summer. Fox News Digital’s Breanne Deppisch contributed to this report.
DC murder rate sees astonishing turnaround as Trump team credits federal crackdown
Washington, D.C.’s homicide count has dropped sharply this year, falling by roughly half compared to the same period in 2025, as the Trump administration points to an aggressive federal crackdown in the nation’s capital. The administration has credited the appointment of U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, a surge of federal agents and the deployment of National Guard troops with driving the decline. But criminologists say similar drops are playing out nationwide and caution that it is difficult to tie the improvement to any single policy, setting up a debate over what is actually behind the shift. There have been 20 murders at this point in 2026, compared to 42 in the same timeframe in 2025, alongside Pirro’s tough enforcement posture and an increased visible law enforcement presence. The nation’s murder rate overall is at its lowest since 1900, which President Donald Trump has credited to his border policies. As for D.C., the White House said that Trump’s crime task force has yielded “tremendous results for the community.” SCOOP: WHITE HOUSE TOUTS GUNS AND DRUG HAUL REMOVED FROM DC STREETS AS TRUMP’S CRIME BLITZ NETS 550 ARRESTS “Crime has dropped across the board, dangerous criminals have been removed from the streets, missing children have been recovered, illegal weapons have been confiscated, and more,” said spokeswoman Abigail Jackson, crediting the president’s “bold actions in D.C.” for reducing crime and saying “residents are thankful.” But Thaddeus Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice and a criminology professor at Georgia State University, said it is difficult to attribute the decline to any single factor. “Crackdowns can have an effect,” Johnson said in an interview, though he noted that Washington, D.C., has struggled with court backlogs and delayed cases in recent years, which may have contributed to higher crime rates. He said recent progress in clearing the backlog has allowed prosecutions to move forward and taken offenders off the streets. ‘RESISTANCE’ LEFT BLASTED BY WASHINGTON POST AS MAYOR BOWSER BACKS TRUMP’S DC CRIME PLAN Johnson acknowledged that aggressive prosecutions by Pirro and others have likely deterred some crime. “If you’re prosecuting cases, you know that the deterrence is not only the severity of punishment, but it’s the celerity or the swiftness of punishment and the certainty of it — the certainty of punishment is more important than the severity.” He emphasized that he is not discounting Pirro or the National Guard deployment, but said it is difficult to identify any single action as a “magic bullet,” particularly as other cities across the country are also seeing declines. Johnson added that Washington was still grappling with elevated robbery rates as recently as 2024, including incidents occurring outside traditionally high-crime areas in Southeast and shifting into neighborhoods such as the Wharf and Navy Yard, a revitalized nightlife corridor across the Anacostia River. “I haven’t seen anything per se, evidence directly, where I can say, ‘well, yeah, it’s due to the prosecutions and the judges’ as to why these crimes are going down when we started seeing that many of the crimes had started going down already,” he said. “It’s hard to say that it didn’t play a part … particularly when we see similar patterns across the nation.” TRUMP’S DC PUBLIC SAFETY SWEEP RESULTS IN 23 ARRESTS INCLUDING MURDER SUSPECT ON OPENING DAY The White House’s claims of success in reducing crime in Washington contrast with earlier warnings from critics that the National Guard deployment would backfire. District of Columbia at-large Councilmember Robert White Jr. warned at the outset that it is abnormal to see armed guardsmen in an American city: “It’s hard to explain to my kids, who are 6 and 9, what’s happening here. It’s an occupation because it’s both unwelcome and unwarranted. It’s also unhelpful. But I don’t think it’s meant to be helpful in any way,” White told Governing News in September. The Democrat added local officials “have an obligation to be clear that this is going to make crime worse in the coming years.” Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from adjacent Takoma Park, Maryland, similarly predicted the surge was a bad idea: “No one in Washington is asking Trump to deploy the National Guard or take over the MPD. This is a phony, manufactured crisis if I’ve ever seen one,” Raskin said in August. “Since taking office, Trump has repeatedly undermined public safety in our nation’s capital.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also said last fall that Trump was acting like a “wannabe king” whose “unleash[ing of] the national guard on the city’s youth and homeless population has no basis in law and will put the safety of the people of our nation’s capital in danger.” Fox News’ Elise Oggioni contributed to this report.
Fox News Campus Radicals Newsletter: UCLA mob mess, veiled threats of violence and a major win over DEI
DEATH THREATS: DHS lawyer says UCLA ‘utterly failed’ to stop protest chaos at law school appearance CAMPUS CHAOS: WATCH: Mayhem erupts as leftists interrupt conservative group’s UCLA event featuring DHS lawyer TERROR TIES: UC Berkeley slammed after anti-Israel group hosts failed suicide bomber as guest event speaker: ‘cesspool’ BACKLASH BUILDS: Harvard reportedly investigating Republican Club over social media post about Muslim group’s campus event SECURITY ALARM: Trump DEI crackdown ‘misses core ideology’ and must target lingering danger on campuses, watchdog warns VIOLENT DISPLAY: Severed Trump head painting displayed at Utah Pride event; kids invited to hit Mike Lee piñata CURRICULUM CHANGE: Texas Tech to recognize only two sexes, freezes gender programs
Florida Dem filed for re-election days before resignation as House Ethics Committee ramped up pressure
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is still registered to run for re-election despite having resigned from office amid congressional and federal probes for allegedly mishandling disaster relief funding for personal gain. On April 17, Cherfilus-McCormick submitted a notice of her candidacy to the Florida Department of State as a Democrat just a week before officially stepping down from office. She resigned on Tuesday. The filing raises questions about whether Cherfilus-McCormick believes she can still pursue political office despite facing intense scrutiny at the moment. NANCY MACE CALLS ON CONGRESS TO RELEASE SEXUAL HARASSMENT RECORDS, WANTS AN ‘AVALANCHE OF RESIGNATIONS’ Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cherfilus-McCormick’s decision to resign from office came right before the House Ethics Committee was scheduled to recommend she be punished for misusing disaster relief funding that she allegedly funneled through several companies into her campaign coffers. The committee found that she had committed 18 campaign finance violations, five counts of false financial disclosures, three counts of misusing official funds and one count of lack of candor. Cherfilus-McCormick maintained her innocence but announced that she would defend herself outside of her time in office. “This was not a fair process. The Ethics Committee refused my new attorney’s reasonable request for time to prepare my defense. I simply cannot stand by and allow my due process rights to be trampled on, and my good name to be tarnished,” Cherfilus-McCormick said in a press release. “Rather than play these political games, I choose to step away so that I can devote my time to fighting for my neighbors in Florida’s 20th district. I hereby resign from the 119th Congress, effective immediately.” While Cherfilus-McCormick’s departure from Congress halted the Ethics Committee’s authority over her, she also faces federal charges. FEDERAL CHARGES FILED AGAINST DEM CONGRESSWOMAN FOLLOWING CONFRONTATION AT ICE FACILITY She was indicted by a Miami grand jury in November for allegedly stealing $5 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not yet announced a date for a special election to fill her vacant seat.
Mamdani in the hot seat after first veto derails bipartisan effort to combat antisemitism: ‘Disappointed’
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is sparking backlash after using his first veto to derail a bipartisan bill aimed at combating antisemitism by expanding protest security safeguards for places of education. “This could impact workers protesting ICE or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights,” Mamdani said in a statement Friday. “It is a piece of legislation that has alarmed much of the labor movement, reproductive rights groups and immigration advocates, among others, across this city.” New York’s former Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent against Mamdani in the mayoral race last year, slammed Mamdani’s decision on X, saying he “chose the whims of his radical, extreme-left DSA base over the safety of students and Jewish New Yorkers at a time of rising antisemitism.” MAMDANI IS AN EXISTENTIAL THREAT TO JEWISH NEW YORKERS “Instead of governing for all NYers, Mamdani has repealed the very definition of antisemitism from the city’s books, changed how antisemitic crimes are counted and now vetoed these commonsense security measures when they are needed most,” Cuomo continued. “I proudly stand shoulder to shoulder with my Jewish brothers and sisters — just as the Cuomos always have, and always will.” The bill, Int. 175-B, requires New York law enforcement to develop a plan to contain the risk of physical obstruction, physical injury, intimidation and interference at educational facilities while still allowing for freedom of assembly and First-Amendment events. The plan would then apply to “any building, structure, or place where educational programming takes place.” Julie Menin, the speaker of the New York City Council, had framed the bill as key to warding off threats of antisemitism. “The legislation is part of the Council-led Five-Point Action Plan to Combat Antisemitism,” Menin said in March. ELITE UNIVERSITY ATTENDED BY TRUMP’S SON CRACKS DOWN ON LEFT-WING STUDENT AGITATORS “According to the NYPD, antisemitic incidents accounted for 57% of reported hate crimes in 2025, although only approximately 10% of New York City residents are Jewish. Jewish New Yorkers were the targets of hate crimes more than all other groups combined.” The bill passed the New York City Council by a 30-19 vote late last month. Commentators online criticized the veto, citing a need for enhanced protections. “We are deeply disappointed by Mayor Mamdani’s veto of legislation designed to help protect students from intimidation and disruption outside schools,” the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a pro-Jewish group, said in a post to X. “The right to protest and the right to an education can and must coexist. We urge the City Council to override this veto and reaffirm a basic principle: protecting students is not politics; it is a civic responsibility.” “Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D- HAMAS) vetoed a bill for buffer zones around schools because it ‘could impact workers protesting ICE, or college students demanding their school divest from fossil fuels, or demonstrating in support of Palestinian rights,’” Ari Hoffman, a political commentator, wrote in his own post. “All the bill would have done was require clear safety plans around schools with law enforcement.” Mamdani approved a similar bill that applied to religious sites. He explained that he was concerned by the expansive range of what the second bill meant by “educational facilities.” “The problem is how widely this bill defines an educational institution and the constitutional concerns it raises regarding New Yorkers’ fundamental right to protest. As the bill is written, everywhere from universities to museums to teaching hospitals could face restrictions,” Mamdani said in a statement. NYC RABBI WARNS ZOHRAN MAMDANI ‘POSES A DANGER’ TO JEWISH COMMUNITY’S SAFETY The city council could override a mayoral veto with a two-thirds vote, according to New York City’s charter. Doing so would require votes from 33 of the chamber’s 50 members. Assuming the bill retains the support of the legislators that originally advanced it out of the council, it would require just three more votes to secure its implementation over Mamdani’s objection.
Transgender lawmaker ‘doesn’t know what a woman is,’ White House says after dig at Trump firings
The White House brushed aside remarks made by Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., to a reporter alleging that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard would be the next Cabinet official to leave the administration because President Donald Trump “only fires women.” “Rep. McBride doesn’t know what a woman is,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said of McBride, a biological male who identifies as a woman. McBride speculated to MeidasTouch reporter Pablo Manríquez that Tulsi Gabbard will be the next Cabinet member on President Donald Trump’s chopping block. In separate interviews, Manríquez asked McBride and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who they believed would be next to be fired. Both said it would not be a man. TRUMP FIRES TWO DEMOCRATIC COMMISSIONERS ON CIVIL RIGHTS ENFORCEMENT AGENCY AS WHITE HOUSE TARGETS DEI The remarks come amid a shakeup in the Trump administration after Trump announced the dismissal of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Attorney General Pam Bondi within a span of four weeks. On Monday, Department of Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer resigned amid allegations of misconduct toward staffers. “All of them deserve to be fired,” McBride quipped. “I’m supporting impeachment of Pete Hegseth because, obviously right now, we are engaged in a reckless war of choice that he was a primary driver of. “But we know this president,” McBride added. “He only fires women, so my guess is Tulsi Gabbard.” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., echoed McBride’s sentiment when asked the same question by Manríquez. “Is he out of women?” Ocasio-Cortez asked. “Because that seems to be his pattern right now.” TRUMP CABINET NOMINEES, APPOINTEES TARGETED WITH ‘VIOLENT, UNAMERICAN THREATS’ She went on to say that Trump “seems to only have the capability to fire female secretaries.” In response to a follow-up question about the “clownish behavior” of War Secretary Pete Hegseth and FBI Director Kash Patel, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that what Patel has done is “a thousand times worse” than what other officials have done. Neither Manríquez nor Ocasio-Cortez gave specific examples of misconduct by either man. Patel has filed a $250 million defamation lawsuit against The Atlantic over reported allegations that he is a heavy drinker and that it affects his work. Hegseth faced sexual assault and drinking allegations during his confirmation hearings, which he denied, and his tenure at the War Department was rocked by two separate Signal chat leaks in which information about military airstrikes were inadvertently shared with a journalist. While the White House has stood by Hegseth, Democratic lawmakers have demanded his resignation and criticized his handling of the war with Iran. “If you’re a man in the Trump administration, it seems that they reward misconduct,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Hakeem Jeffries left scrambling after child reporter asks why voters view Democrats so negatively
Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared caught off guard Thursday as children of the Capitol Hill press corps questioned him during an event. The exchange came during a Capitol Hill event during Take Your Child to Work Day, where children of journalists were invited to ask lawmakers questions. The moment quickly stood out as the blunt question from a young attendee cut directly to a broader political challenge Democrats have faced in recent months — voter dissatisfaction and perception issues heading into a high-stakes election cycle. JEN PSAKI CALLS OUT THE ‘WORST’ MEDIA TRAINING ADVICE GIVEN TO DEMOCRATS The first question of the day came from the daughter of CNN’s Manu Raju, and she asked Jeffries, “Why do voters view Democrats so poorly?” The audience quickly began laughing, and Jeffries was stunned, asking the child if her father gave him the question to ask in advance. He clarified that it was “a great question.” “It’s a great question in that — I’m gonna have words with you after this, Manu,” Jeffries said. Jeffries then began to answer the question, diving into a long explanation about growing distrust in institutions across the country. “I think that we exist in an era right now where the American people are understandably frustrated with institutions because far too many people in this country are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “They can’t thrive and can barely survive. And so there’s a frustration with Congress. There’s frustration with institutional political parties, whether that’s Democrats or Republicans. certainly a frustration with the courts, with organized religion, with the media, frustration with institutions of higher education and, of course, frustration with the current president of the United States of America. ‘LAME DUCK’: JEFFRIES RIPS DESANTIS AFTER FLORIDA INVITATION AS REDISTRICTING FIGHT HEATS UP “There’s a great frustration that applies to every organized institution in this country, and Democrats are not immune from that,” he continued. “And we do have a responsibility to continue to convince the American people that, as a party, we’re actually focused on making their life better.” Jeffries, who has served as House Democratic leader since 2023, has been tasked with helping shape the party’s messaging as Democrats work to counter Republican attacks and reconnect with voters frustrated over issues like the economy and cost of living. Concerns about the party’s standing with key voting blocs have surfaced in recent polling and political analysis, underscoring the significance of the question posed during the event. The exchange underscored the messaging challenges facing Democrats as they head into a critical election cycle, with even an unscripted question from a young attendee reflecting broader voter concerns.
WATCH: Trump reveals flashy new color for National Mall’s reflecting pool makeover
President Donald Trump revealed the flashy new color for the National Mall’s reflecting pool will be familiar to most Americans. While speaking with reporters in the Oval Office, he said the reflecting pool’s surface is being repainted in “American flag blue.” When planning the reflecting pool renovation, which Trump said was necessary because it was “filthy,” the president said his original color idea was turquoise, “like in the Bahamas.” But a trusted old pool contractor Trump has worked with in the past convinced him otherwise. “He said, ‘What color would you like, sir?’ I said, ‘Well, what about turquoise like in the Bahamas?’ He said, ‘Well, this is Washington, sir, we can give you turquoise, but why don’t you try … We have a color, it’s called “American flag blue.” I said, ‘That’s the color I like,’” he said. TRUMP TAPS NEW ARCHITECT TO RESHAPE WHITE HOUSE AS $300M BALLROOM BUILD ACCELERATES “He talked me into it very easily.” Fox News Digital reported earlier this month that the president was having the famous Washington, D.C., landmark renovated, saying the Biden administration had neglected it for years. In a post on Truth Social, Trump said he was working with Interior Secretary Doug Burgum on the project, the latest in a series of beautification initiatives targeted by the Trump administration. “Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and I are working on fixing the absolutely filthy Reflecting Pool between the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument,” Trump wrote. TRUMP APPEARS ON WHITE HOUSE ROOF AMID TALKS OF HISTORIC RENOVATIONS “This work was supposed to be done by the Biden Administration, but Sleepy Joe doesn’t know what ‘CLEAN’ or proper maintenance is — The President and Secretary do!” he added. Speaking in the Oval Office this week, Trump held up a photo of the progress on the pool, saying repairs should be finished in the next three weeks. “You’re going to end up with a beautiful, beautiful reflecting pool. The way it’s supposed to be. Much better than it ever was, actually.” TRUMP’S PLAN FOR TRIUMPHAL ARCH MOVES STEP CLOSER TO REALITY He proceeded to poke at the media, saying, “I hope the media can go over and maybe watch them do it because its I think it’s very exciting. “Fraction of the cost and a fraction of the time, and you get a better product than you could ever get the other way, and it’ll be beautiful,” he said. “And, as he said, it will be American flag blue. Any questions?”
Neo-Nazi, Klan ‘Cyclops’ and ‘Sadistic’ biker: Here’s who SPLC allegedly paid in its informant network
The Montgomery, Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted this week on federal fraud charges from a years-long alleged covert paid informant program that Justice Department officials said allocated millions of dollars in donations to a network of informants affiliated with or closely tied to White supremacist and neo-Nazi groups. The 11-count indictment accuses the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) of wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank and conspiracy to commit concealed money laundering. According to the Justice Department, the SPLC sent some $3 million to its paid informants between 2014 and 2023, including people affiliated with the United Klans of America, the National Socialist Party of America and the Aryan Nations-linked Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club, among others. Senior Trump administration officials took aim at the covert paid informant program, which funneled outside donations, at least in part, to informants affiliated with the same extremist groups the SPLC was founded decades earlier to oppose. SPLC FACES BLOWBACK FROM ‘HATE MAP’ TARGETS AFTER DOJ FRAUD INDICTMENT ”As the indictment describes, the SPLC was not dismantling these groups,” acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters Tuesday at a news conference. “It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.” The SPLC’s paid informant program funded individuals with ties to the Ku Klux Klan, the National Socialist Party of America and others, including a member of an online “leadership chat group” that helped plan the deadly Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, officials said. Here are the top five most eye-popping paid informants revealed in this week’s indictment. Among the paid informants identified in the indictment is a member of an online “leadership chat group” that Blanche said helped plan the deadly 2017 Unite the Right event in Charlottesville, Virginia. The individual, referred to only as “F-37,” attended the event at the direction of the SPLC and was paid more than $270,000 for his or her work as an informant between 2015 and 2023, according to the indictment. The indictment alleges that the individual shared “racist social media posts and helped organize transportation to events” associated with the deadly rally. The news that the informant helped coordinate logistics, at least in some small part, for the deadly rally while under SPLC supervision is significant, especially given that the aftermath of the event prompted a new influx of donations to the nonprofit. “They lied to their donors, vowing to dismantle violent extremist groups, and actually turned around and paid the leaders of these very extremist groups — even utilizing the funds to have these groups facilitate the commission of state and federal crimes,” FBI Director Kash Patel said. “That is illegal, and this is an ongoing investigation against all individuals involved.” SUPREME COURT CLEARS PATH FOR DOJ TO ERASE STEVE BANNON’S JAN 6 CONVICTION One longtime member of the National Alliance, a White supremacist group tied to multiple violent attacks, profited handsomely from the SPLC in his role as a paid informant. According to the indictment, SPLC paid the National Alliance member more than $1 million over a nine-year period for his role, which included clandestine activities such as breaking into the group’s headquarters to steal some 25 boxes of documents, which he photocopied and distributed to the SPLC. The group appears to have later used those documents to create a report about the National Alliance. After the stolen documents were utilized partly in public, the SPLC allegedly paid another National Alliance member $6,000 to falsely take responsibility for the theft. The National Alliance and the writings of its founder have been closely associated with a litany of violent attacks since the 1980s, including a 1999 multi-state shooting spree targeting minorities and Jewish Americans, and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. TRUMP ADMIN AGENCIES COORDINATING TO EXPOSE BIDEN ADMIN’S ‘PROLIFIC AND DANGEROUS’ WEAPONIZATION OF GOVERNMENT The SPLC also shelled out more than $140,000 to a paid informant who chaired the National Alliance neo-Nazi group. The indictment accuses the SPLC of funneling tens of thousands of dollars to the individual between 2016 and 2023. At least some of the payments were made at the same time the National Alliance chairman himself was listed on the SPLC’s website as part of its public Extremist File website, a striking and somewhat ironic fact given that the site was warning the public about how dangerous the individual was. Among the paid informants was an “Imperial Wizard” from the United Klans of America, a White supremacist group the SPLC has linked to the 1963 16th Street Baptist Church bombing in Birmingham, Alabama, that killed four young girls and injured more than a dozen others. Martin Luther King Jr. described the bombing, which exploded 19 sticks of pre-laid dynamite beneath the steps of a local church, as “one of the most vicious and tragic crimes ever perpetrated against humanity.” It was unclear how much the paid informant received from the SPLC. Separately, SPLC also allegedly funneled money to a Ku Klux Klan member and spouse of an “Exalted Cyclops,” a local Klan leader tasked with overseeing membership, organizing meetings and directing activities. According to the indictment, the informant’s link to the SPLC became known during the KKK chapter’s application to partake in the Adopt-A-Highway program, resulting in the discovery of more than $3,500 in known payments from the SPLC. ‘WHITE SAVIORS” USE OF WHISTLES CAUSES BITTER INTERNAL RIFT INSIDE ANTI-ICE MOVEMENT During the six-year period between 2014 and 2020, the SPLC allegedly sent a staggering $300,000 to one paid informant, F-27, who was an officer in both the National Socialist Movement group and the Aryan Nations-affiliated Sadistic Souls Motorcycle Club. The SPLC also sent some $160,000 to other extremist groups, including the former grand wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. No individuals were named in the indictment, though Blanche noted during a news conference Tuesday that the investigation is ongoing. According to federal prosecutors, the SPLC’s paid informant program began in the 1980s, shortly after its founding