Congressional hearing on Southern Poverty Law Center-Biden coordination includes Turning Point USA

A House Judiciary subcommittee hearing Tuesday on the Southern Poverty Law Center includes witnesses from Turning Point USA, the Family Research Council, and The Daily Signal.

The hearing, held by the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution and Limited Government, begins at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday and is titled, "Partisan and Profitable: The SPLC's Influence on Federal Civil Rights Policy."

It will examine how the SPLC coordinated with the Biden administration in the alleged targeting of Christian and conservative Americans to infringe on their constitutional rights to free speech and free association, in addition to the center's history, funding, and work to silence them for their beliefs.

The witnesses for the hearing are Turning Point USA Executive Vice President of Field Operations Andrew Sypher, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, The Daily Signal Senior Editor Tyler O'Neil, and Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty Executive Director Amanda Tyler.

Last month, House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi requesting documents and communications between the Biden administration's Justice Department and SPLC.

The SPLC was reportedly a source for a 2022 memo drafted by the FBI's Richmond Field Office suggesting that traditional Catholics could be potential extremists. FBI headquarters said the memo was immediately removed upon its discovery. 

Jordan said the fact that the previous administration allegedly had a close relationship with the nonprofit was "more evidence of the Biden-Harris administration’s weaponization of the federal government against certain Americans.”

“The SPLC routinely maligns conservative and religious organizations, such as Turning Point USA, Family Research Council, and Moms for Liberty, as ‘hate’ groups simply because the SPLC disagrees with their views,” Jordan added.

The SPLC condemned the assassination of TPUSA founder Charlie Kirk in September but labels his organization a hate group.