A former Southern Poverty Law Center finance officer was arrested Wednesday over her involvement in secretly paying informants in white supremacist groups.
Heidi Beirich, 58, was apprehended in California, CNN first reported. Attorney General Todd Blanche confirmed at an unrelated news conference at DOJ headquarters that “there was an arrest made” in the case.
The Post had unmasked Beirich in June as one of the SPLC leaders accused of helping “open bank accounts” with “fictitious companies’ names” to make payments to hate group leaders.
The identification of Beirich was based on identifying details in an indictment brought against the left-wing group out of the Northern District of Alabama.
That filing accused Beirich of helping to funnel $1.2 million in SPLC donor money to an informant in the white supremacist group National Alliance — who was also purportedly her lover.
The indictment states that Beirich allegedly had a romantic relationship with an informant known as “F-9” who “infiltrated the neo-Nazi organization National Alliance.”
Between 2015 and 2021, approximately $140,000 in donors’ money flowed from the SPLC operating account and was ultimately deposited into joint bank accounts held by F-9 and Beirich, the indictment reads.
Roughly 66% of donors’ money was deposited into their joint bank accounts and was allegedly used to pay their living expenses.
Beirich allegedly shared a home with the source and allegedly used a fake company to funnel charitable funds to the partner.
The superseding indictment adds new details to an earlier federal case and is expected to intensify scrutiny surrounding the SPLC. The DOJ expanded its indictment against the SPLC last week, accusing the civil rights non-profit of funneling millions in tax-exempt funds to extremist groups.
Allegations include purchasing materials for KKK robes, facilitating cross-burnings and funding travel for extremist rallies.
FBI Director Kash Patel vowed to “follow the money” to bring all involved to justice, emphasizing the ongoing investigation into the criminal conduct.
The SPLC has denied any wrongdoing and argued the criminal charges are politically motivated.
In a statement to Fox News Digital, SPLC counsel Abbe Lowell vigorously pushed back against fraud allegations. “The SPLC did not lie to its donors, it did not mislead banks it did business with, and its informant program prevented violence and saved lives,” he continued.
Interim SPLC President Bryan Fair said in a statement: “Taking on violent hate and extremist groups is among the most dangerous work there is, and we believe it is also among the most important work we do.”
Fair added: “The actions by the DOJ will not shake our resolve to fight for justice and ensure the promise of the Civil Rights Movement becomes a reality for all.”
In the viral moment that sparked the wider case, the Justice Department filed an 11-count indictment against the SPLC in April. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters at an April 21 news conference: “The SPLC was not dismantling these groups. It was instead manufacturing the extremism it purports to oppose by paying sources to stoke racial hatred.”
The indictment accused the SPLC of sending some $3 million to its paid informants between 2014 and 2023. The group allegedly used shell companies and intermediaries to send more than $4 million in donor funds to KKK members over several years.
One informant was paid more than $1 million between 2014 and 2023 while affiliated with the neo-Nazi National Alliance. Another informant allegedly helped coordinate transportation for the deadly 2017 “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville and was paid approximately $270,000.
The SPLC’s paid informant program began in the 1980s, shortly after its founding in the 1970s, and allegedly relied on a series of bank accounts set up for fictitious entities.
SPLC interim CEO Bryan Fair is expected to testify before the House Judiciary Committee in Washington as a congressional probe into the group’s now-defunct informant practices heats up.