DOJ Arrests Former SPLC CFO Heidi Beirich, Escalating Criminal Case Against Civil Rights Group

The Justice Department arrested Heidi Beirich, former CFO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, on August 12, 2026, charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and concealment money laundering. The second superseding indictment adds Beirich to the DOJ's case, first brought against the SPLC in April 2026 over its paid informant program targeting white supremacist groups. A federal judge in Alabama rejected the SPLC's vindictive-prosecution challenge, clearing the path toward trial.