MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Federal prosecutors indicted Heidi Beirich, the former intelligence director of the Southern Poverty Law Center, on fraud and money-laundering conspiracy charges Wednesday, marking the first time an individual has been charged in the Justice Department's monthslong criminal case against the civil rights organization.

Beirich, 59, was arrested and charged with wire fraud conspiracy, conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit concealment money laundering, according to a Justice Department announcement out of the Middle District of Alabama. She left the SPLC in December 2019.

What prosecutors allege

The second superseding indictment accuses the SPLC of telling donors and banks it was working to dismantle white supremacist and extremist organizations while secretly funneling payments to confidential informants embedded inside those same groups — funds prosecutors say helped bankroll "violent, racist and extremist activities." The indictment alleges more than $4 million in donated funds moved through the scheme between 2007 and 2023, according to the Washington Post.

The case is an escalation of a broader Justice Department investigation into the SPLC that was first announced in April. The Montgomery, Alabama-based nonprofit has long tracked hate groups and extremist movements and has occasionally used informants as part of that intelligence-gathering work.

"WON'T BE SILENCED OR INTIMIDATED."

Beirich's attorney pushed back forcefully, saying in a statement that his client "won't be silenced or intimidated by the government's false and politicized allegations" and that "she welcomes the opportunity to present the truth in court." An SPLC spokesperson said the case "will not shake our resolve," and attorney Abbe Lowell, who is representing the organization, called the charges "as legally and factually flawed as their previous attacks," accusing prosecutors of "scrambling to make something — anything — stick" ahead of trial, according to NBC News.

The SPLC has characterized the broader Justice Department probe as a politically motivated attack tied to the organization's history of monitoring right-wing extremist groups. Prosecutors have not signaled whether additional individuals will face charges as the case heads toward trial. Beirich is due to make an initial court appearance in the coming days.