Americans once associated the Southern Poverty Law Center with fighting the Ku Klux Klan during the civil rights era. That reputation gave the SPLC enormous moral credibility. But in November 2010, SPLC shifted its focus beyond violent groups and began targeting Christian organizations opposing efforts to redefine marriage and human sexuality. Family Research Council was among the most prominent of that first wave.

In August 2012, FRC joined Governor Mike Huckabee in supporting Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day after the company was boycotted because its leadership publicly affirmed natural marriage. Two weeks later, on August 15, LGBT activist Floyd Corkins entered FRC headquarters here in Washington carrying a 9mm pistol, 50 rounds of ammunition, and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches. According to his later confession, his intent was to kill as many as possible and stuff the sandwiches in our mouths.

As he entered the building and pulled his gun, our building manager, Leo Johnson, confronted him. Though seriously wounded, Leo stopped the attacker and prevented a mass casualty event. After multiple surgeries and rehabilitation, Leo returned to work and remains today, affectionately known as Leo the Hero.

The following day, investigators confirmed that Corkins confessed to selecting FRC because of the SPLC website and hate map.

Following the attack, FRC appealed to the SPLC to remove mainstream Christian organizations from its inflammatory classifications. Those requests were rejected.

The attack has cost FRC more than $6 million in security-related costs. But the costs extend beyond the one act of violence.

Over time, SPLC’s “hate” labels and Intelligence Project became deeply influential as banks, payment processors, and technology companies increasingly relied on SPLC classifications to decide which organizations could maintain accounts, process transactions, or operate online.

Around 2016, the SPLC began pressuring corporations and technology companies to de-platform and defund organizations it labeled extremist.

Then came Charlottesville in 2017.

According to the recent federal indictment of SPLC, a member of the online leadership that planned the “Unite the Right” rally at the direction of the SPLC, and helped coordinate transportation for attendees, was bankrolled by SPLC. Charlottesville was a catalytic event for SPLC, as major corporations like Apple and JPMorgan Chase aligned with SPLC, contributing millions of dollars.

Shortly afterward, the coalition known as “Change the Terms,” led by the SPLC and the Center for American Progress, established standards that would encourage technology and financial companies to deny digital access and financial infrastructure to organizations the SPLC labeled.

The timeline of Change the Terms closely parallels the acceleration of efforts to debank and deplatform conservative and Christian organizations. FRC experienced this from Truist Financial, Fidelity Investments, GuideStar, Mobile Cause, and other technology-related companies. SPLC officials openly acknowledged this strategy before Congress in January 2020. SPLC official Lecia Brooks stated: “We have lobbied internet companies, one by one… A key part of this strategy has been to target these organizations’ funding.”

Brooks continued to describe the coordinated effort to pressure technology companies and financial institutions to restrict access for organizations they opposed.

The issue before this committee is larger than FRC or any one organization.

In America, citizens should not lose access to banking services, digital platforms, public credibility, or physical safety because they believe in biblical teaching on marriage and human sexuality. When government-regulated institutions can apply ideological labels in a coordinated fashion to silence, isolate, or financially cripple opponents, we allow political targeting by proxy, and freedom is at risk.

SPLC was the hub, but there were many spokes that made up this wheel designed to crush Christians and conservatives — the congressional inquiry should not stop with SPLC.

Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council and executive editor of The Washington Stand. He also served two terms as a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, and served as Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Source: SPLC Was The Hub, But Many Spokes Made Up The Wheel Designed To Crush Christians And Conservatives – Harbinger’s Daily

Police have dropped charges against a Christian pastor following a months-long investigation into his street preaching.

Dia Moodley, 58, was arrested on November 22 and detained on suspicion of “inciting religious hatred” after peacefully sharing his Christian views in Bristol city center. After four months of criminal investigation, police with Avon and Somerset informed him that “no further action will be taken,” according to a news release from Alliance Defending Freedom International, which defended him in the case.

“I’m glad Avon and Somerset Police decided to eventually do the right thing and drop their criminal investigation,” Moodley said in a statement. “This is a win for free speech, but I never should have been arrested, treated like a criminal, and investigated for months for peacefully sharing my faith in the public square.”

Moodley was accused of preaching against transgender ideology, comparing Christianity with Islam, and committing a Section 4A religiously aggravated public order offense under the Public Order Act of 1986. He was arrested after a bystander appeared to reach for the wire of his speaker, and he reportedly pushed her away.

He was held for eight hours in a police cell, interrogated by police, and initially placed under bail conditions that restricted him from entering Bristol city center over Christmas, said ADF International.

While the bail conditions were later dropped, the investigation into criminal investigation continued, resulting in what ADF called de facto censorship, as the pastor refrained from publicly preaching over Christmas and in the weeks leading up to Easter for fear of rearrest.

November was the second time Moodley has been arrested for commenting on Islam and transgender ideology while street preaching. In March 2024, he was arrested outside the University of Bristol after speaking on Islam and stating that sex is binary. Police dropped that investigation as well. Also, in 2021, police banned him from commenting on any other faith, and from delivering sermons without prior police approval.

The pastor has faced repeated violence and threats from bystanders while street preaching, ADF said, many of which the police have failed to adequately address. And he is now considering legal action against Avon & Somerset Police, for the violation of his free speech rights and for the police’s failure to promptly investigate serious crimes against him.

ADF legal counsel Jeremiah Igunnubole described the police’s decision to drop the November charges as a “vindication” of Moodley’s conduct. He said the case is a symptom of a wider pattern and called on Parliament to take action.

“The war of attrition against free speech in the U.K., demonstrated in Pastor Dia’s case, must end,” Igunnubole said. “Censorial laws need to be repealed urgently, and stronger protections, including a Free Speech Bill, are needed to reverse the growing culture of censorship within law enforcement.”

Meanwhile, Moodley will continue expressing his faith in the public square.

“I will continue to share my faith publicly, undeterred by the police’s censorship and the threats and violence I have faced, and will stand for free speech not just for myself, but for the rights of all people in the U.K.”

Source: Pastors In The Crosshairs: The War Of Attrition Against Free Speech In The UK Must End – Harbinger’s Daily