Conservative Movement Releases Open Letter to the News Media: Beware of the Southern Poverty Law Center

Source: Family Research Council

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Washington, D.C. - September 7, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Family Research Council (FRC) today joined a coalition of 47 conservative leaders and organizations in releasing an open letter to news organizations, calling on the media to stop using data from the discredited Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC).

The SPLC has recklessly labeled dozens of mainstream conservative organizations as "hate groups." SPLC's labeling of FRC as a "hate group" was connected in federal court to an act of domestic terrorism committed five years ago at FRC's Washington headquarters by Floyd Corkins. Corkins confessed to the FBI that he used SPLC's "hate map" to choose FRC as a target for violence. More recently, James Hodgkinson, the attempted political assassin of House Majority Whip, Rep. Steve Scalise and many other Republican members of the U.S. House and Senate, was discovered to have "liked" the SPLC on Facebook.

The letter reads in part:

"We are writing to you as individuals or as representatives of organizations who are deeply troubled by several recent examples of the media's use of data from the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The SPLC is a discredited, left-wing, political activist organization that seeks to silence its political opponents with a 'hate group' label of its own invention and application that is not only false and defamatory, but that also endangers the lives of those targeted with it.

"The fifth anniversary has just passed of the terrorist event for which the SPLC's hate map and website were used to target its victims for political assassination. The following facts were established in the record of a federal court case. On August 15, 2012, Floyd Lee Corkins II entered the Family Research Council offices in Washington, D.C. and shot and badly wounded its building manager, Leo Johnson, who stopped his intended killing spree. According to his own statements to the FBI, Corkins intended to kill everyone in the building, and then go on to terrorize additional organizations.

"We believe the media outlets that have cited the SPLC in recent days have not intended to target mainstream political groups for violent attack, but by recklessly linking the Charlottesville melee to the mainstream groups named on the SPLC website -- those that advocate in the courts, the halls of Congress, and the press for the protection of conventional, Judeo-Christian values -- we are left to wonder if another Floyd Lee Corkins will soon be incited to violence by this incendiary information.

"That day, Corkins carried both the means to carry out this act of terrorism and a list of additional targets. The U.S. Attorney stated in federal court that Corkins targeted FRC and the additional targets by using the SPLC website's 'Hate Map.' On February 6, 2013, Corkins pleaded guilty to three felonies, and became the first person convicted of violating the District of Columbia's Anti-Terrorism Act of 2002.

"To associate public interest law firms and think tanks with neo-Nazis and the KKK is unconscionable, and it represents the height of irresponsible journalism to do so. All reputable news organizations should immediately stop using the SPLC descriptions of in individuals and organizations based on the SPLC's obvious political prejudices."

To read the full letter, click here

ENGEL BLASTS STATE DEPARTMENT DECISION TO SIDELINE ANTI-PROPAGANDA EFFORTS

Washington, D.C. - August 10, 2017 (The Ponder News) -- Representative Eliot L. Engel, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, decried the decision of Secretary of State Tillerson to sideline American anti-propaganda efforts by rejecting $80 million designated for efforts to combat Russian and ISIS propaganda. In a letter to Secretary Tillerson, Rep. Engel underscored the risks to American security this decision poses, and called on the Secretary to reverse course or present a new strategy for dealing with this challenge.

“It is unacceptable to members of Congress that information warfare from Russia and ISIS will go unanswered. Doing nothing is not an option,” wrote Rep. Engel. “I urge you to come up with a strategy and work with Congress to implement it at once. Otherwise, the House and Senate will look for legislative alternatives to direct the Administration to treat the threats of Russia and ISIS with the seriousness they deserve.”

Full text of the letter follows:

Dear Mr. Secretary:

I'm seriously concerned by reportsthat you have decided not to use resources Congress provided to combat the propaganda campaigns of Russia and ISIS. The threats we face from these adversaries are clear, and I am troubled that you do not appear committed to the efforts needed to address them.

It seems again that this Administration just isn't getting the message about Russia, so let me put it plainly: Russia is not America's friend. President Putin attacked American democracy. He wants to splinter Western unity and undermine our alliances. His actions merit a tough response, not the coddling that President Trump seems determined to offer him.

To compound matters, ISIS has employed propaganda as a key tool for recruitment and disseminating its violent anti-American message. They show no sign of backing down from their online efforts. Failing to come up with an effective strategy to combat that threat could seriously reverse the gains we've made and embolden ISIS and other terrorist groups to expand their propaganda campaigns.

Furthermore, since you've been Secretary, the State Department has struggled to understand Congress's intentions on these issues. While we, too, would ultimately like to see better relations with Russia, the Kremlin’s actions simply do not permit such improvement. Despite what the President tweets, Putin—not Congress—is responsible for the tensions between the United States and Russia. And despite the baffling statementfrom your spokesperson, our bipartisan legislation, passed by overwhelming majorities in the House and Senate, was designed to protect the United States from Vladimir Putin’s aggression and punish Moscow for interfering with American democracy, invading Ukraine, and other malign actions. As such, when Congress allocated nearly $80 million for anti-propaganda efforts, the signal should have been clear that Congress wants this issue addressed.

It is unacceptable to members of Congress that information warfare from Russia and ISIS will go unanswered. Doing nothing is not an option. I urge you to come up with a strategy and work with Congress to implement it at once. Otherwise, the House and Senate will look for legislative alternatives to direct the Administration to treat the threats of Russia and ISIS with the seriousness they deserve.

I look forward to your reply on this matter.

Sincerely,

ELIOT L. ENGEL

Ranking Member

Committee on Foreign Affairs