Center to host live panel on ‘Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center’

WASHINGTON—The Center for Security Policy will host a panel discussion from 10 to 11 a.m. on March 10 featuring PJ Media senior editor Tyler O’Neil discussing his new book, “Making Hate Pay: The Corruption of the Southern Poverty Law Center” (Bombardier, 2020).

O’Neil’s well-researched book thoroughly documents the long history of dishonesty and corruption that has pervaded the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) since its founding by Morris Dees in 1971, and which culminated in the March 2019 firing of Dees and other top SPLC leaders over allegations of racial discrimination and workplace sexual harassment. The book also looks at SPLC’s history of using shoddy research and misinformation to deliberately target conservative groups and constrain free speech on political and religious topics.

Joining Tyler on the panel will be Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin, vice president of the Family Research Council (FRC). On Aug. 15, 2012, the Family Research Center was attacked by Floyd Lee Corkins, who shot and wounded a security guard before being subdued. Corkins later told investigators he targeted the group based on a “Hate Group” designation published by the Southern Poverty Law Center and that he intended to kill as many FRC employees as possible. Gen. Boykin will discuss the impact of the SPLC smear campaign and what organizations are doing in response.

Moderating the discussion will be Kyle Shideler, the Center’s Director and Senior Analyst for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism.

The panel will be live streamed on the Center for Security Policy’s YouTube and Facebook pages.

Visit the media page for the Center here or visit the Center for Security Policy website or @SecureFreedom Twitter.