Overview

• Director Kash Patel confirmed the bureau ended longstanding partnerships with the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League that had included research sharing, training, and hate-crime guidance.
• The rupture followed both groups’ online entries about Turning Point USA, as the ADL pulled its Glossary of Extremism for being outdated and misused while the SPLC defended its hate-tracking work.
• Republican lawmakers including Mike Lee, Tommy Tuberville, Chip Roy, and Tom Cotton praised the decision and urged steps such as a select committee review and reevaluating the SPLC’s tax-exempt status.
• MAGA influencers, joined by Elon Musk, accused the watchdogs of stigmatizing conservatives and blamed their labels for inflaming hostility after Charlie Kirk’s assassination, which both groups condemned.
• Activists are extending the pressure campaign to private companies by urging PayPal and Google to reconsider reliance on ADL and SPLC research and visibility in search results.