Paxton opens investigation into SPLC as judge sets trial for fraud case

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced a new investigation into the Southern Poverty Law Center on Monday as a federal judge in Alabama moved forward with a criminal fraud case against the civil rights organization, setting a jury trial for October.

Paxton said his office has opened an investigation into the Alabama-based nonprofit group over allegations tied to its funding of “certain violent extremist groups that it claimed to oppose,” according to a press release from the attorney general’s office.