Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC Condemns Trump Administration Attack on the Southern Poverty Law Center, Civil Rights Movement
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday, the Trump administration escalated their attacks on our civil rights and the safety of communities by targeting the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for their work to dismantle white supremacist organizations and protect people from extremist violence.
John C Yang, President and Executive Director of Asian Americans Advancing Justice – AAJC (Advancing Justice – AAJC), issues the following statement in response:
“Every person deserves to live free from hate and violence. We condemn the Trump Administration’s escalating pattern of intimidation and retaliation against nonprofit and civil society organizations working to promote civil rights, prevent hate, extremism, and political violence. The attack on SPLC, which has been on the front lines of fighting against white supremacy and extremism for the past 55 years, sends a chilling message to civil society, journalists, researchers, and nonprofit organizations alike that they must choose silence even when acting to protect public safety. When those working to prevent hate are silenced, violence follows—most acutely for historically targeted groups, including Asian American communities—undermining both public safety and our democratic values.”
For more than five decades, SPLC has played a central role in exposing hate groups, disrupting violent extremist networks, and advancing civil rights, in cooperation with law enforcement. This prosecution reflects a troubling misalignment of priorities, targeting those seeking to expose extremism rather than the extremist actors themselves. This is why congressional oversight of federal law enforcement matters.
Advancing Justice – AAJC stands in solidarity with SPLC and all civil society organizations facing intimidation for doing the work that keeps communities safe. We call on everyone to defend the independent institutions essential to ensuring we can all live free from hate and violence.
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