(Liberty Counsel) The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which grossly misrepresents and recklessly labels Christian, pro-family and conservative nonviolent groups as “hate groups,” has added Hannah Scherlacher, the program coordinator and a contributor for the Leadership Institute’s CampusReform.org, to its so-called “hate list.”
Scherlacher, who reports on left-wing abuse and bias on America’s college campuses, said in an op/ed for Fox News, “It’s an understatement to say that I was dumbfounded as to how I ended up on the Southern Poverty Law Center’s LGBTQ hate-list — I have never said or done anything to indicate hate for the LGBTQ community. When I called to inquire, SPLC informed me that I am guilty because I did a radio interview with Family Research Council Radio (FRC). The segment was about socialism, but because FRC holds traditional family values, I was labeled an LGBT-hater just for being a guest on the show. No LGBT topics even came-up.”
The SPLC also includes Liberty Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom, Family Research Council, the American Family Association and others in its listing of “hate groups” and lumps them in with violent groups like the KKK, Neo-Nazis and white supremacists. The SPLC refuses to include left-leaning organizations that do engage in or have a history of violence, including Antifa. The SPLC’s false labeling is a self-promoted fundraising tool that has dangerous consequences. Floyd Lee Corkins III confessed that he relied upon the SPLC “hate list” in his assault on the Family Research Council.
“Nowhere is the danger more real than on our college campuses where Antifa, By Any Means Necessary, and other domestic terror groups (which are not found on any SPLC hate list) now feel emboldened to attack conservative students and shut down events under the guise of — ironically — fighting fascism, hate and white supremacism. Two Berkeley students recently spoke to Martha MacCallum about being targeted, stalked and physically assaulted by Antifa for being members of the College Republicans club,” Scherlacher added.
“I am calling on SPLC to remove me from this list and stop engaging in the game of identity fear politics. I urge all Americans who have been bullied, silenced, and pushed into a corner by radical groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center to push back too,” Scherlacher said.
“Hannah Scherlacher is helping to expose bias and left-wing abuse on America’s college campuses and now she has become one of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s ‘hate list’ victims,” Mat Staver, Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel, said. “Neither Hannah Scherlacher or Family Research Council engage in or have a history of violence or hate. The SPLC has labeled them because FRC promotes traditional family values,” said Staver.
Liberty Counsel has prepared several documents rebutting the SPLC’s false, defamatory, and dangerous labeling here.
Liberty Counsel is an international nonprofit, litigation, education, and policy organization dedicated to advancing religious freedom, the sanctity of life, and the family since 1989, by providing pro bono assistance and representation on these and related topics.