Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk came out swinging Tuesday night in response to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s (SPLC) latest annual report, which designates his conservative youth organization as a “hate group.” Appearing on The Ingraham Angle on Fox News, Kirk denounced the designation as not only defamatory but dangerous, claiming it could incite violence and chill free speech.
“Understand that they’re literally putting high school chapters of ours on a hate group list next to the KKK and next to neo-Nazi groups,” Kirk told host Laura Ingraham. “This is them trying to make us basically surrender at Turning Point USA.”
The SPLC’s 2024 report, released last Thursday, identifies 1,371 groups it classifies as “extremist,” citing what it describes as a growing threat to democratic institutions. Turning Point USA, which organizes young conservatives on high school and college campuses across the country, was included among those groups, prompting immediate backlash from the right.
A History of Dangerous Consequences?
Kirk warned that such labels can lead to real-world consequences, referencing the 2012 attack on the Family Research Council (FRC), where a gunman cited the SPLC’s hate map as part of his motivation. Tony Perkins, president of the FRC, blamed the SPLC’s rhetoric for fueling that violent attack, a connection Kirk says should not be overlooked.
“Remember that there was a shooter that went to the Family Research Council years ago, inspired by the SPLC list,” Kirk said. “This is reckless, dangerous targeting of ideological opponents.”
Rather than backing down in the face of the designation, Kirk said his organization would only push harder to promote its mission.
“We’re going to do the opposite, and our students are only going to lean in even more,” he vowed. “They can’t debate us on our ideas. They cannot have dialogue. They cannot actually go onto the merits of why they are right or why we might be wrong.”
A Broader Pattern?
The SPLC has drawn increasing criticism in recent years for broadening its definition of “extremism” to include mainstream conservative and parental rights groups. In 2023, the organization added Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education to its list of “hate and extremist organizations,” a move that was widely condemned by conservatives and civil liberties advocates as politically motivated.
Critics argue that the SPLC has evolved from a civil rights watchdog into a partisan enforcer, labeling ideological dissent as extremism. In a particularly damning critique, former SPLC staffer Bob Moser called the organization a “highly profitable scam” in a 2019 New Yorker exposé, accusing it of internal dysfunction, racial discrimination, and a culture of greed.
Kirk: “They Must Smear Us”
For Kirk, the SPLC’s actions are driven by fear of Turning Point USA’s growing influence among younger voters.
“They must smear us with the age-old one-liner that you are a racist or that you are a hater,” he said. “And they’re finally realizing the power of Turning Point USA, which is why they put us on the list.”
The SPLC has yet to publicly respond to Kirk’s appearance, but the broader backlash may force further scrutiny of its methods and criteria in labeling organizations as “hate groups.” Meanwhile, Kirk and his supporters are doubling down — not just in protest, but in purpose.
“This isn’t about hate,” Kirk concluded. “It’s about shutting down voices they can’t control.”
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The SPLC is a domestic terrorist organization and should be treated as such. Why anyone listens to these clowns is beyond me.
HOW ABOUT GETTING THE SPLC LABELED AS A TERRORIST ORGANIZATION OR SOMETHING SIMILAR?! THE DEM-O-RATS WERE/ARE THE KKK, AS THEY FORMED IT AT THE END OF THE CIVIL WAR!!! THEY’VE EVEN HAD MEMBERS OF CONGRESS SITTING NOT LONG AGO THAT WE KNOW OF (ROBERT BYRD)!!! THEY EVEN VOTED AGAINST THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT!!! WHAT MORE DO YOU NEED TO WAKE UP!!!