Déjà Vu All Over Again

By DEACON MIKE MANNO

It was only a few weeks ago in this column that I wrote about my radio interview with Kyle Seraphin, the FBI whistleblower who released the bureau’s field report which impugned “radical traditional Catholics” as some sort of hate cult.
He noted that the report, apparently written by a left-wing activist, was based, in part, upon accusations by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which he described as a non-reliable source for an FBI investigation. The SPLC, as discussed in the interview, was once a well-respected civil rights organization that has warped into a left-wing institution that characterizes many on the right as facilitating hate.
Thus, I was surprised when, in the aftermath of a riot over the location — and apparent existence — of a new police training facility outside Atlanta, Ga., one of those arrested and charged with domestic terrorism was an SPLC staff attorney by the name of Thomas Jurgens. He was one of twenty-three so charged after “demonstrators” threw rocks at police and started fires at the site of the proposed training facility.
In response to Jurgens’ arrest, the SPLC issued a statement confirming his employment and told the news media that Jurgens was at the riot as a “legal observer” for the National Lawyers Guild (NLG). The guild issued its own statement claiming Jurgens was present “supporting movement organizers and activists.” It added that Jurgens and other NLG legal observers are “trained witnesses of police conduct.”
Okay, let me understand this: The NLG, which could easily be classified as a left-leaning entity, has trained and is using an SPLC attorney to attend violent events carried out by “movement” supporters to watch for a potential overreaction by police, apparently for use in subsequent legal proceedings.
That would imply, seemingly, a recognition that the “demonstration” was not only planned ahead of time, but that the mob of protesters might be inclined to do something that would require a police response. That leads me to question the integrity of the individual attorney, and the two organizations to which he belongs; the whole thing sounds like a set-up to me: Provoke the police by pelting them with rocks and set the surrounding area on fire. Of course, it was probably only a peaceful fire as we’ve seen before.
Now this takes me back to the SPLC whose investigations the Biden administration’s Department of Justice relies upon to get the skinny on those nefarious folks who support such hate organizations as the Latin Mass.
The SPLC, as mentioned before, was once a legitimate civil rights organization that gave legal representation to those who had, for whatever reason, little or no access to legal assistance. In that, it had done well. But now it stands as an entity that is looking for hate under every rock in sight. Now in doing so it has pointed its finger at many groups that could legitimately be called “hate groups.” Many would be readily recognizable, but many more are small groups that have only limited ability to cause much mischief.
On the other hand, the SPLC seems to find that any person or groups who oppose same-sex marriage, the use of schools to condition children in the great delusion of transgenderism, oppose abortion, and embrace traditional values such as family, are, in fact, hate groups.
Let me give you a rundown of some of the prominent haters, according to the SPLC:
First and foremost is the Family Research Council and its president, Tony Perkins, who is listed personally in a hate profile. Why? According to the SPLC’s web page: “FRC helped launch the religious right as an overt political movement in the 1980s and remains one of the largest anti-LGBTQ organizations in the U.S.” Hmmm, and we thought they were the good guys.
Also included is the Alliance Defending Freedom which we know as a very significant legal player defending religious liberty (which apparently now is bad) not only against government interference, but in the workplace, the military, and even in the schools. They do a lot more, but what seems to be held against them is the claim that “men who self-identify as women are still biological men.”
And we find listed the Pacific Justice Institute and its president Brad Dacus. Another religious liberty supporter; I guess they didn’t get the message that this was all wrong now. PJI was cited for supporting California’s Proposition 8 which would have banned same-sex marriage and for such other sins as opposing reparative therapy which is being used to “affirm” your child’s belief that he might really be a she.
Liberty Counsel is another pro-bono legal group coming to the assistance of Christians who are being denied their religious freedoms by intrusive action by government, schools, workplaces, and the military. Its sin is that it is classified as “anti-gay,” apparently because it doesn’t support transgender classrooms, among other evils.
Also caught up in this dragnet is the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, Mich. Many of these and similar legal organizations have appeared on my radio program, Faith on Trial, to discuss cases that they are taking, and winning at all levels of the judicial system. They all have one thing in common: They support traditional Christian and family values.
Other organizations receiving SPLC condemnation include: the Illinois Family Institute and the Fatima Crusader and Rosary Crusade, the latter two for radical traditional Catholicism. Apparently publishing opinions which the SPLC finds hateful will put you on the hate list as well, such as The Catholic Family News and The Remnant, all radical traditional Catholics.
Also on the list are many individuals, including retired Lt. Gen. Jerry Boykin, apparently for his work with the Family Research Council; former Trump aide Stephen Miller who now is chief counsel for America First Legal, a conservative legal defense group defending conservative political principles; and Brian Fisher of the American Family Association, which, according to the illuminaries at SPLC, is anti-gay.
Okay, so now we know who these people are. They obviously disagree with many Christian, Catholic, and traditional values held by the American people. And, needless to say, they have a right to make their views known. And in their efforts, we must concede that they have noted several groups who are well-known for hate, although many they finger are only remnants of what they used to be in the times of KKK and Jim Crow.
But this all begs the question: Why is the Justice Department — under a man who was once promoted as a nominee for the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland — relying on these people for advice on whom to investigate? I’m sorry, but in my mind both Garland and FBI chief Christopher Wray need to be given the heave-ho. The last thing we need in this country is to be governed by the instincts of a bunch of wing nuts from the political left who have no compunction in making accusations against people with whom they disagree.
If you think I’m wrong, just ask any parent who is now afraid of speaking up at a school board meeting.

• + + (You can reach Mike at: DeaconMike@q.com and listen to him every weekend on Faith On Trial or podcast at https://iowacatholicradio.com/faith-on-trial/)