The Southern Poverty Law Center raises money by presenting itself as the expert on combating “hate,” and then exaggerating “hate” to scare donors into ponying up cash. The problem? The SPLC’s inflated demand for “hate” has long outstripped the supply. Thousands of donors expect the SPLC to prove there’s enough “hate” to justify their donations, and that often leaves the center scrambling to keep up. A jaw-dropping Justice Department indictment, filed Tuesday, appears to reveal yet another way the SPLC tried to meet this demand. The SPLC has a clearinghouse for hate, a “hate map” that claims to reveal the “infrastructure of white supremacy.” The SPLC map has included old shopkeepers in the South who still support the Confederacy, but most Americans know people like that are irrelevant. The center’s more cunning strategy involves branding mainstream conservatives and Christians as “hate groups” and “anti-government extremists,” putting them on the map for the sin of disagreeing with the SPLC’s agenda. That has the added bonus of delegitimizing the SPLC’s opponents—but it seems the center is running out of new groups to add. First, it was conservative Christians like the Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom. Then, it was opponents of illegal immigration, like the Federation on American Immigration Reform. Now, it’s Moms for Liberty, PragerU, Focus on the Family, and Turning Point USA. They’re on the cusp of adding the entire conservative movement to the map. So, what do you do if you can’t keep exaggerating hate? Well, you manufacture your own, of course! If a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville isn’t quite big enough, you can just pay someone to transport more people to attend. If your “extremist files” on homegrown Nazis are running a bit sparse, why not just throw a cool seventy grand at the problem? If Americans are catching on that the Ku Klux Klan basically doesn’t exist anymore, why not bankroll a Klan member’s lawsuit to try to sponsor a highway? I’m not clever enough to come up with those ideas—I took them from the Justice Department’s indictment. Of course, that’s not the only strategy the indictment revealed. To call this hate inflation strategy a risk would be a vast understatement. If the SPLC ever did this, they’d have to work overtime to bury it, so it would never see the light of day. As it happens, the SPLC seems to have a strategy for that, too. The Justice Department outlines how the SPLC allegedly set up shell companies to hide the funding. That’s where the alleged illegality comes in: six counts of wire fraud, four counts of false statements to federally insured banks, and one count of conspiracy to conceal money laundering. What does the SPLC have to say for itself? Well, it claims that it hired “paid confidential informants” to “gather credible intelligence on extremely violent groups.” That might make sense in the 1980s, when Klansmen actually firebombed the SPLC’s headquarters, but it makes far less sense during the period covered by the indictment, 2014 to 2023. Maybe the SPLC would need an informant to tip them off if a Klansman targeted a church, for example. Instead, it seems the SPLC was supervising a leader at the Unite the Right rally as he made racist posts. The SPLC hasn’t just been calling out hate—it seems to have been investing in it. And, judging by the center’s $739.4 million endowment, it’s been paying dividends.

When Assistant Secretary of Health Alex Adams led the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, he ended the state’s “orphan tax.” Now he is helping every other state do the same thing.  “We’ve got a long way to go, but we’re gonna keep at this,” said Adams, who leads the Administration of Children and Families at the Department of Health and Human Services. “I think it’s morally wrong, and we’re gonna use every lever available to us.” When parents die before withdrawing their Social Security benefits and their children subsequently enter the foster care system, about 30 states have a policy of taking the benefits to pay for their care instead of that money going directly to the child.  "It is literally the worst of the worst government I have come across."@ACF_Adams tells @DailySignal how he is working to end the "orphan tax," a tax on the social security benefits of orphans in the foster care system. “I think it's morally wrong, and we're gonna use every… pic.twitter.com/FT16qXCimZ— Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell (@TheElizMitchell) April 24, 2026 Every child in the foster care system costs the state the same amount, but only orphans are expected to pay their own way.  “That’s why it’s called the orphan tax,” Adams told The Daily Signal. “States are taxing orphans at 100% of their benefits to offset government expenses.”  When Adams first heard about the tax, he couldn’t believe it was real.  “It is literally the worst of the worst government I have come across,” Adams said.  In December, ACF sent letters to 39 states that continued to tax orphans’ benefits, and so far, 10 have changed their policy. Utah, Idaho, Mississippi, and Kentucky passed legislation, while Nebraska and Louisiana’s governors signed executive orders.  To push states to end the orphan tax, Adams said he started with “honey,” writing the letters, and said soon he’ll work up to “vinegar,” conditioning grants on ending the orphan tax.  “Every governor has the ability to end this today through courage and executive action,” he said. “Several Republican governors ended it through executive order. I would challenge Gov. [Tim] Walz in Minnesota to end this through executive action and others. Let’s do right by these orphans.” If an orphan has access to their parents’ Social Security benefits, it could change the course of their life, Adams said.  “Having the resources that their parents left for them might change the entire trajectory between success or failure in life,” he said. “That’s a down payment on a house. It’s helps with rent. It’s an education or career technical education.” “We’re gonna look for ways to continue to preserve those resources so that when youth age out of foster care,” he continued, “they have the resources necessary to be successful.” The Biden administration also attempted to end the orphan tax, but it was unsuccessful.  “The Biden administration put out a thin gruel on this, and basically tried to create the perception that they cared about the issue without taking any actual actions,” Adams said.  “We’re traveling around the states—I’m actually gonna be in a state next week to do an event with a governor who’s gonna be ending it—and we mean what we say,” he said, “and we’re gonna continue to push on this.”  Adams said the only argument he has heard in favor of the tax is that the state governments need the money. Adams, who was a state budget director for six legislative sessions, said he’s never seen this argument ring true.  “There is no state budget director that I have ever come across that wants to balance their budget on the backs of orphans,” he said. “Have an honest conversation with your state budget director. Put a little bit of elbow grease in this and demonstrate the creativity with which I know every state budget director and child welfare director in the country can.”

President Donald Trump called on Americans to “recommit” to resolve their differences peacefully after a shooter disrupted the White House Correspondents Dinner Saturday evening. The Secret Service took a gunman into custody after he ran past a security checkpoint at the Washington Hilton. The gunman shot a Secret Service agent, but did not wound him, before law enforcement subdued him and took him into custody. “As you know, this is not the first time in the past couple of years that our republic has been attacked by a would-be assassin who sought to kill,” the president said in a press conference after announcing that law enforcement had apprehended the shooter. “In Butler, Pennsylvania, less than two years ago—you all know that story—and in Palm Beach, Florida, a few months after that,” he faced assassination attempts, Trump noted. “In light of this evening’s events, I ask that all Americans recommit with their hearts and resolving our differences peacefully.” RECOMMIT OURSELVES TO PEACEPresident Trump calls for all Americans to "recommit" themselves to resolving differences peacefully after the White House Correspondents Dinner shooting. He mentioned the assassination attempts in Butler and West Palm Beach. pic.twitter.com/dsaopzA6MZ— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) April 26, 2026 Trump said “the most impactful people” face assassination threats. He cited President Abraham Lincoln. “Nobody told me this was such a dangerous profession,” he said, joking that if Marco Rubio “would have told me, maybe I wouldn’t have run.” Yet Trump insisted that the work is worth the danger. “I’m here to do a job. It’s part of the job, it is a dangerous—I can’t imagine that there’s any profession that’s more dangerous,” he said. “We’ve got, I think, the most successful, the hottest country anywhere in the world.” “We’re going to do great things. With that comes risk,” he noted. “No question about it.” A reporter asked him if facing political violence is “the cost of doing business,” and Trump said, “Yeah, it is.” A DANGEROUS PROFESSIONPresident Trump speaks about the inherent danger of leading a great country like the US, and about why he thinks he faces threats to his life: because he's effective. pic.twitter.com/WXjRApP8R3— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) April 26, 2026 Trump explained the confusion at the White House Correspondents Dinner. “A man charged a security checkpoint armed with multiple weapons, and he was taken down by some very brave members of Secret Service,” the president explained. He later noted that the assailant “charged from 50 yards away.” WHAT HAPPENED?!President Trump explains what happened outside the White House Correspondents Dinner tonight. A man charged a security checkpoint with multiple weapons, and opened fire. pic.twitter.com/fOJZcyAy4e— Tyler O'Neil (@Tyler2ONeil) April 26, 2026 Trump also released footage of the incident. The shooter hit one officer, whose bulletproof vest saved his life. “The vest did the job,” Trump said. “We told him we love him and respect him.” The president mentioned that the ballroom he intends to build at the White House would be more secure. “We need the ballroom, that’s why Secret Service, the military, are demanding it,” he said. The assailant has been captured, and Trump described him as a “lone wolf wack-job.” The president promised that they would reschedule the White House Correspondents Dinner “within the next 30 days, and we’ll make it bigger and better and even nicer.” He said he “fought like hell to stay,” but law enforcement recommended against it. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche predicted that the Justice Department would bring many criminal charges against the attacker. FBI Director Kash Patel praised law enforcement, saying, “You saw the very best of America tonight.” The first few weeks of 2026 saw at least 10 incidents involving serious threats against Trump or members of his administration.

WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump and officials in his administration were the likely targets of a suspect who fired on a security agent guarding the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, U.S. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Sunday. The man fired a shotgun at a Secret Service agent at a security checkpoint in the Washington Hilton hotel before being tackled and arrested. Trump and first lady Melania Trump were rushed out of the dinner. “It does appear that he, he did, in fact, have set out to target folks that work in the administration, likely including the president,” Blanche told NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” adding that the suspect likely traveled by train from Los Angeles to Chicago and then to Washington. The suspect will be charged in federal court on Monday with assault of a federal officer, discharging a firearm and attempting to kill a federal officer, Blanche said, adding he did not know if there was an Iran connection to the attack. Condemnation of Shooting Trump told reporters at a late-night White House briefing that he believed he was the target of the attack. He said the Secret Service officer was saved by his bulletproof vest and was in “good shape.” U.S. Secret Service spokesperson Anthony Guglielmi confirmed the officer had been released from a hospital. ABC News correspondent Jonathan Karl reported that Trump called him on Sunday morning and insisted that the White House Correspondent’s Association reschedule the dinner. “It has to happen,” Karl said Trump told him. Around the world, leaders condemned the attack, and expressed relief that Trump and all present were safe, demonstrating solidarity with the United States. NATO leader Mark Rutte called it an attack “on our free and open societies” and leaders stressed violence had no place in a democracy. The British embassy, which is preparing for King Charles’ visit to Washington starting on Monday, said in a statement that discussions were taking place on whether the incident may affect planning for the visit. A pre-visit brunch hosted by Britain’s ambassador to the U.S., Christian Turner, was scheduled to proceed on Sunday. Suspect Thought to Be a ‘Lone Wolf,’ Trump Says A law enforcement official identified the suspect as Cole Tomas Allen, a California resident about 31 years old. Little was immediately known about Allen’s background, but social media postings suggested he was a teacher in Torrance, near Los Angeles. Washington Interim Police Chief Jeffery Carroll said the suspect was armed with a shotgun, a handgun and multiple knives. He was taken to a local hospital to be evaluated but it was too soon to say what his motivation was, Carroll said. Bloomberg reported that Allen purchased a shotgun 8 months ago and a semi-automatic pistol 2 years earlier, citing a law enforcement intelligence profile. Blanche said the suspect appeared to have checked into the Washington Hilton on Friday. Without naming the person, he said the suspect was not cooperating with investigators. “There is something unique about the threats against President Trump and his cabinet that is disgusting and it shouldn’t be happening,” Blanche said on “ABC This Week.” The chaotic events from around 8:35 p.m. raised fresh questions about the security of top U.S. officials, many of whom were gathered in the hotel’s expansive ballroom. A focus of the investigation is likely to be how the gunman was able to smuggle the weapons into a hotel hosting one of Washington’s biggest black-tie events. Guests entering the lower ballroom area are screened by security, but the lobby and room levels are not secured. The dinner was attended by many members of Trump’s cabinet and other senior administration officials amid heavy security. It was the first time Trump attended the event as president, having boycotted it in previous years. The site of the dinner was the scene of an attempt on the life of President Ronald Reagan, who was shot and wounded by a would-be assassin outside the hotel in 1981. Closed-circuit TV footage released by Trump on Truth Social showed the suspect running rapidly through a security checkpoint, momentarily catching security personnel off-guard before they drew their weapons. No shots were fired at the gunman who got through two checkpoints before being brought down. “You know, he charged from 50 yards away, so he was very far away from the room. He was moving. He was really moving,” Trump said after the gala dinner was canceled. Officials believe he is a “lone wolf,” Trump said. How It Unfolded Video footage shows Trump and his wife sitting at a banquet table on stage in conversation with someone when a commotion at the rear of the ballroom—caused by the noise of gunshots—triggers a ripple of gasps through the room. People started screaming “Get down, get down!” Many of the 2,600 attendees dressed in tuxedos and ball gowns took cover under tables as security personnel drew their weapons, with some pushing cabinet secretaries to the floor and covering them with their bodies while others formed a protective cordon. Security personnel in combat fatigues stormed the stage pointing rifles into the ballroom as Trump, his wife Melania and Vice President JD Vance were evacuated. Cabinet members who had been sitting at tables dotted around the vast room were escorted out by their security details one by one. Trump stayed backstage for about an hour after being hustled from the stage, a source told Reuters. He later said he had not wanted to leave the event, a remark that echoed images of him defiantly pumping his fist after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in 2024. In that attempt, Trump was wounded in his upper ear by a 20-year-old gunman, who was shot dead by security personnel. (Reporting by Bo Erickson, Nandita Bose, Jana Winter, Steve Holland, Kanishka Singh, Tim Reid, Jonathan Landay, Steve Gorman, Trevor Hunnicutt, Susan Heavey, Jasper Ward, Gram Slattery, Humeyra Pamuk and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Writing by Tim Reid and David Lawder; Editing by William Mallard, Sergio Non, Ross Colvin, Caitlin Webber and Bill Berkrot)

Republican Sen. Jim Banks has come out in support of President Donald Trump’s proposed triumphal arch in Washington, D.C., calling for it to serve as a template for the construction of more neoclassical architecture of its type in the capital. Trump has proposed that a 250-foot triumphal arch be constructed on Columbia Island—a piece of land in the Potomac River. “It’s big, it’s beautiful, and it sends a message that America is the greatest country in the history of the world,” Banks, R-Ind., told The Daily Signal in a statement about the proposed arch.  Banks introduced the Beautifying Civic Architecture Act in Sept. 2025, which seeks to codify Trump’s “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again” executive order. A great country should build buildings that inspire and stand the test of time. What we build reflects our values. I spoke on the Senate floor about why classical and traditional architecture matters pic.twitter.com/5QHUsCl7kT— Senator Jim Banks (@SenatorBanks) April 16, 2026 Banks told The Daily Signal the bill “would ensure that more classically inspired projects like the Triumphal Arch are built in Washington, D.C., and around the country for many years to come.” If it became law, it would make classical architecture the “preferred and default architecture” for federal buildings in Washington and would discourage brutalist and deconstructivist styles. Trump’s proposed design for the arch, which would be the largest ever built, received initial approval from the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, a presidentially appointed board, in April. The commission also approved a proposal to paint the granite exterior of the Eisenhower Executive Office Building.  The plans for the arch have yet to receive approval from the National Capital Planning Commission—the agency tasked with providing guidance on building in the capital region—or from Congress.