Republicans are calling on their Democrat opponents to distance themselves from a leftist group accused of propping up the Ku Klux Klan in order to fundraise against it. Kevin Martin, a Republican challenging Rep. Lucy McBath in Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, called the Southern Poverty Law Center a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” because the group allegedly funded members of the Ku Klux Klan. “Any current politician or any candidate that has any association with them needs to … step as far away as possible from them,” Martin told the Daily Signal in a phone call Friday. If any candidate “received any sort of funding or financing” from the SPLC, “they need to return those funds and denounce the group altogether,” he added. On April 21, a federal grand jury indicted the SPLC for allegedly directing donor money to support the very white supremacist groups the SPLC raised money by claiming to oppose and for allegedly lying to a bank about the nature of shell companies it launched in order to fund the “field sources” in the Ku Klux Klan and other groups. The SPLC claims it was paying these “field sources” as informants to undermine the groups, but the indictment claims the SPLC paid for Klan robes, reimbursed a cross-burning, and paid to convince Klan members not to leave. The SPLC has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts, including wire fraud, bank fraud, and conspiracy to conceal money laundering. The SPLC has asked a judge to throw out the charges on grounds of “vindictive prosecution,” saying President Donald Trump’s administration targeted the SPLC for its criticism of the administration. Critics have also called the group “anti-Christian,” accusing it of putting mainstream conservative and Christian organizations on a “hate map” with chapters of the Ku Klux Klan. The SPLC claims these groups vilify people “typically for their immutable characteristics.” While the SPLC defended itself from the “anti-Christian” charge for years by noting that it didn’t put Focus on the Family on the map, it reversed that policy and put the group on the map last year. “They better ask mercy of God on them for what they have been falsifying,” Martin said. The SPLC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and does not endorse political candidates, but its 501(c)(4) affiliate, the SPLC Action Fund, endorsed Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Ga., Martin’s opponent. The SPLC Action Fund endorsed Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and contributed $700,000 to his 2020 campaign, according to Federal Election Commission filings. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Ga., Ossoff’s challenger in the general election, demanded the senator pay that cash back. “It seems to me that he’s got a very big problem,” Collins told Fox News. Neither Ossoff nor McBath responded to the Daily Signal’s requests for comment. In addition to Ossoff and McBath, the SPLC Action Fund endorsed these Democrats in Congress: Alabama Reps. Shomari Figures and Terri Sewell; Florida Rep. Maxwell Frost; Georgia Reps. Sanford Bishop and Hank Johnson; Louisiana Reps. Troy Carter and Cleo Fields; and Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson. “I am familiar with the Southern Poverty Law Center’s longstanding work to combat racism and hate in America,” Thompson told the Daily Signal when approached for comment. “I support that work and have no issue with the organization.” None of the other Democrats endorsed by SPLC Action Fund responded to the Daily Signal’s requests for comment. The SPLC Action Fund did not respond to the Daily Signal’s request for comment.