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The Congressional Black Caucus and 270 left-leaning groups tried to block me from testifying in Congress. Their rationale was extremely hypocritical and, dare I say, Orwellian.

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CBC Chair @RepYvetteClarke said the hearing—which focused on my research on the SPLC—was a "deliberate effort to intimidate and discredit an institution that has spent decades defending civil rights, exposing hate, and advancing opportunity for all Americans."

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She said the hearing "undermines the very civil institutions that give everyday people voice, protection, and power."

So, she's endorsing the SPLC's "hate" accusations and failing to admit that the SPLC itself has undermined "civil institutions." More on that later.

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The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights organized 258 left-leaning groups against the hearing, including AFL-CIO, Center for American Progress, Human Rights Campaign, Brennan Center, Demos, SEIU, Tides, and the Western States Center.

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The letter claims that the hearing “is not about any single organization—it is about a broader effort to use government power to silence people.”

FACT CHECK: False. It was about the Southern Poverty Law Center, and its using government to silence people.

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“At stake is whether people—regardless of their viewpoint—can express themselves without fear of government retaliation," the letter says. It warns against "the repression of dissent."

That's quite ironic...

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The National Council of Nonprofits & Independent Sector warned the hearing would "chill the speech of organizations throughout our sector." The groups warned that this is subjecting "perceived political opponents to harassment."

Again, ironic.

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If these Democrats and activist groups truly cared about “repression of dissent” and the chilling of free speech, they wouldn’t line up so readily to defend one of the worst offenders in American society.

That's the message @JudiciaryGOP invited me to testify about.

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The SPLC routinely defames mainstream conservatives and Christians, comparing them to the Ku Klux Klan by putting them on a “hate map.”

I testified alongside two men whose organizations faced political violence after the SPLC attacked them.

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If these groups really oppose using "government power to silence people," they shouldn't be defending SPLC.

The FBI cited SPLC on "radical-traditional Catholics," SPLC briefed prosecutors in Merrick Garland's DOJ, & sent its "hate map" to Kristen Clarke's team.

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As I told @RepMcClintock, "there are few organizations that engage in the chilling of civil society more than the Southern Poverty Law Center."

It is beyond hypocritical for these groups to defend the SPLC in the name of upholding civil society.

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By protecting SPLC from scrutiny, the Congressional Black Caucus and its 260 allied leftist groups are abetting the chilling of speech. It seems these groups are fine with government silencing people—just so long as it’s not their people.

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