Palmetto State News

Former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-S.C.) criticized the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) after a "researcher" with the SPLC's Intelligence Project asked Haley if she would be speaking at the Moms for Liberty upcoming national summit.

"Hey, Southern Poverty Law Center, we’re proud to stand with Moms for Liberty," tweeted Haley, a candidate for the Republican U.S. presidential nomination. "It's NOT 'extremist' to save women's sports."

"It's NOT 'extremist' to make sure parents have a say in their children's education," Haley said. "It IS extremist to call a group of patriotic moms a 'hate group.'"

Haley is referring to the SPLC's recently-released “Year In Hate and Extremism 2022” report, which the SPLC includes "1225 hate and anti-government groups across the U.S.," of which thirty are in South Carolina.

Included in the report are groups such as Moms for Liberty, which has chapters in twenty South Carolina counties. The group's website says its mission is "fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government."

Haley is scheduled to speak at the Moms for Liberty national summit later this month, along with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and former President Donald Trump (R). Her tweet included a screenshot of an email from a researcher with the SPLC's Intelligence Project, noting the inclusion of Moms for Liberty in the SPLC's report, and informing Haley that the SPLC plans to "publish a story" about Haley's attendance at the Moms for Liberty event.

Based in Melbourne, Fla., Moms for Liberty was founded by three moms and officially incorporated in 2021. The group's website says its mission is "fighting for the survival of America by unifying, educating and empowering parents to defend their parental rights at all levels of government."

The SPLC's Intelligence Project was in the news recently, as the Washington Free Beacon reported that White House records show that Susan Corke, director of the Intelligence Project, met with members of the Biden Administration on January 6 of this year.

"While it is unclear what Corke discussed in the White House visit, the meeting was held amid growing pressure on the Biden administration to track parents upset by schools' coronavirus policies and left-wing classroom curricula," reported the Free Beacon. "Moms for Liberty and Parents Defending Education have emerged as the leading grassroots groups in the movement against mask mandates at schools and curricula that promote critical race theory and transgender issues."

Palmetto State News previously reported that U.S. Sen. Tom Scott (R-S.C.) criticized the SPLC report, saying, "The radical Left continues to target parents who want the best for their kids."