Katie Heid, Michigan News Source
LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – The questions over Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s ties to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) persist, and now a nonpartisan watchdog group is calling for an investigation into her relationship with the federally-indicted group.
Democracy Restored is asking the Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission to look into potential ethics violations regarding Benson. The Michigan Supreme Court appoints the nine-member commission of six lawyers and three nonlawyers for three-year terms.
In a June 1 letter, Democracy Restored Director Houston Keene pointed to the recent federal indictment that alleges the SPLC incited “violent or extremist groups” to move “more than $3 million in donated funds to fictitiously named bank accounts controlled by SPLC operatives.” In other words, the indictment accuses the SPLC of funding racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan and encouraging violence. Then, the SPLC would speak out against the very violence it incited.