Brad Dacus, a Christian attorney and head of a prominent religious-liberty nonprofit, is publicly challenging the new leadership of the Southern Poverty Law Center over its decision to brand mainstream Christian ministries as hate groups.
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In an open letter reported by The Blaze, Dacus, founder and president of the Pacific Justice Institute, addresses Lecia Brooks Haygood, recently appointed President and CEO of the SPLC, with a pointed spiritual and moral appeal. He congratulates her on the new role but immediately raises a stark warning about the incompatibility he sees between Christian faith and the SPLCs aggressive targeting of orthodox Christian organizations, writing, One cannot openly profess devotion to Jesus Christ on Sunday morning while leading an organization that labels fellow believers as hate groups on Monday.
Dacus notes that Haygood has been publicly praised by the SPLC board for her religious convictions and concern for human dignity and acknowledges, I understand that you are a purported follower of Jesus Christ and that the SPLC Board has publicly praised your religious convictions and concern for human dignity. He then contrasts that image with the reality of the institution she now leads, stating, I am also a Christian. However, I believe there is a contradiction between the faith we both profess and the institution you now lead.
Describing the work of the Pacific Justice Institute, Dacus explains that for nearly three decades his organization has defended religious liberty, parental rights, free speech, and other constitutional freedoms. He emphasizes that PJI has represented churches, schools, students, parents, veterans, business owners, and everyday Americans who believed their rights had been violated because of their faith and had nowhere else to turn.
Despite that record, Dacus points out that the institution you now lead classifies PJI as a hate group and has placed our nonprofit on a hate map alongside reputable Christian ministries such as Focus on the Family, Family Research Council, Alliance Defending Freedom, Liberty Counsel, and American Family Association. He stresses that PJI and these ministries have spent decades serving others and helping people live according to their convictions. We love God and our neighbors, and we seek to serve our communities faithfully.
Dacus underscores that these SPLC designations now fall under Haygoods authority, writing, Yet the SPLCs judgments of PJI and these organizations now bear your signature. He presses her with a direct challenge: Mr. Haygood, how do you reconcile your Christian witness with leading an institution that publicly brands Christian ministries as hateful because of their Bible-based beliefs?
Reiterating his central moral charge, Dacus repeats, One cannot openly profess devotion to Jesus Christ on Sunday morning while leading an organization that labels fellow believers as hate groups on Monday. He then poses a critical question to Haygood and, by extension, to the broader left-wing activist apparatus: Do you believe adherence to biblical teaching is sufficient grounds to classify a ministry as a hate group?
Dacus firmly rejects the SPLCs narrative about his organization, stating, Let me be clear: PJI categorically rejects the SPLCs accusations. We do not incite violence, bigotry, or hatred. The SPLC is wrong about who we are and what we do. He notes that Haygoods public profile cites 2 Timothy 1:7: For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Appealing to that verse, he argues that genuine Christian leadership should welcome scrutiny rather than suppress dissent, writing, If those words genuinely guide your leadership, then a public examination of the SPLCs accusations should not be viewed as a threat, but as an opportunity. He then issues a clear challenge: That is why I am extending a direct and public invitation to you.
Dacus invites Haygood to a face-to-face, on-the-record exchange, stating, I welcome you to join me for a recorded, in-person conversation. Sit across from me and explain why PJI and these other ministries deserve to be classified as hate groups. Defend the SPLCs accusations and conclusions. In an era when President Trumps second administration has emphasized religious liberty and pushed back against politicized lawfare, Dacuss appeal highlights the widening gulf between traditional Christian convictions and progressive institutions that seek to stigmatize them.
Framing the dispute as a test of Americas ability to tolerate genuine disagreement, Dacus writes, The issue before us extends far beyond PJI or the SPLC. It concerns whether Americans can still disagree without being publicly vilified and whether deeply held religious convictions can be represented fairly in our national conversation. He closes with a final appeal to Haygoods conscience and faith: The invitation stands, and I truly hope you accept it, signing the letter, Running the Race, BRAD DACUS, Founder and President Pacific Justice Institute.
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