Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson’s relationship with the Southern Poverty Law Center is raising serious new questions after the Michigan House Oversight Committee released emails showing an extended and close connection between Benson and the organization, even after she took office as Michigan’s top election official.
The SPLC is now facing federal criminal charges following an FBI investigation into allegations of money laundering and wire fraud. The federal indictment alleges that between 2014 and 2023, SPLC funds were secretly funneled to individuals associated with violent extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, and the National Socialist Party of America.
That timeline matters. Benson served on the SPLC Board of Directors from 2014 through 2018, directly overlapping with several years covered by the federal indictment. The newly released emails also show Benson continued engaging with SPLC leaders after becoming Secretary of State, including involvement in a 2019 SPLC event with other secretaries of state from across the country, months after she took office.
This was not just a past affiliation. The documents suggest Benson maintained a working relationship with the SPLC while serving in a role responsible for overseeing Michigan elections.
The emails also include more recent internal communications from Benson’s office responding to media inquiries about the criminal charges against SPLC, including references to taking conversations “offline.” House Oversight Chair Jay DeBoyer said that kind of language raises even more questions because public officials sometimes use offline conversations to avoid records requests.
Rep. Rachelle Smit put the issue plainly: Benson either knew what was happening inside an organization she helped lead, or her leadership was so weak that she missed serious allegations unfolding during her time there.
Either way, Michigan voters deserve answers.
Speaker Matt Hall and House Republicans have made transparency and accountability a central mission, and this is exactly why. When a statewide elected official has deep ties to an organization facing federal criminal charges, continued coordination with election officials after taking office, and internal staff communications that appear to avoid public scrutiny, the people deserve the full truth. House Oversight Republicans are following the records, asking the hard questions, and demanding accountability from Jocelyn Benson.
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