Conservatives defend Moms for Liberty after SPLC designates it a hate group

In the week since the Southern Poverty Law Center included conservative nonprofit Moms for Liberty in its list of extremist anti-government organizations, Republican lawmakers and conservative organizations have been quick to circle the wagons in the group’s defense.

The SPLC, a civil rights watchdog that tracks groups like the Ku Klux Klan, released its annual Year in Hate and Extremism report on June 6 and named Moms for Liberty among 702 anti-government groups across the United States.

The group was founded in 2021 to oppose mask mandates, but has since expanded its list of targets.

“Moms for Liberty is a far-right organization that engages in anti-student inclusion activities and self-identifies as part of the modern parental rights movement,” the SPLC says. “The group grew out of opposition to public health regulations for COVID-19, opposes LGBTQ+ and racially inclusive school curriculum, and has advocated books bans.”

The SPLC cites examples of the organization’s and its members’ statements in making the designation.

“The K-12 Cartel – also known as the National Teachers Union (NEA) – met and drafted a proposal to replace the word ‘Mother’ with ‘Birthing Person.’ This is insane and insulting to every mom in America. But don’t worry, relief is coming…Because as the Teachers Union pushes an agenda focused on everything BUT educating our children, American Parents are rising up, taking back our school districts and putting the focus back on educating our children,” Tiffany Justice, a Moms for Liberty co-founder, said on Fox News in July 2022. “To be clear – You will not be seeing ‘Moms for Liberty’ rebranded as ‘Birthing Persons for Liberty’ anytime soon.”

Another example the SPLC cites is a tweet from Moms for Liberty’s that resulted in its Twitter account being suspended in July 2022 (it has since been restored): “Gender dysphoria is a mental health disorder that is being normalized by predators across the USA. California kids are at extreme risk from predatory adults. Now they want to ‘liberate’ children all over the country. Does a double mastectomy on a preteen sound like progress?”

The evidence didn’t deter Republicans from rushing to defend the group, though.

“Now the Southern Poverty Law Center is going on offense and they’ve decided to target Moms for Liberty. Let me say Moms for Liberty, they are phenomenal women. They are moms who are standing up for their kids,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said on his podcast the day after the SPLC released its new report.

Cruz was far from the only one.

Sen. Rick Scott of Florida tweeted on June 9: “@Moms4Liberty does important work fighting for parents’ rights. The radical Left is attacking them because they don’t believe that parents should have a say in what their kids are being taught in school.

Conservative news outlet the Washington Free Beacon tied the SPLC’s designation to the fact that its Intelligence Project director had met with Biden administration counterterrorism officials, a story Fox News later picked up.

Indiana U.S. Rep. Jim Banks amplified the Free Beacon’s story, saying on Twitter: “Here they go again! The Biden admin wants to punish and persecute any parent who goes against their radical agenda. We won’t back down!”

Turning Point USA, a nonprofit that organizes conservative students, put out a tweet calling the SPLC’s designation “far-Left extremist propaganda” and accusing the organization of targeting Moms for Liberty “for reputational assassination.”

“I’m #TeamMom,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene tweeted in response to Turning Point.

Conservatives’ attacks weren’t just on the SPLC’s designation. Cruz did not shy away from openly attacking the organization itself on his podcast.

“I’m going to say right now, the SPLC is a radical left-wing hate group,” Cruz said. “I’m going to use that term. They hate you, they hate me, they hate America, they hate conservatives, they hate the Constitution, they hate the Bill of Rights, they hate families, they hate moms, they hate dads, they hate anyone who stands up for this country.”

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.