Terry Schilling, president of The American Principles Project, left, and and Susan Corke, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project | AmericanPrinciplesProject.org / SPLCenter.org
Terry Schilling, president of The American Principles Project, left, and and Susan Corke, director of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Project | AmericanPrinciplesProject.org / SPLCenter.org
The president of the Virginia-based American Principles Project criticized the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for including Moms for Liberty, which has 18 chapters in North Carolina, in SPLC’s recently-released “Year in Hate and Extremism 2022” report.
"I would like to congratulate Moms for Liberty for the great recognition they have attained by being added to the SPLC hate group map,” said APP President Terry Schilling told Old North News. “It is a badge of honor that they should wear with pride.”
"Of course, the SPLC long ago gave up any pretense of being a legitimate, fair-minded judge of extremism,” Schilling said. “Moms for Liberty has been targeted not because they are 'extreme' but because they are effective."
Founded in 2009 by Princeton University Professor Robert P. George and political strategist Frank Cannon, APP’s website says it “is the premier national organization engaging directly in campaigns and advocacy on behalf of the family.” Schilling has served as president since 2021.
The SPLC says its report includes “1225 hate and anti-government groups across the U.S.,” including 43 in North Carolina.
Moms for Liberty is a national organization with chapters in 44 states. 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."
Deseret News reported that Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice said of the SPLC report, "If this is what makes you an extremist — standing up for freedom and liberty and fighting for your children to get a good education and asking questions when the institutions of our government like our public schools are failing to meet the needs of the people. ... I mean, is that really what extremism is in America today?”
The Washington Free Beacon reported on June 7, 2023 that White House records show the author of the report, Susan Corke, director of the SPLC's 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."
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