Steve Cortes, president of the League of American Workers, said on April 24 that “the Unite the Right rally was organized and financed by the highly partisan, left-wing Southern Poverty Law Center.” Cortes made this statement in a post on X featuring a clip from his appearance on Bannon’s WarRoom discussing the 2017 events in Charlottesville, Virginia. The discussion occurred in the context of the recent Department of Justice indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center regarding its alleged activities tied to extremism. The post served as a timely reminder of the ongoing scrutiny of how certain advocacy groups have influenced public understanding of those events, according to X.
The topic has drawn renewed attention following federal charges against the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Department of Justice indictment includes 11 counts such as wire fraud, false statements to a federally insured bank, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. Prosecutors allege that more than three million dollars in donor funds were funneled to individuals connected with extremist organizations between 2014 and 2023. One informant received over two hundred seventy thousand dollars and participated in planning related to the Charlottesville rally while under the group’s direction, according to The New York Times.
Cortes said, “For years, Democratic politicians and their allies in the legacy media have spread the damnable Charlottesville Hoax, the propaganda myth that President Trump praised bigots who rioted in 2017 in the Virginia town. Of course, the opposite is true, as Trump actually said, ‘I’m not talking about the neo-Nazis and white nationalists because they should be condemned totally.’ Now, we learn that the entire hoax of Trump and Charlottesville is, itself, built upon another grand lie.”
The 2017 Unite the Right rally took place in Charlottesville and drew participants from various groups for a planned gathering that ended in violent clashes. One counterprotester lost her life when a vehicle struck a crowd, and at least 19 others suffered injuries during confrontations. Local and state officials faced questions about permitting and crowd control measures at an event that drew international attention to Charlottesville’s community, according to The New York Times.
Cortes served as an advisor to President Trump during both presidential campaigns and has contributed commentary across major networks including Fox News and CNN. He founded League of American Workers (LAW) to focus on issues affecting working-class Americans with efforts emphasizing Hispanic outreach and polling. He has authored columns for RealClearPolitics on topics ranging from economic policy to cultural debates according to RealClearPolitics.
Founded in 2022 by political strategist Steve Cortes, LAW conducts research and develops proposals on public policies impacting American workers and the economy.