Civil Rights · Sep 10, 2026Evening News Recap — September 9, 2026

KEMETIC MINDS
Evening News Recap — September 9, 2026

Here is what shaped Black America and civil rights today.

1. White Supremacist Group Activity: White Supremacists Use SPLC Indictment as a Recruiting Tool

In April 2026, a federal grand jury indicted the Southern Poverty Law Center on wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy charges — and within hours, white supremacist influencers on Telegram, Gab and other platforms were celebrating the case as proof that the journalists and civil rights groups documenting extremism can no longer be trusted.^[1]

• The indictment alleges the SPLC secretly funneled more than US$3 million in donated funds to people associated with violent extremist groups, including the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan Nations.
• Eight informants received that money between 2014 and 2023, according to U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche.
• The SPLC has denied the charges and is seeking dismissal, calling them “vindictive prosecution,” while interim president Bryan Fair said the informant program “saved lives.”
• A Telegram search conducted on May 6 identified 22 posts mentioning the SPLC across at least six white nationalist channels, most appearing within 72 hours of the indictment.
• Conservative advocacy groups and right-wing outlets including Moms for Liberty and the Daily Signal recast the indictment as established proof the SPLC had been creating extremist activity rather than investigating it.

2. Police Brutality: Man Left With Life-Changing Injuries After Police Shooting in Luton

A man suffered life-changing injuries after armed Bedfordshire Police officers fired shots at a property on Cardigan Street in Luton on Tuesday, prompting an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.^[2]

• Bedfordshire Police said it was responding to reports that a man was threatening a woman with a knife at the address, and that she had suffered a stab wound.
• Shots were fired by armed officers at about 12:50 BST on Tuesday.
• The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) was investigating the police response, the force said.
• Det Ch Supt Zara Brown said officers “responded quickly” to the unfolding incident and that “immediate first aid was provided” before the man was taken to hospital, where he remains under police watch.
• A police spokesman said neither the man’s nor the woman’s injuries were life-threatening, and both were being treated at hospital.

3. ICE: Judge Won’t Toss Suit From DACA Recipient Detained by ICE at Logan Airport

A judge on Wednesday refused to dismiss a lawsuit from a DACA recipient who was arrested without a warrant at Boston Logan Airport in July.^[3]

• The woman has lived in Florida since she was a child and is a DACA recipient.
• She was detained by ICE after flying to Boston for a Tall Ships event.
• She was arrested without a warrant at Logan Airport in July.
• The ruling keeping her lawsuit alive came Sept. 9, 2026.

4. Executive Orders: Keeping DEI Didn’t Cost Companies Anything, Research Finds

A new UC Berkeley study found no meaningful difference in stock returns or revenue between S&P 500 companies that kept their DEI commitments after President Trump signed Executive Order 14173 in January 2025 and those that rolled them back.^[4]

• The paper, ‘Markets Do Not Punish Firms for Maintaining DEI,’ was published last month through the Democracy Policy Lab at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.
• Jacob Grumbach, an associate professor at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, co-authored the study.
• Grumbach’s team checked four factors—public statements, regulatory filings, shareholder votes and third-party tracking—to determine whether a company had kept or rolled back its DEI commitments.
• On the revenue side, the average effect across every version of the analysis came out to exactly 0.00.
• The study found that the shift in spending from Target to Costco after Target ended DEI in a very public way did not translate into a lasting difference in stock performance between the two companies.

5. Civil Rights & Politics: NAACP: 1,000 Federal Agents at Polls Could Chill Black Voters

The NAACP has filed a FOIA request demanding answers about the Justice Department’s plan to send more than 1,000 federal personnel to polling places before November’s midterms.^[5]

• The civil rights group warns the federal presence could have a chilling effect on Black voters.
• The Justice Department plan involves deploying more than 1,000 federal personnel to polling places.
• The FOIA request seeks details on the plan ahead of November’s midterm elections.
• The story was published Sept. 3, 2026.

6. Hate Crimes: Man Arraigned on Hate Crime Indictment in Midtown Synagogue Attack

Larry Montes, 46, was arraigned Wednesday on a hate crime indictment accusing him of a violent rampage inside a Midtown synagogue during services.^[6]

• The attack took place at a Midtown synagogue last month while services were underway.
• Montes, 46, was arraigned Wednesday on the hate crime indictment.
• He refused to answer questions about the attack.
• The arraignment was reported Sept. 9, 2026.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead, the DACA recipient’s lawsuit over her warrantless arrest at Boston Logan Airport remains alive after the judge’s Sept. 9, 2026 ruling refusing to dismiss it, and the Southern Poverty Law Center is still seeking dismissal of the federal wire fraud, bank fraud and money laundering conspiracy indictment, which it calls a vindictive prosecution. The NAACP’s FOIA request for details on the Justice Department’s plan to deploy more than 1,000 federal personnel to polling places is pending ahead of November’s midterms, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s investigation into the Bedfordshire Police shooting on Cardigan Street in Luton remains active.

References

1. Yahoo News. (2026). White Supremacists Use SPLC Indictment as a Recruiting Tool. ↩
2. Yahoo News. (2026). Man Left With Life-Changing Injuries After Police Shooting in Luton. ↩
3. MSN. (2026). Judge Won’t Toss Suit From DACA Recipient Detained by ICE at Logan Airport. ↩
4. HCAMag. (2026). Keeping DEI Didn’t Cost Companies Anything, Research Finds. ↩
5. MSN. (2026). NAACP: 1,000 Federal Agents at Polls Could Chill Black Voters. ↩
6. MSN. (2026). Man Arraigned on Hate Crime Indictment in Midtown Synagogue Attack. ↩