A lead attorney for the far-left Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) was apparently present at the pro-Palestine demonstrations on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
According to Townhall contributor John Hasson, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., allegedly took a photo of a protester’s phone, which displayed a group chat titled “Global Intifada.” “Intifada” is an Arabic term used for “uprising” or “rebellion.”
Among the protester names captured on the phone is Katrina Bleckley, who shares the same name as a pro-Palestine attorney at the SPLC. The SPLC denied Bleckley’s employment but would not respond to follow-up inquiries about whether Bleckley had ever worked for the group. On Thursday, Bleckley’s LinkedIn profile still listed SPLC as her current employer, but as of Friday morning, her profile appears to be deactivated.
During today’s Capitol protests, @mtgreenee allegedly took a picture of a protestor’s phone
— John Hasson (@SonofHas) October 19, 2023
The group chat, named “Global Intifada” features the name Katrina Bleckley
Maybe a coincidence, but a Pro-Palestine lead attorney at the SPLC shares the same name pic.twitter.com/cFsnR4Thk3
A profile for a “Katrina Bleckley” on X, previously known as Twitter, is now private. The online bio identifies her as an “abolitionist” and “migrant liberator” next to the hashtag “#FreePalestine.” The person in that profile picture appears to be the same person as on the LinkedIn account.
On Wednesday, more than 300 people were arrested after pro-Palestinian protesters took over the Rotunda in the Cannon House office building to demand a ceasefire between Israel and the Gaza-based terrorist group Hamas. Demonstrators tore down pro-Israel signs and called on the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to stand down while Hamas keeps Israeli men, women, and children as hostages. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., stood outside the Capitol with demonstrators, regurgitating terrorist propaganda that Israel launched an attack on a hospital in Gaza that killed more than 500 civilians. The false claim, contradicted by audio and visual evidence from Israeli intelligence, was similarly picked up by American outlets. On the contrary, evidence shows the blast occurred in a parking lot, came from a Hamas rocket that misfired, and killed “dozens,” not hundreds.
[READ: The Gaza Hospital Fiasco Offers A Vivid Example Of Journalism’s Rot]
The SPLC has a history of engaging in far-left extremist activism. Last week, the SPLC, which targets churches and organizations with conservative ties as “hate groups,” refused to say whether Hamas sympathizers would similarly be placed on the SPLC’s famous list of more than 1,200 “hate groups.”
While a lead attorney for the SPLC was seemingly present at Capitol Hill on Wednesday, the group previously provided research and testimony for the House Select Committee on Jan. 6 to prosecute pro-Trump demonstrators.
“Over the past few months, our SPLC analysts have met with Jan. 6 Select Committee staff and submitted nearly 40 pages of written testimony and research to document the involvement of extremists in the planning and preparation for the insurrection,” Michael Lieberman, senior policy counsel on hate and extremism at the SPLC, told Politico last summer. “Our work has helped to document coordination between Trump, his allies and two extremist groups we’ve tracked for years.”
Yet in March, another lawyer for the SPLC named Thomas Webb Jurgens was arrested and charged with domestic terrorism amid protests against police in Georgia.
“An employee at the SPLC was arrested while acting — and identifying — as a legal observer on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild (NLG),” the SPLC said in a statement at the time. “The employee is an experienced legal observer, and their arrest is no evidence of any crime, but of heavy-handed law enforcement intervention against protestors.”
