In 2012, a gunman was prompted by Southern Poverty Law Center's website listings
Family Research Council learned Thursday that Chick-Fil-A donated $2500 to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), which works to defame organizations that promote and adhere to traditional Christian values. The shooter that attacked FRC's D.C. office in 2012 told police he chose to attack FRC after seeing their name on the SPLC website.
The media source Townhall.com found this 2017 entry among pages of charitable donations made by the Chick-Fil-A Foundation that year – to organizations from Boy Scouts of America, YMCA, Habitat for Humanity, high schools, to recently controversial groups such as the Salvation Army and Association of Christian Athletes:
Family Research Council's name is not among those that received donations in 2017.
The following was released Thursday (11/27) from Family Research Council:
WASHINGTON, DC – Townhall.com has uncovered an IRS 990 form showing that the Chick-fil-A Foundation contributed $ 2,500 in 2017 to the anti-Christian Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). On August 15, 2012, a terrorist shooter stormed Family Research Council's (FRC) headquarters armed with a loaded semi-automatic pistol, 100 rounds of ammunition, and 15 Chick-fil-A sandwiches.
The gunman, Floyd Corkins, started firing at FRC's building manager who heroically tackled the shooter after one of the rounds shattered his arm. Corkins stated that, "I wanted to kill the people in the building and then smear a Chick-fil-A sandwich in their face … to kill as many people as I could." In a chilling interrogation video released by the FBI, Corkins admitted he picked FRC as a target from the Southern Poverty Law Center's (SPLC) website. Corkins pled guilty to three charges, including committing an act of domestic terrorism while armed – the first such charge under D.C.’s post-9/11 anti-terrorism law.
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins released the following statement:
“Tax reports have now exposed Chick-fil-A for funding the anti-Christian Southern Poverty Law Center; an organization linked in federal court to domestic terrorism after their smear campaign of Christian organizations resulted in a shooting in which the gunman planned to smear Chick-fil-A sandwiches in the faces of his victims.
“Not only has Chick-fil-A abandoned donations to Christian groups including the Salvation Army, it has donated to one of the most extreme anti-Christian groups in America. Anyone who opposes the SPLC, including many Protestants, Catholics, Jews, Muslims, and traditional conservatives, is slandered and slapped with the ‘extremist’ label or even worse, their ‘hate group’ designation. At one point, the SPLC even added Dr. Ben Carson to its ‘extremist’ list because of his biblical views (and only took him off the list after public outcry).
“Seven years ago, a shooter entered our building with the intent to murder as many people as possible and smear a Chick-fil-A sandwich in their faces. The gunman was enraged by the nationwide Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day held two weeks before and used the SPLC’s ‘hate map’ to identify FRC as his target. Despite being seriously wounded, the FRC building manager, Leo Johnson, heroically stopped the gunman. Dan Cathy, nor anyone with Chick-fil-A inquired about the well-being of Mr. Johnson or any of the FRC team members, but they made a donation to the SPLC which was linked in federal court to this act of domestic terrorism. Chick-fil-A has seriously lost their way.
“It’s time for Christians to find a fast food alternative to Chick-fil-A,” concluded Perkins.
Video of FRC shooting: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nl9BQlSv8Fg
Video of FBI interrogation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hgjI3wavx-I&feature=player_embedded
