Head of conservative Christian nonprofit recalls ’shocking’ day when SPLC-inspired gunman attacked DC office
The head of a Christian, conservative nonprofit whose organization was subject to a violent by a crazed gunman inspired by the SPLC describes that harrowing day.
A victim of violence inspired by a controversial far-left nonprofit told Fox News Digital he knew the man who shot-up his workplace was motivated by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) before the suspect confessed.
The SPLC has recently come under Justice Department scrutiny for allegedly funneling millions to extremist organizations that they told donors they were fighting — including funding events like KKK cross burnings and the infamous Charlottesville "United the Right" rally in 2017.
Tony Perkins is the president of the Family Research Council (FRC), a conservative nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., that was labeled a "hate group" in 2010 by the SPLC for claims it was an anti-LGBT organization.
Just two years later, on Aug. 15, 2012, disaster struck.
Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, speaks on the last day of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 21, 2016. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Perkins was in a meeting when the building's security system was triggered.
"The doors closed on our floor, and I heard some commotion, and so I ran out to see what it was, and was told that there was a shooting downstairs," he recalled of the horrific incident in an interview with Fox News Digital.
He ran down the stairs into the lobby, and saw the carnage.
"By the time I got down there, the police had arrived, and so we saw Leo Johnson, who was our building manager, who was in a pool of blood," said Perkins.
FBI personnel enter the Family Research Council office after a shooting in Washington on Aug. 15, 2012. A gunman wounded a security guard at the conservative Christian lobbying group's headquarters, and other guards wrestled the gunman to the ground before he was taken into custody. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
Johnson had been shot by Floyd Lee Corkins II, then 28, who pulled a gun out of his bag upon entering the building. He got past security by telling them he was interviewing for a position as an intern. Corkins was also found in possession of two fully loaded 15-round magazines, a box of .9mm ammunition and 15 Chick-fil-A chicken sandwiches.
The sandwiches were meant to be smeared on the faces of his victims, as Corkins also believed the Christian-owned restaurant chain was anti-gay.
"It was a shocking day for our staff, especially — there was glass and blood and bullet holes in our lobby," said Perkins, who is also a pastor and former police officer.
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He said he never expected to see anything like that again after he finished his career in law enforcement.
Corkins was taken into federal custody immediately after the attack and charged with committing an act of terrorism while armed, assault with intent to kill while armed and interstate transportation of a firearm and ammunition.
He is currently serving a 25-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to the charges in 2013.
Bryan Fair, interim president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, speaks during a House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, D.C., on June 9, 2026. (Elizabeth Frantz/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
In an interrogation video later released by FRC, investigators asked how the group came to be his target.
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"It was, uh — Southern Poverty Law lists, uh anti-gay groups," Corkins said. "I found them online. I did a little bit of research, went to the website, stuff like that."
The SPLC was recently indicted for allegedly funneling $4 million donor dollars into shell companies to fund extremist organizations they claimed they were fighting.
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Perkins said the SPLC once legitimately fought groups like the KKK, but that they saw their business "drying up" in the 1980s and 1990s. So, according to Perkins, the group had to find a way to keep its legacy of fighting white supremacy alive.
"I think they began to peddle that legacy to those on the left ... in particular, beginning around 2010, 2012, when there was a big effort to redefine marriage," Perkins said. "They wanted to leverage that to help the left by going after conservative groups that were standing in the way, but they needed to hold on to those white supremacist extremist groups, to pin the conservative and Christian groups next to."
The Southern Poverty Law Center released its 2022 map showing hate and anti-government groups across the United States. (Southern Poverty Law Center)
Perkins believes that there wasn't much of a white supremacy problem, but that it was politically expedient for the SPLC to pretend that there was.
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"It was like they were fattening them up, keeping them alive so that they could use them for their bigger political purpose, and that was to be able to help the left advance their agenda by marginalizing and silencing conservative groups," he said.
Perkins told Fox News Digital he does not want the federal government to shut the SPLC down, but he hopes they'll be forced to pay restitution for the harm he says they've caused.
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FRC has had to pay $8 million out of pocket just for heightened security since the day of the shooting.
"So yes, they're sitting on $750 million. Part of what I hope the government, the federal government, the courts get to is making them pay restitution to their victims."
The SPLC did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
