I’ve been trying to break this into layers instead of reacting to the headline.

Here’s the actual indictment:
#1476140

What DOJ is alleging isn’t just “informants”. It's that donor funds were used to pay individuals tied to extremist groups, and that structure wasn’t disclosed.

At the same time, the method itself (infiltration) isn’t new:

#1476224

Placing sources inside Klan groups to gather intelligence goes back decades.

And zooming out even further:

#1476334

DOJ itself was created during Reconstruction to enforce civil rights against white supremacist violence.

So the tension I’m trying to understand is:

where is the line between:
• infiltration
• intelligence gathering
• and materially supporting the thing you’re trying to expose?

Because that line seems to be the entire case.