As many of you know, we (the Richmond Tea Party) were targeted by the IRS for unfair (criminal) scrutiny when applying for our 501(c)(4) non-profit status. As part of that application process, we received demands to turn over our donor lists and for personal and private information about RTP leadership and our families. Keeping donor lists private is one of the benefits of having non-profit status, so those requests were entirely inappropriate and concerning.
Now we know why those requests for donor lists were made. New emails have come to light showing that the IRS was harvesting donor lists for a “secret research project”, and that this project fell outside the IRS’s authority to collect that information. We also know that an unusually high number of the donors on those lists were targeted for IRS audits. That’s right…our IRS is a criminal organization using its power for citizen oppression.
BUT WE PROTECTED YOU. When we received the outrageous demands for the various details about our organization and our donors, we said NO and would not comply. In fact, we took the logical next step and sued the IRS, and that suit is still underway today. We will never willingly give the IRS one single bit of information over what is required by law.
With nearly every week comes a new revelation about this case, and we can’t believe that people aren’t yet in prison. Here’s to hoping for some justice in the coming months.
We wanted to share this post with you because we wanted you to know that we’re aware of what’s happening with the IRS and have taken active steps to address the lawlessness. More to come as this develops and as we have the freedom to share.
