Another Reason Right-wing Extremists Are Dangerous

Oakland CA

Description

A California man charged with joining anti-government extremists in rioting at the U.S. Capitol told the IRS last year that he formed a charity called the American Phoenix Project to defend “human and civil rights” and educate the public about vaccines. Instead, Alan Hostetter used his tax-exempt nonprofit as a platform to oppose COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, protest that the 2020 election was stolen from former President Donald Trump and advocate for violence against political opponents, according to an eight-count indictment secured by the U.S. Justice Department. He's already charged with conspiracy to stop the certification of Joe Biden’s presidency, but Hostetter also could be in violation of IRS rules governing tax-exempt nonprofits, possibly compounding his serious legal troubles. The IRS prohibits charities like Hostetter's from participating in any campaign activity for or against political candidates. In his May 2020 application to the IRS for tax-exempt status, Hostetter wrote that the American Phoenix Project would not directly or indirectly engage in political campaigns. However, when the American Phoenix Project hosted a “Stop the Steal” rally in Huntington Beach, California, in December, Hostetter delivered a speech in which he called for a “reckoning” and said Trump must be sworn in for a second term. “There must be long prison terms, while execution is the just punishment for the ringleaders of this coup,” Hostetter said, according to his June 9 indictment.