The notorious atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation sent out a letter to the Internal Revenue Service demanding that the agency investigate a Miami area church’s tax exempt status.
Such a request was prompted after the church agreed to host a rally for President Donald Trump on Friday, January 3, 2019.
The Blaze reported that the church in question, King Jesus International Ministry in West Kendall, is led by pastor Guillermo Maldonado.
The church was selected to host a gathering of 70 Christian pastors for the “‘Evangelicals for Trump’ Coalition Launch,” according to a Fox News report.
The infamous atheist group Freedom From Religion Foundation has written a letter to the Internal Revenue Service urging an investigation into a Miami area church’s tax exempt status after the church agreed to host a Friday rally for President Donald Trump.
The site’s selection generated some controversy. Local Hispanic leaders bashed the majority Spanish-speaking congregation for hosting Trump, and some voiced concerns about congregants who are illegal immigrants. They feared that they might have been deported if they had attended this event.
Maldonado brushed away these criticisms, stating, “I ask you: Do you think I would do something where I would endanger my people? I’m not that dumb… I don’t think the president would do such a thing. Don’t put your race or your nationality over being a Christian. Be mature … If you want to come, do it for your pastor. That’s a way of supporting me.”
In the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s letter they cited another problem about the rally. According to their grievance, “In urging congregants to come to a political rally, and in hosting the political rally, King Jesus Ministry appears to have inappropriately used its religious organization and 501(c)(3) status by intervening in a political campaign. It violated IRS regulations by seemingly expressing its support for a candidate in the November 2020 presidential election.”
The letter finishes off, “FFRF respectfully requests that the IRS commence an immediate investigation into King Jesus Ministry’s violation of IRS regulations… the IRS should take appropriate action to remedy any violations that occurred or which continue to occur.”
The IRS has not made a public response to the Freedom From Religion Foundation’s letter at the moment.
Nonetheless, such a development should worry advocates of religious freedom.
The IRS not only represents institutionalized theft writ large, but it can use its powers to clamp down on the free speech rights of churches and other organizations within civil society.
