This post is dedicated to all the Legal Insurrection readers ready to give up on California!
As Tea Party groups stage successful rallies at Internal Revenue Service offices nationwide, one California organization is staging a frontal assault on this government behemoth.
One of the largest and most active Tea Party groups in the nation is filing the first of what is expected to be many lawsuits against the government for allegedly singling out conservative organizations.
The NorCal Tea Party Patriots, based in northern California, claim the IRS violated its rights when it either held up or rejected its applications for tax-exempt status….The NorCal lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of Cincinnati. The suit seeks group status for “all conservative and libertarian groups targeted for additional scrutiny” between March 2010 and May 2013. It’s also seeking unspecified money damages for the alleged violation of their constitutional rights and the costs associated with trying to comply with the IRS demands.
The lawsuit is being backed by Citizens for Self-Governance, a group launched by Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler.
“It is important that affected citizens get involved in this fight,” said Meckler. “While it is nice that House of Representatives wants to address complaints about this IRS, it is important to remember a few things. The IRS was created by Congress. The IRS is funded by Congress. The idea Congress is going to fix the IRS is laughable. All of this abuse happened on their watch. That is why we need Americans to be engaged.”
Meckler is encouraging everyone whose group applied for non-profit status as a conservative group and was harassed or unduly burdened by requests from the IRS to join the class action lawsuit. For further information, check www.SueTheIRS.com or click HERE to complete the application form directly.
Dawn Wildman, President of San Diego’s SoCal Tax Revolt Coalition whose failures in obtaining a non-profit status with the IRS was recounted here previously, shares more background on the challenges faced by our Northern California compatriots: “NorCal got reamed, with justifications, information requests, and outright bias during their application process. The IRS made it a complete and total nightmare for them to get non-profit status.”
It was only after a local Republican congressman got involved that the NorCal Tea Party Patriots obtained their non-profit status.
So as you look at all the images in front of IRS offices from yesterday, know that the front line of this battle is moving to a courtroom soon!
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