{"id":76855,"date":"2023-05-18T23:29:16","date_gmt":"2023-05-18T23:29:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T14:25:44","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T14:25:44","slug":"extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/","title":{"rendered":"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Editor\u2019s note: This <\/i>commentary<\/i><\/a> was first published in <\/i>The Conversation<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When someone mentions nonprofits, chances are you picture homeless shelters, free medical clinics, museums and other groups that you believe are doing good one way or another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of these organizations are legitimate<\/a>. But not all nonprofits are principled or embrace missions everyone considers worthy of the tax-exempt status that the government grants some 2 million organizations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You might presume that the government would automatically refuse to grant tax-exempt status to white nationalist and anti-government groups<\/a>. Yet as a scholar who has researched nonprofit accountability<\/a>, I\u2019ve seen the authorities struggle to draw the line between which organizations deserve to operate as nonprofits and those that don\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

8 purposes allowed<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The wide array of U.S. nonprofits<\/a> includes many media outlets, chambers of commerce and political parties. But the term usually refers to the organizations that meet the requirements of Section 501(c)(3)<\/a> of the tax code. Officially designated as charities, these groups don\u2019t pay income taxes and can accept tax-deductible donations<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All 501(c)(3)s must apply to the Internal Revenue Service<\/a> for tax exemption unless their revenues are less than US$5,000 or they are a church, synagogue, mosque or other house of worship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IRS usually grants this status to any applicant with at least one of eight purposes<\/a>, including being charitable or educational.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Figuring out if food banks deserve exemption is generally straightforward, as they engage in an obviously charitable activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Determining whether organizations are truly religious or educational is harder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oath Keepers Educational Foundation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Some groups with ties to the Oath Keepers \u2014 an extremist group<\/a> with leaders who were found guilty of seditious conspiracy<\/a> connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol<\/a> \u2014 were granted this status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until recently, the Oath Keepers had chapters scattered across the country, and the main group never became a 501(c)(3) organization. But the Oath Keepers Educational Foundation<\/a> and several smaller affiliated groups<\/a> did obtain that status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The foundation told the IRS when it sought<\/a> charitable status that its primary purpose was \u201cto give veterans an opportunity for continued involvement in community service.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Oath Keepers network has largely collapsed<\/a> amid the prosecution of its members who engaged in the Jan. 6 attack. Most notably, founder Stewart Rhodes<\/a> was found guilty in 2022 of seditious conspiracy for helping plot the insurrection. He is expected to be sentenced around May 25, 2023<\/a>, and could spend more than two decades in prison. Rhodes was also listed as the foundation\u2019s president<\/a> when it was established.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Oath Keepers\u2019 former spokesman Jason Van Tatenhove<\/a> testified before Congress in 2022, he revealed that the group was radicalizing its followers and spreading violent messaging<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Three Percenters, another extremist group with ties to people who were convicted for their role in the Jan. 6 attacks<\/a>, was a charity at that time<\/a>. Its leadership subsequently dissolved the organization<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite the Right ties<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Other white nationalist groups, such as Identity Evropa<\/a> and the National Policy Institute<\/a>, have received 501(c)(3) status over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both of those groups were among the organizers of the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017, where participants attacked progressive counterprotesters<\/a>, killing one of them<\/a> and injuring many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Policing tax exemption<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although it\u2019s a crime to lie on the application<\/a>, some groups seeking to become charities do. The IRS doesn\u2019t verify those statements, however, presumably because the threat of prosecution<\/a> generally prevents misrepresentations, and the cost of verifying what every group says is very high.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Small groups can use a simplified version of the required form, but it is so poorly designed<\/a> that the IRS has granted exemption to many ineligible organizations<\/a>. In one extreme case, a scam artist set up 76 fake charities<\/a> using this form, as The New York Times discovered in 2022.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another obstacle is that applicants are usually forming new organizations, so the IRS examines their intentions rather than their actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Respecting free speech<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Because Americans prize the right to free speech, the IRS treads carefully when determining which nonprofits don\u2019t deserve tax-exempt status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Big Mama Rag, a radical feminist nonprofit magazine, lost its tax exemption<\/a> in the late 1970s. The IRS revoked its charitable status upon seeing that the magazine refused to publish views contrary to its own. When the magazine fought back, an appeals court<\/a> determined that the criteria the IRS and a district court had used to deny exemption were unconstitutional because they were based on the organization\u2019s constitutionally protected views.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This case set an important precedent: The government considers charities advancing unpopular views to be educational enough to keep their tax-exempt status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IRS now evaluates educational methods, not content. Educational charities must support their assertions with facts and without inflammatory language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only reported court case of a group failing this test was a blatantly racist organization<\/a>, the Nationalist Movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That organization sought to \u201cfavor Caucasian, Christian, and English-speaking Americans of Northern European descent.\u201d The IRS revoked its 501(c)(3) status<\/a> in 1994 after determining that the Nationalist Movement was a propaganda organ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Revoking charitable status is complicated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

And it is not always easy to revoke tax exemption, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The IRS has historically been underfunded<\/a>. In 2013, when the Republican-led Congress decided that the IRS was biased against conservative nonprofits, lawmakers penalized the agency by cutting its budget and explicitly forbidding it from creating rules<\/a> that would draw sharper lines between political and charitable purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It turned out that the IRS was also subjecting progressive groups to an extra layer of scrutiny \u2014 and official government reports<\/a> found inappropriate criteria but no anti-conservative bias. In any case, because it hampered IRS enforcement, this dust-up made it harder for the IRS to root out charities that didn\u2019t deserve the designation<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unfortunately, the $80 billion added to the IRS budget<\/a> from 2022 to 2031 is unlikely to<\/a> increase the scrutiny of charities, because there are too many other priorities, like updating software and making tax scofflaws pay up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining diversity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Oath Keepers Educational Foundation<\/a> appears to have lost its 501(c)(3) status. The government, which makes it hard to tell why a former charity has lost its tax-exempt status, has not clearly indicated whether this was a voluntary decision on its part or the result of a negotiated settlement with the IRS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also possible that the organization simply failed to file required annual paperwork<\/a> with the IRS for three years in a row. That omission automatically causes charities to lose their tax-exempt status<\/a>, although it can be restored<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the fact that the white nationalist groups mentioned above ever got charitable status is disturbing, a search of the IRS database<\/a> of tax-exempt organizations shows that none of them have it today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my opinion, a large part of the strength of the nonprofit sector lies in its diversity of causes and viewpoints. For this reason, I think it\u2019s better for the government to err on the side of authorizing too many tax-exempt organizations than to quash free speech or meddle with trying to determine which faith traditions are deserving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it should be clear that charities that encourage violence and cheer on extremism are not contributing to society with any of the purposes the IRS allows.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The First Amendment and the lack of a clear divide between what counts as an educational mission can lead to approved applications from extremist groups.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":106850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":78,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[78,100,23,93,25,14],"tags":[],"coauthors":[6769],"class_list":["post-76855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-daily-news-roundup","category-home","category-middle-column","category-newsletters","category-opinion"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"Y7G4QSKZTJED3MOMKPQQMNB7CI","arc_canonical_url":"\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\nExtremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation - Army Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The First Amendment and the lack of a clear divide between what counts as an educational mission can lead to approved applications from extremist groups.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The First Amendment and the lack of a clear divide between what counts as an educational mission can lead to approved applications from extremist groups.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Army Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-18T23:29:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T14:25:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elizabeth Schmidt, UMass Amherst\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elizabeth Schmidt, UMass Amherst\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t \"@graph\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/#article\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"author\": {\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t },\n\t \"headline\": \"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2023-05-18T23:29:16+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T14:25:44+00:00\",\n\t \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/\"\n\t },\n\t \"wordCount\": 1204,\n\t \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1408291704.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"articleSection\": [\n\t \"Commentary\",\n\t \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t \"Home\",\n\t \"Middle Column\",\n\t \"Newsletters\",\n\t \"Opinion\"\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/#respond\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation - Army Times\",\n\t \"isPartOf\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\"\n\t },\n\t \"primaryImageOfPage\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t },\n\t \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1408291704.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"datePublished\": \"2023-05-18T23:29:16+00:00\",\n\t \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T14:25:44+00:00\",\n\t \"description\": \"The First Amendment and the lack of a clear divide between what counts as an educational mission can lead to approved applications from extremist groups.\",\n\t \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/#breadcrumb\"\n\t },\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t \"target\": [\n\t \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/\"\n\t ]\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/#primaryimage\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1408291704.jpg.jpg\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/GettyImages-1408291704.jpg.jpg\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/2023\\\/05\\\/18\\\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\\\/#breadcrumb\",\n\t \"itemListElement\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 1,\n\t \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"home\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 2,\n\t \"name\": \"Opinion\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"opinion\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 3,\n\t \"name\": \"Commentary\",\n\t \"item\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/opinion\\\/commentary\\\/\",\n\t \"ad_zone\": \"commentary\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t \"position\": 4,\n\t \"name\": \"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#website\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t \"description\": \"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times\",\n\t \"publisher\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t },\n\t \"potentialAction\": [\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t \"target\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t },\n\t \"query-input\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t }\n\t }\n\t ],\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#organization\",\n\t \"name\": \"Army Times\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/\",\n\t \"logo\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/army-logo-white.png\",\n\t \"caption\": \"Army Times\"\n\t },\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t },\n\t {\n\t \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\",\n\t \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t \"image\": {\n\t \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec\",\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"contentUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\n\t \"caption\": \"migration\"\n\t },\n\t \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/armytimes\\\/author\\\/migration\\\/\"\n\t }\n\t ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation - Army Times","description":"The First Amendment and the lack of a clear divide between what counts as an educational mission can lead to approved applications from extremist groups.","robots":{"index":"noindex","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation","og_description":"The First Amendment and the lack of a clear divide between what counts as an educational mission can lead to approved applications from extremist groups.","og_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/","og_site_name":"Army Times","article_published_time":"2023-05-18T23:29:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-08-08T14:25:44+00:00","author":"Elizabeth Schmidt, UMass Amherst","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elizabeth Schmidt, UMass Amherst","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/"},"author":{"name":"migration","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1"},"headline":"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation","datePublished":"2023-05-18T23:29:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T14:25:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/"},"wordCount":1204,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1408291704.jpg.jpg","articleSection":["Commentary","Daily News Roundup","Home","Middle Column","Newsletters","Opinion"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/","name":"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation - Army Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1408291704.jpg.jpg","datePublished":"2023-05-18T23:29:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-08-08T14:25:44+00:00","description":"The First Amendment and the lack of a clear divide between what counts as an educational mission can lead to approved applications from extremist groups.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1408291704.jpg.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1408291704.jpg.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/2023\/05\/18\/extremists-granted-tax-exempt-status-even-an-oath-keepers-foundation\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","ad_zone":"home"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Opinion","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/","ad_zone":"opinion"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Commentary","item":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/opinion\/commentary\/","ad_zone":"commentary"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Extremists granted tax-exempt status, even an Oath Keepers foundation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#website","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","name":"Army Times","description":"Independent News For Soldiers | Army Times","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#organization","name":"Army Times","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/army-logo-white.png","caption":"Army Times"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/#\/schema\/person\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1","name":"migration","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=gcf4cb6ee0ec29e49e7a963234e4340ec","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/9e8d47be443ce94ce7fc357677b5f9c70235bb1f59e7267a102a74af58c04f59?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"migration"},"url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/author\/migration\/"}]}},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Army Times","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes","push-errors":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-1408291704.jpg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76855"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":76878,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76855\/revisions\/76878"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76855"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=76855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}