Nonprofit Law Prof Blog

Law and Religion: Catholic Bishops Split on How to Deal with President Biden

The Washington Post reports that Joseph Biden, the second-ever Roman Catholic U.S. president, was greeted on his Inauguration Day with contrasting messages from his church: A warm blessing from Pope Francis — and a statement by the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops saying that Biden “will advance moral evils,” including contraception, abortion and same-sex marriage.

The statement by Los Angeles Archbishop José Gomez immediately set off a debate among U.S. bishops, who, like U.S. Catholics, are bitterly divided on the direction of their extensive denomination and its entanglement with partisan politics. Those divisions are coming to a head in the figure of Biden, who makes it clear with his weekly churchgoing, his frequent references to Catholic teachings and culture, and his use of Catholic symbols that he is indeed a part of the church. 

The current dispute over how to contend with the new president features dueling comments from leading bishops.

On one hand, Archbishop Gomez stated:

In a time of growing and aggressive secularism in American culture, when religious believers face many challenges, it will be refreshing to engage with a President who clearly understands, in a deep and personal way, the importance of religious faith and institutions. I must point out that our new President has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage, and gender. Of deep concern is the liberty of the Church and the freedom of believers to live according to their consciences.

Cardinal Blase J. Cupich, rejects this thinking:

Today, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued an ill-considered statement on the day of President Biden’s inauguration. Aside from the fact that there is seemingly no precedent for doing so, the statement, critical of President Biden came as a surprise to many bishops, who received it just hours before it was released. The internal institutional failures involved must be addressed, and I look forward to contributing to all efforts to that end, so that, inspired by the Gospel, we can build up the unity of the Church, and together take up the work of healing our nation in this moment of crisis.

The Catholic Bishops have in the past taken a more positive and collaborative tone towards new presidents. For example, in 2016, the conference put out a statement congratulating Donald Trump, saying it “looks forward to working with President-elect Trump to protect human life from its most vulnerable beginning to its natural end.”

San Diego Bishop Robert W. McElroy said he was “echoing Pope Francis’ message to President Biden and calling for dialogue, not judgment; collaboration, not isolation; truth in charity, not harshness. … It is a pathway of reconciliation that places the healing of our society ahead of any specific policy issue, in the recognition that repairing the soul of our country is the pre-requisite for any sustainable effort to advance the common good. … Most importantly of all, Pope Francis’ message to President Biden fundamentally speaks to him in his humanity, a man of Catholic faith striving to serve his nation and his God.”

On Wednesday morning, President Biden received a message from the Pope: “Under your leadership, may the American people continue to draw strength from the lofty political, ethical and religious values that have inspired the nation since its founding,” said Francis, who had called Biden on Nov. 12 to offer his congratulations and to discuss working together on issues including poverty, climate change and integrating immigrants and refugees.

Thursday morning, the USCCB put out four statements — an unusually busy morning for the Conference — praising actions Biden took the day before, including lifting the Muslim ban, and fortifying the “Dreamers” program that allows young immigrants to stay in the U.S. for work and school.

Prof. Vaughn E. James, Texas Tech University

Metroplitan Museum of Art Receives Endowment for Directorship

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City (The Met) on Tuesday announced that it has received a gift from trustee Marina Kellen French to endow the museum's directorship position. 

The gift is being awarded through the Marina Kellen French Trust Foundation and the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen French Foundation. The gift will also provide support for general operating expenses. In recognition of the gift, the director's position, which has been held by Max Hollein since 2018, will be renamed the Marina Kellen French Director.

According to a January 19 press release from The Met,

The Director is responsible for the vision and leadership of the Museum and its encyclopedic collection of nearly 2 million objects spanning 5,000 years. The Director’s responsibilities include oversight of the Museum’s curatorial, conservation, and scientific research departments; its exhibition and acquisition activities; education and public outreach; and other mission-oriented areas, including the libraries, digital initiatives, publications, imaging, the registrar, and design.

The release also quoted Daniel H. Weiss, President and CEO of The Met, as saying,

We are immensely grateful to Marina Kellen French for this remarkable gift, which helps ensure the Museum’s strong artistic leadership for many years to come. For more than 70 years—almost half of The Met’s history—her family has championed the arts and enabled the Museum to become a global leader in the cultural sphere.

French previously endowed The Met's Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts' Marina Kellen French Curatorship and helped pioneer the museum's Executive Leadership Program.  

Prof. Vaughn E. James, Texas Tech University 

 

University of Southern California Study: COVID-19 Has Reduced U.S. Life Expectancy

A recent press release from the University of Southern California reveals that research conducted by the University of Southern California and Princeton University has concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reduced life expectancy in the United States, with Black and Latinx Americans disproportionately impacted.  

Based on estimates of deaths under four scenarios — one in which the pandemic had not occurred and three that include COVID-19 mortality projections — by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the report, Reductions in 2020 US Life Expectancy due to COVID-19 and the Disproportionate Impact on the Black and Latino Populations, found that as a result of pandemic deaths in 2020, Americans' overall life expectancy will fall 1.13 years, to 77.48 years — the single largest decline in at least forty years and the lowest number since 2003. 

The study also identified significant disparities by race, with researchers projecting that life expectancy for African Americans will fall 2.1 years, to 72.78 years; by 3.05 years, to 78.77 years, for Latinx individuals; and by 0.68 years, to 77.84 years, for white Americans.

Reporting on the projections, today's Philanthropy News Digest quotes Theresa Andrasfay, a postdoctoral fellow at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and co-author of the report as stating: "While the arrival of effective vaccines is hopeful, the U.S. is currently experiencing more daily COVID-19 deaths than at any other point in the pandemic. Because of that, and because we expect there will be long-term health and economic effects that may result in worse mortality for many years to come, we expect there will be lingering effects on life expectancy in 2021. That said, no cohort may ever experience a reduction in life expectancy of the magnitude attributed to COVID-19 in 2020."

As an African American, I dare say the result of this study does not make me too happy.

Vaughn E. James, Texas Tech University 

 

 

Creighton University Receives $25 Million for Scholars Program

Here is some good news on this Inauguration Day: Philanthropy News Digest is reporting that Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, has announced a $25 million gift from a foundation that wishes to remain anonymous in support of a global medical scholars program aimed at improving the health and well-being of people living in poverty. According to the Digest:

The Arrupe Global Scholars and Partnerships Program will make it possible for program participants to earn a medical degree while working alongside international healthcare workers and Creighton faculty on multiyear projects designed to address significant global health challenges. Named for the founder of the Jesuit Refugee Service, Rev. Pedro Arrupe, the program will support twelve students a year, over ten years, enrolled in medical programs on the university's Omaha or Phoenix campus. Scheduled to launch in the fall of 2022, the program also will pair Creighton faculty with in-country healthcare workers to address local clinical education needs and design and advance public health programs that strengthen the knowledge and skills of local providers.  

The Digest also quotes Michael Kavan, associate dean for student affairs at the Creighton University School of Medicine, as saying, "Creighton is known for producing physicians committed to the Jesuit value of caring for the whole patient — mind, body, and spirit. Our graduates then go on to careers in which service for and with others is central to their practices. The Arrupe Global Scholars and Partnerships Program will build upon this foundation in forming future doctors who consciously and compassionately care for some of the world's most vulnerable populations." 

Good news, indeed! 

Prof. Vaughn E. James, Texas Tech University

 

A ray of hope for nonprofits in the arts

While nonprofits of many hues have suffered greatly during the COVID epidemic, perhaps among those most terribly affected are 501(c)(3) organizations operating theaters and other performance-based venues. In a recent poll done by Nonprofit Quarterly, representatives of organizations from a variety of corners in the nonprofit industry were polled on how badly the ongoing global crisis has impacted their revenue: a majority of arts-oriented organizations reported above 16% reductions in their revenue.

The data tells an unsurprising tale: when your business relies upon drawing large crowds of people into confined spaces so that they can be entertained by your staff, a worldwide virus running rampant and corresponding countermeasures by harried governments adds up to hard times ahead. However the United States legislature seems to be cognizant of this at-risk industry: included in December’s coronavirus bill was $15 billion set aside especially for theaters, concert halls, museums and others which have more than a 25% loss in gross revenues in 2020. Naturally a number of restrictions apply on which organizations (strip clubs are for, example, disqualified) can apply for a grant under the Save Our Stages section of the relief bill, this legislation indicates that the country’s lawmakers are considering particular industries which have been especially injured by the epidemic and aiming to lend financial support when it is most needed.

For a more thorough explanation of the Save Our Stages section as well as testimony from a number of nonprofit leaders in the aforementioned affected industry, see the Nonprofit Quarterly publication on the subject at https://nonprofitquarterly.org/save-our-stages-provides-a-lifeline-for-nonprofit-museums-and-theaters/

David Brennen, University of Kentucky College of Law

The next stage of resolving Boy Scouts sexual abuse allegations

Further developments arose for the scandal-beset Boy Scouts of America toward the end of 2020. Along with suffering significant financial setbacks like many other businesses due to the COVID epidemic, this year the BSA has also had to contend with both filing for bankruptcy and the consequences of mounting accusations of sexual abuse within its ranks. As part of its bankruptcy filing early in the year, BSA was required to create a trust fund for persons sexually abused by Scout personnel and to provide a deadline by which the victims should bring forward a case. That deadline passed in November and the total number of cases currently up for consideration is staggering: nearly 100,000 people have come forward stating that they were abused by the organization.

What remains to be seen is whether the national BSA organization will manage to successfully stay financially afloat during its bankruptcy as well as shield the assets of local Boy Scout councils from claims: currently, only the national organization’s $1 billion in assets are certainly under threat.

David Brennen, University of Kentucky College of Law

For the full story read the Washington Post article on the subject: https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2020/11/19/boy-scouts-bankruptcy-abuse/

Parking lot tax refunds available to nonprofits

2020 was undoubtedly an unkind year to nonprofits in America, but there were at least a couple of positive developments for the industry: one of these was the IRS granting retroactive refunds for taxes nonprofit organizations paid for the “parking lot tax” which the legislature repealed in 2019. This tax, included in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, imposed a sizable unrelated business income tax on subsidized parking offered by these organizations to their employees. Many in the nonprofit industry objected to the parking lot tax on the grounds that it went too far in expanding the unrelated business income tax and placed an unfair burden on the often slim resources of nonprofit organizations. While the relevant legislation went into effect in 2019, the IRS has been issuing and updating guidance about getting a refund for parking lot taxes paid in prior years throughout 2020: for the IRS’s official statement, see https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/how-to-claim-a-refund-or-credit-of-unrelated-business-income-tax-ubit-or-adjust-form-990-t-for-qualified-transportation-fringe-amounts.

For additional reading on this topic see https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/benefits/pages/irs-authorizes-parking-benefit-tax-refunds-for-nonprofits.aspx.

David Brennen, University of Kentucky College of Law

The changing face of policing nonprofits

An article written by Joshua Rosenberg of Law360 last month provides interesting insight for persons not intimately familiar with the oftentimes intricate subject area of tax-exempt organization regulation. Where once the IRS led the way in prosecuting potential tax infractions by nonprofit organizations, it now seems that state governments have stepped to the fore in that arena. As illustration, Rosenberg points to events such as the recent victory by New York’s attorney general in bringing a case against the National Rifle Association which made headlines nationwide last year. Developments such as this, says the article author, “have set the tone at the state level for policing charities, even though they’re unable to directly adjudicate the tax-exempt status of those organizations.”

Balanced against this upswing in the vigilance of state governments is a certain amount of apathy by the Internal Revenue Service in policing nonprofit organizations. This is likely due in no small part to dramatic funding cuts in 2013 when the Agency faced criticism (and indeed was ultimately found liable in the matter) for subjecting to strict scrutiny a number of conservative groups applying for charitable organization status 

For Rosenberg’s succinct and informative discussion of the topic including what this means for nonprofit tax infraction enforcement moving forward, see: https://www-law360-com.ezproxy.law.uky.edu/articles/1336984/states-not-irs-lead-in-policing-tax-exempt-organizations

David Brennen, University of Kentucky College of Law

FTC Plans to Impose Over $47 Million in Fines on Educational Broadband Providers

Early this afternoon the Federal Trade Commission announced its plans to levy fines in excess of forty-seven million dollars on a number of educational broadband providers. The FTC alleges that those providers have violated the agency’s mandate that use of the 2.5 GHz band be reserved solely for educational organizations. Instead of only providing broadband service to educational entities, providers North American Catholic Educational Programming Foundation and Voqal USA stand accused of also providing service to private entities for added profit. Interestingly, the decision within the FTC to impose the fines is somewhat divided along party lines: Republican commissioners have spearheaded the fine levy on the grounds that such action holds providers accountable to the interests of the public in providing accessible broadband to educational entities, whereas Democratic members dissented from the decision on the grounds that it represents an unlawful attack on entities which are providing a vital service during a crisis when that service is needed more than ever. Both of the providers being fined object on the grounds that the FTC repealed its educational use mandate: whether they will be successful in arguing their case remains to be seen, as the fines are currently only in the proposal stage.

David Brennen, University of Kentucky College of Law

To read a more in-depth analysis of this development, see Law360’s article on the subject at https://www-law360-com.ezproxy.law.uky.edu/articles/1343078/fcc-floats-47-5m-in-fines-over-alleged-2-5-ghz-band-misuse

Philip Hackney Receives 2020 Outstanding Academic Award in the Nonprofit Sector

Congratulations to fellow blogger Philip Hackney (University of Pittsburgh) on being the 2020 recipient of the Outstanding Academic Award in the Nonprofit Sector from the Nonprofit Committee of the ABA's Business Law Section. A very well deserved honor for his many contributions to both scholarship in the field and the public's understanding of the law relating to nonprofits.

Lloyd Mayer

M. Kopel & M. Marini: Mandatory Disclosure of Managerial Contracts in Nonprofit Organizations

Michael Kopel (University of Graz) and Marco A. Marini (Ph.D. student, University of Rome La Sapienza) have posted Mandatory Disclosure of Managerial Contracts in Nonprofit Organizations on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Nonprofit organizations have been recently mandated to disclose the details of their executives’ compensation packages. Contract information is now accessible not only to current and prospective donors, but also to rival nonprofit organizations competing for donations in the fundraising market. Our aim is to investigate the impact of publicly available contract information on fundraising competition of nonprofit organizations. We argue that, although such provision makes contract information available to multiple stakeholders and increases the transparency of the nonprofit sector, it also induces nonprofits to use managerial incentive contracts strategically. In particular, we find that the observability of incentive contracts relaxes existing fun draising competition. This is beneficial in terms of nonprofits’ outputs, in particular when these organizations are trapped in a situation of excessive fundraising activities. However, we show that publicly available contract information distorts nonprofits’ choice of projects, thus potentially inducing socially inefficient project clustering.

Lloyd Mayer

I. Murray: Donor Advised Funds: What Can North America Learn From the Australian Approach?

Ian Murray (University of Western Australia) has published Donor Advised Funds: What Can North America Learn From the Australian Approach? in the Canadian Journal of Comparative and Contemporary Law. Here is the abstract:

Charity law is a public and private hybrid that seeks to balance donor intent with the achievement of public benefit. In supporting that balance, regulatory frameworks typically intrude less on donor intent when the recipient charity is a publicly controlled charity, rather than a private foundation. This approach is challenged by the rise of donor advised funds — public charity intermediaries that behave in many ways like privately controlled foundations. The rise has been particularly marked in the United States, but is also apparent in Canada and Australia. Pertinently, while Australia took many years to regulate private foundations, it shortly afterwards also introduced specific rules for public charitable foundations. This article therefore examines whether the United States and Canada can draw guidance from Australia’s experience in dealing with donor advised funds, especially in relation to delay in distributions and conflicts of interest.

Lloyd Mayer

N. Yoon: Understanding theoretical orientation and consequences of board interlock

Nara Yoon (Ph.D. student, Syracuse University) has published Understanding theoretical orientation and consequences of board interlock: Integration and future directions in Nonprofit Management & Leadership. Here is the abstract:

Board interlock represents a phenomenon where organizations are connected via overlapping board members and executives. Board interlock is an important area of research in governance study because of its potential to impact governance outcomes through the flow of information, resources, and status. Despite its potential significance, the role of board interlock in governance has not been explicitly discussed in the nonprofit board governance literature. I review and synthesize corporate and nonprofit board governance literature and link this literature to the study of board interlock. Then, I review the extant literature on the antecedents and consequences of board interlock. I conclude by identifying gaps in the literature and proposing directions for future research.

Lloyd Mayer

Accountants Plead Guilty in Syndicated Conservation Easements Case

And the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports the latest major development relating to conservation easement deductions. Two accountants have plead guilty to conspiracy to defraud the United States through promoting syndicated land conservation easements. The scheme they promoted allegedly resulted in more than $1.2 billion in fraudulent charitable deductions. It will be interesting to see whether in exchange for sentencing leniency (the charge carries a sentence of up to 5 years in prison) the accountants provide important evidence relating to their clients and other promoters.

Lloyd Mayer

Big Pharma, Charities, and Kickbacks

While not necessarily covered much in the nonprofit press, there has been a steady stream of news about federal officials charging pharmaceutical companies with using charities to funnel illegal kickbacks under Medicare. Just last month, Biogen agreed to pay a $22 million fine to resolve claims it used two 501(c)(3) foundations as conduits to cover the copay obligations of Medicare patients in order to induce those patients to purchase its drugs. In its press release, a Department of Justice official noted that is but the latest of a number of settlements relating to similar misconduct.

And also last month, a federal district court denied the motion of pharmaceutical company Regeneron Pharmaceuticals to dismiss similar charges brought against it. The 501(c)(3) foundation involved in that case is the Chronic Disease Fund, now operating as Good Days, which allegedly received tens of millions of dollars from Regeneron.

Lloyd Mayer

Trump Associates and Nonprofit Problems

Even as the Trump Administration comes to an end, news continues to come out about alleged scandals involving those associated with him and nonprofits they control or have controlled in the past. This may not be surprising given the well known problems with the President's own foundation, but these scandals  highlight continuing concerns not only about the ethics of those in his circle but also about oversight of nonprofits more generally.

For example, this week the District Columbia Attorney General filed suit against Public Media Lab (PML) and Manifold Productions, Inc., alleging that PML CEO and Manifold founder Michael Pack used the nonprofit PML to funnel millions of dollars to for-profit Manifold. Park is currently the presidentially appointed head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, and concerns about how he operated PML arose during Senate consideration of his nomination. And the DC Attorney General continues to investigate the activities of the Trump Inaugural Committee, with the deposition of Ivanka Trump last month. These examples are on top of reports from last fall and summer relating to federal charges against former Trump senior advisor Steve Bannon and others arising out of their control of the 501(c)(4) We Build the Wall, Inc. and a related nonprofit, and a ProPublica report that 501(c)(3) nonprofit Turning Point USA, run by Trump supporter Charlie Kirk, may have engaged in questionable financial arrangements with insiders.

Finally, buried among the President's many recent pardons was the commutation of the sentence for former Texas congressman Steve Stockman. Stockman had been serving since 2018 a 10-year sentence for nearly two-dozen felonies arising out of misuse of charitable contributions from political donors. Some of his former congressional colleagues had called for his release, particularly given his age and health conditions that placed him at heightened risk from the pandemic.

Lloyd Mayer

Supreme Court Grants Cert in California Donor Disclosure Cases

The Supreme Court of the United States agreed yesterday to hear two cases challenging a California law that requires charities to share the donor information reported to the IRS with state authorities, subject to those authorities keeping the information confidential. The cases are Americans for Prosperity v. Becerra and Thomas More Law Center v. Becerra. The Court consolidated the cases, with one hour of oral argument total.

The question presented by the petition a write of certiorari in the first case is:

Whether the exacting scrutiny this Court has long required of laws that abridge the freedoms of speech and association outside the election context—as called for by NAACP v. Alabama ex rel. Patterson, 357 U.S.
449 (1958), and its progeny—can be satisfied absent any showing that a blanket governmental demand for the individual identities and addresses of major donors to private nonprofit organizations is narrowly tailored to an asserted law-enforcement interest.

The questions presented by the petition a write of certiorari in the second case are:

1. Whether exacting scrutiny or strict scrutiny applies to disclosure requirements that burden nonelectoral, expressive association rights.
2. Whether California’s disclosure requirement violates charities’ and their donors’ freedom of association and speech facially or as applied to the Law Center.

The Court did not announce a decision with respect to a third case involving the same law (Institute for Free Speech v. Becerra). If the Court decided not to hear that case, it is expected to issue an order to that effect on Monday.

For more details, follow the links provided above to the SCOTUSblog pages for the cases. 

Lloyd Mayer

AALS Nonprofit & Philanthropy Law Section Session Today @ 1:15 p.m. (Eastern)

The Nonprofit & Philanthropy Law Section Session at the American Association of Law Schools Annual Meeting is today, Saturday, January 9th, at 1:15 - 2:30 p.m. (Eastern) for those attending this (virtual) conference. Here are the presenters:

 

Ellen P. Aprill,  John E. Anderson Professor in Tax Law, Loyola Law School Los Angeles

Federal Charities: Blurring the Lines Between Public and Private

 

Jill R. Horwitz, Vice Dean for Faculty and Intellectual Life, Professor of Law, UCLA Law School

Discussion of ALI Restatement on Charitable Nonprofit Organizations

 

Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer, Professor of Law, University of Notre Dame Law School

Charitable Crowdfunding

 

Daniel Sokol, Professor, University of Florida Levin College of Law &

Peter Molk, Associate Professor of Law, University of Florida Levin College of Law

Nonprofit Governance in the Age of Compliance

 

Lloyd Mayer

 

Negative Scrutiny of Nonprofit Hospitals Continues, Along With Consolidations

Nonprofit hospitals are, along with all hospitals, struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic. But that role has not caused a let up in negative scrutiny of their activities by journalists, Senator Chuck Grassley, or state legislators. It also has not halted the continuing consolidation of health care entities.

For example, ProPublica reports that "Nonprofit Hospital Almost Never Gave Discounts to Poor Patients During Collections, Documents Show," describing the practices of Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis' largest health care system. And the N.Y. Times reports that "The largest hospital system in New York sued 2,500 patients for unpaid medical bills after the pandemic hit," describing the activities of state-run Northwell Health system, which consists primarily of 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofits. 

Responding to these and other concerns, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley wrote a public letter to every member of the Senate Finance and Judiciary Committees about the need for new attention to the tax laws governing nonprofit hospitals. Senator Grassley is rotating off of the Finance Committee, having hit his term limit for that committee under Senate GOP rules, and of course his influence would have been reduced by the Democrats taking control of the Senate under any conditions. But he likely will still have influence over such matters in the new Congress, giving his longstanding interest in the rules for tax-exempt organizations.

In the states, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that "New Jersey may be the first state to impose per-bed fees on nonprofit hospitals for municipal services." The $3 per day per licensed bed fee is paired with preservation of nonprofit hospital property tax exemption, which has been under increasing attack in New Jersey, with approximately two-thirds of the state's nonprofit hospitals having been taken to tax court. However, Governor Phil Murphy has not yet said if he will sign the bill.

Finally, consolidation of nonprofit health care providers also continues. For example, the Federal Trade Commission recently lost an appeal of a federal district court's denial of a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the merger of Thomas Jefferson University and Albert Einstein Healthcare Network in the Philadelphia area. And 501(c)(4) nonprofit health insurers Tufts Health Plan and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care have now completed their merger after having received federal and state approvals (after some divestment).

Lloyd Mayer

Watchdog Group Lists Nonprofits That Supported Save America March

The watchdog group Documented reports that a number of nonprofits were listed on the March to Save America website as supporting Wednesday's Save America March that led to the attack on Congress. The link to that website provided in the article no longer shows the list, but the article names eleven groups, including the following eight ones I have verified are tax-exempt nonprofits using the IRS Exempt Organization Search feature:

• Black Conservatives Fund (527) (federal PAC)

• Moms for America (501(c)(3)) (website appears to be down)

• Peaceably Gather (501(c)(3) if, as appears, its legal name is First Liberty Institute)

• Phyllis Schlafly Eagles (501(c)(3) if, as appears, its legal name is the Eagle Forum Education & Legal Defense Fund)

• Rule of Law Defense Fund (501(c)(4))

• Tea Party Patriots (501(c)(4))

• Turning Point Action (501(c)(4)) (lists March to Save America prominently on website)

• Women for America First (501(c)(4))

The article notes that the Rule of Law Defense Fund, which states on its website that it is "the public policy organization for issues relevant to the nation’s conservative attorneys general," is the 501(c)(4) arm of the Republican Attorneys General Association.

So far only one of these groups (Women for America First) has posted on its website a statement condemning the violence.

Lloyd Mayer