Kevin Kookogey, the founder and president of Linchpins of Liberty, said the IRS asked his group to submit the names of the young people his group mentors to the agency to get tax-exempt status.
He said the IRS asked him to identify the “political affiliation of mentors and identify issues” they were teaching. He said the IRS also asked for the names of “those whom I train” and “what I am teaching students.”
Kookogey said his organization aims to “mentor high school and college students in conservative political philosophy.” He said since a mission of his organization is “mentoring young people,” the parents of the students were rightfully outraged upon hearing of those requests.
“Can you imagine the reactions of the parents?” Kakoogey asked.
He expressed that he was fearful that parents could potentially sue him for revealing the names of their kids or the parents could themselves be audited. But he noted that his failure to comply would result in his application being denied or subject him to perjury.
He said even though his organization does not have “Tea Party” or “Patriot” in its name, the group shares the ideas held by similar organizations of “jealously guarding ordered liberty.” He implied that is why his group has been targeted for over two years. He acknowledged he had lost a $30,000 grant and thousands of his own money.