Violating IRS rules, hate-preacher Jack Hibbs endorses candidate from pulpit (again)
His church is a political organization that runs a book club on the side
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One week after Christian hate-preacher Jack Hibbs made headlines over an invocation he delivered to Congress, he stepped back into the pulpit and endorsed a candidate for public office, violating the IRS rules that regulate non-profit organizations.
Hibbs had been invited to prayer before a session of Congress on January 30, by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson. That became a point of controversy because Hibbs had a well-documented history of bigoted statements. Among other things, he previously said the Biden administration was “pure, pure, Christless, godless evil,” that Kamala Harris wasn’t really a Christian at all, and that sin was deadlier than COVID-19 (whose seriousness he downplayed)
Last week, several members of Congress led by (Humanist) Rep. Jared Huffman spoke out against Hibbs’ selection, demanding to know why chaplaincy guidelines would allow someone like him to speak while excluding other voices, including an atheist who was not allowed to give an invocation despite meeting all the requirements.
Hibbs responded to that letter during his sermon on Sunday… before telling the congregation at Calvary Chapel Chino Hills in California how they should vote in an upcoming election.
Near the end of his hour-long sermon, Hibbs put up a scan of Huffman’s letter on a big screen behind him so he could mock it. (It begins around the 52:40 mark below)._
Hibbs spends part of that section pretending to be persecuted, saying he may not be allowed to fly to Washington, D.C. anymore because he may be on a “no-fly list.” (What?) Then he jokes about how he was shocked to learn a lot about himself through the letter:
I didn’t know that I helped start the January 6th riot. Did you know that? I didn't know that. I didn't know I hate Muslims! Found out that I do! Did you know I hate Jews? I didn't know that. Did you know that I hate LBGTQ-LMNOP…?
This is how we know Hibbs is a liar. He won’t read the congregation any portion of the letter. He’ll just tell them what it says, knowing full well the gullible Christians in that audience will never investigate the matter any further.
In fact, the letter never accused Hibbs of starting the insurrection. However, he defended it, saying, “This is what you get when you eject God from the courts and from the schools.” He also called Islam “a demonic doctrine being propagated by heretics.” He said Jews in Israel could avoid the wrath of Hamas by turning to Jesus.
He once claimed that “if evolution is true, then there would be no such thing as homosexuality.” He blamed the existence of transgender people on “Demonism.” He said God’s judgment on us was evident through LGBTQ characters on the children’s show Blue’s Clues.
So… yeah. He hates those groups. We know that because he routinely spreads lies about them in order to demonize them in front of people who take Hibbs seriously.
He then told the congregation the consequences of the letter: The IRS would undoubtedly investigate him. (That’s…. not how anything works.) Hibbs also made sure everyone knew that he hasn’t watched any adult content “since June 19, 1977.” (No one was asking, but thanks for sharing, I guess.)
The bigger problem with his sermon, however, took place over an hour before that scene. In a segment that was live-streamed but did not appear in the clipped sermon on YouTube, Hibbs spent several minutes urging the congregation to pray for two sitting school board candidates, bragged about Donald Trump and downplayed all of his legal problems, claimed that Michelle Obama and Gavin Newsom would be the real Democratic candidates come November, then told the crowd that the only thing that mattered was voting for “pro-life” candidates.
To that end, he directly told them to “vote for Steve Garvey” in the upcoming U.S. Senate primary.
Garvey, a Republican who used to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego Padres, is running against a slew of Democratic candidates including Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Katie Porter, and Rep. Barbara Lee. California holds a jungle primary in which the top two finishers, regardless of party, make it to the November ballot. As things stand right now, Schiff appears to be in a comfortable lead, but the open question is whether Porter or Garvey will take the second spot.
After telling his congregation how to vote, directly violating the Johnson Amendment, which forbids non-profit groups—including churches—from telling people how to vote, Hibbs admitted that was illegal, then (knowing full well what he was doing) stepped in front of his podium to tell everyone “as a private citizen” how to vote.
The clip was first reported by Right Wing Watch.
How are you voting regarding our upcoming local vote? I want to publicly, right now, today, encourage all of you to vote for Steve Garvey. You gotta vote for Steve Garvey.
It's against the law for me to—I just remembered, it's against the law for me to say that in the pulpit, so… [steps in front of the podium.]
As a public citizen, Steve Garvey is not only one of the greatest baseball players of all time, but we want Steve Garvey to represent us in the Senate. And so Steve Garvey is… the only guy on the ballot. So there.
That was legal. I just had to move from here to there, as a private citizen.
And anyway. Romans, chapter 8…
While Hibbs is allowed to make any political statements he wants as a private citizen, pretending to be a private citizen while he’s in the middle of delivering a sermon live-streamed on the church’s Facebook page doesn’t count. He knew that, which is why he played it off as a joke. You don’t get to claim you’re not a pastor when you’re speaking to your congregation during church using the microphone attached to your lapel.
That really, truly is an IRS violation. (The official YouTube video began seconds after he made that comment.)
The IRS should revoke the tax-exempt status of Calvary Chapel Chino Hills since it clearly wants to be a political organization that runs a book club on the side.
Unfortunately, there’s no reason to believe anything will happen. As a lengthy 2022 article from the Texas Tribune and ProPublica noted, the IRS isn’t doing a damn thing to enforce the Johnson Amendment. Over the past 70 years, they've only punished two churches for violating the rules despite the myriad evidence of other churches blatantly doing the same thing.
Despite having good reason to be cynical, the Freedom From Religion Foundation sent a letter to IRS officials yesterday, urging them to investigate Hibbs’ church:
FFRF is a registered 501(c)(3) and it takes this designation, along with the accompanying privileges and responsibilities, very seriously. Some churches, like Calvary Chapel Chino Hills, have chosen to make a mockery of their 501(c)(3) status by reaping all of the benefits of tax exemption while knowingly violating the statute by openly endorsing political candidates running for public office. We would like to see the IRS take action on this issue and enforce its rules for the benefit of all taxpayers.
…
We write to respectfully request that the IRS immediately investigate Calvary Chapel Chino Hills and ensure that it no longer receives the benefits of 501(c)(3) status and that donations made to the church are no longer treated as tax deductible. The IRS should take appropriate action to remedy any violations of 501(c)(3) regulations that occurred or which continue to occur.
(Congressman Jared Huffman also urged the IRS to look into the matter.)
I doubt anything will come of this. But if the IRS doesn’t act, Hibbs isn’t going to stop. I know that for a fact because he’s done it before. In 2018, the church allowed political campaign signs outside their building. In 2021, Hibbs practically held a church-sponsored campaign rally for Larry Elder, the most prominent Republican hoping to take Gov. Gavin Newsom’s place if he were recalled. (Voters chose not to recall Newsom, making the question of his replacement moot.) Hibbs’ church also helped take over a local public school board, using their majority to turn board meetings into church services—and eventually paying the price in court.
This isn’t a mistake. This isn’t a one-off error. This is habitual, and Hibbs won’t stop unless the IRS makes him. (Even then, he’ll just claim he’s being persecuted.) Since he’s going to lie about it anyway, since that what his Christian faith teaches him to do, the IRS might as well actually punish him.
You know why the IRS doesn't investigate any of these blatant violations of the Johnson Amendment (let alone actually enforce them), don't you? The agency is severely underfunded; is responsible for administering the most godawful morass of laws, rules, and regulations on Earth (which are constantly being modified); has staffing shortages; is using really old, outmoded computer hardware and software; and by law must insist that taxpayers do their own filings, much of it still on paper forms.
Why is this? Follow the money! Who stands to lose if the IRS actually operates efficiently and collects all the taxes people legally owe? Thanks to withholding, average folks like you and me pay what we're supposed to, but anyone rich enuf to buy their own Congresscritter is very very interested in making sure that their own loot is as safe as possible from the government. These are the very people who practically invented the term "loophole". The LAST thing they want is an effective Internal Revenue Service. And, given the current composition of the US Congress (especially after the "Citizens United" decision), their dreams have come true.
Vote for a baseball player because a football coach from Alabama was such a good idea?