LABELLED "TAX CHEAT" BY FELLOW PASTORS
PERSECUTED & JAILED BECAUSE PASTORS & CHURCHES BELIEVED HE WAS
DISOBEDIENT TO GOVERNMENT
UNDER ROMANS 13 MISAPPLIED
HITLER'S DEMAND FOR ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE LIVES ON IN THE MINDS OF CONTROL FREAK PASTORS DESPITE FALSE CHARGES;
EVIL GOVERNMENT MUST NOT BE OBEYED
U.S. Government Drops Remaining Charges Against Evolutionary Foe Kent Hovind
SEE: http://christiannews.net/2015/05/17/government-drops-remaining-charges-against-evolutionary-foe-kent-hovind/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
BY HEATHER CLARK
PENSACOLA, Fla. — Federal prosecutors have filed a motion to dismiss the remaining criminal charges against an imprisoned creation science evangelist after a jury deadlocked on the matter and was not convinced of his guilt.
As previously reported, Kent Hovind, the founder of Creation Science Evangelism out of Pensacola, Florida, has been fighting charges of mail fraud and contempt for contesting liens against a number of properties that had been seized by the government several years ago.
He has been incarcerated since 2007 over 58 federal counts, 45 of which centered on alleged “structuring,” a term that refers to breaking up one’s banking transactions into smaller amounts in order to avoid reporting. The original intent of the law had reportedly been to catch drug dealers and money launderers.
In regard to Hovind’s specific charges, the minister and his wife had made dozens of cash withdrawals of just over $9,000 each over a year’s time, and the government asserted that he was attempting to “obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws.” However, Hovind said that he paid for his ministry expenses in cash—including compensation for those involved with Creation Science Evangelism—and was not seeking to evade any laws as anything over $10,000 was reported as required.
In addition to structuring charges, Hovind was leveled with twelve counts of failing to pay payroll taxes. However, he stated that considered those who worked with the ministry to be independent contractors responsible for paying their own taxes and not employees.
Hovind was not charged with tax evasion, but in 2004, his home was raided by IRS agents, and tax liens were placed against 10 properties relating to his biblical theme park. He filed three separate lawsuits against the government in an attempt to stop the proceedings, which he viewed as harassment, but was unsuccessful.
In 2006, the case went to trial, and a jury convicted him on all 58 counts. His wife, Jo Delia, was convicted on 44 counts. In January 2007, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and remains incarcerated to this day.
As Hovind has been seeking to contest the lien from behind bars, he was subsequently charged with two counts of mail fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and one count of contempt. Concerns were raised that he could spend life behind bars for mailing legal documents about the lein from jail.
According to the Pensacola News Journal, years ago, Hovind had been prohibited under a court order not to contest the government’s lien on the properties. Because he did file papers, including a “lis pendens,” which warns potential buyers that the land is under dispute, he was charged with contempt. The mail fraud charges were for actually mailing the documents from prison.
But in March, jurors deadlocked on all but the contempt charge as they could not come to an agreement over the mail fraud accusations. A re-trial was scheduled for Monday.
However, attorneys for Hovind filed a motion to dismiss, and on Saturday, reports surfaced that federal prosecutors had likewise filed a motion to drop the remaining charges against Hovind without prejudice.
The creation evangelist faces sentencing for the contempt charge on June 12. He was otherwise scheduled for release in August.
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AS GOES THE CHURCH, SO GOETH THE NATION – 5 LESSONS FROM THE HOVIND CASE
SEE: http://the-trumpet-online.com/goes-church-goeth-nation-5-lessons-hovind-case/; republished below in full unedited for informational, educational, and research purposes:
By Coach Dave Daubenmire
May 21, 2015NewsWithViews.com
May 21, 2015NewsWithViews.com
Five Valuable Lessons from the Kent Hovind Case
Against incredible odds, Pastor Kent Hovind has won in Federal Court. In my mind, this was the biggest upset since David stoned Goliath. My sources tell me that citizen victory in Federal Court is exceedingly rare. One court observer even stated that it was the first time in 9 years that someone beat the government in the court of Pensacola. I don’t know about you, but I think something is terribly wrong with that. The government always winning is not justice.
Read what Forbes Magazine reported regarding the stunning victory.
I have been intimately and actively involved with the effort to free Kent from prison, and I rejoiced when I got word that the government had dropped all charges against him. Playing a part in helping to set an innocent man free was one of the most important and fulfilling things I have ever done in my life. But being up close and watching the dynamics of this saga unfold, I learned 5 highly valuable lessons that I would like to share:
1. Christians are the worst at eating their own. Kent Hovind spent 20 years visiting churches and sharing the Gospel as he proved Biblical Creation to be true. When he got in trouble with the government—initially the IRS—pastors and churches abandoned him and headed for the high grass. They didn’t want to be associated with a “tax-cheat” even though that was not what he was charged with. He spent 8.5 years in jail and those same pastors who had him speak from their pulpits would not defend him and help him regain his freedom. The dynamic duo of the Federal judge and the prosecutor sought to keep him in jail for the rest of his life, and even the “public defender” cooperated with his boss’s (judge) orders. Most of Kent’s “pastor” friends sat quietly and approvingly on the sidelines; some actually rooting for the government. They’ll show more grace to sodomites than they do one of their persecuted friends.
The amazing brief produced by www.lawandfreedom.com with the aid of thewww.USJF.net had the same impact on the court that the atom bomb had on Hiroshima. In less than 48 hours after the motion to dismiss had been filed, the entire case was dismissed. After nearly a year of harassment and false accusations against Pastor Hovind the Federal Prosecutor and Judge Margaret Casey Rodgers were forced to admit that what Pastor Hovind had been charged with was not a crime. Yes, you read that right. They were attempting to put him in jail for the rest of his life for something that was not a crime.
Even today I keep hearing from “Christians” who believe that Pastor Kent was guilty and was only getting “what he deserved.” And although it has been proven that he did nothing wrong, many “Christians” still want to see him punished.
Let’s say, for the sake of argument, that Kent was guilty of the “structuring” charges. Let’s also say he was a “tax-cheat.” Pastor Hovind has spent nearly 8.5 years in jail. Is there no grace available for him from his Christian brothers? Aren’t we all, thanks to Jesus, glad that we don’t “get what we deserve?”
2. Jurors Have a Great Responsibility and Possess Remarkable Power. Interviews with some of the jurors after the first trial revealed some very interesting information. It seems the initial vote was 6-6. The second vote was 10-2 to convict. The final vote was 11-1 to convict. One juror held out claiming that what Kent had done was not illegal. He would not relent, causing the jury to be ‘hung.” If he had given in, Pastor Hovind would have been sentenced to 20 additional years in prison…for mailing a legal document. His life would have been effectively over. Eleven jurors, the Federal Prosecutor and her team, the IRS court representative, and his own “public pretender” all thought Kent was guilty.
But one man said no. He stood his ground. Pastor Hovind almost spent the rest of his life in prison for something that isn’t even a crime. I wonder how often this happens to other defendants in the Federal court system.
3. Disobedience to Government Isn’t Necessarily Sin. Christians are taught today that to disobey the government is a “sin” and violates the teachings of the Apostle Paul found in Romans 13. This false teaching has put us in the position we are in today. Paul wrote 2/3 of the New Testament…most of it from jail. For a man who instructed us to “obey the authorities” he sure spent a lot of time disobeying his own instructions. “Obey God rather than men” is the true teaching of the Bible. The entire New Testament is filled with stories of men and women who stood up against “ungodly” edicts and authorities. What if the church had refused to permit prayer to be removed from the schools…or the Bible to be banned from education…or stood up in resistance to the slaughter of the unborn? WWJD? He already showed us HE would do.
People tell me that Jesus didn’t try to fight the government and we shouldn’t either. They show a great misunderstanding of the Scriptures. Jesus did not fight against the Romans because, as He told Pilate, “you have no power over me unless it had been given to you from on High.” But Jesus was a headache for the “religious leaders” of His day. The Pharisees went to Pilate because they said that “they had no power to put a man to death.” All Jews were under the authority of the religious leaders, not the Roman government. Jesus called them unflattering names and raised a rebellion against that evil religious system. He refused to “follow” them and the religious system foisted upon them by the religious thugs. Christianity, as well as America, was birthed out of righteous rebellion.
4. All “Nobodys” are Potential “Somebodys.” Kent Hovind is free today because of the efforts of “lay” Christians. The efforts of Rudy Davis,Racer X, Ernie Land and other “nobodies” won Pastor Hovind his freedom. Most Pastors and national religious leaders refused to get involved. They’re afraid of the government to whom they have yielded God’s authority. They have very little faith that God can or will still move today. They preach a message of fatalism that has stolen the precious faith from the hearts of the saints. But the Moms and Pops all over this nation partnered together to appeal to heaven for a miracle on Kent’s behalf. God honored and answered the prayers of His people. Most of our Christian leaders only seek the help of the Republicans.
One woman filed with the spirit of the anti-Christ, Madeline Murry, removed the influence of God from the minds of America’s children. How could this happen? Perhaps a better question to ask is how have Christians become so powerless against the forces of darkness? If one devil-filled woman could move the direction of a nation what could millions of people filled with the Holy spirit of God do against the evil spirits in high places? But we won’t fight. We’ve become convinced that we can’t win. We are convinced that God has given up on America. We won’t admit it, but we really believe the devil has won; that the forces of darkness are stronger than the children of the light. The sad reality is that we’ve lost because we have not fought. Our hope, courage, and faith, has been stolen from us by a defeatist, fatalistic, powerless Gospel spewing forth from America’s lukewarm pulpits.
5. The Salt and Light Brigade is making a difference. We used targeted prayer, targeted phone calls, and a clear targeted strategy to fight the forces of darkness. Our prayers weren’t scattered and directionless. Everyone prayed upon the same target, at the same time, for the same result. I am convinced that this “shock and awe” campaign was the death blow to the prosecution and their minions in the judicial system. This is the formula that we are going to employ all across this nation! Why don’t you join the Brigade and become part of a living, breathing organism that will shake the very foundations of this nation?
The reason there is no power in America is because there is no power in the church. There is disobedience in the world because there is disobedience in the church. There is a lack of faith in the world because there is a lack of faith in the church. The President is powerful because the pulpit is impotent. America is off course because the church has lost its sense of direction. As goes the church, so goes the nation.
However, all is not lost. God is not the one who’s dead—only His followers are. It’s time to wake up. Stop following the blind guides.
