Dr. Kent Hovind
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------FAITH UNDER FIRE
'Government persecuting' jailed creation evangelist
Kent Hovind built celebrated anti-evolution ministry, now serving 10-year prison sentence on tax charges
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Posted: May 31, 2009
8:35 pm Eastern © 2010 WorldNetDaily
Kent Hovind
He was one of America's favorite biblical creation teachers and lecturers – known for debating pro-evolution science professors in the nation's most prestigious secular colleges and universities.
So successful was his ministry, he built a dinosaur theme park in Florida, his videos of his presentations were a delight to thousands, he hosted a radio program and was in demand as a speaker 52 weeks a year.
But now Kent Hovind, known affectionately as "Dr. Dino," resides in a small federal prison cell in South Carolina – serving a 10-year sentence for failing to collect and pay withholding taxes, obstructing tax laws and other related charges. His diminutive wife, Jo, the bookkeeper for the Hovinds' Creation Science Evangelism ministry in Pensacola, was convicted of evading bank-reporting requirements and began serving a one-year sentence in January at a minimum security prison camp in Florida.
Kent Hovind's followers, however, contend he was prosecuted because of his religious convictions – and because he was so effective in exposing what he calls "the big lie of evolution."
This month, Hovind is appealing his case to the U.S. Supreme Court after a final rejection Feb. 25 by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.
The Hovinds' ministry was launched in 1989 with the aim of winning people to faith in Jesus Christ through debunking evolution and presenting evidence for divine creation. Kent Hovind has offered $250,000 to anyone offering sufficient proof of Darwinian evolution. Evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, author of "The God Delusion," has refused to debate Hovind, insisting the biblical creationist's work is not science at all and that science is advanced through systematic inquiry rather than debate.
An evangelical organization with similar aims, Answers in Genesis, has distanced itself from some of Hovind's teachings. An exchange between AIG's Ken Ham and Hovind began in 2003 when AIG published a list of Arguments We Think Creationists Should Not Use." Hovind saw many of his arguments in the list and responded to Ham. Asked about the outcome, Eric Hovind told WND Answers in Genesis "has done a great job of reminding creationists to be accountable for what we teach, and for that I'm grateful."
"Our ministry has taken several strides over the last several years to perfect the arguments," he said. "There are countless ways to prove creation over evolution. It's not a difficult task, and there are plenty of arguments to go around."
In 2001, Hovind opened the biblical creation theme park, Dinosaur Adventure Land. The park and merchandise sales brought in more than $5 million from 1999 to March 2004, according to records presented at his 2006 trial.
Hovind argues he took a vow of poverty as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ and, therefore, owns nothing and receives no income. All of his needs are taken care of by the ministry, he explains.
He says he understood that as a registered 508 non-profit organization, he was not required to withhold taxes, leaving IRS obligations with each worker.
In November 2006, however, Hovind was convicted of failing to collect and pay $470,000 in withholding taxes, obstructing tax laws, structuring transactions totaling $430,500 to avoid financial reporting laws, filing a frivolous lawsuit against the IRS, filing an injunction against an IRS agent and threatening investigators and others who cooperated with the investigation.
The "structuring" charges are based on application of laws designed to expose money-laundering by drug traffickers, which require banks to fill out a transaction report if any customer deposits or withdraws more than $10,000 in one day.
Until 2003, CSE withdrew cash from the bank to compensate employees.
The Hovinds were charged under a law that makes it illegal to evade reporting by dividing up the transactions into amounts less than $10,000 and using several banks. Each count bears a fine of $250,000 plus five years in prison.
Over the years, the amount of withdrawal every week or so grew from $2,000 to about $9,500. In 2002, the practice stopped, because the Hovinds thought it was too risky to transport so much cash.
Hovind contends he abandoned any practice he discovered was legally questionable. But in the early morning hours of July 13, 2006, about 20 armed government agents arrived on ministry property without notice to arrest the Hovinds. Kent Hovind was taken into custody as he prepared for staff devotions, while four armed agents surrounded Jo Hovind as she slept. The five-foot tall, 100-pound Mrs. Hovind said she was taken from the house in her nightgown despite pleas to use the bathroom and get dressed.
"Our ministry has taken several strides over the last several years to perfect the arguments," he said. "There are countless ways to prove creation over evolution. It's not a difficult task, and there are plenty of arguments to go around."
In 2001, Hovind opened the biblical creation theme park, Dinosaur Adventure Land. The park and merchandise sales brought in more than $5 million from 1999 to March 2004, according to records presented at his 2006 trial.
Hovind argues he took a vow of poverty as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ and, therefore, owns nothing and receives no income. All of his needs are taken care of by the ministry, he explains.
He says he understood that as a registered 508 non-profit organization, he was not required to withhold taxes, leaving IRS obligations with each worker.
In November 2006, however, Hovind was convicted of failing to collect and pay $470,000 in withholding taxes, obstructing tax laws, structuring transactions totaling $430,500 to avoid financial reporting laws, filing a frivolous lawsuit against the IRS, filing an injunction against an IRS agent and threatening investigators and others who cooperated with the investigation.
The "structuring" charges are based on application of laws designed to expose money-laundering by drug traffickers, which require banks to fill out a transaction report if any customer deposits or withdraws more than $10,000 in one day.
Until 2003, CSE withdrew cash from the bank to compensate employees.
The Hovinds were charged under a law that makes it illegal to evade reporting by dividing up the transactions into amounts less than $10,000 and using several banks. Each count bears a fine of $250,000 plus five years in prison.
Over the years, the amount of withdrawal every week or so grew from $2,000 to about $9,500. In 2002, the practice stopped, because the Hovinds thought it was too risky to transport so much cash.
Hovind contends he abandoned any practice he discovered was legally questionable. But in the early morning hours of July 13, 2006, about 20 armed government agents arrived on ministry property without notice to arrest the Hovinds. Kent Hovind was taken into custody as he prepared for staff devotions, while four armed agents surrounded Jo Hovind as she slept. The five-foot tall, 100-pound Mrs. Hovind said she was taken from the house in her nightgown despite pleas to use the bathroom and get dressed.
"You're supposed to have a right to exercise your religion in such a way that taxation can't come in and be utilized to destroy it. That's the First Amendment. That's what it means," said Springer, the head of Tulsa-based Bondage Breakers Ministries, which aims to "expose the violations of the written law committed by the Internal Revenue Service."
Eric Hovind told WND his father sent numerous letters to the IRS, asking exactly which laws apply to a 508 (c) (1) (a) church ministry, but he received no response.
Little support
Hovind has received virtually no public support from prominent evangelical leaders.
Springer contends the reason, at least in part, is because "they all don't want to be where Hovind is."
"The church will stand up when the coast is clear," he said. "But the church today could never understand how to begin to attain a right under the First Amendment."
Matt Staver, chief counsel of the Florida-based evangelical legal advocacy group Liberty Counsel, told WND he hasn't closely examined the charges but thinks Hovind was led astray by people with wrong ideas.
He said Hovind is somebody who is "honest and wants to do the right thing."
"I hate to see him in this situation, because he had done a tremendous amount of good through his creation seminars that he did around the country," Staver said. "I think a real strong voice has now been somewhat silenced because of this tax situation that has taken him out of circulation and ultimately hurt his ministry, when in fact I think it could have been avoided if there had been some additional guidance given to him about how to do his tax matters."
Eric Hovind said while disappointing, the lack of support is to be expected.
"If I were in their shoes, I would totally understand," he said. "Here you've got this guy that the media has kind of given this little drive-by snippet of what he looks like, and, OK, what are you going to do?"
But he said the ministry continually receives messages of encouragement from congregations and their pastors, who say they are praying.
"We get letters all the time," he said, "from pastors that say, 'Our entire congregation is praying for you. The Lord be with you.' Amazing support has come from Russian Christians who lived under communism, saying 'We are begging God to let you out to teach people more.'"
Eric Hovind has been asked frequently how supporters can respond. While he sees no possiblities for direct action that would result in his father being freed, he says concerned citizens can urge members of Congress to address the cash-structuring laws, which were originally meant to prosecute drug dealers.
The bigger issue, critics of the government's handling of the Hovind case say, is the tax code, which is so complex it can be used to go after virtually anyone.
Eric Hovind contends the government completely misrepresented his parents in the 2006 trial, portraying them as anti-government radicals.
"Because that picture was never corrected, I can understand why the jury came back with a guilty verdict," he said.
"My mom is a simple housewife, a piano teacher who has loved her family," he continued. "But she was definitely painted as this tax-protester woman who would take up arms against the IRS if they came. They were painted as this Waco-type mentality people. And they never got a true perspective of who they were."
He believes Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Heldmyer sought to make them an example.
"As I read back over the transcript of the trial, I look over and over at the way Heldmyer would word things and say things, and I'm going, 'Wow, she just twisted that to make them look like this.' It just makes me frustrated to read that, because of how much manipulating was done to the facts in order to make them look the way they looked to the jury."
In her closing argument, Heldmyer declared, "Nobody likes to pay taxes, but we do because it's the law, and he is not above the law."
Eric Hovind said his mother is "a duck out of water" in prison, even among the Christians there, as a woman who has remained faithful to her husband and "never gone out and partied."
"She wouldn't obviously desire this, but she understands God works everything for good," he said. "We understand that God's hand is sovereign and perfect. And while we don't understand, we will trust his hand. And we will walk by faith, 'OK, God, how do you want to get glory out of me today? I don't get this, I don't understand this, but, OK, you get glory somehow."
Eric Hovind said his father is "very, very anxious to get out" but has remained "amazingly strong" and is doing a lot of writing.
"We were really hoping that the court of appeals would do something," he said. "I guess when you're in prison you hang on to anything. You always have to have something to hang on to."
Pray for Kent Hovind by TruthRadio.com
De. Kent Hovind was jailed November 2, 2006, after being convicted in Pensacola, Florida. His wife "Jo" was released on bail. Sentencing is set for January 2007. Countless prisoners of conviction have been jailed though the years. Remember Nelson Mandella? He emerged from prison to rule his nation. Remember the Apostle Paul? Dr. Hovind is a prisoner of conscience: a political prisoner. Pray for him.
Eric Hovind told WND his father sent numerous letters to the IRS, asking exactly which laws apply to a 508 (c) (1) (a) church ministry, but he received no response.
Little support
Hovind has received virtually no public support from prominent evangelical leaders.
Springer contends the reason, at least in part, is because "they all don't want to be where Hovind is."
"The church will stand up when the coast is clear," he said. "But the church today could never understand how to begin to attain a right under the First Amendment."
Matt Staver, chief counsel of the Florida-based evangelical legal advocacy group Liberty Counsel, told WND he hasn't closely examined the charges but thinks Hovind was led astray by people with wrong ideas.
He said Hovind is somebody who is "honest and wants to do the right thing."
"I hate to see him in this situation, because he had done a tremendous amount of good through his creation seminars that he did around the country," Staver said. "I think a real strong voice has now been somewhat silenced because of this tax situation that has taken him out of circulation and ultimately hurt his ministry, when in fact I think it could have been avoided if there had been some additional guidance given to him about how to do his tax matters."
Eric Hovind said while disappointing, the lack of support is to be expected.
"If I were in their shoes, I would totally understand," he said. "Here you've got this guy that the media has kind of given this little drive-by snippet of what he looks like, and, OK, what are you going to do?"
But he said the ministry continually receives messages of encouragement from congregations and their pastors, who say they are praying.
"We get letters all the time," he said, "from pastors that say, 'Our entire congregation is praying for you. The Lord be with you.' Amazing support has come from Russian Christians who lived under communism, saying 'We are begging God to let you out to teach people more.'"
Eric Hovind has been asked frequently how supporters can respond. While he sees no possiblities for direct action that would result in his father being freed, he says concerned citizens can urge members of Congress to address the cash-structuring laws, which were originally meant to prosecute drug dealers.
The bigger issue, critics of the government's handling of the Hovind case say, is the tax code, which is so complex it can be used to go after virtually anyone.
Eric Hovind contends the government completely misrepresented his parents in the 2006 trial, portraying them as anti-government radicals.
"Because that picture was never corrected, I can understand why the jury came back with a guilty verdict," he said.
"My mom is a simple housewife, a piano teacher who has loved her family," he continued. "But she was definitely painted as this tax-protester woman who would take up arms against the IRS if they came. They were painted as this Waco-type mentality people. And they never got a true perspective of who they were."
He believes Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Heldmyer sought to make them an example.
"As I read back over the transcript of the trial, I look over and over at the way Heldmyer would word things and say things, and I'm going, 'Wow, she just twisted that to make them look like this.' It just makes me frustrated to read that, because of how much manipulating was done to the facts in order to make them look the way they looked to the jury."
In her closing argument, Heldmyer declared, "Nobody likes to pay taxes, but we do because it's the law, and he is not above the law."
Eric Hovind said his mother is "a duck out of water" in prison, even among the Christians there, as a woman who has remained faithful to her husband and "never gone out and partied."
"She wouldn't obviously desire this, but she understands God works everything for good," he said. "We understand that God's hand is sovereign and perfect. And while we don't understand, we will trust his hand. And we will walk by faith, 'OK, God, how do you want to get glory out of me today? I don't get this, I don't understand this, but, OK, you get glory somehow."
Eric Hovind said his father is "very, very anxious to get out" but has remained "amazingly strong" and is doing a lot of writing.
"We were really hoping that the court of appeals would do something," he said. "I guess when you're in prison you hang on to anything. You always have to have something to hang on to."
Pray for Kent Hovind by TruthRadio.com
De. Kent Hovind was jailed November 2, 2006, after being convicted in Pensacola, Florida. His wife "Jo" was released on bail. Sentencing is set for January 2007. Countless prisoners of conviction have been jailed though the years. Remember Nelson Mandella? He emerged from prison to rule his nation. Remember the Apostle Paul? Dr. Hovind is a prisoner of conscience: a political prisoner. Pray for him.
Truth Radio could have predicted the outcome, as we are well aware that the IRS rules Judges and Federal Judges uniformly REFUSE to allow defense attorneys in IRS cases to present evidence in support of the defendant.
As you think about your own relationship with the IRS, remember the IRS has the guns. Guns rule. Not laws. Men (judges) rule; not law. So, remember that Mao said, "political power comes from the muzzle of a gun" and file your 1040. Just keep in mind that the IRS is in the business of fining people for making money. So, make as little income as possible. File -- but be sure to arrange your financial life in a way that you cost the IRS money, instead of paying the IRS.
Remember, the US Treasury has the power to set up a checking account (or countless accounts) for any purpose, and to write as many checks as they wish in any amount -- WITHOUT EVER MAKING A DEPOSIT. They do not need your money: they need your obedience. Obey -- but cost them inconvenience and money as you do so.
Forget writing to your Congressman.
Even Rep. Ron Paul, the one trustworthy member of the House of Representatives told this writer that he is frightened of the IRS and will not stand against the agency. The remainder written below was posted at the beginning of Hovind's trial.
Kent Hovind conducts the most popular broadcast on Truth Radio. October 17 begins a Federal Court trial in Pensacola, Florida. If you trust the IRS, you will root for them to convict Dr. Hovind. If you favor justice, however, you will be praying for victory for Hovind and his Creation Ministry.
Here is what Dr. Hovind writes about how all this started.
People who love truth need to know that the IRS has gone through other grand juries that saw the facts and refused to indict me so the IRS called a “secret” (I think the IRS calls it a ‘special’) grand jury just to get me. No witnesses were called for our side. Even when they got the “indictment” notice the IRS did not simply call me to come in or send a $.37 letter. No, they brought in a swat team to drag my sick wife out of bed and handcuffed her in her nightgown. They refused to let her get dressed, put on a robe or even go to the bathroom even though she begged for these simple courtesies. The agents rushed her and I into a squad car then into a freezing cell for 3 hrs! The fact that judges and local sheriffs and even juries blindly assist the IRS in breaking the law is no marvel since they fear the IRS’s Gestapo style tactics as well. (See www.cseblogs.com for the full story.)
Doesn't it make you proud to live in a FREE land where the police are FREE to come with the IRS in the dark hours of the morning and FREEly take people from their beds? When I was a child my mother told me of the horror stories coming out of Germany. She said, "Over there, they can come and knock on your door and take the man of the house away, and his family never sees him again." Are we soon going to see this kind of "law enforcement" in the United States?
-- Richard Palmquist
Send email to frontoffice@truthradio.info
with questions or comments about this subject.
As you think about your own relationship with the IRS, remember the IRS has the guns. Guns rule. Not laws. Men (judges) rule; not law. So, remember that Mao said, "political power comes from the muzzle of a gun" and file your 1040. Just keep in mind that the IRS is in the business of fining people for making money. So, make as little income as possible. File -- but be sure to arrange your financial life in a way that you cost the IRS money, instead of paying the IRS.
Remember, the US Treasury has the power to set up a checking account (or countless accounts) for any purpose, and to write as many checks as they wish in any amount -- WITHOUT EVER MAKING A DEPOSIT. They do not need your money: they need your obedience. Obey -- but cost them inconvenience and money as you do so.
Forget writing to your Congressman.
Even Rep. Ron Paul, the one trustworthy member of the House of Representatives told this writer that he is frightened of the IRS and will not stand against the agency. The remainder written below was posted at the beginning of Hovind's trial.
Kent Hovind conducts the most popular broadcast on Truth Radio. October 17 begins a Federal Court trial in Pensacola, Florida. If you trust the IRS, you will root for them to convict Dr. Hovind. If you favor justice, however, you will be praying for victory for Hovind and his Creation Ministry.
Here is what Dr. Hovind writes about how all this started.
People who love truth need to know that the IRS has gone through other grand juries that saw the facts and refused to indict me so the IRS called a “secret” (I think the IRS calls it a ‘special’) grand jury just to get me. No witnesses were called for our side. Even when they got the “indictment” notice the IRS did not simply call me to come in or send a $.37 letter. No, they brought in a swat team to drag my sick wife out of bed and handcuffed her in her nightgown. They refused to let her get dressed, put on a robe or even go to the bathroom even though she begged for these simple courtesies. The agents rushed her and I into a squad car then into a freezing cell for 3 hrs! The fact that judges and local sheriffs and even juries blindly assist the IRS in breaking the law is no marvel since they fear the IRS’s Gestapo style tactics as well. (See www.cseblogs.com for the full story.)
Doesn't it make you proud to live in a FREE land where the police are FREE to come with the IRS in the dark hours of the morning and FREEly take people from their beds? When I was a child my mother told me of the horror stories coming out of Germany. She said, "Over there, they can come and knock on your door and take the man of the house away, and his family never sees him again." Are we soon going to see this kind of "law enforcement" in the United States?
-- Richard Palmquist
Send email to frontoffice@truthradio.info
with questions or comments about this subject.
No one in America is allowed to speak out against EVOLUTION, America's new Religion. Our Government will get you one way or another. See 'Dr Dino' n my link column to learn about Creation Science. After watching the series I did not see anything hard to grasp or believe except the theory of the Ice Comet. I have a problem with that. But to be fair, no one has a good explanation where our water came from except God.
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