[Order David Horowitz’s and John Perazzo’s new booklet: “Internal Radical Service: Abuse Of Taxpayer Dollars To Advance Leftwing Causes Illegally And Unconstitutionally”: CLICK HERE.]
In Front Page Magazine’s extensive series on the leftist organizations that the IRS has allowed to keep their tax deductible status, we have covered Chinese Communist front groups, art vandals, domestic terrorists, pedophiles, illegal alien smugglers and the enablers of murderers.
Every time we dive deeper into these investigations, someone asks if there’s anywhere that the IRS will draw the line. A few weeks ago, someone suggested pirates. Surely there couldn’t be nonprofit pirates with tax deductible donations that the IRS has decided is a legitimate charity.
Not only is there a pirate nonprofit, but it’s been denounced by the court, described as eco-terrorists by the FBI, and has shown up on Interpol’s Red Notice while being the subject of international incidents without ever persuading the IRS to drop its 501(c)(3) status.
A decade ago, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruling stated that, “you don’t need a peg leg or an eye patch. When you ram ships; hurl glass containers of acid; drag metal-reinforced ropes in the water to damage propellers and rudders; launch smoke bombs and flares with hooks; and point high-powered lasers at other ships, you are, without a doubt, a pirate.”
The group in question was Sea Shepherd: a trendy anti-fishing organization whose celebrity supporters included Pamela Anderson, Martin Sheen and Sean Penn. And a decade after the Court of Appeals stated that Sea Shepherd’s alleged acts were “clear instances of violent acts for private ends, the very embodiment of piracy”, Sea Shepherd maintains a presence on Facebook, Amazon, YouTube and other Big Tech platforms that purged conservations for “extremism”,where it sells merchandise featuring its version of the skull and bones pirate flag.
And it has retained its status with the IRS as a nonprofit 501(c)(3) charity for over 40 years.
In 2002, the Domestic Terrorism Section Chief of the FBI told the House Resources Committee that Sea Shepherd was an example of “eco-terrorism”. The IRS took no action even when it was caught harboring a nonprofit that federal law enforcement had described as eco-terrorists.
Unlike many of the other leftist groups we previously profiled, the IRS did begin an audit of Sea Shepherd a few months after the Court of Appeals ruling. The token IRS effort was likely in response to pressure from Japan whose whaling ships faced harassment from the group.
While the IRS has ignored conservative protests over tax deductible status being granted to domestic terrorist groups, the Japanese government spent years lobbying to suspend Sea Shepherd’s nonprofit status. After a court ruling described the group as pirates, the Japanese could not believe that the Obama administration still refused to take action. Finally the Japanese embassy turned directly to the IRS, including contacting Lois Lerner, who would become infamous for her role in the IRS targeting of conservative and Jewish opponents of Obama.
The IRS went through the motions of auditing Sea Shepherd, then it dispatched a letter claiming that “our examination of the information return(s) indicated above disclosed that your organization continues to qualify for exemption from Federal income tax.” The Internal Revenue Service does not however seem to have consulted the Court of Appeals, the FBI or the law.
As the Freedom Center’s pamphlet, Internal Radical Service by David Horowitz and John Perazzo, discusses, regulations state that “exempt purposes may generally be equated with the public good, and violations of law are the antithesis of the public good”. They warn that, “violation of constitutionally valid laws is inconsistent with exemption under IRC 501(c)(3)” and that “planned activities that violate laws are not in furtherance of a charitable purpose”.
Is piracy not the antithesis of the public good? Which part of ramming ships or hurling containers of acid would the IRS consider to be in the furtherance of a charitable purpose?
Some years earlier, the IRS had demanded that the Coalition for Life of Iowa explain “how all of your activities, including the prayer meetings held outside of Planned Parenthood, are considered educational as defined under 501(c)(3).” Did the IRS ask Sea Shepherd how “hurling fiery and acid-filled projectiles” is considered educational?
To the IRS, praying outside abortion clinics might be a violation, but not sinking ships.
Until its recent makeover, Sea Shepherd was not shy about its activities.
“I’ve sunk ten whaling ships and destroyed tens of millions of dollars’ worth of illegal fishing gear, and I’m not in jail,” Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd’s founder and until its recent pivot, a leading figure in the group, had boasted. The IRS was surely aware of such statements.
While the IRS failed to take action, the Court of Appeals issued a permanent injunction in 2016 barring Sea Shepherd from “physically attacking” ships from Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research. The IRS did not believe that “physically attacking” was a problem for a nonprofit.
The IRS not only shrugged off accusations of piracy and eco-terrorism, it also ignored the attempted murder charges. Watson had been arrested in Germany a year before the audit for an outstanding charge of “causing a danger of drowning” in Costa Rica over a confrontation with shark hunters that was later dropped. Interpol issued a Red Notice for Watson over the incident.
The IRS shrugged at Interpol as it had at the FBI, the Court of Appeals and multiple countries.
Japan however issued its own Interpol Red Notice for Watson which blocked Sea Shepherd’s ability to obtain insurance. Watson was forced out and officially resigned in 2022. Sea Shepherd has rebranded as working with governments to fight illegal poaching and has sued Watson for “infringement, unfair competition, false advertising,” and, ironically, “cyberpiracy” over his use of its ‘Jolly Roger’ pirate flag for his own operation.
Watson, who has pledged to continue the fight, launched his own organization: Sea Shepherd Origins, and he’s raising money through the Paul Watson Foundation. The Foundation’s purpose is to “carry on Captain Paul Watson’s effective agenda” “through a unique strategy of aggressive non-violence.”
Despite everything, the Watson Foundation was approved by the IRS as a 501(c)(3).
Japan should have used its Navy to stop the pirates.
Japan needs to get back to a proper military rather than a self-defense force.
You do recall what they did the last time they had a “proper military”?
I cannot find the site, but I read just this morning of The Satanic 501c3 org that openly promotes abortion on demand and the ceremonious murder of the child.
There is nothing this demonic administration (having stolen the 2020 election) will not do to destroy our society.
May God grant us the strength to restore our Constitutional Republic.
Rick in Merced
There will come a day when the NON-CORRUPT say ENOUGH! I would really hate to see the RIGHT engage in the tactics of the LEFT!
As I have said before The Internal Robbery Service
Infernal Robbery Syndicate
Pirates should be hanged!
So should traitors
Careful now a lot of the Jan 6th cases are still in the courts. The government might get the idea that they should actually do something about those terrorists and traitors.
Sea Shepherd has never prirated anything.
DEI committees across the nations should be labeled as “pirates” too….. as an aside, you gotta check out the South Park episode where the whale boat crew fires a giant whale harpoon gun at the Sea Shepard skipper splattering him all over. “Whale Whores” is the eleventh episode of the thirteenth season of the American animated television series South Park.
I’ve always said (Nonprofit professional, here.) that the IRS doesn’t pay the slightest attention to the 501(c)3s. until the fraud enters the millions. So no, they don’t care about the illegal and criminal activities conducted by Watson, either.
While that is generally true, when we’re talking about fraud, there is a history of the IRS selectively targeting nonprofits over regulatory violations for political reasons. The IRS tends to investigate nonprofits with political leanings that aren’t committing fraud, but are accused of not meeting C3 grounds as a charity, disproportionately to the right.
Now let us all know how many of those are actually left of center groups. You can do it Greenfield! Just this one time in your life tell the truth and show you have some sense of self worth. That you aren’t just another tool and fool D.Hoe uses then tosses aside.
I’m sure D.Hoe breaths a sigh of relief everyday over that lax enforcement. This blog post is just an ad for the pamphlet which D.Hoe is clearly offering for personal enrichment. A blatant violation of the law.
I suggest paying them to stop Chinese poaching off the waters of western South America, but the Chinese get a free ride too.
Let’s go operation light speed. So excited. It’s like light speed.
The pirates question aside, Japan’s whale hunting is barbaric and unnecessary. I support any and all who opposes it.
I’m no fan of whale hunting, but this same gang is going after shark hunting and a whole lot of fishing. And it’s generally not a good idea to empower leftist terrorists even if they may have a point about some particular issue.
Terrorists? Please be very specific: what terrorist act has Sea Shepherd committed?
Have you read the article?
WTF? Why would you complain about Sea Shepherd? Sea Shepherd mostly fights illegal fishing, is that a bad thing?
Japan killed whales for food while claiming the whale killing was done for scientific research. Everybody knew, all along, that Japan was lying. Yet you stand up for the filthy Japanese whale killing liars, over the honest conservationists?
You say that Sea Shepherd are “pirates” okay then, name me a case of Sea Shepherd “pirating” anything. I will make it easy for you: you can’t.
Terrorists you say? Give me a specific example. Again, I will make it easy for you: you can’t.
If a ship at sea is doing something illegal, you are within your rights to stop it.
This entire article is complete crap. Prove me wrong.
I read the article. Do you know the shameful history of the ninth circuit? I would not take everything they rule as gospel. For example: the acid they refer to is just stinky butter, used to ruin the taste of the whale meat.
Also worth noting: I don’t think Sea Shepherd has done any of that stuff in 10 years.
Sea Shepherd harassed the filthy lying Japanese whalers, but Sea Shepherd never tried to harm anybody. This is far more than can be said of the Japanese. For example: Japanese once used an audio weapon, made for riot control, against a helicopter that was in the air – could have easily killed somebody. There are many other examples of the Japanese using potentially lethal force.
Sea Shepherd is the best friend that honest fisherman ever had. They certainly deserve non-profit status.