FBI Must Investigate Audit of Richmond Tea Party

On the same day that the Richmond Tea Party was scheduled to petition the city's mayor and council for cost reimbursements associated with previous Tax Day rallies, the city's Department of Finance sent a letter to the organization advising it of "a comprehensive tax audit," according to an article authored by Colleen Owens, spokesperson for the group. The circumstances leading up to this audit obligate the FBI to undertake an investigation of possible color of law abuses under federal civil rights laws.

According to Ms. Owens, the Richmond Tea Party incurred costs of approximately $8,500 for fees, permits, police, and portable toilets for its three previous Tax Day rallies in Richmond, VA. By contrast, Owens says the city allowed protestors from the left-wing Occupy Richmond group to squat illegally throughout the city for weeks without obtaining permits or incurring any fees or costs. Richmond Mayor Dwight Jones even met with the Occupy Richmond protestors to discuss possibly changing city ordinances to accommodate the group's protests, according to a story by the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

In response to the city's unequal treatment of the two groups, the Richmond Tea Party sent an invoice to Mayor Jones in late October requesting $8,500 in cost reimbursements. Members of the Richmond Tea Party were then scheduled to discuss the invoice at the city council's November 14, 2011, meeting; however, Mayor Jones left the meeting prior to that discussion.

On the same day as the city council meeting, Cynthia Carr, Field Auditor for the city's Department of Finance, sent a letter to the Richmond Tea Party that reads in material part: "Our records indicate that you were delinquent in the ... payment of Admissions, Lodging and/or Meal Taxes that you are required to collect on behalf of the City. As such, your business has been selected for a comprehensive tax audit." As Ms. Owens writes, however, "... as part of the Business License we have with the City, a form is filled out by our treasurer every month (as required). We have never charged admission or had lodging or meals associated with our rallies. Every month the forms are appropriately filled with zeros."

With the foregoing as background, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizens "the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." In Edwards v. South Carolina, 372 U.S. 229 (1963), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a citizen's First Amendment right to petition the government extends to state and local governments through the incorporation clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.

Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 241, "[i]f two or more persons conspire to … intimidate any inhabitant of any State … in the free exercise or enjoyment of any right or privilege secured by him by the Constitution ..., or because of his having so exercised the same ... [t]hey shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned not more than ten years, or both …." (emphasis supplied) The FBI has expressed its commitment to enforcing 18 U.S.C. 241 and other civil rights laws. The FBI's website reads: "Preventing abuse of ... authority ... is ... necessary to the health of our nation's democracy. That's why it's a federal crime for anyone acting under 'color of law' willfully to deprive or conspire to deprive a person of a right protected by the Constitution or U.S. law. 'Color of law' simply means that the person is using authority given to him or her by a local, state, or federal government agency."

Did Mayor Jones, his staff, members of the Richmond city council, or employees of the Department of Finance conspire to intimidate Richmond Tea Party members from exercising their right to petition? The FBI must investigate the matter.