Churches, Religious Organizations Will Appeal Dismissal of Johnson Amendment Challenge

Today, United States District Judge J. Campbell Barker dismissed, without prejudice, the legal challenge to the constitutionality of the Johnson Amendment brought by two churches and two national religious nonprofit organizations against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

 

The Johnson Amendment prohibits churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations from supporting or opposing political candidates on penalty of losing their tax-exempt status. The basis of the dismissal was the claimed impact of the Anti-Injunction Act, which generally prohibits lawsuits regarding tax liability.

 

The case was filed by NRB, Intercessors for America, Sand Springs Church (Athens, Texas), and First Baptist Church of Waskom (Waskom, Texas). None of these plaintiffs have violated the Johnson Amendment, nor have they been subject to IRS sanctions. Instead, they engage in self-censorship because of the Johnson Amendment’s impact on their First Amendment freedoms.

 

This case had been settled between the plaintiffs and the IRS pending the court’s approval of a consent decree. The decree was limited to churches and other houses of worship making statements about candidates in the context of worship services. The IRS agreed that in such settings, the Johnson Amendment does not apply, and to contend otherwise would violate the First Amendment’s Establishment of Religion Clause.

 

President Donald J. Trump has repeatedly cited this case’s settlement as a victory by his administration for religious freedom.

 

Plaintiffs believe that well-established precedent, including decisions by the Supreme Court, mandates a different outcome. These precedents set out two rules. First, the Anti-Injunction Act does not apply when there is no available alternative to challenge the constitutionality of a law or action. Second, no one has to violate the law before challenging a law that violates the First Amendment, particularly the freedom of speech.

 

The plaintiffs here have no other forum to challenge the free speech restrictions imposed by the Johnson Amendment’s limitation on the right of nonprofits to speak about candidates, unless they first violate the law and then become subject to IRS enforcement action. No person should be forced to place themselves in legal jeopardy to protect their constitutional rights. And the Supreme Court has backed this conclusion on numerous occasions.

 

The plaintiffs will file an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit shortly.

To interview Farris, please contact presscenter@nrb.org.