Richard Spencer just ran into a big problem for his white nationalist non-profit organization. The leader of the Alt-Right movement has gained an enormous stature in the last year, rising to national prominence as his movement went from the fringes of the political landscape to one of the major forces during the 2016 election. In that time Richard Spencer has tried to legitimize the movement and steer it away from overt racist tones and toward more legitimacy.
But now Spencer has dealt the movement what could be a major blow, and it's all due to some basic paperwork he forgot to fill out.
State officials in Virginia just placed a major penalty on his right-wing think tank, the National Policy Institute, revoking its ability to solicit donations. The reason? According to the Los Angeles Times, Spencer simply forgot to file federal tax returns for three straight years, leading the Internal Revenue Service to revoke the agency's tax-exempt status.
National Policy Institute facing more penalties
That wasn't the end of sanctions for Richard Spencer's non-profit organization. According to the Los Angeles Times, state regulators in Virginia also found that the think tank broke state law by failing to register in the state and not informing donors that the agency had lost its tax exemption.
Spencer was able to get an extension for the agency to file the correct paperwork, but apparently he forgot again and the exemption expired.
Richard Spencer's white-nationalist nonprofit failed to file basic paperwork to keep fundraising https://t.co/0Y2XvayYAt
— Hatewatch (@Hatewatch) December 1, 2017
When contacted by the Los Angeles Times, Spencer said he was confused and said he believed the situation had been worked out already.
The think tank has faced other problems, including fundraising difficulties after being banned from some of the major online donation sites.
Richard Spencer continues to court controversy
While Richard Spencer continues to raise his national stature, he has also courted near-constant controversy. Spencer has been scheduled to speak at many colleges campuses but faced protests, including a recent one at the University of Michigan where hundreds of students staged a walkout in protest of his appearance.
The university's president said they have not confirmed the appearance, but that the institution stands in support of free speech. The visit has not yet been officially scheduled, the president noted.
Last week, 26 different European countries took action to ban Richard Spencer from traveling there, citing what was seen as hateful rhetoric.
