Richard Spencer’s white-nationalist think tank violated state nonprofit law: report

The think tank of prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer violated Virginia nonprofit laws after it failed to register in the commonwealth and also failed to notify prospective donors that it lost its tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service, the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.

Regulators at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services began investigating the National Policy Institute (NPI) in March, after the newspaper asked about administrative irregularities. The newspaper obtained records of the violation after filing a public records request to the agency, which oversees the nonprofits operating within the commonwealth.

The department reportedly closed its investigation into Spencer’s group earlier this month, after working with him to ensure the group is in compliance. 

{mosads}”We take this very seriously,” Spencer reportedly told the LA Times in a private message on Twitter.

“We’re doing everything we can to get everything in order,” he added, including a copy of a letter from June 1 that showed confirmation from Virginia that the group completed the registration to legally operate within the commonwealth. 

The LA Times said the NPI has suffered numerous administrative setbacks since Spencer took over the group in 2011.

After failing to file federal tax returns for the group for three years, the IRS stripped it of its 501(c)3 tax-exempt status in mid-March, according to department filings obtained by the LA Times.

And by fundraising in Virginia without registering the NPI, Spencer ran the risk of potentially misinforming donors that they could claim tax deductions for their contributions. 

“NPI is aware of their 501c3 status being revoked … yet continues to claim 501c3 status on their donation pages,” an investigator reportedly noted while reviewing the group. 

Spencer, who has publicly acknowledged the loss of NPI’s tax-exempt status, has taken steps to restore NPI’s legal status, the newspaper reported. He has paid a $300 state registry fee and added a clause on the group’s donation page that says “donations to the National Policy Institute are not tax deductible.”

In recent years, Spencer has built a public profile, pushing his white nationalist or “alt-right” views that include creating a nation for only white people.