'Definitely a yellow flag': DeSantis campaign rollout could endanger Iowa megachurch's tax status

Ron DeSantis kicked off his campaign at an Iowa megachurch, whose pastor may have flouted tax-exempt laws.

The Florida governor said last week he would welcome a bill to defund the IRS, but two tax law experts told The Daily Beast that he may be ignoring the Johnson Act prohibiting churches and charities from "participating or intervening, directly or indirectly, in any political campaign on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for public office" by holding his first official campaign event at the Eternity Church in Clive.

“It’s definitely a yellow flag,” said Lloyd Mayer, a professor at the University of Notre Dame.

Mayer and Philip Hackney, a professor at the University of Pittsburgh, agreed the IRS prohibition could kick in if Pastor Jesse Newman spoke in his official capacity at the event.

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“As he stands for righteousness and as the vicious onslaughts of those who plan to do wicked come against him,” Newman said at the event, standing at a podium with a DeSantis campaign poster on the front. “I pray [it will] have no effect on him or his family, or his campaign or his desire to stand up for the truth."

Newman then offered a prayer seeking the governor's election to higher office.

“God, I pray that all that the enemy means for harm, I believe you’re going to use it for good. We pray this in the name of Jesus," the pastor said. "Could somebody say ‘Amen’?”

Tax experts say the church could argue it was offering DeSantis the same opportunity as any candidate, and they agreed that Newman's personal political statements are protected by the First Amendment, but a federal court found in 2000 that the Johnson Amendment -- Section 501(c)(3) in the federal code -- sets limits when it comes to free speech and political expression by tax-exempt organizations.

The judge in that case affirmed the IRS decision to revoke the tax-exempt status of Church at Pierce Creek of New York, which took out a newspaper ad in 1992 condemning then-presidential candidate Bill Clinton's support for abortion and LGBTQ rights.

“The government has a compelling interest in maintaining the integrity of the tax system and in not subsidizing partisan political activity, and Section 501(c)(3) is the least restrictive means of accomplishing that,” the court found in that case.