Paul Hansen Receives Below Guideline Sentence - End Of L'affaire Kent Hovind?

This post was originally published on Forbes Aug 22, 2015

Paul Hansen, Kent Hovind's co-defendant in their March trial for mail fraud and contempt, faced sentencing Friday on his conviction for contempt of court. Judge Margaret Casey Rodgers sentenced Hansen to 18 months in prison and three years of supervised release.      Considering time already served Hansen should be out by next Spring.

Federal prosecutors had requested a sentence in line with federal sentencing guidelines which by their computation called for a sentence between 46 and 57 months.  Hansen's supporters had hoped that he might be sentenced to time served, but Judge Rodgers thought some further time was needed to make a point.  In his account of the proceedings Ben Shefler noted Judge Rodgers remark:

“There is little that is more threatening to the fabric of society than someone taking action to thwart or ignore the law ,” the judge told Hansen. “...You’re not special. You’re subject to the same laws as everyone else in this courtroom...that’s all this case is about, pure and simple.”

in response to Hansen's request for greater leniency:

The punishment should fit the crime and be a deterrent. Seven thousand hours is significant punishment for someone that’s not even getting paid, for mailing a letter for a church to create a record.

Barring unforeseen developments,this post  will mark the close of my Kent Hovind coverage, at least on this platform.  So some summary background is in order.

Kent Hovind Prosecutions

Kent Hovind's main focus has always been his message that the Genesis narrative needs to be taken literally which implies that the entire physical universe is roughly six thousand years old and that there is scientific evidence supporting his Young Earth Creation view.  He also devoted a small amount of effort to teaching that the federal income tax is quite narrow in its application and bragged that he had not filed income tax returns himself for many years.  This led to a long struggle with the IRS culminating in his conviction in 2006 on several tax-related charges including structuring - the systematic withdrawal (in his case) of funds in amounts slightly less than $10,000 to avoid currency reporting.  He and his wife, Jo,  were also found liable for millions in individual income tax, interest and civil fraud penalties.

Jo Hovind served a year in prison for structuring and Kent finished up over eight years last month and now is in the early part of three years of supervised release.  Besides the prison sentence, Kent was subject to forfeiture of over $400,000.  As a substitute for the funds real estate of Creation Science Evangelism, considered an alter ego of Hovind was seized.  Despite losing his appeal to the Eleventh Circuit,Hovind continued to believe that he would get his conviction reversed.

On the advice of one of his cellmates, Hovind filed a Bivens claim against prison officials over his lack of access to boxes of documents that hindered him in his appeal.  His cellmate, whom Hovind believed was a legal genius, also advised him to file a "lis pendens" to warn potential buyers of the seized real estate that he still had a potential interest in the property.

The efforts to affect the title to the seized property is what led to Hovind and CSE trustee Paul Hansen's prosecution for mail fraud, conspiracy and contempt of court.  In the end Hansen was acquitted on one of six indictment counts, the jury did not reach a verdict on the more serious mail fraud charges and Hovind was convicted on one count of contempt and Hansen on two. On the eve of retrial, the government withdrew the remaining charges without prejudice and Hovind's contempt conviction was overturned.

The Hovindicators
The mail fraud contempt prosecution sparked a vigorous social media campaign to "Free Kent Hovind".  Its flagship website is #FreeKent and Rudy Davis devoted his youtube channel LoneStar1776 to the cause.  Kent through telephone interviews from the county jail where he was held during the trial made the rounds of right-wing conspiracy alternate media including Alex Jones on InfoWars.  The conspiracy theme runs throughout Hovind's material, which is not surprising.

Belief in Young Earth Creationism implies a massive conspiracy involving pretty much the entire scientific community since it contradicts the conclusion not only of biological science on evolution but also geology and astronomy.  It seems that conspiracy theories are a bit like Lays Potato Chips, in that you can't just eat one. Thus it is not that surprising that Kent Hovind embraced the "Tax Honesty" movement which holds that the income tax applies to a very small class of people and transactions and that most of us are tricked into compliance.  In order for that to be true, the entire federal judiciary has to be in on the conspiracy.

There can be no doubt that Kent Hovind's actions with regards to taxes was the reason for IRS interest in him and the long battle he fought with them beginning in the early nineties.  The narrative that he is an innocent man who paid all the taxes that he owes and is a victim of the structuring law does not stand up to much scrutiny at all.

The Hovindicators hoped that Hovind's story would energize the nation, hence my comparison of them to the Dreyfusards.  In the end they don't seem to have really broken that much out of the right wing conspiracy bubble, but it was certainly not for lack of trying.

Paul Hansen

Paul Hansen seems to be something of an original thinker.  Last year the Nebraska Supreme Court issued an injunction against him for the unauthorized practice of law.  You can get a feel for his thinking on his website.

I understand that the elect of God should promote the Kingdom of God (and His dominion) on earth as it is in Heaven. I am a serious student of Biblical law, and constitutional limitations of the US Government. I have been in court over 350 times. Arrest, oh I lost count. I have received numerous death threats that have come from US STATE agents and officers. Always bogus misdemeanor charges. (Mostly Municipal Housing Codes, right to travel actions, or related acts.) I file no Federal Income Taxes (1040 Form) since the year 2000. (No filings in any form.)(Always demand a 6203 Assessment when confronted.) I do not pay STATE income tax, or sales tax on major purchases. I pay no COUNTY property taxes though I owned over 28 properties (28 buildings). ( I believe I have discovered a “filing for record” process that takes my Land off the tax roles. ) I do not vote for UNITED STATE, or NEBRASKA STATE, County, or City governing officers. I am a sovereign American by birth right. (Not a US citizen.)

Hansen believes that after all the dust settles he and Kent Hovind will be able to bring the IRS agents, prosecutors and federal judge before a court and get a judgment for damages.  The terms he has variously used are "common law court", "community court" and "court of record".

In an interview with Rudy Davis, Hansen indicated that convening a common law court requires only twelve godly men who then get to decide both the facts and the law.  Combining Hovind and Hansen's views on a proper judicial system, I can't help but think that they would be pleased with something that looks a lot like Sharia law, only Christian flavored with the King James version of the Bible being used rather than the Koran.

Is This the End of L'affaire Hovind?

Since his release Kent Hovind has been going great guns on his youtube channel.  His main focus is on "end times".  Since July 22, he has put up over 50 talks usually about half an hour.  If he has not hit one million views yet, it won't be long.  Although he does talk a bit about reversing his structuring conviction as in this recent piece with Ernie Land,

I'm taking the position that this is no longer a serious tax story.  I'll cover any future court decisions on the case and will also take note if any major political figure adopts the Kent Hovind cause.  Kent has indicated that presidential candidates are interested in his case.  Rudy Davis specifically mentioned Donald Trump and Doctor Ben Carson. I could not find anything reliable on Trump's views on evolution, but it seems that Doctor Carson, 

psychology degree from Yale notwithstanding, does not believe in evolution.  I think that the chance of  any political figure adopting the Hovind cause is pretty remote, but I have been surprised before.

Reaction to my coverage has been mixed.  Some Hovindicators think that anyone who does not embrace their narrative must be on the payroll of the New World Order.  Others have appreciated my attempts to be objective. I have also been criticized for bringing attention to views that are very far out of the mainstream and deserve to stay there.  Early on in the second prosecution I expressed the view that the government case against Hovind for mail fraud and conspiracy was on the weak side and might backfire.  Hence I have been identified as a  Hovind sympathizer in some circles.

Mainly I have followed the Hovind drama, because it is a great story.  I don't expect Hovind's calls for an overturning of his 2006 conviction to go anywhere and I have a fond hope that he will be conventionally tax compliant in the future. Hovind  stopped espousing tax protester theories a long time ago. Hansen's release date falls in tax season, so I might not even note his homecoming. So this may well be my final Kent Hovind post on this platform as there is a good chance that it no longer qualifies as a tax story.

Other Coverage

It was a slow enough news day in the Florida panhandle to allow Kevin Robinson of the Pensacola News Journal to cover the sentencing. He noted:

At Hansen’s request, Rodgers said she would recommend Hansen be allowed to serve his time at the Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola. Hansen said he plans to remain in the area after his release.

As noted, Ben Shefler with support from Interlock Media covered the story on my other tax blog.

There is some post-sentencing video on Kent Hovind's site and Rudy Davis's LoneStar1776 including an interview with Hansen.

One of the most puzzling things about Rudy Davis's coverage is that even after Judge Margaret Casey Rodgers dismissed the only count on which Kent Hovind was convicted and has now given Hansen a sentence well below the guidelines, he still thinks she is all together wicked.  Go figure.

The Friendly Atheist had a snarky comment

“You’re not special.” That’s, like, the meanest thing you could possibly say to someone who prides himself on being Persecuted While Christian.

As did the Sensuous Curmudgeon

We’ve never paid much attention to Hansen, but we’re eager for more entertainment from Hovind. And we’re confident that he will provide it.

Update

Abigal Megginson  was also on the scene Friday and provided me with a report which I titled - Denouement Of L'Affaire Kent Hovind - The Sentencing Of Paul John Hansen.  Abby provided some colorful detail.

Rhonda Herrington entered clutching a Bible and sat in the pew directly behind the defense. She came to report the sentencing for her pastor James David Manning’s internet radio show. After Hansen was brought out in chains and an orange jumpsuit, she knelt on her knees in prayer with her head bowed.