Impertinent Pete, Domineering Deborah And Kent's Kult Kompound

Domineering Deborah

There is a new breed of Kent Hovind critic emerging.  Unlike many Hovindologists, they are not at all disturbed by the notion that the world is only 6,000 years old and that humans and dinosaurs must have existed contemporaneously.

The Anonymous Webmaster

Most vocal and surprising is Theodore Valentine, who anonymously ran freekenthovind.com. Theo, as Kent used to fondly refer to him,has produced an hour and three quarter documentary warning believers about Kent Hovind

The My Little Pony Fan

The one who gets the style closest to Rudy Davis award is Billy Summer of Whatever with Billy

On the other hand I don't expect Rudy will be covering My Little Pony anytime soon.

I don't have a sense of Billy's views on science and theology, but given that he was drawn to Lenox, Alabama by Kent's videos and his issues with Kent are about Kent's behavior,  I'm assuming that he shares some at least some of the young earth creationist viewpoint.

The Theologian

Joshua Joscelyn is the smoothest of the bunch. He was one of the few people from Pensacola on the street during Kent Hovind's trials in 2015

 He takes Kent on theologically calling him a damnable heretic.

The most colorful of the new breed is Deborah Henderson. I really like Deborah.  And in order to explain that, I need to tell you a bit about myself.


What Being A Hard Core Blogger is Like

I spend a lot of time on-line.  I've got three blogs going and a lot of research goes into many of my pieces.  It gets frustrating because sometimes it is the things that I knock out quickly that get the most traffic, but as it happens I don't make my living blogging, which allows my work to have, at least in my mind, a lot of integrity.  Regardless, someone who placed a tracker on me might think that I am not very sociable, as I can go for days seeing no one other than my partner (both business and life).  I do, however have quite a few friends scattered here and there.

And then there are my "blogging buddies".  My tax blogging is mainly based on my reading of original source material, but I end up contacting a lot of different people and then there are comments on the blog that sometimes lead to other communications and various blogs and facebook sites that I end up following.

Good Friends And Friends That Are Good

Of course, Hovindology is a "blogging buddy" phenomenon.  The only Hovindologists or Hovindicators that I have met in person are Dee Holmes and Jonathan Schwartz.  And, as it happens, I recruited Jonathan who I had known for a long time.  I challenge you to find a better video summary of the Hovind controversy than Jonathan's Dr. Dino: Creationism, Conspiracy, Conceit - The Politics of Wrath.

This is a long introduction to a concept.  "Blogging buddies" are like meat space friends in this sense.  They fall into two categories.  Some of them are, as far as I can tell, very likable people.  I would be very puzzled if somebody had a strong dislike for Kelly Erb, The Tax Girl,  or Joe Kristan, who recently hung up his keyboard and rode off into the sunset of an upstream merger or the Reverend William Thornton, the SBC Plodder.

There are others, however, that much as I like them myself, I totally understand why others might not.  I'm choosing not to name any names.  The self-aware ones know who I mean.

Domineering Deborah

To make a long story short, Deborah Henderson falls in the latter category.  Domineering Deborah has managed a remarkable achievement.  She got kicked out of Kent Hovind's work camp or whatever you want to call it which motivated the launch of a youtube channel, which has been quiet for about a month.

That got her invited to Robert Baty's Kent Hovind's Worst Nightmare! facebook site.  Not long after, Bob made the following announcement.

After receiving feedback from one or more members here, I decided to give Deborah Henderson a rest and removed her from the group.

Truly remarkable - both houses wishing a plague on her.

I think the main problem the Hovindology community had with Deborah was her tendency to lash out when people did not understand what she was about and her practice of giving people handles.  Mary Tocco was the unlearned Jezebel, Billy Summers was Boohoo Billy, Dee Holmes was Deiceitful Dee and I was Pansy Peter.

In Her Own Words

Unlike most others, I sought to get a better understanding of what Deborah's point was.  Also I tested what was behind her tendency to give people handles.  I asked her if she couldn't think of something a little better than Pansy Peter.  She responded with Impertinent Pete, which I kind of like.  I dubbed her Domineering Deborah and she like that too.

DD seems to believe that her audience is not people like me who don't accept the King James Version of the Bible as God's revelation to the English speaking.  We are incapable of understanding her criticisms of Hovind which she frames as a warning to fellow believers.  I have learned to not attempt to restate her positions, since I will probably get them wrong and might end up being Poopyhead Pete.  So I had a bit of an email exchange to clarify where she stands on important issues.

Here is her response:

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KJB only in the English language, like Butthurt Baty would say...Affirm

YEC c. 6000.... Affirm

Vaccines.... BAD

Conspiracy Theories...GOOD

Income Tax IRS.... Don't care

Geocentricity..... Affirm

Flat Earth.... Hasn't tickled my fancy to investigate, as of yet...

Yankees vs Red Sox.... Conspiracy

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The Yankees/Red Sox thing was a little joke.  If you had lived in New England for a while, you would get it.  I really like her answer.

I also asked her to boil down her issues with Kent Hovind.  She gave me a bonus by also laying out her issues with the Hovindologists that she considers the Booho Buzzard crew.

Peter, you have arrived late in the game and I do not consider you to be part of the Boohoo Buzzard crew. These people initiated insults, name calling, false accusing, then when I hit back they get all offended. This does not seem to be your character. I haven't checked my email for a while and just got to this. Give me a minute and I will do my best to sum it up, I will say, this I have repeatedly stated to them swarm of buzzards, this is not about attacking the Kult Kompound Klan, it is about Biblically exposing a flase teacher, a wolf in sheeps clothing. I did not speak a word until Billy Dolls decided to attack me in a video for speaking truth, now he plays the innocent. 
I do not know where I ever gave the impression that I was hurt or angry at their decision to kick me off the property, I was having a time there, but once again I remind y'all, the 3rd night I was there, the first night after my Husband left, I texted him and clearly said "This is officially a Kult," Kult and his jezebel knew I knew. Once again these buzzards will cherry pick their lies and use their lies to attack those who call them out, such as believing the unlearned jezebels lies about me, but then discredit other lies they told. 
Here is an Open Letter I sent to Butthurt Baty and Them....
May 2, 2017 An Open Letter To Robert Baty And Them: Part 1 Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn again and rend you. Matthew 7:6 The hypocrisy of this group is exactly the babel I was hoping for, to gather the evidence needed to point out the insanity that you poses is equal to that of Kent Hovind. The main goal of climbing into a snake pit to conspire with snakes was to confirm all snakes are  of their father the devil, an enemy of Christianity, an enemy of the Gospel. Lowering myself to climb into this pit of snakes, has been of great concern by some of my fellow Christians due to God's warning.... 2 Timothy 2:16. But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. God himself, whom through His infinite wisdom, has warned us to not do such things, Due to my experience in this world by being King James only and enduring the backlash of so-called Christians that attack me more then any other group, I have developed thick skin on matters of religion. God has blessed me with a wicked sense of humor and discernment to bring truth out to the open. With full support of my husband, I found it not only necessary but beneficial in my testimony exposing Kent Hovind for the false prophet he is, is to mock the mockers and expose the pure hatred for Christianity you and Hovind have in your hearts. Most of you people here are after Hovind for personal reasons for derailing your egos, you must, at any cost, including your own sanity, prove him wrong in his theology of the Young Earth to justify the misguidings you have been taught and indoctrinated into. The Bible is crystal clear on the earth being being c. 6000 years young, that is the one reason most followers of Hovind have blinders on and cannot discern truth of his deceitful ways. A quote from Hitler “If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed.” My goal is to share my testimony and experience on his compound. To warn others of the ungodly ways of the happenings there. I am doing my Biblical duty to expose a false prophet. 1 Timothy 6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is committed to thy trust, avoiding profane and vain babblings, and oppositions of science falsely so called. One must honestly ask the question, which claim about reality is likely to produce a more harmonious world, if carried out faithfully to its logical end? The assertion "God created man in his own image," representing the Judeo-Christian tradition, or the manifesto by atheist/evolutionist Richard Dawkins, representing the ideological epitome of the atheist movement, "the universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but pointless indifference." 

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Other Comments

I asked my favorite Hovindicator, Rudy Davis, for his view on DD.

I don't really know her nor have I ever talked to her. All I heard was that she was living at Dinosaur Adventure Land for free and was asked to leave and got upset and now she is devoting a large portion of her life to helping Theodore's smear campaign against Dr. Hovind.  Other than that, I don't really have any further comment. When I asked Erin if she had anything to say regarding Deborah, she simply said "No Comment". 

Maybe after this post Erin will have something to say on DD's choice of accessorized armament.

 Ernie Land, Kent's consigliere and long time friend wrote me:

Very seriously, I only met her once for maybe 2 hours at a luncheon. That is where she took her photos of me. A volunteer, handicapped and on crutches, had ridden in the passenger seat of my car to the restaurant. This lady moved in front of him insisting she get a ride back and that ladies up front. She started on Kent’s wife calling her a jezebel and asking lots of questions. When we got back to the campus, I told Br. Kent we had a problem in her we were not equipped to handle. Days later I moved to the Board with a request from myself and another Board member to ask her to leave and yes, we graciously offered her bus fare. It was me who speed dialed our Sherriff once they notified me we had an issue. I did so from 80 miles away. It got ugly quick, but it was her rebellion that made it so. She insisted she was a resident, while having signed our terms saying she was not. She wanted hours to pack her 1 small bag of possessions. That’s it, so why is this so important in the scheme of things? It seems to me this is all about spreading lies and gossip on a Ministry that is winning souls and doing a Kingdom work.

Bob Baty wrote me:

Deborah Henderson and her husband Randolf remain mysteries to me.
They appeared, seemingly, out of nowhere with no visible means of support and traveling the country and getting their pictures taken with celebrity, fundamentalist Baptist preachers; while Deborah has accumulated 4,995 "friends" on her FaceBook page.
Deborah has been accused of having a rather "seedy" history, but has not been inclined to actually detail her life story in any meaningful way that might be corroborated to some extent.
Her husband Randolf plays the shy, silent type and, allegedly, was in prison for 20 years or so and, at times (once or more), was transported with Kent Hovind.  Neither Deborah or Randolf, to my knowledge, has made an effort to document that history and I have been unable to find any record of a "Randolf Henderson" with such a history; leading me to the conclusion that "Randolf Henderson" may be a contrived name of some sort to hide his past from scrutiny.
They have become bit players in the Hovind story, and the bit they have played has yet to be fully developed.  Deborah and Randolf, despite my entreaties, have not been inclined to fully explain their involvement in Conecuh County, AL with regard to their efforts, while supporting Kent Hovind, to engage in a seemingly well-orchestrated attack on local publisher of The Monthly View, Jim Allen.
Like others, I wait and watch for the Hovind story to further develop and what, if any, further involvement there might be from Deborah and Randolf Henderson.

Always Remember

I'm not sure what to make of all this and I've got work to do, so I am wrapping it up.  The most important thing that you should keep in mind in all this is that whatever your belief on a particular issue and however misguided you think people with a different belief are, if there should be a disaster in your community, there will be an outpouring of generous support from across this great country of ours.  A significant portion of that support will be from people who believe the opposite of what you believe on creation versus evolution or geocentrism or whatever.  And a significant number of people who agree with you will ignore your plight for a variety of reasons.  Always remember that and try to be kind.

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Peter J Reilly CPA has been following the Kent Hovind story since 2012 and much to his chagrin has lost money doing so.

The Atlantic Sensationalizes Religious Property Tax Case

My friend Deana Holmes had such a strong reaction to a recent article in The Atlantic - Should Courts Get To Define Religion? that I invited her to write a guest post.  Dee was trained as a lawyer but now works on technology for a "too big to fail" bank. Dee is an avid Hovindologist.  Here she is with my friend Jonathan Schwartz covering the aftermath of the second trial that never happened last year.

That's enough introduction.  Here's Dee.

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The Atlantic recently posted an article on its website with the scare headline:  “Should Courts Get to Define Religion? 

The long and the short of it is that the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Attleboro, Mass., had for a long time been completely tax exempt. This included the shrine itself, its bookstore, maintenance shed and wooded acreage. The city of Attleboro, feeling the pinch of leaner times, decided it would interpret the Massachusetts statute governing tax exemptions rather more tightly than it had done so in the past and thus, in 2013, presented the shrine with a $92,000 tax bill for the bookstore, the maintenance shed and the wooded acreage. The shrine paid up but proceeded to appeal to the Massachusetts Appellate Tax Board, which found for the city.  The shrine appealed and oral arguments were heard in April before the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.

It’s probably a good idea to take a look at the statute in question, which is a little long-winded:

Eleventh, Notwithstanding the provisions of any other general or special law to the contrary, houses of religious worship owned by, or held in trust for the use of, any religious organization, and the pews and furniture and each parsonage so owned, or held in irrevocable trust, for the exclusive benefit of the religious organizations, and including the official residences occupied by district superintendents of the United Methodist Church and the Christian and Missionary Alliance and of the Church of the Nazarene, and by district executives of the Southern New England District of the Assemblies of God, Inc., Unitarian?Universalist Churches and the Baptist General Conference of New England, and the official residence occupied by the president of the New England Synod of the Lutheran Church in America, Inc., and the official residence occupied by a person who has been designated by the congregation of a Hebrew Synagogue or Temple as the rabbi thereof, but such exemption shall not, except as herein provided, extend to any portion of any such house of religious worship appropriated for purposes other than religious worship or instruction. The occasional or incidental use of such property by an organization exempt from taxation under the provisions of 26 USC Sec. 501(c)(3) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code shall not be deemed to be an appropriation for purposes other than religious worship or instruction.

 The key portion here is "but such exemption shall not, except as herein provided, extend to any portion of any such house of religious worship appropriated for purposes other than religious worship or instruction,” which, when linked up to the specificity of “pews and furniture” and “exclusive benefit of the religious organizations” tends to lend itself to the tighter reading that the city of Attleboro seems to be putting on the statute.  And the Appellate Tax Board agreed:

First, it is immaterial whether the many activities taking place at the subject property furthered the appellant’s stated charitable purposes if they did not constitute “religious worship or instruction” within the meaning of Clause Eleventh. While those uses, if consistent with the appellant’s stated purposes, may qualify the subject property for an exemption under Clause Third, they do not qualify the subject property in its entirety under the much narrower provisions of Clause Eleventh. 

The Appellate Tax Board also discarded other similar cases, distinguishing them from the current case, and then latched on to what it considered to be a similar case:

This case was much more similar to Rudrananda Ashram of Boston v. Assessors of Cambridge, Mass. ATB Findings of Fact and Reports 1981-299. In that case, which involved a 17-room building housing a chapel, meditation and classroom areas, a minister’s room, kitchen and dining areas, and at least six rooms occupied by residents in exchange for monthly rent, the Board found that “significant portions [of the property at issue] were in fact used for other than religious purposes.” Although that case ultimately turned on a jurisdictional issue, the Board observed that the appellant would have lost on the merits also, as it had failed to present evidence “which could have been utilized by the Board in arriving at an” apportioned assessment. 

(See pages 90-93 in Appellate Tax Board Cases Book 2A 2015 for a fuller discussion)

Now there is no way to tell where the Massachusetts court is going to go with this, although the question of “who decides the purpose is religious” is before the court:

In oral arguments before the Supreme Judicial Court last week, attorney Diane Tillotson, who represents the shrine, argued it is up to the religious institution to decide what parts of its property fulfill a religious function.

“Are there no limits that it has to be left to the religion to decide?” asked Justice Barbara Lenk. “I mean, for example, suppose there were a profit-making book publishing company, only portions of which seemed to be on spiritually related subjects.”

“I think the inquiry, your honor, has to be: Is the property’s dominant use for religious purposes?” Tillotson replied. “And if the answer to that question is yes, then the question becomes: Are these other activities, whether they’re charitable or the running of a bookstore, are they — is there an appropriate nexus?”

And this is where the Atlantic article, in my opinion, goes off the rails.  The author, Michael O’Loughlin, seems to believe that this case would be allowing the state of Massachusetts to decide what is and isn’t a religious practice. I think O’Loughlin is grossly overstating a fear that the state will be deciding on religious practices.  Certainly it is a basic presumption of First Amendment law that the government, in general, should not be deciding religious matters. (It was, in fact, one of the first things I learned in Constitutional Law back in law school.) But given the way the Massachusetts statute is written, and the court cases discussed by the Appellate Tax Board, it does appear that a tight reading of the statute is legitimate and it does not infringe on religious practice.

O’Loughlin also engages in a bit of scaremongering when he says this could affect the entire nation because of the influence of state supreme courts.  He’s right, but he’s also very, very wrong.  The reason this case is a problem in Massachusetts is due to the way the Massachusetts statute is written.  Here, for example, is the statute for my state of residence, Arizona:

42-11109. Exemption for religious property; affidavit

A. Property or buildings that are used or held primarily for religious worship, including land, improvements, furniture and equipment, are exempt from taxation if the property is not used or held for profit.

Consequently, I believe O’Loughlin overstates his case—other states’ statutes are written differently and in any case, it can’t be said that other states will give deference to a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court interpretation of a convoluted Massachusetts law.

If I were a betting woman, based on the information I know now, I would suggest that the court is going to find in favor of the city of Attleboro, but will suggest strongly in its opinion that this can be fixed by legislative action. According to the WBUR story, we should know soon how the court will rule, as some justices are retiring this summer and a decision is expected before then.

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Dee provided a bit of a footnote on La Salette which certainly adds to the color.

Our Lady of La Salette is an 1846 vision of the Virgin Mary by two French shepherds, Maximin Giraud and Melanie Calvat, in 1846. While the vision is an approved apparition of the Catholic church, the later activities of the visionaries are not approved and unlike Bernadette Soubirous, they are not saints or blesseds.  Giraud at one point endorsed a liquor based on the name of his apparition, while Calvat bounced from one religious order to another before finally settling down and living a secular life in Italy. She died in 1904.

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Peter J Reilly blogs on tax issues including many posts on religious property tax issues.

Hovind Family Drama - Real Creationists Of Escambia County

Hovindology is a terrible thing for a busy tax blogger to fall into. I have been following the drama of Young Earth Creationist Kent Hovind since the fall of 2012 when I wrote about the Tax Court decision in the case of his wife.

Background

 If this is new to you, you might want to check out - The Trial Of Kent Hovind - An American Tragedy - which I wrote on the eve of his last trial not quite a year ago.  For a chronology of events through July 2015, go here.  As it worked out that trial never happened as the Government dismissed the charges that the jury had hung on in a previous trial and the judge reversed his conviction.

So Kent after finishing the sentence from the 2006 conviction joyously reunited with his family and went back to preaching using youtube as his primary venue but also traveling.  According to Ernie Land, Kent's long-term friend and advisor, there is a conventionally tax compliant structure in place.

Kent has been working on acquiring property in Alabama for a new Dinosaur Adventureland and there was promise of a new lawsuit against the government.  The latest though is an outbreak of squabbling in the Hovind family.

Trouble In Pensacola

When Jo Hovind filed for divorce, I didn't think that was something to write about.  Ernie Land, Kent's consigliere, wrote me that Jo was divorcing Kent due to legal advice and that he believed that she was motivated by fear of new efforts by the government to shut Kent up.  The legal advice struck me as plausible.  Kent getting out of further criminal charges does not solve the problem of the multi-million dollar civil liability for income taxes that fell on both him and Jo.  Being divorced from Kent would buttress Jo's efforts to get out from under that liability.

There is a new development that is likely at least tangentially related to the divorce.  Rudy Davis more or less broke the story on the internet as he requested his listeners to pray for the restoration of the Hovind family.

Apparently Eric is evicting Kent.  While Kent was in prison, Eric started another ministry Creation Today.  It seems to follow Kent's Young Earth Creationist line pretty well, although there may be nuances that I don't appreciate, but unlike the original Creation Science Evangelism, it was conventionally tax compliant.

Somebody Being Stubborn?

My great hope in this was that Kent would become conventionally tax compliant. The simplest way to accomplish that would have been for him to go on Creation Today's payroll for a modest salary and a housing allowance (or actual housing). That was not to be.

The original Dinosaur Adventureland/Hovind residence properties in Pensacola had been seized by the federal government to cover Kent's structuring forfeiture.  Most of the property was acquired by the Hovinds, although I have not tried to trace the precise ownership.  Things did not go that well for the non-Hovind fellow who acquired one of the parcels.

With the enormous civil liability hanging over his head it would not make sense for Kent to own any of it, but it appears that in his mind, it remains truly his.

Kent in this clip indicates that they conspired to take everything owned by CSE and he came "home to nothing". If I was involved in God Quest, I'd be pulling my hair out at Kent using God Quest facilities to bootstrap a new ministry.  Somebody is being stubborn.

A Better Way

Not far from where I live, there is Webster Lake also known as Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg. The likely apocryphal story is that it means "You fish on your side of the lake. I fish on my side of the lake.  Nobody fish in the middle."  I would expect that the sensible thing would be for a board member of the new Creation Science Evangelism, possibly Ernie Land, and a board member of God Quest Inc other than Eric to announce that the two organizations had reached an agreement on how they will each proceed in harmony for the greater glory of God (That might not be quite the right term.  My Jesuit education is coming out again. AMDG)

Ernie Land's Take

I managed to get some comments from Ernie Land on the situation.

On the divorce and eviction, he wrote:

The divorce was filed by Jo. Again her fear of regulatory agencies and Kent’s voice against the corruptions of Government in my opinion are the real bottom line basis. She tells me she was advised to divorce him for her own protection by legal counsel. The notice to vacate the home, which is owned by God Quest, Inc. is based on the divorce, and that boards opinion Kent should move out. I do not wish to input my opinions and make them public at this time, as I just want both Ministries to work together for Kingdom work. 

He elaborated a bit in a subsequent message

I compare what’s going on to Texas having 22 counties seeking a vote on secession, which the Supreme Court has declared illegal. If the elites in Government do not wake up it will not matter if it’s legal or not, because revolution by the people never requires the support of a corrupt governing body. Same between what took place with Kent, the original Ministry properties and what is going on now inside the family. They may have moved in a legal method, but just like corrupt governing bodies it may not be a Godly, moral, ethical, in method. I have little else to say until this all unfolds, other than there is much wrongdoing by multiple parties.

Hovindoligists Munching On The Popcorn 

I also reached out to the Hovindology community for comments, which are necessarily speculative.

Bob Baty, the most indefatigable of chroniclers of the Hovind saga and the one most troubling to the Hovindicators, wrote me.

Current events regarding Kent Hovind have tended to vindicate my coverage of his case, his wife's case, their relationship, and my claim that as King David was responsible for the death of Uriah so Kent Hovind was responsible for his wife having to go to federal prison.

Jonathan Schwartz of Interlock Media, who covered last years trial intensively, wrote:

As someone who had been covering Kent Hovind's recent legal woes up close and personal, I had come to know Jo and Eric a little bit, and respected both of them, despite Eric's association with the Duggars which I thought ill advised. Kent is a user and manipulator, who despite some good qualities, (he genuinely loves children), surrounds himself with con men, thugs, misogynists, and militiamen in order to consolidate his power base. Eric in a Christian entrepreneur who cannot support his Father's trickery and greed and law breaking, nor his half cocked theology. Jo, a talented musician and dedicated wife and mother, has taken his callousness for too long, and has been repeatedly shoved in front of trucks for her spouse. Basta.

Jonathan told me that "basta" is Spanish for "enough" and that is an expression that "everybody" is familiar with.

Dee Homes also covered the trial.  She may have gone through a Hovindologist Twelve Step Program as she has not posted on her blog - Hovindology "It's about the taxes, not the dinos" - in nearly a year.  I hope I have not triggered a relapse by asking her for a comment:

I would state that I have a lot of respect for Jo Hovind. She is apparently quite good at the piano. (They don't let just anyone peform at these Baptist megachurches.) And in her world, it takes a lot of guts, especially at her age and after so many decades of marriage, to stand up and say, "This is over." Among independent fundamental Baptists, divorce is heavily frowned upon unless one of the parties committed adultery. (And even then, there's a lot of pressure to forgive and stay married.) 

I would have hoped the double whammy of the divorce plus the eviction would get through Kent's skull, but as we've seen, Kent is all about Kent. 

I do wish Kent's video friends would stop beating up on Jo and hammering her with the Bible. It's not helpful in the least.

A Bit of Humor

I cannot help but close with just a bit of humor.  Back in July when Eric and his mom drove to Yazoo, Mississippi to pick Kent up from prison to begin a brief period of home confinement, Jim Bob Duggar of "19 Kids And Counting" went along for the ride.  Maybe, he could offer the Hovinds some advice on a new reality show "Real Creationists  Of Escanbia County".  Plenty of material.

A More Serious Note

Eric Hovind graciously agreed to comment.

So thankful that many people care so deeply about our family and the cause of Christ. I love my dad and mom more than any can know. Thank you so much for keeping us in prayer.

Previous coverage of Eric is here and here and here.
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Peter J Reilly CPA continues to think that the Hovind story is no longer forbes worthy, but that could change.

Report On Kent Hovind Court Proceedings Monday May 18, 2015

Dee Holmes who has been following the Kent Hovind case when not busy with her knitting took the plunge and made a trip to Pensacola for the trial that was not held this week.  Here is her first person account of the proceedings on Monday May 18, 2015, when as it turned out Kent Hovind did not go on trial.

I was directed from the “new [black mold infested] courthouse” to the old courthouse by a US Marshal. 

I ran into a an older guy who had a scooter and said he was from North Carolina. He detached from me when he saw a number of Hovindicators across the street from the courthouse. There were a number of men, a couple of women, several children and a teenage boy. The men were wearing jeans and nice shirts, what I think of as country dressed up. The women and girls were wearing dresses.  The women and the kids did not come into the courtroom.

Layout of the street:  North Palafox at that location has a wide esplanade, almost a little park. There are lots of trees, benches, and to my chagrin, free parking. (I paid for parking in a city lot because, well, wanted to make sure I could park!) 

One of the Hovindicator vehicles had a bumper sticker on it that said, “Abortion stops a beating heart / But isn’t murder—what?”.  My thought was, “These are people you can’t argue with.”

There was another woman there with her husband. She wore jeans and a Hovindicator t-shirt. She looked to be mid-30s with long, strawberry blonde hair. Her husband, jeans and a shirt.  He went up the steps to the courthouse to check on when we could enter and came back out and said we could.  Had to go through a metal detector, have my stuff scanned and present photo ID. Was a bit of an issue with my purse. I told the guy to dump it out. Apparently the pills I keep in the middle section of the purse was setting something off.

There were a lot of US Marshals around! At one point in court I counted four, plus Kent and Paul’s jailer. 

“Can I have my Bible in court?” “Yes, but you can’t read it.”

I am sweating to death! I have forgotten how humid the South is!

No reading allowed per US Marshal supervisor (a woman).  I am glad of my press pass that lets me scribble notes!

I noticed behind the judge’s bench there are fasces (bundles of wood used in ancient Rome to symbolize a judge’s power and jurisdiction). The front of the bench also repeats that motif.

The judge’s bench is rather high up. Then there’s a level for court administrators in front of her and below that the floor. The prosecution sits to the left from my view (right from the judge’s side). The defense has two tables set up to the right. The jury box is to the left of the prosecution’s table. Those chairs looked comfortable.

The court reporter entered and set up her equipment.

Then a screen lowered from the right side. I didn’t think we were going to have any audio-visual and I didn’t notice any during the hearing. 

Judge’s assistant is working on the judge’s monitor and arranging stuff on her desk. 

I’m wondering what the huge gray telephone book sized book is that guy is hauling around near the bench. Statute book? It’s weird to see a big book like that in the era of computers. 

In the courtroom at this point there are maybe 15 people. The women and children are still outside. It’s very quiet outside.

The two Hovindicators Jonathan interviewed yesterday at UWF came. Today mom was wearing a skirt and blouse and the young man was dressed up quite nice.

Another Hovindicator came in and sat next to me, but after a word or two with the two above, she moved behind. I think I’ve got cooties or something. She moved behind me. Marshal tells her no bible rieading.

Kent and Paul are brought in wearing prison orange, handcuffs and leg chains. 

The woman behind me is praying over and over again, “In the name of Jesus, I’m here for you buddy.” I remember there were times when I would do that too.

Kent and Paul’s jailer, a woman, removes their cuffs but the leg chains stay on.

The older bald guy at the defense table is Thomas Keith. The younger is Christopher Klotz.

People speak in low voices.

One of the Marshals announces:  “All rise! God save the United States and this honorable court!” We all rise as Judge Rodgers enters.

She looks just like her picture. 

Judge starts with review of recent activity:  trial was canceled due to motion from prosecution.  There was a flurry of activity in the last couple of weeks, especially last week. Motions in limine [to exclude evidence] were filed and then last week, motions to dismiss. On Friday, the government filed a motion to continue the trial and this was denied by the court, which was followed by the motion to dismiss the remaining counts 1, 2 and 4. This is a retrial of the March trial. 

Tiffany Eggers gets up and speaks. She asks for dismissal as of right under FRCP 48A. There are technical issues with the indictments and she wantes them dismissed. She doesn’t say much.

Keith gets up. He admits the motions were filed beyond the pretrial date but after review, he says the indictment failed to give notice plus the conduct was  in good faith.  He said he should have filed this before the first trial.  “It’s on the lawyer.”

Keith also notes the problem in his other filing on count one with “and others” language. Keith says that he should have moved for acquittal. 

Keith thinks there’s an issue with the conduct aspect of the mail fraud charge as there has to be an intent to deceive.  Kent and Paul weren’t intending to deceive. 

Judge:  Prepared to rule on the motion to dismiss.

Keith:  Putting this on the record and worried about jeopardy if there’s a further prosecution.

Judge:  Any dismissal would mean a separate indictment. (Judge smiles.)

Keith: wants a dismissal with prejudice and starts to go in how Kent’s been locked up in the jail since last October. 

Judge sees an inconsistency here (not sure what that was about).

Klotz speaks from the defense table. He’s not representing Hansen in this trial but he wants to speak to the last trial. He agrees with Keith that he should have brought these things up at the last trial.

Judge:  She is prepared to deny [Keith’s] motion to dismiss. She didn’t agree with the Pendergast case. Maybe she should go ahead and file a ruling on that. She’s very clear that this is on the record that she would have denied the motion. She mentions something about 2255 “foreclose any prejudice argument.” 

At this point, Paul Hansen comes forward. He walks up to the podium, says he challenges Eggers ability to operate in this court and hands Eggers a yellow piece of papere.

Paul asks for dismissal.

Judge:  Prosecution is free to dismiss. They filed in response to your motion.

Judge: You Need to bring up bad faith and prejudice the next time charges are filed.

Paul asks for dismissal with prejudice.

Judge:  This is premature. To the extent there’s a new indictment, that is when you would bring up the bad faith.

Paul wants to ask the prosecutor to drop charges 1-6.

Judge:  Can’t do that now. You can ask the court but you can’t ask the prosecutor.

Paul asks to talk to his standby counsel. 

Judge:  Le Sigh and gives permission.

Paul comes back.  He cites a case (didn’t catch the citation). He also requests release from custody and to be sentenced today. Also wants all charges dismissed because prosecution is giving up on the case.  He makes an argument that the contempt portion of the case is based on the mail fraud charges.

Judge:  Thank you.

Paul:  Wants to know if Eggers’ license works at this jurisdiction, wants it on the record.

Judge:  I won’t allow it and won’t order it.

Eggers:  There’s a June 22 ?? Sentencing for contemptuous conduct.

I think Paul goes back to Klotz at that moment then comes back to the podium and says, the statutory maximum is 6 months (that is actually untrue).

Judge Rodgers:  I will be issuing a ruling on the government motion and on Hovind’s Rule 29 motion later today. I will also be contacting the probation department re where they are at on the sentencing report. [Presumably this is in response to Paul’s request to be sentenced today.] However, Paul is confined under an order of Magistrate judge Kahn and Hovind is under a sentence of custody. 

Judge:  There will be two written orders sometime today. 

All rise and the judge leaves the court. 

Kent is locked back in the handcuffs first, then Paul. The courtroom is so quiet you can hear the jailer tightening down the cuffs. They are taken out. The Hovindicators start making to leave and I do as well.

_____________________________________________________

While Dee was in the Courthouse, Jonathan Schwartz was outside filming.

Jonathan also interviewed two other observers of the proceedings.

Later on Monday Judge Rodgers would surprise most observers by allowing a motion to acquit Kent Hovind on the contempt charge that he had been convicted of in March, while also, as expected ruling in favor of the Government's motion to drop the other charges without prejudice.

Hovindologist Reviews Kent Hovind's InfoWars Performance

Kent Hovind (Doc Dino) is one of the leading lights in the field of Young Earth Creationism, the notion that there is scientific evidence for a hyper-literal reading of the Book of Genesis. YEC implies that the world is roughly 6,000 years old and dinosaurs and humans must have co-existed. 

 Nearing the end of a long sentence for tax related crimes, Hovind was convicted on March 12, 2015 for contempt of court.  The more recent conviction arose out of filings that might have interfered with the government's sale of property seized in relation to the earlier conviction.  The jury hung on more serious fraud and conspiracy charges, which Hovind and his supporters view as a victory.

Dee Holmes has been following the case for some time.  She runs a site calls Hovindology and helps Bob Baty administer Kent Hovind and Jo Hovind v USA - IRS,  I asked for her reaction to the Alex Jones interview yesterday.  Here is what she wrote.

On Monday, March 16, Kent Hovind was finally interviewed by Alex Jones, the host of the radio show “Infowars.”  Jones is a guy who has not yet met a conspiracy theory that he’s not been willing to entertain—at least for a moment.  This can get fairly reprehensible rather quickly, as happened in April 2013 when Infowars stringer Dan Bidondi attempted to hijack a press conference headlined by then-Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick with questions about whether the Boston Marathon bombing was a “false flag” terrorism attack by the government.

The Hovindicators have something of a love-hate relationship with Jones. They love that he goes after The Evil Government and Dan Bidondi discussed Hovind on his own tiny Internet radio show “Truth Radio” in early February.  However, despite what would appear to be a match in conspiracy heaven, an “in” via Bidondi and a campaign of calling and emailing Infowars, the Hovindicators couldn’t seem to rustle up any interest in their man (at least if Rudy and Erin Davis’ YouTube videos were any indication).  

However, as Hovind’s trial ended on March 12, word went around that he would finally be interviewed by Jones on March 16.

Unfortunately, the run-up to the Hovind segment was painful to listen to, because it was larded with opinions, misleading information and outright falsehoods.  About the only truthful thing I heard Jones say was the throwaway line, “he [Hovind] failed to pay taxes.”  I particularly noticed how Jones gave the strong impression that Hovind had been running a 501(c)3 ministry, when in point of fact Kent stayed well away from that kind of government entanglement due to his sovereign citizen beliefs.  Jones then brought on conspiracy writer Mark Adams and they touched on the usual Hovindicator bugaboos, including Kent’s conviction for structuring, Judge M. Casey Rodgers’ alleged “worse than rape” comment, and Judge Rodgers’ alleged persecution of two teachers for praying among other adults at school. Of course, it wouldn’t have been Alex Jones without a “false flag” accusation, and that was present as well, as Adams and Jones seriously talked about court cases with mocked up evidence.

After the commercial break, Jones brought Hovind on and Kent proceeded to give the usual dog and pony show about his case. Hovind is a gifted speaker and easily glosses over some rather important facts in his case (such as the fact that he was convicted on 12 counts of failing to pay income and Social Security tax on his employees). An uninformed person could come away from the few minutes that Jones allowed Hovind to speak unimpeded believing he is being terribly persecuted for structuring.  However, after letting Hovind give his canned spiel for a few minutes, Jones interrupted him and began peppering him with questions. Hovind proceeded to opine on the structuring law (repeal it, make it retroactive and give compensation of a million dollars a year to those imprisoned),  his Bivens civil rights action and accompanying lis pendens filings, last week’s conviction for contempt of court, his belief  he should be out on home confinement as of last month and his book, “The Kennel.” Jones then let Hovind go on with a litany of the wrongs perpetrated upon him by the Bureau of Prisons, the IRS agents, and the judge.  Hovind wrapped up with an appeal to listeners to contact Congress and send letters on his behalf to Judge Rodgers.

For as much effort as the Hovindicators put into securing this interview, I’m not sure how successful it was in advancing Kent’s cause. While he may have been introduced to people who have never heard of him before, his delivery was blunted by Jones’ frequent interruptions and rapid-fire questioning to push the interview down yet another rabbit trail. Oddly, I came away wondering what a Hovind interview with public radio’s Diane Rehm would be like. I suspect that while Rehm would let Kent say his piece, it’s likely the interview would probably get a lot closer to the truth of Kent Hovind’s situation than occurred Monday on Infowars.

There should be more on the Infowars later today or perhaps tomorrow.  It's tax season you know.