Image by YouTube

By Sam Kestenbaum March 14, 2017

The nonprofit run by white nationalist Richard Spencer has lost its tax-exempt status for failing to file tax returns with the federal government, the Los Angeles Times reported on Monday.

“I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to make a comment because I don’t understand this stuff,” Spencer told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s a bit embarrassing, but it’s not good. We’ll figure it out.”

It is also unclear whether Spencer had filed the proper paperwork to allow his think tank, National Policy Institute, to raise funds in its homestate of Virginia, and whether Spencer violated federal rules that bar nonprofits from supporting or opposing political candidates.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Spencer said an IRS error led him to believe NPI was not required to file tax returns, and that he would appeal the decision.

NPI was founded in 2005 by right-wing publisher William Regnery II. Leading white nationalist Jared Taylor was previously the vice president of the group which is “dedicated to the heritage, identity, and future of people of European descent in the United States, and around the world,” according to the website.

Spencer took over NPI in 2011, around the same time he began popularizing his “alt-right” brand of white nationalism.

NPI’s nonprofit status allowed supporters to make tax-deductible donations to support Spencer’s white nationalist work.

Email Sam Kestenbaum at [email protected]

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount