Conservative Group Claims Harassment by ATF and FBI as Well as IRS

That's a lot of hassling

HOUSTON — Since filing for tax exemption at a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in 2010, the founders of True the Vote, a Houston-based group that tries to prevent elections fraud, have been overwhelmed with scrutiny from a host of government agencies, in particular, by the Internal Revenue Service.

Catherine and Bryan Englebrecht have suffered through 18 separate encounters with five government agencies, from surprise audits to FBI visits to never-ending demands for paperwork.

The government has been scrutinizing True the Vote, the Engelbrechts' tea party group, which is called King Street Patriots, and the family's oil services manufacturing business.

King Street Patriots sought tax-exempt status as a 501(c)(4) nonprofit.

Engelbrecht kept silent about all this scrutiny for more than two years, but after the abuse-of-power stories coming out of Washington this past week, she decided to go public, appearing on several conservative talk radio shows this week.