Miami Megachurch Could Be Breaking IRS Regulations By Allowing Group To Host President Trump
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – In hopes of gaining support for a 2020 re-election, President Trump is scheduled to hold a campaign event at a South Florida megachurch on Friday.
The "Evangelicals for Trump" event hosted at King Jesus International Ministry will round up evangelical supporters from across the nation.
However, according to the Freedom from Religion Foundation, the event could bring financial problems for the church.
According to 501c of IRS regulations, a church is tax exempt provided they "not participate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates."
Video from inside the church, four days after Christmas, showed Pastor Guillermo Maldonado urging church members to attend Friday's event.
Rebecca Mankert, legal director of the Freedom from Religion Foundation, said that crosses the lines between church and state.
The ministry insists they're doing nothing wrong.
A spokesperson for the church wrote:
"Our ministry does not endorse any political candidates or engage in political campaigns...The January 3 Evangelicals for Trump event is being paid for and organized by President Trump's election campaign. We agreed to lease space in exchange for fair compensation... our agreement to provide rental space is not an endorsement of President Trump's campaign or any political party."
Mankert said if the IRS finds the church guilty, they will be stripped of their tax exemption.
The event is still on for now, but that could change following the news that Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran's elite Quds military Force, has been killed.
