As the IRS scandal unfolds we are beginning to hear stories of how people were affected. It has put a “human face” on how the government has

disrupted the lives of those who wanted to be good citizens and influence the political process.

One story comes from Catherine Engelbrecht, who lives in Richmond, Texas and became interested in public policy and concerned about reports of

voter fraud. She founded the groups King Street Patriots and True the Vote. In July 2010, she sent applications to the IRS for tax-exempt status. It is bad

enough that she did not receive that status. What is worse were the years of harassment. Here’s a brief history of what happened to her.

In December 2010, the FBI asked her about a person who attended a King Street Patriots function. In January 2011, the FBI came back with more

questions. That same month, the IRS audited her business tax returns. In May 2011, the FBI called again about the King Street Patriots. In June 2011, her

personal tax returns were audited and the FBI called again. The next month, the FBI had more questions. The same month the ATF did an unscheduled audit

of her business. In July 2012, OSHA did an unscheduled audit. In November 2012, there were more questions, this time on True the Vote. In April 2012, there

was a second ATF audit.

As far as anyone can tell these actions were triggered because she founded a conservative group that registers voters and works to prevent voter

fraud. If you have heard my previous commentaries, you might remember that her groups found hundreds of people illegally on the voter rolls (registered to

non-existence addresses, etc).

Oh, and I might mention that she is still waiting on the IRS for a tax-exemption for her groups. This apparently is what the government does to groups

founded to investigate “voter registration irregularities.” I’m Kerby Anderson, and that’s my point of view.