The chair of the National Legal and Policy Center, a nonprofit watchdog that monitors and reports on the ethics of public officials, sent a strongly worded "cease and desist" letter Thursday to the Open Society Foundations following Charlie Kirk’s assassination, claiming it financially supports groups that organize violent and vitriolic anti-Trump protests and demanding it stop.
In the letter, NLPC Chair Peter Flaherty claimed that the Open Society Foundations – a grant-giving network helmed by George Soros' son, Alex Soros – funds events that "have been marked by persistent and dominant messaging that President [Donald] Trump and his supporters are Nazis, fascists, authoritarians, white supremacists and worse."
Flaherty added, "The protests have coincided with hundreds of incidents of violence directed against persons and property, including Tesla dealers, chargers and automobiles."
Flaherty claimed that OSF's millions in grants to groups such as Indivisible and MoveOn have helped bankroll repeated nationwide protests that have often spiraled into destruction and violence.
The letter was sent one day after Kirk, the 31-year-old co-founder of Turning Point USA, was assassinated by a 22-year-old Utah resident during a speaking engagement at Utah Valley University.
An OSF spokesperson told Newsmax Monday that NLPC’s “accusations are outrageous and false.”
It added that OSF “do not support or fund violent protests. Our mission is to advance human rights, justice, and democratic principles at home and around the world. We stand for fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, including the rights to free speech and peaceful protest that are hallmarks of any vibrant democracy.”
The statement continued: "All Open Society grantees are required to comply with the law and we expect our grantees to uphold our shared commitment to human rights, dignity, and nonviolence. The Open Society Foundations oppose all forms of violence, including violent protests."
In an Aug. 26 statement, OSF also acknowledged such claims, of whiuch it's long been accused: "We do not pay people to protest or directly train or coordinate protestors."
The statement continued: "All Open Society grantees are required to comply with the law and we expect our grantees to uphold our shared commitment to human rights, dignity, and nonviolence. The Open Society Foundations oppose all forms of violence, including violent protests."
In June 2020, OSF posted on its Facebook page a response to charges it paid antifa protesters.
"We do not pay protesters. Neither does our founder George Soros. Claims that we do serve to delegitimize those who are exercising their Constitutionally-protected right to protest peacefully and petition their government for redress of grievances," OSF said at the time.
According to Flaherty's letter, OSF's own awards database shows Indivisible has received at least $7.6 million since 2017 — including what appears to be its founding grant through the progressive Tides Advocacy network. MoveOn, meanwhile, has taken in $2.4 million since 2016, though the total may be far higher.
"As Chair, you have a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that the funds you distribute are used for a tax-exempt purpose," Flaherty told Soros, noting that OSF's recent public statements ring hollow given its history of disclaiming responsibility for grantees' actions.
Flaherty also pointed to Trump's Sept. 10 Oval Office address, in which he pledged to pursue not only those who carried out Kirk's assassination but also "the organizations that fund it and support it."
"Unless you act against Indivisible, MoveOn and other merchants of hate," Flaherty warned, "the American people will demand restrictions on tax-exempt mega-funds like OSF."
Flaherty also blasted Soros for issuing a "perfunctory and emotionless condemnation" of Kirk's killing on social media, saying it only deepened the impression that OSF is indifferent to political violence.
"The American public is able to recognize evil. Your unearned wealth will not insulate you," Flaherty wrote.
"You bear a clear obligation to uphold the mission that grants your organization tax-exempt status," he wrote. "If that duty fails to motivate you, then I hope that an appeal to basic human decency will."
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