Bob Egelko
In a May 2015 ruling involving another conservative foundation, the Center for Competitive Politics, the appeals court said requiring nonprofit charitable and educational organizations to report their donors to the state does not violate their rights, and that fears of public disclosure and harassment were merely “speculative.” The foundation appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied review.
Real then held a nonjury trial and found Thursday that Americans for Prosperity had shown that, in its case, enforcement of the reporting law would cause serious harm to the foundation and its contributors.
He cited evidence of protests at the foundation’s Virginia headquarters and public events, consumer boycotts of one of its major donors, and death threats against the Koch brothers and their families. “This court is not prepared to wait until an AFP opponent carries out one of the numerous death threats,” Real said.
