A Kalamazoo Black pastor is holding a rally in Lansing on Saturday “to demand the resignation and disbarment of Attorney General Dana Nessel” for allegedly obstructing his church’s charitable mission.
“Reverend William Stein plans to present evidence of alleged violations of state and federal laws by Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and address a false complaint filed with the AG’s Office by Fox 17 News Reporter Michael Martin at the rally,” a press release reads.
Nessel filed a lawsuit against Stein and several of his church’s charities, alleging violations of the Michigan Charitable Organizations and Solicitations Act. Martin complained in 2016 that Stein “showed up at the station recently talking about his new campaign to build a ‘Sojourner Truth Museum’” and pointed to active campaigns on the fundraising site GoFundMe.
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“Per the AG’s list online, William Stein has no registered charities in Calhoun County,” Martin wrote. “So from my perspective, he appears to be violating the Charitable Organizations and Solicitations Act. Over and over.”
In a July 30 Facebook post, Stein wrote “Martin never contacted us before he filed a complaint with the AG’s office,” and argued “he should be fired for corporate sabotage and defamation” because churches and religious organizations are exempt from the law.
At the Capitol rally, Stein plans to “present a 2022 letter from the Michigan Attorney General’s office exempting his church and charities from securing a permit.”
On Saturday, Stein’s Baptism USA Ministries posted an image of the 2002 letter from Marion Gorton, administrator for then Michigan Attorney General Jennifer Granholm’s Charitable Trust Section.
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“We have determined that, since the organization operates either as a religious organization or an integral part of a religious organization, then it is exempt from both licensing and registration with our office,” Gorton wrote.
Nessel’s office in July 2022 confirmed it had opened an investigation into a Kalamazoo nonprofit affiliated with Broncos Kitchen Foundation that played a key role in Stein’s efforts to create a $30 million Kalamazoo Black History Museum, MLive reports.
Stein had launched the foundation nonprofit the year prior to help provide hunger relief to struggling college students, and used the foundation to serve as the fiduciary agent for the museum project, which was initially named the LeVar Burton Library after actor LeVar Burton, who became famous for his role in the Roots mini-series.
Stein told the news site he named the library after Burton to honor his life and legacy, but Burton did not respond to Stein’s repeated attempts to reach out and discuss his plans. Burton in July 2022 attacked the library on social media, alleging it is “clearly a scam!” and that prompted news reports that triggered the AG’s investigation, according to MLive.
Stein in 2022 legally dissolved the library name and removed references to Burton, while Nessel’s office declined to discuss any details with MLive.
Stein last week noted on Facebook Baptism USA’s tax-exempt status was unlawfully revoked by the IRS in 2019, before then U.S. Rep. Justin Amash, R-Grand Rapids, successfully petitioned the IRS to reinstate it.
“We agree our system erroneously revoked the organization’s tax-exempt status,” the IRS wrote to Amash’s office. “We corrected our records on December 9, 2019. In addition, we removed the organization from the automatic revocation list on our Tax-Exempt Organizations Search website.”
Social media posts from Baptism USA Ministries suggests Nessel’s lawsuit centers on God’s Kitchen of Michigan, a church food charity that regularly hosts free dinners for the homeless, disabled, elderly and veterans in need.
The rally will focus on “defending our church, its charities, and our right to practice our faith without government interference,” the church posted to Facebook on Sunday.
“It’s unacceptable for officials to demand that we seek their permission to serve God. Attorney General Dana Nessel has taken legal action against me and my church’s charity (God’s Kitchen of Michigan) in an attempt to force compliance,” the post reads. “I refuse to yield to her demands, and I am determined to defend our rights.”