FOXNews.com: California Tea Party group files lawsuit against the IRS

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California Tea Party group files lawsuit against the IRS May 21st 2013, 14:08 The John Weld Peckshown Federal Building in Cincinnati, houses the main offices for the Internal Revenue Service in the city. Tea party groups are planning a demonstration at the site Tuesday afternoon.AP WASHINGTON –  A Tea Party group in California is claiming it was targeted by the Internal Revenue Service filed the first of what is expected to be many lawsuits against the government for allegedly singling out conservative organizations. The NorCal Tea Party Patriots, based in northern California, claim the IRS violated its rights when it either held up or rejected its applications for tax-exempt status. The federal tax agency acknowledged that employees at its Cincinnati office had targeted conservative groups, holding up their applications or altogether rejecting them. The NorCal lawsuit was filed Monday in the U.S. District Court of Cincinnati. The suit seeks group status for "all conservative and libertarian groups targeted for additional scrutiny" between March 2010 and May 2013. It's also seeking unspecified money damages for the alleged violation of their constitutional rights and the costs associated with trying to comply with the IRS demands. The lawsuit is being backed by Citizens for Self-Governance, a group launched by Tea Party Patriots co-founder Mark Meckler. In the suit, Meckler claims that IRS agents also demanded massive amounts of disclosure of information not authorized by the Internal Revenue Code or any other federal law. The suit alleges that the tactic was used to delay or dissuade conservative groups from going through with their applications. "NorCal Tea Party Patriots, like the vast majority of Tea Party groups, is a mom-and-pop operation, run by ordinary citizens, often new to the process of formally organizing for expressive and social welfare purposes," Meckler said in documents filed with the court. "Like most Tea Party organizations, NorCal Tea Party Patriots operates on a shoestring budget and relies on its members and volunteers to perform the vast majority of its activities." The suit also claims that the IRS wanted so much information that it suffocated the efforts of NorCal Tea Party Patriots and other like-minded groups. The lawsuit seeks unspecified monetary damages for the IRS' alleged violation of the Privacy Act of 1974 and the First and Fifth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. It is not known exactly how many groups could qualify to be members of the class-action lawsuit. There were 296 applications reviewed in the inspector general's report released last week.   On Tuesday, Tea Party activists are scheduled to meet in Cincinnati's Fountain Square around noon. They will then march to the local IRS building where they will hold a rally. Tea Party groups in other cities were encouraged to show solidarity and protest their local IRS offices.  Calls to the IRS for comment were not immediately returned.

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