National Alliance v. United States

National Alliance (plaintiff) published a monthly newsletter for the stated purpose of fostering in White Americans of European ancestry an understanding of and pride in “their racial and cultural heritage and an awareness of the present dangers to that heritage.” The newsletter contained feature articles, stories, and editorials in a form resembling a newspaper. The general theme of the newsletter was that non-White people were inferior to White Americans, as well as brutal and dangerous. To support National Alliance’s position, each newsletter contained one or two news stories reporting incidents of violent crime by Black individuals and identifying Jews as holding prominent positions in the media and elsewhere in order to allegedly manipulate government policy to be harmful to the interests of White Americans. National Alliance used the newsletter to appeal for action, including violence, to cause harm to the disfavored groups. The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) (defendant) denied National Alliance’s application for exemption from income taxation under § 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, finding that National Alliance did not qualify as an educational organization. After exhausting its administrative remedies, National Alliance sought judicial review, and the district court held that the test on which the IRS relied to deny the exemption was unconstitutionally vague. Both parties appealed.