EVANGELIST (KENT HOVIND) ARRESTED ON FEDERAL CHARGES

July, 14, 2006

A Pensacola evangelist who owns the defunct Dinosaur
Adventure Land in Pensacola was arrested Thursday on 58
federal charges, including failing to pay $473,818 in
employee-related taxes and making threats against
investigators. Of the 58 charges, 44 were filed against Kent
Hovind and his wife, Jo, for evading bank reporting
requirements as they withdrew $430,500 from AmSouth
Bank between July 20, 2001, and Aug. 9, 2002. At the
couple's first court appearance Thursday before U.S.
Magistrate Judge Miles Davis, Kent Hovind professed not to
understand why he is being prosecuted.

Some 20 supporters were in the courtroom. "I still don't
understand what I'm being charged for and who is charging
me," he said. Kent Hovind, who often calls himself "Dr. Dino,"
has been sparring with the IRS for at least 17 years on his
claims that he is employed by God, receives no income, has
no expenses and owns no property. "The debtor apparently
maintains that as a minister of God, everything he owns
belongs to God and he is not subject to paying taxes to the
United States on money he receives for doing God's work,"
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lewis Killian Jr. wrote when he
dismissed a claim from Hovind in 1996. Hovind, an avowed
creationist, has widely publicized his "standing offer" to pay
$250,000 to anyone who can provide scientific evidence of
evolution.

"No one has ever observed a dog produce a non-dog,"
Hovind once wrote in reply to a New York Times article. In
the indictment unsealed Thursday, a grand jury alleges that
Kent Hovind failed to pay $473,818 in federal income, Social
Security and Medicare taxes on employees at his Creation
Science Evangelism/Ministry between March 31, 2001, and
Jan. 31, 2004. As part of the ministry, Hovind operated the
Dinosaur Adventure Land at 5800 N. Palafox St., which
included rides, a museum, and a science center.

He also sold literature, videos, CDs and other materials and
provided lecture services and live debates for a fee. The
indictment alleges Kent Hovind paid his employees in cash
and labeled them "missionaries" to avoid payroll tax and
FICA requirements. On Thursday, a message on the Dinosaur
Adventure Land telephone welcomed visitors to the place
"where dinosaurs and the Bible meet" and stated that the
museum and science center were closed temporarily. The
indictment also says the Hovinds' made cash withdrawals
from AmSouth Bank in a manner that evaded federal
requirements for reporting cash transactions. The
withdrawals were for $9,500 or $9,600, just below the
$10,000 starting point for reporting cash transactions. Most
of the withdrawals were days apart. For example, the
indictment shows three withdrawals of $9,500 each on
July 20, July 23 and July 26 in 2001. The indictment also
charges Kent Hovind with impeding an IRS investigation.

Among the ways he is accused of doing: Filing a frivolous
lawsuit against the agency demanding damages for criminal
trespass. Filing an injunction against an IRS special agent.
Filing false complaints against the IRS for false arrest,
excessive use of force and theft. Making threats against
investigators and those cooperating with the investigation.

Judge Davis released the Hovinds from custody pending their
trial, which will be scheduled during their arraignment at
2 p.m. Monday.

Over Kent Hovind's protests, the judge took away his
passport and guns Hovind claimed belonged to his church.
Hovind argued that he needs his passport to continue his
evangelism work. He said "thousands and thousands" are
waiting to hear him preach in South Africa next month. But
Davis agreed with Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Heldmyer,
who argued that "like-minded people" might secret Hovind
away if he left the country. As for the guns, Davis said
"ownership was not the issue." Kent Hovind also has had
run-ins with state authorities. In April, Circuit Judge Michael
Allen ordered the buildings at Dinosaur Adventure Land
closed because Hovind failed to obtain a building permit
during the 2002 construction. The outdoor theme park was
allowed to stay open. Members of Creation Science
Evangelism said at the time that building permits violated
their "deeply held" religious beliefs.

While the building permit case was tied up in a four-year
court battle, ownership of the theme park was turned over
to Glen Stoll, who works with Hovind on legal issues and is
based in Washington. Last year, the U.S. attorney in Seattle
filed a lawsuit against Stoll, charging him with encouraging
people to avoid tax payments by claiming to be religious
entities, according to news reports.

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