Indiana AG Sues Black Lives Metter for Not Turning Over Documents and Tax Info

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita has announced a lawsuit against the global chapter of Black Lives Matter.

The lawsuit comes nearly two months after Rokita’s office launched an investigation into how the civil rights organization was using donations from Hoosiers. 

In a Thursday news release, Rokita’s office claimed Black Lives Matter published a report in 2020 that said it had raised more than $90 million. More than $21 million of that went to local chapters, including one in South Bend, according to the attorney general’s news release.

Rokita’s office said an IRS filing from the organization for the first half of that year, however, described zero revenue, expenses and assets. 

The attorney general’s office requested “information and documents” as part of its investigation. Black Lives Matter never responded to that request, so now Rokita wants a Marion County judge to force the organization to comply.

“Under Indiana law, failure to comply with the civil investigative demand could result in sanctions against the entity, including barring the entity from any future fundraising in Indiana, among other possible remedies,” the news release reads. 

At its website, the Black Lives Matter Global Foundation, which is the defendant in Rokita’s lawsuit, describes itself as a global organization “whose mission is to eradicate white supremacy and build local power to intervene in violence inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.”

This article will update. 

Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny