Par for the MAGA course

In right-wing media, Cynthia Hughes has become one of the most prominent public faces representing families of the people held in jail, awaiting trial for allegedly attacking the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

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In July 2021, she launched a page on the Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo, and registered the website PatriotFreedomProject.com.

"With your generous donation, we can not only help the families of these [January 6] defendants, but we can donate to legal defense funds to compensate the generous lawyers stepping up to assist," the group wrote in its pitch to donors. "We are working on how to best provide transparency for how the donations are spent while protecting family members. But the need is immediate!"

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Because the Patriot Freedom Project says it is seeking tax-exempt status - which means it would not have to pay certain state and federal taxes, and donors could deduct their contributions at tax time - it has to comply with legal standards that for-profit organizations do not. And NPR's examination of the organization's public filings and court records uncovered what charity experts described as "red flags."

Among the experts' concerns: the composition of the group's board of trustees. The board is tasked with approving budgets, making sure the organization follows laws and regulations, and setting any compensation for employees. According to public records, the three named trustees are Hughes herself, Hughes' sister-in-law, and Hughes' 24-year-old son, who shares an address with his mother.

"When too many family members are in positions of authority at a charity, the independent oversight needed to ensure that donations will be used the way donors intend is significantly eroded," said Laurie Styron, who has spent nearly two decades examining nonprofits and is now the executive of the group CharityWatch.

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Over the last decade, NPR found, Hughes has filed multiple lawsuits, in which she represented herself, and publicly disclosed serious personal financial problems. In both 2013 and 2018, for example, Hughes sued credit rating agencies, seeking thousands of dollars in damages and changes to her credit rating. Hughes stated in court documents that she had struggled with late payments, poor credit scores, and the ripple effects of filing for bankruptcy in the 2000s. In each case, the parties either settled the claims, or the cases were dismissed outright.

"How likely would it be, right, for a completely independent board of directors at a charity to actually elect someone with that kind of personal financial history and legal history to be the head of the nonprofit?" Styron questioned.

  NPR

  Not likely at all.

Another potential warning sign: The Patriot Freedom Project also has yet to file the required paperwork registering as a charity in its home state of New Jersey, according to authorities there.

"Certainly, from a governance perspective, CharityWatch would give them a failing grade," said Styron.

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Family members of some alleged Capitol rioters have questioned what the group's criteria are for sending donations, and begun pushing for more transparency.

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[T]hey have struggled to get specific information about exactly who is receiving money and why.

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"A few of us have asked for transparency and got NO WHERE," said one family member, whose relative is currently in jail pending trial. (They requested anonymity out of concern of backlash from the organization and its supporters.)

They know their people.

The two family members of Jan. 6 defendants who spoke to NPR each said they were worried about whether "favoritism" plays a role in how funds are distributed, because the group does not publicly list a set of detailed criteria for donations on its statement of activities. "I just want them to show WHO they helped and how much they helped them," said one family member in a message to NPR.

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Molly, the family member of accused rioter Kyle Fitzsimons, said she has struggled ever since Jan. 6, 2021 to figure out which of the many fundraisers, independent groups, and attorneys have her family's best interests at heart.

"It's been very hard finding people I can actually trust," she said.

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The group's statement of activities in December stated: "We are currently working with 9 criminal defense attorneys that represent 28 defendants, many of whom are willing to take on clients at a reduced rate." That document did not name those defendants, and that number represents a fraction of the more than 700 people who have faced federal charges stemming from the Capitol riot, including more than 70 held in pre-trial detention.

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NPR has verified that some families and lawyers have indeed been paid by the Patriot Freedom Project. But part of families' frustration stems from the fact that less than half of Patriot Freedom Project's donations had actually been disbursed by December 2021, according to the group's own statement.

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"My personal belief is one should not donate to these big groups just because you saw them on Steve Bannon's 'War Room,'" Gavin McInnes recently told viewers of his own web show. McInnes, the founder and former leader of the Proud Boys, specifically cited concerns about the Patriot Freedom Project.

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Regardless of the group's politics, and its controversial approach to the Capitol riot, charity experts said the group should take concerns about transparency seriously. "We know very little about this organization," said Sean Delany, a former assistant attorney general in charge of the Charities Bureau of the New York State Attorney General's Office. "However, what we do know presents some concerns."

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In December, the group said on its website that "no one has taken a salary," though they anticipated that will change.

"We expect to hire several employees in the next few months, all of whom will be paid reasonable salaries for the work they are doing," the group said. "We expect that the expenses incurred for management and fundraising will be relatively small. But it's too early to forecast a particular amount or percentage."

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And because the group said in December that it is "preparing an application for tax-exempt status," Styron said, donors should be aware that the IRS may not accept that application - meaning those big-money donations would potentially not be deductible at tax time.

Stand back and stand by.

Also, "Christian crowdfunding website GiveSendGo". It's not coincidental that she's doing this on a "Christian" website. Those people are easy marks.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.