Treasure Coast Baptist Church in Fort Pierce, Florida is set to publicly unveil a Charlie Kirk monument tonight, October 14th, 2025, on what would have been the right-wing activist’s 32nd birthday. The monument consists of a granite boulder etched with his likeness and the inscription “Dedicated to all who have died for the cause of Faith, Freedom, and Truth.”
Churches, which are considered charities under IRS tax code, are barred under the Johnson Amendment from endorsing or opposing specific political candidates for public office, and can risk their tax-exempt status if they do. Otherwise, they have wide latitude to praise or promote anyone, irrespective of their political affiliation or activities. Kirk never ran for office, so the church’s decision to posthumously honor him in stone is unlikely to draw IRS scrutiny.
There has been only one clear instance of a church losing its tax-exempt 501(c)(3) public charity status over prohibited political activity under the 1954 Johnson Amendment. This was Branch Ministries (the Church at Pierce Creek), after it ran 1992 newspaper ads opposing Bill Clinton. The revocation was upheld in Branch Ministries v. Rossotti.
CharityWatch CEO, Laurie Styron, spoke with TCPalm journalist, Jack Lemnus, earlier this month about the issue, underscoring why IRS actions against churches are rare.
“From a gut-check perspective, I can say that the IRS generally doesn’t like to start fights it doesn’t think it can win,” she told Lemnus, adding that “proving intent is almost always an uphill battle.”
“It’s a difficult judgment call to make given that political and religious ideology are inherently intertwined,” said Styron.