Callingcreationism "science" ain't acrime, but cheating the taxman and assaulting your wife are.

Running gags

Biblicalliteralism Young/Old Earth Intelligent design Creation scientists

Starlight problem Fossil record Punctuated equilibrium Grand Canyon

Rethinking Darwin: A Vedic Study of Darwinism and Intelligent Design Parasites during the global flood 鳄鸭 Frank Lewis Marsh

J. P. Holding Michael Egnor Mary Lou Bruner Brad Stine v -t -e

Kent E. Hovind (or, to use his full formeracademic titleKent E. Hovind, inmate #06452-017^[2]) (1953–) is ayoung Earth creationist, promoter of imminentmillennialism,con man, professional liar, and convicted felon.^{[note 2]}

Hovind promotesYoung Earth creationist andChristiandominionist views in lectures and videos sold or publicized through hisCreation Science Evangelism organization, calling himself "Doctor Dino" (despite havingno legitimate^{[note 3]} degree).

Hovind createdThe Hovind "Theory" to explain how theglobal flood got all the water — namely,a comet did it. Hovind then proceeded toignore all scientific evidence on dinosaurs gathered this side of 1960. Not satisfied with this record of failure, in 2001, Hovind startedDinosaur Adventure Land, an amusement park in his backyard.

Hovind subscribes tostrawman theory, which holds that the government can't touch you because "KENT HOVIND" and "Kent Hovind" aren't the same. No, really. This "sovereign American" nonsense (and his support oftax protesting) understandably hurt his case in court. Hovind also promotes numerous anti-governmentconspiracy theories, literally connecting "evolution, Communism, the New World Order, and the IRS",^[3] and has even sold books promotinganti-Semitism.^[4]

In November 2006, a federal jury found Kent guilty of severaltax-related charges and sentenced him to 10 years in prison. Following Kent's imprisonment, his sonEric Hovind — who, although also a creationist, is notably more lucid and grounded in reality — took control of the businesses and remade them into God Quest Inc. (holding corporation),Creation Today (publishing house) and the Creation Store (money maker). Hovind was released from federal custody on 8 July 2015 with three years' probation^[5] and has restarted his creationist operation.

And, to ice the cake,he tried (and failed) to sue RationalWiki while in prison. But, as he should know well by now, RationalWiki willnever stop pointing out his superstitions.^{[citation NOT needed]}

Qualifications, or lack thereof[edit]

The prestigious Patriot University campus

Hovind refers to himself as "Dr. Kent Hovind" or as "Dr. Dino" to provide a veneer of respectability to those who have not examined his education or background.^[6] He also claims to have "taught high school math and science" for fifteen years.^[7] These are less impressive than they sound: he obtained his doctorates by mail order and never taught at a school requiring accredited credentials.

As of 2013, Hovind claimsfour doctorates, ineducation,theology andbiblical ministry with an honorary degree in divinity.^[8]

His firstPh.D., obtained before his vacation inClub Fed:

1. is fromPatriot Bible University, adegree mill.^{[9][10][11][12][13]} Patriot sells doctorates for approximately $2,000.^[14][15]
2. is in "Christian education." Hovind is quiet about the "Christian" part, instead describing it merely as in "education."
3. is not recognized by any legitimate university, professional association, or governmental agency. Patriot Bible University only offers "programs which are religious in nature", and their "degrees or diplomas have no state recognition."^[16]
4. is officially unavailable to the public.Real doctoral dissertations are readily available through libraries or online. On December 9, 2009, Hovind's dissertation was uploaded toWikiLeaks^[17], and that copy mirrors the substandard quality — with spelling and grammar mistakes typical of a high school student — previously described by the few who had read it.^[18]
5. was reviewed by only one person, Wayne Knight,^[19] the president of Patriot.^[20][21] In contrast, the standard practice for Ph.D. dissertations is four or five doctoral committee members.

His 2013 Doctorate of Biblical Ministry (D.Min) is also from Patriot. His dissertation was made for sale as an e-book, entitledWhat on Earth is about to Happen... for Heaven's Sake?: A Dissertation on End Times According to the Bible, and claimsJesus willreturn in 2028.^[22]

Hovind neglects to mention which institutions awarded the theological doctorate and honorary divinity doctorate, probably because — like the Patriot doctorates — they are also the educational equivalent of an online ordination by theUniversal Life Church.^[23]

Hovind listed himself as "Dr." in the Pensacola phone book, which is unusual even for someone with a real M.D. or Ph.D. His blog, however, warned supporters that any mail addressed to "Dr. Kent Hovind" at theprison where he resided would be returned by the prison's mailroom staff.^[24]

When Hovind says he "taught high school math and science," he really means he taught children at three private Christian schools run out of churches (one of which he founded—by the way, good luck trying to verify his teaching record; internet search results turn up nothing).^[25] At no point did Hovind earn any recognized credentials that would allow him to teach atpublic school or any school that requires accreditation.

Despite having noscientificcredentials or even an accredited degree, he presents himself as someone who understands the science ofevolution better than people with advanced science degrees^[26] who research in labs and publishpeer-reviewed papers. During his presentations, he sounds like an auctioneer or a usedcar salesman when he is attempting to make a point by getting his audience to buy a video or book from him. Many of his slideshows read like a top 10 list ofcommonly seen (and refuted) "evidences" for creationism that contain little to no actual data or proof. These arguments are interjected with painfully unfunny "jokes" andanecdotes, which are topped off with a healthy serving ofmined quotes. And like any good creationist, he is not above (in fact seeming to enjoy) spreading the false claim thatDarwin caused the Holocaust.

Many of Hovind's claims can be easily refuted by merely reading Hovind's alleged references or doing basic math. For example, inThunderf00t'sWhy Do People Laugh at Creationists? series, Hovind is quoted as saying:

Hovind's statement is off by a factor of one trillion. The surface area of the Earth is about 500,000,000 km² (or 5x10¹² m², which is 5x10³² angstroms squared), and the size of awatermolecule ("the smallest identifiable unit into which a pure substance can be divided^[28]") is about 10 angstroms.^[29] To find out how much water you would need to coat the world in a monolayer of water, you divide the surface of the world by the water molecule; the result is that you would need aminimum of 150,000 tons of water. This is approximately 1,000,000,000,000 times Hovind's claim.^{[note 4]}

Besides his poormath skills, Hovind doesn't fare much better inbiology or being honest about what scientific papers say. Hovind seeks to "debunk"carbon dating by citingscientific literature, but what he actually does ismine quotes, take material out of context, even inventing alleged quotes out of whole cloth. InSeminar 7: Questions and Answers, he speaks about a scientific paper, displaying this alleged quote on a slide:

In less than ten seconds, Hovind presents the quote and reference as evidence that radiometric dating doesn't work before quickly skipping to his next slide. If you check the claim, you will find that the quote does not actually exist, plus the article cited does not refer to the stated species, date or even the bloody continent.^[31] Sadly, many creationists take Hovind at his word and simply recycle his claims without checking the references.^[32]

However, there are some creationists who do investigate Hovind's claims, concluding that Hovind's statements do not stand up to scrutiny. For example, aCreation Ministries International article byCarl Wieland,Ken Ham andJonathan Sarfati reported: "Kent Hovind’s document repeatedly misrepresents or misunderstands not only our article, but the issues themselves."^[33]

"Dr." Dino: Creationism & the Hovind "Theory"[edit]

One might say that Hovind's "Theory" is as much a "theory" as Kent is a "doctor".

Dinosaurs[edit]

True to his self-proclaimed nickname "Dr. Dino", Hovind has made dinosaurs a focal point in his preaching. However, aside from promoting the usual creationist mantra thatdinosaurs and man coexisted before and shortly after the global flood, he goes far beyond simply the age of dinosaurs, and straight-up rejects most information postdating theDinosaur Renaissance, a scientific revolution leading to the discovery that dinosaurs were not cold-blooded, sluggish Godzilla-like monsters, but were, in fact, warm-blooded and active animals with bird-like respiratory systems and sometimes sporting feathers.

He claims thatbirds are not descended from dinosaurs,^[34] and that the latter were in fact nothing more than cold-blooded "big lizards" that lived inEden prior to the Flood,^[35][36] despite the fact that dinosaurs have little in common with true lizards.^[37] To give a specific example, he asserts thatTriceratops was just aJackson's chameleon with anoxygen boost allowing it to reach larger sizes.^[38]

He states thatfeathered dinosaurs are all "baloney" and thatArchaeopteryx was nothing more than a perching bird,^[39] which raises the question as to whether or not he would consider dromaeosaurids ("raptors") likeDeinonychus andVelociraptor as non-dinosaurs too, considering the skeleton ofArchaeopteryx is basically a miniature version of theirs.^[40][41] And it's been confirmed since 2007 thatVelociraptor had feathers too,^[42] though this info doesn't appear to have reached Hovind's sonEric, whose seminarDinosaurs with Man includes featherless model "raptors" that look even more obsolete than the ones in theCreation Museum.

He is also a believer in the existence of several purported surviving plesiosaurs, includingNessie, theZuiyo-maru carcass (later confirmed to have been a decomposing basking shark) and a large animal carcass discovered on Moore's Beach,California, in 1925,^[34] which was actually a rottingBaird's beaked whale.^[43][44]

The Hovind "Theory"[edit]

Like many creationists (e.g., NephilimFree and hisLunar bukkake hypothesis orWalt Brown'shydroplate theory), Hovind has developed his own interpretation of how theglobal flood came about, modestly naming his "theory" after himself.^[45]

According to him, a -300°F^{[note 5]} meteor on course for Earth fragmented; some pieces formed the rings around other planets or created Lunar craters.^[46] Some fragments reachedEarth and formed the North and South Poles, freezing the mammoths on their feet. The impact broke through thefirmament, cracked the planet's crust and released the "fountains of the deep", causingice age-like conditions (even though theBible never mentionsNoah's world being in a deep freeze). In the later months of the flood, ocean basins and mountain ranges were formed by shifting "unstable plates". As the post-flood centuries passed, the ice receded and formed the oceans, which in turn absorbed more carbon dioxide and atmosphericradiation, thus shortening human lifespans.^[45]

Needless to say, there are numerous deal-breaking problems riddling Hovind's "theory". How a comet could provide so many trillions of gallons of water in extremely little time, without killing all living multicellular organisms, is a mystery. How Noah's Ark would survive raining space ice is, too, a mystery. And even theexistence of a "firmament" should be immediately laughable.

Creation Science Evangelism[edit]

Creation Science Evangelism (CSE) was a batshit insane creationistwebshite run by Hovind.^{[47][note 6]} Itsbizarre claims have included such gems asartificial intelligence being somehow related to theMark of the Beast^[48] (Complete with bad grammar making the page hard to understand) and silliness aboutObama and microchips.^[49] (The insanity is strong with this one.) The editorial line seemed to dislike sane websites and people, and was uncertain whetherSnopes was run by one person or many. As CSE was run almost exclusively by Kent, it was a locus of hardcore creationism, and its legacy continues in Hovind Junior'sCreation Today.

The $250,000 Challenge[edit]

Before his incarceration, Hovind made this challenge:

The challenge was designed to be unwinnable. Using Hovind's rules, you could offer $250,000 for empirical evidence of the sun rising in the East, and your money would be safe. Eric Hovind has since discontinued the offer and no longer mentions it on any Hovind-related website.

There are three main flaws to Hovind's challenge:

1. The challenge was allegedly judged by an anonymous committee hand-picked by Hovind. Any challenges that involve being judged by the offeror are legally unenforceable. No matter what the evidence presented, all the offeror has to say is "not satisfied" and nobody can collect.
2. Hovind offered no proof — other than his word — that the money existed. By comparison,James Randi's diametrically opposedMillion Dollar Challenge, for example, will give details of the JREF's prize account at Goldman Sachs upon request.
3. Hovind demanded applicants prove thatevolution is the only possible way life, theUniverse, and everything could have come into existence. Specifically, in order to win his "evolution" challenge, Hovind set these conditions:^[51]

NOTE: When I use the word evolution, I am not referring to the minor variations found in all of the various life forms (microevolution). I am referring to the general theory of evolution which believes these five major events took place withoutGod:

1. Time,space, andmatter came into existence by themselves.
2. Planets andstars formed fromspace dust.
3. Matter createdlife by itself.
4. Early life-forms learned to reproduce themselves.
5. Major changes occurred between these diverse life forms (i.e.,fish changed toamphibians, amphibians changed toreptiles, and reptiles changed tobirds ormammals).

Note that only #4 and #5 pertain to evolution. #1 is a matter ofcosmology, #2 isastrophysics, and #3 isabiogenesis, a separate question inbiology. Hovind claims that thetheory of evolution posits that these five events took place withoutGod. In fact, evolution makes no mention of God at all, let alone declaring that God does not exist. Indeed, many theists see evolution ascompatible with their beliefs.

A number of people offered responses,^[52][53] but Hovind refused to forward the information to his committee, let alone give out the prize.

Lunar recession[edit]

Hovind believes that the moon is too close to the Earth to allowdeep time. His specific calculations are only 0.0313% correct.

Videos and copyright issues[edit]

Since the early 1990s, Hovind has sold self-produced videos that went on to earn him two million dollars a year at his peak, which he refused to pay taxes on.^[54][55]

Creation Seminar Series

1. The Age of The Earth
2. The Garden of Eden
3. Dinosaurs and the Bible
4. Lies in the Textbooks
5. The Dangers of Evolution
6. The Hovind Theory
7. Questions and Answers

Topical Series

1. Children's Video About Dinosaurs
2. How To Make Money And Spend It God's Way
3. Leviathan The Fire Breathing Dragon of Job 41
4. Magic Tricks And How To Do Them
5. Nails
6. Public School Presentation
7. Redeeming The Straw Man
8. The Bible And Health
9. Why Evolution Is Stupid
10. More Reasons Why Evolution Is Stupid

Before his son took over the business, Hovind stated in his presentations that his material was notcopyrighted and could be freely reused; in his seminars, he told his audience they were free to edit the tapes to remove things they didn't like, such as his jokes that offended people. However, when severalYouTubers, particularly userThunderf00t,^[56] began using the videos for critiques, Creation Science Evangelism responded with DMCA takedown requests and claimed copyright ownership. In the end, Eric Hovind lost and the video rebuttals stayed online, but he modified the Creation Science Evangelism's policy to only allow reproduction of "unedited, unaltered" video in an effort to prevent editing for criticism.^[57]

Various other creationist ideas[edit]

• Neanderthals were nothing more than ordinary humans living to 300 years of age.^[38]
• While he states that God "invented music", he warns that Satan created "ungodly" music, though he doesn't specify the genre.^[35]
• Humans matured much more slowly before the flood, with children attaining adolescence at the age of forty.^[58]
• There was nosalt in the oceans before the Flood,^[58] and it probably never rained before then.^[45]
• A drop of water can cover the entire planet if spread thinly enough.^[45]
• Kangaroos left the Ark after the flood and "hopped" toAustralia to escape from the lions^[45] (only to end up in the jaws ofgiant ripper lizards,marsupial lions,thylacines andsaltwater crocodiles).
• Hyraxes are actually survivingHyracotherium (a prehistoric horse) populations, despite the fact that hyraxes are more closely related to elephants and manatees. He also (wrongly) asserts that they are carnivores.^[34]
• Jackals (specificallyblack-backed andside-striped jackals) are within the samekind aswolves and domesticdogs, despite being so divergent that they can't even hybridize.^[59]
• Hyenas fall within the "dog kind", even though they're actually more closely related tocats and mongooses.^[59] When called out on this, he maintained his position and, as proof of his assertion, stated that they are dogs because 3-year-olds identify them as such just by looking at them.^[60]

One sign to rule them all[edit]

Other astounding beliefs[edit]

Freeman on the Dinosaur Adventure Land[edit]

According to Kent Hovind, Kent Hovind and KENT HOVIND arenot the same person — in other words, defining him as an adherent tostrawman theory.^[61]

According to this twisted logic, the "strawman" KENT HOVIND was indicted —not the actual flesh-and-blood Kent Hovind. Accordingly, at his arraignment, Hovind attempted to enter a plea of "subornation of false muster"^[62] — apparently an obsolete military term meaning "being ordered to say you showed up at roll call when you weren't actually there" — generating a fair amount of confusion and giggling among observers.

In a 1998 document filed with his local Clerk of Court, Hovind claimed to be a "sovereign American," declared he was not a "U.S. citizen," not part of the "'bankrupt' corporate government," and previously signed documents do not give an entity the ability to "falsely assume jurisdiction" over him or his wife.^[63] This, in Hovind's eyes, severed all ties between Kent Hovind and KENT HOVIND. In 2001, nevertheless, he signed Kent E Hovind above a KENT E HOVIND signature line.^[64]

Microchip madness[edit]

Hovind has also claimed: "Not many folks realize it, butObamacare Law HR3200, that NOBODY read before they voted for it, requires that everyone get an implanted micro-chip by March 23, 2013."^[65] Unsurprisingly, this claim is false.^[66] Apparently Kent never read the bill either, as the relevant section is rather boring, simply providing for the establishment of a registry "to facilitate analysis of postmarket safety and outcomes data" of various medical devices used in or on patients.^[67]

Independent Baptist[edit]

Hovind has described being raised in a Mennonite church^[68] (he later wrote about being "raised" inLutheran andMethodist churches^[69]), but then became and remained an Independent Baptist, also called Independent Fundamental Baptist, saying he is "an unwavering, uncompromisingfundamentalist."^[68] He thinks that once everyone in the world becomes Christian, "we can continue our fight over other doctrinal distinctives."^[68]

Biblical contradictions[edit]

Hovind is a staunch believer in biblical inerrancy, claiming that "The Scriptures do not contain error"^[71] and, to boot, thatthe only accurate version of the English Bible is theKing James Version.^[72]

Miscellaneous[edit]

Hovind also believes that:

• Non-Christian faiths:

• Zoroastrianism was founded around 600 BCE.^[17] Most scholars actually state it was much earlier, around 1000 BCE.
• Satan and God are equally powerful in Zoroastrianism.^[17] In fact, Zoroastrians believe that Ahura Mazda (the "God" character) will banish Angra Mainyu (the "Satan" character) and bring about the end times, and then a savior figure will come along and raise up the dead. According to Hovind, in Zoroastrianism "a lack of importance [is] placed on God", which is exactly wrong.
• Hinduism, Zoroastrianism,Buddhism,Taoism andConfucianism, which all are really evolution cults in disguise, made it easy forCommunism to take over inChina.^[17]
• Muslims believe heavily in evolution,^[17] conveniently ignoring Islamic creationists likeHarun Yahya and the fact that Muslims are about 50/50 on evolution versus creationism.^[73] Perhaps he conflatesOld Earth Creationism with evolution?

• History:

• Democrates is the founder of Atomism, rather than Democritus.^[17]
• Stalin's mass killings were done to "purify the Russian race,"^[17] despite the fact that he was an ethnic Georgian.
• Somewhat paradoxically, he believes that theGreat Pyramid of Giza is "the Bible in Stone" and was not built by the AncientEgyptians,^[74] a belief once held by Charles Taze Russell, the founder of theJehovah's Witnesses and a man who Hovind would likely consider a base heretic.
• TheLatin language somehow contributed to the decline of theRomans, and its continued use in scientific literature is "killing us now".^[36] Quick, team him up with theAnglo-Saxon Foundation!

• Politics:

• George W. Bush is a Satanist.^[75]
• SARS andAIDS are synthetic pathogens.^[76]
• 9/11 was an inside job, because some people didn't show up for work on that day,^[77] and deposits of gold held in the Twin Tower basement went missing shortly after the attack.^[75] The same applies to theOklahoma City Bombing, which was apparently staged in order to demonize Hovind's beloved militia groups.^[78]
• Abortion was invented by Satan in order to depopulate the earth.^[79]
• He agreed withSteven Anderson thathomosexuality should be a capital offense.
• Vaccines cause autism.^[79]
• Exodus 21:28-29 (the part about executing the owners of oxen responsible for goring people to death) should be used as a basis for punishing those who've committed vehicular homicide.^[80]
• He supports executing all violators of God's law, as in his mind this will result in the "mean gene" being erased from the human genetic code,^[80] despite the fact that he had previously condemnedeugenics (which is what he's basically advocating here) as an invention of Satan.^[79]

• The End Times:

• Hitler's persecution of the Jews was Satan's "trial run" for the end time events against Christians.^[58]
• The book of Daniel predicts America's fall, the ascension of China, and the formation an anti-Christian Muslim alliance, as well as the birth of the Antichrist in Syria.^[58]
• Psalm 90:10 indicates that theSecond Coming will occur in 2018 or 2028 (70-80 years after the formation of the State ofIsrael First deadline didn't work...).^[58]
• HAARP (High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) technology will be used by Satan's agents to projectholograms of a "fake Jesus", Buddha,Allah,Muhammad, or theVirgin Mary into the sky to deceive people.^[58]
• TheNew World Order will withhold food from those lacking the mark of the beast (a microchip), and those refusing to submit to it will be beheaded.^[58]

• Other:

• He considersStan Deyo^[81] a Christian "genius", and that his theory thatUFOs are piloted by Satan is "interesting".^[74]
• Loch Ness can contain five million people without breaking the surface.^[74]
• He also believes a number of other conspiracy theories, such aschemtrails being sprayed andvaccines becoming mandatory for depopulation purposes.^[82]

Legal problems (1995 to 2006)[edit]

Whoa there — are we talking abouttaxes?^[83]

Criminal tax-related convictions in 2006[edit]

In July 2006, Hovind was arrested and charged with 58 tax-related counts, including twelve counts of willful failure to withhold federal income taxes and FICA taxes from his employees' wages, forty-five counts of structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements, and one count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the administration of the internal revenue laws.^[84] At his first court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Miles Davis, Hovind said "I still don’t understand what I'm being charged for and who is charging me" despite having access to both his indictment — listing all the charges — and an attorney to explain them to him.^[85]

The government accused Hovind of breaking several laws, including intentionally and falsely misstating the conditions of employment for various employees to avoid paying the withholding tax of employees for his own financial benefit. In addition, the Pensacola News Journal reported the prosecution charged him with impeding an IRS investigation by "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," and "making threats against investigators and those cooperating with the investigation."^[86] The Pensacola News Journal also noted, "On the day the IRS searched the Hovind home, Kent Hovind withdrew $70,000 from the Creation Science Evangelism account. Half in a check; the other in cash."^[87]WorldNetDaily, which is sympathetic to Hovind, reported that he "was accused of tax fraud because he called his employees missionaries and paid them in cash," and later was "convicted on those counts."^[88][89]

Hovind did not offer a defense at trial to these charges.^[90] Hovind's organization was not tax-exempt, and its revenue "appeared to constitute income to petitioner personally."^[91] Employees testified that they did not consider it a church^[92], and the prosecution explained that even if it were a church, churches are required to pay payroll taxes.^[93] Hovind was also found to have intentionally made multiple withdrawals of around $9,500 to avoid the scrutiny that comes with withdrawing at least $10,000 from the bank, which accounted for 45 of the charges.

Hovind was jailed as a flight risk while awaiting sentencing. In early 2007, he was sentenced to a 10-year jail term and ordered to pay restitution, which by May 2013 was "$3.3 million in taxes and penalties".^[94] His wife was sentenced to one year and one day.^[95] Both have since filed several unsuccessful appeals.^[96] The Eleventh Court of Appeals' ruling is quite a nice summary of all the evidence against him. In discussing the evidence, it noted in December of 2008 that:^[97]

The government proved that Kent knew the tax laws required the collection and payment of withholding taxes, but he refused to comply. Employees of Evangelism Enterprises, peers, and legal counsel testified that Kent disputed the authority of the Internal Revenue Service based on the separation of the church and state, debated the interpretation and application of the withholding requirements, and intentionally characterized Evangelism Enterprises as a "church" and his employees as "missionaries" to avoid tax obligations. Kent had opined to attorney David Gibbs that he was "smarter" than other church officials who had forfeited real property after they refused to collect or pay withholding taxes… The evidence established that Kent and Jo Hovind structured cash transactions with knowledge of, and the intent to avoid, reporting of those transactions by AmSouth Bank… Substantial evidence established that Kent obstructed investigation of his tax offenses.

In January 2010, his final appeal was denied by theSupreme Court, rejecting his petition.^[98] Despite the overwhelming evidence of Hovind's crimes, some evangelical supporters claim that he is beingpersecuted as part of a government attack and want him set free, even creating various petitions.^[99][100] ThePensacola News Journal, on the other hand, wrote: "Earth to 'Dr. Dino': Please pay your taxes and start facing reality," telling Hovind that "You got caught, so quit whining and take your punishment like a man."^[101]

As of 2013, on Hovind's blog, he maintained his innocence "like scores of Bible characters".^[102]

Little Red Riding Hovind and the Big Bad IRS[edit]

Kent Hovind earned millions — profiting additionally from tax dodging on every cent — with a judge noting that in 2003 alone, Hovind's operation earned a whopping $1,657,329 just in merchandise sales,^[104] later growing to about $2 million.^[105] Hovind and his wife have faced problems in United States Tax Court for not paying income tax.^[106] In July 2006, the Tax Court found that Hovind was deficient in paying his federal income taxes in tax years 1995–97 in the amount of $504,957.24.^[107] The judge ruled: "The organizational structure petitioner established for the above activities, including petitioner’s purported religious ministry and theme park, apparently was based on various questionable trust documents purchased from Glenn Stoll, a known promoter of tax avoidance schemes." Hovind appealed this ruling, but the court denied the appeal.^[108] In 2012 a Tax Court judge noted that Hovind's operation "sold books and videotapes promoting anti-government and tax-protester arguments," including Joe Sweet's “Good News for 1040 Filers” video, and the catalog description says that it “[e]xplains how income tax is voluntary for most people”.^[109] The judge wrote that "Mr. Sweet has been permanently enjoined from '[o]rganizing, promoting, marketing, or selling the tax shelter, plan, or arrangement entitled ‘GOOD NEWS for FORM 1040 Filers'"^[109] and the Justice Department called the injunction a "victory for IRS in battle against tax fraud promoters".^[110] In a detailed 58-page ruling, a judge of the United States Tax Court wrote the following about Hovind's wife:^[111]

Petitioner also contends that anyfraudulent intent during the years at issue was attributable to Mr. Hovind. However, we find that it is more reasonable to infer from petitioner's course of conduct that her true intention was to conceal substantially all of her income and to take her chances that the fraud would not be discovered. Our finding is supported by the fact that she did not amend her returns until after respondent began a civil investigation in respect of her. Furthermore, the record shows that petitioner was an active participant in the operation of CSE and, along with Mr. Hovind, engaged in a course of conduct designed to conceal and mislead.

Hovind repeatedly said that he opposes teachingevolution on the grounds that public education isfunded withhis tax dollars.^[112] Which was obviously false at the time.

Also, in 2006, his Dinosaur Adventure Land, a theme park in his backyard,^[113] was largely shut down due to his refusal to secure a building permit. Hovind claimed that his "decision to build without permits from the county" is based on the Bible, questioning "Does the Escambia County, Florida civil government have jurisdiction over a Church of the Sovereign God of the universe?"^[114] During a hearing, Hovind was mocked by the local county commissioner with the response that "Scripture also says 'Render untoCaesar what Caesar demands.' And right now, Caesar demands a building permit."^[115] Following the criminal trial,Eric Hovind continued to operate the Dinosaur Adventure Land and Creation Science Evangelism, but renamed them the Creation Store and Creation Today, respectively.

The prison years (2007 to 2015)[edit]

Phone calls, blogging, books, interviews, and YouTube[edit]

Hovind was held in the local jail while awaiting sentencing. ThePensacola News Journal reported that "Although phones include warnings that conversations are recorded, he didn't mince words as he ran up eight hours of calls per week."^[116] The prosecution submitted some calls between Hovind, his wife Jo and son Eric, posted online by thePensacola News Journal,^[117] to the court during sentencing where "Hovind accused the Internal Revenue Service, the judge, and the prosecutor of violating the law in prosecuting him, and referred to unspecified things he could do 'to make their lives miserable'."^[118]

In early 2007, Hovind was sentenced to ten years and was transferred to Federal Prison Camp, Pensacola, a minimum-security prison in his hometown. Hovind began blogging while in prison via communication with family and supporters, which were posted on a website edited by Paul Abramson, a fellow creationist.^[119] Within a few months, Hovind got in "trouble" and was moved into solitary confinement^[120] at another prison, as Paul Abramson (then-editor of Kent Hovind's blog) explained:^[121]

Brother Hovind got in trouble with the chaplain in the federal prison where he was previously held. The chaplain actually tried to get Dr. Hovind in trouble on more than one occasion. And thechaplain told him to stop holding Bible studies. The chaplain called them 'unauthorized meetings.' Dr. Hovind was following the rules that no more than 5 men could meet together.He kept holding the Bible studies (only with 3-4 others at a time) and witnessing to his fellow inmates whenever he could.

Hovind was moved to prisons around the country, being held inColorado andNew Hampshire. Meanwhile, Hovind continued to blog from prison, writingself-aggrandizing "knee-mail" dialogues between himself and God.Independent observers noted that his writing had started to look rather unhinged as of December 2007. This tends to ignore the fact that he wasalready unhinged before he went to jail, believing as he does that the US government and theNew World Order were behind suchterrorist attacks as theOklahoma City bombing and thedemolition of the World Trade Center.

Around 2012, the blog was retooled, and Hovind's writings, including wackyconspiracy legal filings, appeared on a website named after 2 Peter 3 in theNew Testament, which describes how all those darned "scoffers" are going to get their comeuppance. Hovind became involved with Paul Hansen, whom theWorldNetDaily described as "an attorney advising Hovind."^[122] In a letter to the US Attorney and Attorney General of Florida, Hansen described himself "as Kent Hovind counsel".^[123] According to theNebraska Supreme Court, Hansen is not alawyer and is, in fact, a self-proclaimedsovereign citizen.^[124] In 2013, the court issued an injunction preventing Hansen from "engaging in the unauthorized practice of law in any manner, including but not limited to holding himself out to another as being entitled to practice law as defined by § 3-1001" after an investigation of Hansen's blogs and legal "kits".^[125] Hovind's blog tells his supporters to send donations to Hansen and calls him "a law-educated layman".^[126] Hansen previously made news for taking money from a disabled person and was sentenced to jail for refusing to address 14 housing code violations as well as "one count of giving false information, one count of resisting arrest and two counts of obstructing the administration of the law."^[127] Hansen doesn't pay taxes,^{[128][129][130][131]} and despite acknowledging being a "native-born of the Land of Nebraska" and living in Omaha, "believes that neither the city nor Douglas County holds sway over him"^[132] and "does not believe the laws of the United States of America apply to him."^[133]

Hansen sells "briefs" on his website to people not interested in getting a driver's license, license plate, obeying public health codes or being honorable citizens by paying taxes for public roads, prisons or fire departments.^[134] But anyone interested in such advice should be aware that Hansen has a warrant for his arrest by the Omaha Police Department for failing to appear in court,^[135] tax liens for more than $30,000^[128] and by his own count has been arrested about 15 times.^[136] A typical example of Hansen's work for Hovind is a 2011 letter to the Florida Attorney General that tells the government Hovind is a "free inhabitant" per theArticles of Confederation and the government "must accept the Articles of Confederation".^[137] Yes, you read that correctly: Hansen bases his argument for overturning Hovind's felony convictions on a system of governance that dissolved itself in1789. Thus, Hovind's source for legal advice is on a par with his sources about science.

Just how bad were Kent Hovind's legal ramblings? Eric Hovind got them removed from creationist websites.^[138]

He wrote several books while in federal prison under his own name and under thepseudonym Elijah Greene.^[139] Hovind blogs to his readers: "I wrote a book and published it in April 2013 calledWhat on Earth is About to Happen... for Heaven's Sake? It is available as an eBook on 2peter3.com and can be purchased in full color (240+ pages) from [email redacted by rationalwiki]."^[140] His self-published books are sold through the same website.^[141] His 2013 dissertation is also sold through Amazon.com's self-publishing subsidiary (CreateSpace).^[142]

In addition to his blogging, nearly weekly "interviews" with Hovind from federal prison were conducted by Gea Ambrosia and posted onyoutube in 2014.^[143] According to Club Creation, "Evangelist Gea" hosts Truth Serum Talk Radio which states: "Hovind is not able to take calls while on the show," but can "engage listeners through chat" as "Chatters can make comments, ask questions and Dr. Hovind will Answer them in REAL TIME.. LIVE!"[sic].^[144] In late March, she announced she was "taking a leave of absence until further notice due to personal reasons",^[145] but later resumed interviewing Hovind in prison.^[146]

In May 2014, Hovind was moved from Federal Correctional Institution, Berlin in New Hampshire to Federal Correctional Institution at Montgomery,Alabama.^[147] The prison rules state that prisoners "may not give to or receive anything from another inmate."^[148] Yet, Hovind made "bookmarkers and paper airplanes for a few guys and it spread like wildfire" inside the prison.^[147] According to Eric Hovind, Kent Hovind was moved from the prison to Elmore County Jail for violating prison rules.^[149] The case was reviewed by law enforcement, which can take up to 180 days.^[150]

Lawsuits, legal filings and criminal contempt[edit]

Hovind's life demonstrates the inherent pitfalls, not just of forming baseless beliefs, but ofseeking any opinion which would incorrectly justify said beliefs. Indeed, doing so has led Hovind to fear the non-existentNew World Order, to deny evolution, and become a tax fraudster.^[3] Given the above history, it is not surprising that Hovind continues to defend his delusions and still got in trouble while locked in a prison cell.

In 2013, Hovind wrote that "God sent" Alex Matthews "fromWashington, DC to live right in my room on the top bunk", and, in Hovind's words, then "helped" with his legal filings.^[152] According to a US Department of Justice press release, in 2011 Alexander Otis Matthews pleaded guilty "to fraud charges in connection with mortgage and investment schemes to obtain more than $12 million in fraudulent loans."^[153] At his sentencing, Matthews received 10 years in prison, was ordered to forfeit $7.9 million and must pay $5,055,250 in restitution to his victims.^[154]

Hovind has since filed numerous legal claims, including fraudulent liens on property the US government seized for his debt.^[155] In 2012, a federal judge placed an injunction on Creation Science Evangelism and its "representatives or agents" to prevent them from putting liens on forfeited properties without first obtaining a court order, and in 2013 found Hovind had no merit to file claims on the property and allowed the government to submit a proper motion to show cause.^[156] The US Attorney alleges "Hovind willfully violated the permanent injunction order" and is seeking to hold Hovind in criminal contempt, announcing: "The United States Attorney's Office is ready to immediately appoint a criminal prosecutor to the case for any further action that this Court deems necessary."^[157] On July 8, 2014, the judge granted the government's motion and is ordering "Hovind to show cause why he should not be punished for criminal contempt."^[158]

In August 2013, Hovind was referring to himself as a "POW", and (despite all of his appeals resulting in dismissal) wrote that he was moving forward with more legal "battles".^[159]

Around this time, Hovind filed:

• A lawsuit against the Bureau of Prisonspro se in 2012^[160]("dismissed with prejudice for lack of prosecution" in 2013^[161])
• Anotherpro se 2013 suit against five prison employees "in their personal capacity"^[162] (dismissed in 2014^[163])
• Apro se petition for "brady material" in 2011,^[164] apro se "2255 motion"^[165](dismissed^[159])
• Another 2011pro se "Motion for Reconsideration"^[166] (dismissed^[167])
• Yet another 2011pro se Writ of Mandamus^[168]
• A complaint against the judge in his criminal trial^[169] (and after it was dismissed, he complained in a letter about the dismissal^[170])
• A complaint against the Assistant US Attorney^[171]
• A complaint with the Bar Association^[172]
• A complaint with the Department of Justice's Professional Misconduct Review Unit^[173]
• A $25 milliontort against the United States of America in 2013^[174]
• Apro se 2013 appeal against the Commissioner of IRS^[175] ("dismissed for failure to prosecute"^[176])
• A 2014pro se Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus regarding the warden of FCI Berlin^[177] (dismissed^[178])

Prior to these lawsuits, Hovind had a history of making legal claims that were rejected by the court, including filing for bankruptcy which was dismissed as a "bad faith" filing.^[179] Then he sued IRS Agent Scott Schneider, which was also dismissed^[180] with the judge citing the Tax Anti-Injunction Act^[181] and in Hovind's criminal case he was found guilty of impeding an IRS investigation by filing a "frivolous lawsuit" and "threatening investigators," according to both the Pensacola News Journal^[182] and the WorldNetDaily.^[183] One IRS agent, M.C. Powe, testified at his criminal trial, after she tried to collect taxes from the Hovinds in 1996, "Dr. Hovind sued me three times, maybe more," and said, "It just seemed to be something he did often."^[184] During his early 2007 sentencing, the prosecution played audio of Hovind making "veiled threats and threats of legal action," for instance, with him saying: "I don't know if because we filed so many lawsuits in the past against them that possibly Schneider and Heldmyer are afraid that if they don't keep pushing they'll be sued ... if I could talk to them I'd say 'look, let me out of here drop all this stuff and I'll hold you harmless. If you put me in jail for five years then yes I'll keep going after you'."^[185]

Kent E. Hovind v. RationalMedia Foundation, et al.[edit]

On February 24, 2014, Hovind filed apro se lawsuit against theRationalMedia Foundation (although he originally called it by its previous name, the RationalWiki Foundation) based on claims he made about this article, referencingthis revision.^[186] He did not have summons issued, and hence did not serve the complaint. The complaint referenced the foundation by name along with a number of John Doe editors seeking a retraction of certain phrases in the article, specifically: "Hovind is a young Earth creationist and convicted tax fraudster" and "[H]ovind has filed numerous legal claims with Matthews' help, including fraudulent liens on property the US government seized for his debt".

Hovind disputed that the fraudulent liens were filed by him, claiming that they were "filed by supporters of the plaintiff, who is a Christian evangelist preacher with a worldwide following. The plaintiff did not file the liens referenced, and in fact, could not file the liens based upon his present incarcerated status. The plaintiff did not send the liens to the court to be filed, and in fact could not have filed the liens given that such liens must be filed in person at the county Land Records office."^[186] This was contradicted in the actual liens: "Kent E Hovind asks that this Memorandum Of Lis Pendens be recorded as a lien against the above shown parcel(s) of real property, and that a stamped copy of each lien be mailed back to him at the address below."^[187] He also wrote several blogs, such as August 2013 that "I filed a 'Lis Pendens',"^[188] and again in October 2013 that "I filed a lis pendens in the county office to stop the sale of any other properties."^[189]

Hovind sought a sum of $2.5 million jointly from the RationalMedia Foundation and the "John Doe author" of this article for damages to his reputation.

In December 2015, a federal judge dismissed the case.^[190]

On February 25, 2014, Matthews himself also filed a lawsuit against the RationalMedia Foundation for $1.5 million.^[191][192] This too was never served.

Mail fraud, criminal contempt charges and trial[edit]

In October 2014, Hovind and Paul Hansen were indicted on six charges by a federal grand jury in Pensacola, Florida for issues concerning the property seized by the government. They were charged with mail fraud, attempt and conspiracy to commit mail fraud and criminal contempt^[193] for interfering with the sale of the properties Hovind had been forced to forfeit as a result of the 2006 tax case.^[194]

The indictment accuses Hovind and Hansen of several charges, including that they "willfully, knowingly, and with intent to defraud, devise and intend to devise a scheme to defraud the United States" through "a Claim of Lien Affidavit of Obligation with attachments" and "four Memoranda of Lis Pendens."^[195] Previously in 2013, Hovind wrote that "the new Assistant US Atty used the judge's order at the county courthouse to change the deeds on all the properties from: 'Property of Creation Science Evangelism Church Ministry Trust' to 'Property of U.S. Gov'," and in response, "I filed a 'Lis Pendens' which means no action can be taken until all legal issues … are resolved."^[196]

On March 2, 2015, Hovind and Hansen's trial began,^[197] attracting about a dozen protesters calling for Hovind's release.^[198] When Hovind was put on the witness stand to testify about his 2006 convictions, he argued against his attorney's request to keep his answers brief, citing the fact that he's "threatened with 100 years (in prison)", and instead used his time to, among other things, accuse the government of persecuting him and cite scripture.^[199]

On March 12, 2015, the jury found Hovind and Hansen guilty of contempt of court, Hansen guilty of failing to appear before a Grand Jury, and Hansen not guilty on one count.^[200] The jury was hung, reportedly 11 to 1 in favor of finding Hovind guilty of the remaining charges.^[201] According to Jonathan Schwartz, "The dissenter who hung the jury, was a militia member who appears to have been in prior contact with Free Kent Hovind supporters."^[202] The judge later dismissed Hovind's guilty contempt charge and as the federal prosecutor prepared for retrial, she dismissed the remaining charges without prejudice due to "the defendant’s concerns about the technical sufficiency of the superseding indictment and to be sure that defendants are adequately apprised of the nature of the acquisition against them."^[203]

After prison (2015 to present)[edit]

Federal prisoners who maintain good behavior can serve 85% of their sentence and be released.^[204] Hovind's scheduled end of federal custody was on August 11, 2015, and on July 8, 2015, Hovind was released to home confinement for roughly one month to finish his prison sentence.^[205]

In 2016, Kent Hovind divorced his wife of 40 years, Jo Hovind, and remarried a divorcee and anti-vax crusader Mary Tocco^[206] (disregarding for just a moment what Matthew 5:32 among others prescribes on that topic).^[207] This was after Kent condemned his wife Jo to a year in prison for the tax-fraud related matters because he refused to admit that he was solely responsible for the scam.^[208] This perhaps explains why the divorce was uncontested. By 2017, the marriage with Mary Tocco was over, with her leaving Kent claiming to feel "unsafe".^{[209][210][211]}

As of 2017, Kent Hovind has resurrected himself as a self-styled YouTube "personality", but usually spends his time shooting himself in the foot and permanent damage-control mode, in the best tradition of theDunning-Kruger effect. Hovind has expressed an intention to re-open his "Dinosaur Adventure Land" facility at a new location in Alabama. Hovind boasts the theme park will be uninsured, and that children going on rides will "do so at their own risk". The compound regularly attracts unpaid volunteers, who share Sov-Cit conspiracy theories, and that never ends badly. Hovind is also reported to be locking horns with Eric.^[212][213]

In late 2018, Hovind engaged in yet another debate withAronRa and committed still more logical fallacies, including denying the validity of Chromosomes as evidence and using selective horse breeding as "justification" for kinds.^[214] Also in 2018, Dinosaur Adventure Land came back to life in a donated gravel pit.^[215]

In early 2020 he had a debate withProfessor Dave Farina in which he showed further ineptitude/dishonesty such as his question "do youbelievewe came fromsponges, Dave?"^[216] After the debate, Dave gave Hovind five challenges, and of course he never took his offer for the second debate.^[217] I wonder why?

In 2020 he also sued the government again, for half a billion dollars, over "unjust imprisonment".^[218] The case was dismissed with prejudice in 2021, with the judge ruling:^[219]

In 2018, Hovind began asking his followers to write toDonald Trump on his behalf for a presidential pardon.^[220] In January 2021, Hovind made a feeble, last-minute attempt to get a pardon from soon-to-be twice-impeached, almost-ex-President Trump by perpetrating lies about Dominion Voting Systems regarding the2020 election outcome.^[221][222]

Domestic violence[edit]

Hovind was arrested on 19th July 2021, due to allegations that he deliberately threw Cindi Lincoln, his estranged wife, onto the ground, injuring her. Lincoln petitioned for protection from Kent Hovind in Conecuh County, Alabama.^[223] Lincoln wrote, “He wants to silence me. It depends on public opinion for its vitality [sic.] …. [I] fear he will kill me to silence me.” Lincoln further maintains that Hovind sent his “right-hand man” to threaten her with a gun, and the next day, the right-hand man ransacked her property.^[224][225] Hovind must spend 30 days in jail, he must pay for Cindi Lincoln's medical expenses, he must pay a $500 fine, $100 bail bond fee and court costs. Hovind must avoid contact with Lincoln and may not come within 500 yards of her, he will be on probation for a year and must give up all his firearms.^[226]

Stopped clock moments[edit]

Despite Hovind being a posterboy for creationists and a general batshit conspiracy theorist, he has shown rare glimpses of sanity, albeit clearing an absurdly low bar. He accepts the scientific fact of heliocentrism and accepts that the Earth is round and not flat, and has denounced both geocentrists and flat earthers.^[227]

See also[edit]

For those of you in the mood,RationalWiki has afun article aboutKent Hovind.

• Cryptozoology
• Evil Liberal Science Conspiracy
• Genesis 3D
• Texe Marrs
• Pious fraud

External links[edit]

• See theWikipedia article onKent Hovind.

• Kent Hovind on Wikiquote, in case you can't stomach going through his whole seminars

• YouTube channel
• Student descriptions:

• An insider's story
• IAMA former pupil of shyster Kent Hovind, "Dr. Dino" who taught me and a class of homeschool kids all about "science",Reddit

• Video rebuttals:

• Point-by-point takedowns:Critical Analysis of Kent Hovind Series, Extant Dodo Productions,YouTube
• Digestible chunks:Kent Hovind's Bad Arguments, Hovind's Folly, YouTube
• Music video:Tribute to Kent Hovind, eddygoombah, YouTube

• Kent-hovind.com archive, a detailed analysis of Hovind's mishegaas
• Kent Hovind gets interviewed by Ali G. Within, he is accused of not flushing the toilet, and it's hilarious.

Notes[edit]

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