Heritage Lawsuit

Case 1:23-cv-03179 Document 1 Filed 10/24/23 Page 1 of 9
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION )

214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE )
Washington, D.C. 20002; )
) Civil Action No.
MIKE HOWELL )
214 Massachusetts Avenue, NE )
Washington, D.C. 20002 )
)
Plaintiffs, )
)
v. )
)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND )
SECURITY )
2707 Martin Luther King Jr., Ave, SE )
Washington, DC 20528, )
)
Defendant. )
____________________________________)
COMPLAINT
COMES NOW Plaintiffs Heritage Foundation (“Heritage”) and Mike Howell (collectively
“Plaintiffs”) to bring this action against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) to
compel compliance with the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), 5 U.S.C. § 552. In support
thereof, Plaintiffs state the following:
1. The University of Dayton’s PREVENTS-OH Program released a report
prominently including Plaintiff Heritage on a “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalism” (“TVTP”). See,
e.g., Media Resource Center, How Biden’s DHS is Weaponizing an Anti-Terror Program Against
Conservatives, Christians & the GOP (May 25, 2023) (Ex. A); Aaron Kliegman, University
Program Linking Christinas, Republicans to Nazi’s Granted DHS Funds Under “Anti-Terror”
Initiative, Fox News (May 25, 2023) (Ex. B). This pyramid grouped together not only Plaintiff
Heritage and news outlets such as Fox News, but also neo-nazis. Its implication was clear:
Heritage is “extrem[e]” and “radical[]”, separated from some of the most hated groups in
America—such as neo-nazis—only by degree.
2. According to news reports, University of Dayton’s PREVENTS-OH Program was
recently awarded $352,109 “to ‘draw on the expertise of the University of Dayton faculty’ to fight
‘domestic violence extremism and hate movements.’” Id. Upon information and belief, the grant
was awarded after the “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalism” was created.
3. Accordingly, DHS knew, or should have known, that the grantee had included
Heritage in its “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalism” when the grant was awarded.
4. The integrity and transparency of the United States Government are of the utmost
importance. And Plaintiffs are justifiably alarmed by the foregoing. Accordingly, Plaintiffs seek
to determine to what extent Heritage has been targeted by DHS and labeled an “extrem[e]” or
1
Exhibit B at 3.
2
“radical[]” group when it awarded a grant to a program asserting that conservative organizations
are the “base” of a pyramid supporting some of the most foul and noxious organizations in the
United States. But DHS repeatedly failed to respond to Plaintiffs’ FOIA Request seeking
information about how DHS views Heritage. Plaintiffs are thus left with no remedy but this lawsuit
to determine if DHS in facts believes Heritage, Fox News, and others to be worthy of being lumped
in the same group as Nazis.
PARTIES
5. Plaintiff The Heritage Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan public
policy organization with a national and international reputation whose mission is to “formulate
and promote public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government,
individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.” Heritage
Foundation, About Heritage, found at https://www.heritage.org/about-heritage/mission (last
visited Sept. 25, 2023). Heritage is a not-for-profit section 501(c)(3) organization which engages
in substantial dissemination of information to the public. Heritage operates a national news outlet,
The Daily Signal.
6. Plaintiff Mike Howell leads The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project and is an
author for The Daily Signal. The Oversight Project is an initiative aimed at obtaining information
via Freedom of Information Act requests and other means in order to best inform the public and
Congress for the purposes of Congressional oversight. The requests and analysis of
information are informed by Heritage’s deep policy expertise. By function, the Oversight
Project is primarily engaged in disseminating information to the public. See, e.g., Oversight
3
Project, found at https://www.heritage.org/oversight (last visited Sept. 28, 2023); Twitter, found
at @OversightPR (last visited Sept. 28, 2023).
7. Defendant U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) is an Executive Branch
department of the United States Government. Relevant to the herein matter, DHS is charged with
protection of the United States from terrorism and other homeland security threats. DHS is an
agency within the meaning of 5 U.S.C. § 552(f)(1) and, upon information and belief, has in its
possession, custody, and control records to which Plaintiffs seeks access.
JURISDICTION AND VENUE
8. The Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) and
28 U.S.C. § 1331.
9. Venue lies in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. section 1391(e).
10. Plaintiffs seek declaratory relief under 28 U.S.C. §§ 2201-2202 and Rule 57 of the
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
STATEMENT OF FACTS
11. On or about May 25, 2023, Plaintiffs submitted a FOIA request to DHS seeking
“All records containing the terms ‘Heritage!’ or ‘Heritage Foundation!.’” 2 (Ex. C).
12. Plaintiffs limited the scope of the request to the following custodians of records:
1) the Office of the Secretary;

2) the Office of Public Affairs; and
3) the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships’ Targeted Violence and Terrorism
Prevention Grant Program.
Id.
2
The FOIA request noted that the “’!’ denotes a root expander for the purposes of this Request.”
(Ex. C).
4
13. Each request was further limited as Plaintiffs requested only those documents from
January 20, 2021 to the present and excluded press clippings and mailers. Id.
14. The requests further sought a fee waiver. Id.
15. DHS has never substantively responded to the request. On August 9, 2023, DHS
acknowledged receipt of the request. (Ex. D). In the same correspondence, it noted that there may
be some delay in responding to the request and invoked the 10-day extension pursuant to the Code
of Federal Regulations. Id.; 8 C.F.R. Part 5 § 5.5(c). This invocation of the 10-day extension was
sent 51 business days after the FOIA request was filed. The correspondence further
“conditionally” granted Plaintiffs request for a fee waiver. Id.
16. Also on August 9, 2023, Plaintiffs received additional correspondence from DHS
noting that “Our tasking office told us the results of your search was voluminous at 48gb.” (Ex.
E). DHS asked Plaintiffs to narrow the time frame and to provide additional keywords. Id. In
response, on August 10, 2023, Plaintiffs narrowed the request by stating that they did not seek
“ . . . correspondence that merely forwards press clippings, such as news accounts or opinion
pieces, newsletters, and published or docketed materials, if that correspondence has
no . . . substantive comment added by any party in the thread.” (Ex. F). Plaintiffs also sought
affirmative feedback from the DHS on Plaintiffs’ good faith efforts to meet and confer, writing,
“[p]lease let me know if this helps.” Id. DHS did not respond. Plaintiffs have stood and still stand
ready to work with DHS in good faith.
17. Since Plaintiffs’ August 10, 2023 email, DHS has neither otherwise responded nor
produced documents in response to the request. DHS’ SecureRelease Portal confirms no
additional action has been taken on the matter. (Ex. G).
18. Thirty business days from May 25, 2023 is July 11, 2023.
5
19. As of the date of this filing, DHS has failed to produce any records, responsive or
other, in response to this request nor has it otherwise demonstrated that the requested records are
exempt from production. Additionally, DHS has failed to meet the thirty business day time frame
to provide a determination. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A).
20. Pursuant to federal law, Plaintiffs are deemed to have exhausted their
administrative remedies as DHS failed to make a determination within the applicable time frame.
See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C)(i).
CLAIMS
COUNT I
Violation of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552

Failure to Conduct Searches for Responsive Records
21. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference all preceding paragraphs and incorporate each
paragraph of each count as applicable to each other count.
22. Plaintiffs properly requested records within the possession, custody, and control of
DHS.
23. DHS has failed to produce any responsive records.
24. DHS is subject to FOIA and therefore must comply with 5 U.S.C § 552 and make
reasonable efforts to search for requested records. Plaintiffs have a legal right to obtain such
records, and no legal basis exists for DHS’ failure to conduct reasonable searches for records.
25. Plaintiffs have a statutory right to the information sought, are being irreparably
harmed by DHS’ unlawful failure to comply with FOIA and failure to conduct searches for
responsive records and Plaintiffs will continue to be irreparably harmed unless DHS is compelled
to comply with applicable federal statutes.
6
26. 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(4)(B) authorizes the grant of injunctive relief to Plaintiffs as DHS
continues to violate the FOIA provisions and improperly withhold responsive records.
27. 28 U.S.C. § 2201 authorizes declaratory relief because an action and justiciable
controversy exists regarding DHS’ actions.
COUNT II
Violation of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552

Wrongful Withholding of Non-Exempt Responsive Records
28. Plaintiffs incorporate by reference all preceding paragraphs and incorporate each
paragraph of each count as applicable to each other count.
29. Plaintiffs properly requested records within the possession, custody, and control of
the Defendants.
30. DHS is subject to FOIA and therefore must release any non-exempt records and
provide lawful reasons for withholding any materials deemed exempt.
31. DHS is wrongfully withholding non-exempt records requested by Plaintiffs by
failing to produce any records response to Plaintiffs’ request.
32. No basis exists for DHS’ failures to provide responses to Plaintiffs’ request.
Plaintiffs have constructively exhausted their administrative remedies under FOIA by virtue of
DHS’ failure to reach a determination on the request and release responsive records.
33. Plaintiffs have a statutory right to the information sought, are being irreparably
harmed by DHS’ unlawful failure to comply with FOIA and failure to conduct searches for
responsive records and Plaintiffs will continue to be irreparably harmed unless DHS is compelled
to comply with applicable federal statutes.
7
PRAYER FOR RELIEF
For these reasons, Plaintiffs asks this Court to:
a. Declare unlawful DHS’ refusal to disclose requested records;
b. Declare that DHS’ failure to make determinations to Plaintiffs’ request within
the statutory time frame violates FOIA;
c. Order DHS to conduct a search for any and all records responsive to Plaintiffs’
FOIA request and demonstrate that it employed search methods reasonably
likely to lead to the discovery of records responsive to Plaintiffs’ FOIA request;
d. Order DHS to produce, within twenty days of the Court’s order, or by such
other date as the Court deems appropriate, any and all non-exempt records
responsive to Plaintiffs’ FOIA request as well as a Vaughn index of any
responsive records withheld under claim of exemption;
e. Enjoin DHS from continuing to withhold any and all non-exempt records
responsive to Plaintiffs’ FOIA request;
f. Award Plaintiffs the costs of this action and reasonable attorney’s fees; and
g. Grant such other and further relief as this Court deems equitable and just.
Dated: October 24, 2023 Respectfully submitted,
/S/ Joseph B. Edlow

JOSEPH B. EDLOW
Bar No.: MD0147
The Law Offices of Joseph Edlow LLC
1201 Seven Locks Road, Suite 360
Rockville, Maryland 20854
Telephone: 410-303-1450
Email: [email protected]
8
SAMUEL EVERETT DEWEY

(No. 999979)
Chambers of Samuel Everett Dewey, LLC
Telephone: (703) 261-4194
Email: [email protected]
Counsel for Plaintiff
9
10/24/23, 10:24 AM Case 1:23-cv-03179 Document 1-1 Filed
Print Page 10/24/23 Page 1 of 9
| Newsbusters
How Biden’s DHS Is Weaponizing an Anti-Terror

Program Against Christians, Conservatives & the
GOP
Luis Cornelio and Tim Kilcullen May 25th, 2023 9:12 AM
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
MRC Free Speech America, as
part of its new Freedom of
Information Act investigations, has
learned how the Biden
administration is weaponizing a
government-funded anti-terrorism
grant program in an effort to
destroy conservatives, Christians and the Republican Party.
Under the Trump administration, the “Targeted Violence & Terrorism
Prevention Grant Program” (TVTP) was used to prevent terrorism, but it was
revamped under the Biden administration and renamed to provide funding
for localities to combat “all forms of terrorism and targeted violence.” Instead
of focusing on preventing actual violence and terrorism, the program is now
being used to target the entire spectrum of the political right and Christians
through “media literacy and online critical thinking initiatives” and other so-
called training seminars as part of a coordinated effort to make America into
a one-party system.
Our FOIA investigations are producing tangible and much-needed

results, but it takes massive resources to do the necessary work.
We urgently need to continue and expand the program. Please
donate today!
The University of Dayton, one of several grantees, targeted groups including

The Heritage Foundation, Fox News, Christian Broadcasting Network,
Turning Point USA, PragerU, the National Rifle Association (NRA), Breitbart
News, the American Conservative Union Foundation and the Republican
National Committee.
https://www.newsbusters.org/blogs/free-speech/luis-cornelio/2023/05/25/how-bidens-dhs-weaponizing-anti-terror-program-against# 1/9
| Newsbusters
The Department of Homeland

Security awarded a total of 80
grants at the behest of embattled
DHS Secretary Alejandro
Mayorkas, who called the program
a “high priority” in an internal memo
exclusively obtained by MRC Free
Speech America. This anti-
American program cost taxpayers
just under $40 million, with each
individual project receiving between $85,000 and $1.19 million.
DHS has resisted producing documents pursuant to our Freedom of
Information Act (FOIA) requests to date, but MRC Free Speech America has
acquired scores of documents directly from DHS grant recipients and other
related organizations revealing the true and nefarious nature of the Biden
administration’s objectives. The findings are telling:
The University of Dayton PREVENTS-OH was among the most radical
grantees within the TVTP “media literacy and online critical thinking
initiatives.” In Ohio, DHS awarded the University of Dayton $352,109 to
establish the PREVENTS-OH program, which promised to “draw on the
expertise of the University of Dayton faculty” to fight “domestic violence
extremism and hate movements.” For example, a chart used by DHS and its
grantee in a training program equates mainstream groups with militant neo-
Nazis, including: The Heritage Foundation, Fox News, the National Rifle
Association (NRA), Breitbart News, PragerU, Turning Point USA, the
Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), the American Conservative Union
Foundation (ACUF) and the Republican National Committee, among others.
The seminar also compared former President Donald Trump to Pol Pot and
suggested Florida Governor Ron DeSantis might wish to start a second
Holocaust.
The PREVENTS-OH seminars (including one headlined by a DHS agent)
feature lectures by University of Cincinnati Research Fellow Michael
Loadenthal, a self-proclaimed member of Antifa whose Twitter feed is rife
with posts celebrating acts of left-wing violence (often against police
officers). Loadenthal used PREVENTS-OH to explain in detail how to create
dummy accounts on free speech social media platforms like Telegram, Gab
and Rumble in order to “destabilize” political movements. “A lot of things
| Newsbusters
we’re doing are illegal,” he boasted in the lecture. “A lot of it involves

breaking the law,” he continued.
The Biden DHS is responsible for the new focus of the TVTP program
that seeks to silence conservatives, Christians and the Republican
Party. Prior iterations of the TVTP program under former Presidents Obama
and Trump focused on actual terrorism. The grant office was established
under the Obama administration in 2011 with a 12-page plan titled
“Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United
States.” The program was revamped and renamed the “Office of Targeted
Violence and Terrorism Prevention” under the Trump Administration. While
on the campaign trail, Biden had actually pledged to disband it. Mayorkas
and Biden appear to have hijacked it for their own political agenda, awarding
80 grants to far-left projects for the purposes of establishing “media literacy
and online critical thinking initiatives” among other so-called training
seminars to upend conservatives, Christians and the Republican Party.
The Biden administration spent nearly $40 million in American tax
dollars spread across 80 grants to teach “media literacy and online
critical thinking initiatives,” among other initiatives, in an effort to
weaponize TVTP against conservatives, Christians and the Republican
Party.
Eighty grants totaling $39,611,999 have been awarded under Biden and
Mayorkas, with the lowest one being for $85,000, the highest for over $1.1
million and the median being about $442,000. 52 percent of the programs
have gone to public institutions like universities and county government,
whereas 48 percent have gone to private organizations, such as LGBTQ+-
advocacy group Out Boulder County and the aforementioned University of
Dayton.
How Biden’s DHS Is Weaponizing Anti-Terror Program Against
Opponents
The Biden Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using a grant
program meant for fighting terrorists to target conservatives, Christians and
the Republican Party.
The DHS has issued eighty grants through the Targeted Violence &
Terrorism Prevention Grant Program (TVTP) at the behest of Biden’s
embattled DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who called the program a
“priority … of the highest importance” as revealed in documents exclusively
| Newsbusters
obtained by MRC Free Speech America. At the DHS’s direction, many of

these recipients use “media literacy and online critical thinking initiatives”
training as part of a coordinated effort to make the United States into a one-
party state.
So far during the Biden administration, the DHS has awarded nearly $40
million under the TVTP program, with grantees receiving between $85,000
and $1.19 million. The University of Dayton is one such organization, having
received $352,109 to create the PREVENTS-OH program, which promised
to “draw on the expertise of the University of Dayton faculty” to fight
“domestic violent extremism and hate movements.”
Documents exclusively obtained by
MRC Free Speech America reveal
the organizations DHS believes
constitute the worst offenders of
extremism in America, such as the
Christian Broadcasting Network,
The Heritage Foundation and the
Republican National Committee.
The anti-American TVTP grant
program was first proposed by the
Obama administration in 2011 after “al-Qa’ida and its affiliates” attempted to
“recruit” and “radicalize” Americans, according to a White House
announcement on August 2011. The Trump administration put the program
on hold before being revived by DHS bureaucrats who circumvented the
Trump White House and convinced Congress to fund the infamous program.
The TVTP program was once again revamped at the beginning of the Biden
administration to expand its mission far beyond terrorism. Documents
acquired by MRC Free Speech America show how Biden and Mayorkas are
seeking to destroy conservatives, Christians and the Republican Party.
The University of Dayton PREVENTS-OH was among the most radical
grantees within the TVTP “media literacy and online critical thinking
initiatives.”
The University of Dayton used grants from TVTP to create the infamous
PREVENTS-OH program, which in turn hosted a series of events that
maliciously equated mainstream organizations with neo-nazis and other
| Newsbusters
extremist hate groups.

One of the first PREVENTS-OH events was a seminar called “Extremism,
Rhetoric, and Democratic Precarity.” The seminar featured analysis from
several so-called extremism experts who recklessly tied conservatives,
Christians and Republicans to genocide and terrorism. Among the speakers
were DHS Agent Joseph “J.R.” Masztalics a Regional Prevention
Coordinator at CP3—who appeared in his official capacity at the event—and
University of Cincinnati researcher Michael Loadenthal, a self-proclaimed
member of a radical, anti-American Antifa group.
During the seminar, Loadenthal shared an outrageous “Pyramid of Far-Right
Radicalization” that he claimed depicts the “modern far-right” and extremism
in America:
Among the organizations and movements displayed on the pyramid were
the Republican Party (RNC), The Heritage Foundation, the American
Conservative Union, Fox News, Breitbart News, the National Rifle
Association (NRA), PragerUniversity, Tea Party Patriots, the MAGA (Make
America Great Again) movement, the pro-police Blue Lives Matter
movement and the Christian Broadcasting Network.
Also on the pyramid, as if somehow comparable to the aforementioned
reputable organizations and movements, were rabidly hateful groups like the
militant neo-Nazi gang The Base and pro-Nazi publication The Daily
Stormer.
This chart was among others included in the original grant application
submitted by the University of Dayton to DHS to successfully secure TVTP
funding.
Loadenthal also participated in a separate taxpayer-funded PREVENTS-OH
seminar titled “White Nationalism Workshop.” At this event, Loadenthal
explained how “antifascists” could “pressure financial services” like
“GoFundMe, Patreon, PayPal, Venmo” and others or “pressure retailers” like
Amazon and “service providers” like “AirBnB” and “Tinder” in order to “kick
people off.”
Loadenthal likewise complained about “right-wing” social media platforms
that provide “free speech” and celebrated “de-platform[ing]” so-called
fascists (which he used interchangeably with “the right”) from Twitter and
Facebook. He even gave specific advice on how to create dummy accounts
| Newsbusters
on social media platforms like Gab, Telegram and Rumble in order to

“paralyze” movements and “manufacture … infighting.” Loadenthal seemed
particularly venomous towards the existence of encrypted messenger
service Telegram, calling it “a cesspool of awful.”
In his presentation, Loadenthal boasted openly that “a lot of things we’re
doing are illegal” and “a lot of it involves breaking the law.” [Emphasis
added.]
He claimed this was necessary because “hate speech is more than speech.
It’s materiality. It’s organizing. It’s mobilization. It’s not an exchange of ideas
in the marketplace and the best one wins. It’s something else. It’s the
strategic deployment of organizational energy and power.”
Censorship efforts are not enough to fight against so-called fascists,
Loadenthal outrageously claimed, also calling for a more aggressive
approach. “To deny people that, to shut down their websites, to close their
meetings, [and] to physically prevent them from assembling in public. This is
the belief,” he claimed.
Loadenthal also displayed infographic instructions to teach attendees how to
“infiltrate” social media platforms to “identify targets, create dossiers …
surveil, interfere, misdirect [and] disrupt” those the left opposes.
At the same radical seminar,
University of Dayton Professor
Paul Becker displayed images of
anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine
mandate protestors, suggesting
they were infiltrated by hate
groups. His message matches the
artwork that PREVENTS-OH sent
to the City of Dayton promoting its programs. The image, named Anti-Rights
Movements and Democratic Regression, features a crude caricature of a
Second Amendment supporter above the words “WHY DO WE HAVE A
RADICALIZED SOCIETY.”
Another “Extremism” seminar speaker, Alexander Hinton — a member of the
Rutgers University faculty who specializes in “genocide” — shockingly
compared the Trump administration to the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge
| Newsbusters
of Pol Pot’s brutal regime killed at least 1.7 million Cambodians between
1975 and 1979, according to The New York Times.
Attempts to undermine Republicans continued with fellow seminar speaker
Nicole Widdersheim — a deputy Washington director for the Human Rights
Watch and former senior policy advisor to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum Center — making a wild accusation that Florida Governor Ron
DeSantis (R) might try to conduct a second Holocaust through a 2021
proposed civilian military force. The volunteer force was designed to assist
the National Guard in emergencies, including hurricanes.
The Biden DHS is responsible for the new focus of the TVTP program
that seeks to silence conservatives, Christians and the Republican
Party.
The TVTP grant program started under the Obama administration as a
program to prevent homegrown Islamic terrorism. It was re-instituted during
the Trump administration, but the Biden administration, through the
leadership of Mayorkas, revamped it, now targeting conservatives,
Christians and the Republican Party.
These documents undeniably reveal how the DHS has weaponized

an anti-terrorism taskforce and used its "Targeted Violence &
Terrorism Prevention" (TVTP) Grant Program to target Christians,
conservatives, and Republicans. We urgently need to continue and
expand the program. Please donate today!
Former President Barack Hussein Obama unveiled a 12-page plan titled

“Empowering Local Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United
States,” which would give taxpayer funded grants to local groups —
including police departments, universities and non-profit organizations — to
prevent domestic “violent extremism.” The first batch of grants was not rolled
out until 2016 in the “Countering Violent Extremism Grant Program” during
the final year of Obama’s second term.
Then, in 2017, the Trump DHS halted the program for three years before it
was resurrected by Acting DHS Secretary Kevin McAleenan through the
newly-launched DHS “Office of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention”
in 2019. Politico reported that McAleenan, a long-time career employee who
| Newsbusters
rose to power after the ousting of DHS Secretary Kristjen Nielsen, went
around the Trump White House to seek congressional funds for the
program.
In August 2020, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden pledged to “end the
Trump Administration's Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention
Program” and replace it with his own. After being sworn in, Biden and his
DHS Secretary Mayorkas overhauled and ostensibly “replace[d] the Office
for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention” with the anti-American
Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships (CP3) with a newly-stated
focus of combating “domestic violent extremism, including violent white
supremacy.” In its list of grantees, DHS named so-called “media literacy and
online critical thinking initiatives” as part of the program’s new goals.
After coming to power, Biden and Mayorkas did not abolish the TVTP grant
program. Instead, the Biden administration appears to have “reimagined” it,
wielding it as a weapon against conservatives, Chrsitians and the
Republican Party under the guise of taking on the scourge of “white
supremacy.”
In May 2021, TVTP was placed into the newly created CP3 by the leftist
DHS secretary Mayorkas. And “white supremacy,” an official DHS statement
claimed, would be a specifically-mentioned focus of the program. “The
creation of CP3 [is] the latest action[] DHS is taking under Secretary
Mayorkas’s leadership to comprehensively combat domestic violent
extremism, including violent white supremacy,” according to the DHS press
release.
The Biden administration spent nearly $40 million in American tax
dollars spread across 80 grants to teach “media literacy and online
critical thinking initiatives,” among other initiatives, in an effort to
weaponize TVTP against conservatives, Christians and the Republican
Party.
The Biden administration awarded eighty TVTP grants totaling $39,611,999
The lowest grant was for $85,000, the highest for over $1.1 million, and the
median being about $442,000.
Fifty-two percent of the programs have gone to public institutions like
universities and county government, whereas 48 percent have gone to
private organizations, such as the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Out Boulder
| Newsbusters
County and the aforementioned University of Dayton. Instead of focusing on

preventing actual violence and terrorism, a staggering number of grantees
appear to be—with the DHS’s knowledge—using the funds to target the
Biden administration’s political opponents through the guise of so-called
training seminars for topics such as “media literacy and online critical
thinking initiatives.”
In addition to PREVENTS-OH, the Media Research Center has obtained
documents for several other grantees, which depict similar degrees of
extremism, demonization of political opposition, and calls for censorship.
CONCLUSION
The Biden administration has a clear pattern of using taxpayer dollars to
attack its political opponents, be it through the Disinformation Government
Board, targeting parents as terrorists, funding the Global Disinformation
Index censorship machine, and now the DHS’s TVTP program.
This report only scratches the surface of the Biden DHS’s nefarious TVTP
grant program. MRC Free Speech America has obtained more documents
from other DHS grantees and other organizations through our concentrated
FOIA initiative and will be presenting further evidence of the Biden
administration’s efforts to target conservatives, Christians and the
Republican Party going forward.
9/29/23, 2:54 PM Case 1:23-cv-03179 Document
University program linking 1-2 Filed
Christians, Republicans 10/24/23
to Nazis granted DHSPage 1 of'anti-terror'
funds under 9 initiative
Print Close
University program linking Christians, Republicans to Nazis

granted DHS funds under 'anti-terror' initiative
By Aaron Kliegman
Published May 25, 2023
Fox News
FIRST ON FOX: The Biden administration is doling out taxpayer money through an anti-terrorism grant initiative to a university
program that has explicitly lumped the Republican Party, as well as Christian and conservative groups, into the same category as
Nazis, according to documents shared exclusively with Fox News Digital.
The Media Research Center, a conservative watchdog group, obtained documents through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
requests showing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program meant to fight terrorism is funding a group whose work has
explicitly targeted the American political right. The MRC outlined its findings in a report, arguing what the group found warrants
criminal prosecution.
"This terrorism task force is engaged in an active effort to demonize and eliminate Christian, conservative, and Republican
organizations using federal taxpayer dollars," said Brent Bozell, founder and president of the Media Research Center. "What we
have uncovered calls for criminal prosecution. The American people need to know those who are abusing their positions in the
federal government will be held accountable for their criminal behavior."
DHS funded a university program that has explicitly lumped in Republican and conservative groups with Nazis. (Getty Images/AP)
DHS's Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program (TVTP) provides funds to various public, private, and non-profit
institutions — such as universities and county governments — "to establish or enhance capabilities to prevent targeted violence and
terrorism." Grant applicants must be based in the U.S. and implement a U.S.-based program.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/university-program-linking-christians-republicans-nazis-granted-dhs-funds-part-anti-terror-initiative.print 1/9
U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during the United States Conference of Mayors 91st
Winter Meeting January 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
DHS WARNS OF 'HEIGHTENED THREAT ENVIRONMENT' IN US AMID 'POLITICAL TENSIONS'
The Biden administration has awarded 80 grants through the TVTP totaling just under $40 million. The lowest grant was for
$85,000, the highest was over $1.1 million, and the median was about $442,000. TVTP grant recipients are prohibited from
engaging in viewpoint discrimination, according to DHS.
Started by the Obama administration under a different name, the TVTP was broadened and revamped by the Biden administration
with a new focus on violent extremism and white supremacy. DHS named one of its TVTP goals as "media literacy and online
critical thinking initiatives," which many grantees listed as the mission of their projects.
One such grantee was the University of Dayton for its PREVENTS-OH program, which DHS awarded $352,109 to "draw on the
expertise of the University of Dayton faculty" to fight "domestic violence extremism and hate movements."
The university's grant application submitted to DHS linked in a footnote to a controversial Dayton conference where an academic
researcher presented a chart titled the "Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization."
The "Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization," as presented at the University of Dayton's "Extremism, Rhetoric, and Democratic
Precarity" seminar in 2021. (Screeshot from University of Dayton YouTube channel)
Among the organizations and movements displayed on the pyramid were the Republican Party, the Heritage Foundation, the
American Conservative Union, Fox News, Breitbart News, the National Rifle Association, PragerUniversity, Tea Party Patriots, the
Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement, the pro-police Blue Lives Matter movement, and the Christian Broadcasting
Network.
The pyramid also included hate groups like The Base, a neo-Nazi paramilitary group, and the Daily Stormer, a pro-Nazi publication,
seemingly comparing them to mainstream organizations such as the GOP.
Pyramid-of-Far-Right-Rad… 1 / 1 100%
In 2021, the University of Dayton held a seminar called "Extremism, Rhetoric, and Democratic Precarity" featuring several experts
on extremism who compared mainstream conservatives to genocidal extremists.
The university's grant application to DHS linked to video of the conference, describing it as indicative of the university's work "to
assess regional needs and capacities for violent extremism prevention" and directing government evaluators to view it for more
information.
The University of Dayton pointed readers to video of a 2021 conference where the "Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization" was
presented. See the highlighted parts. (Screenshot of University of Dayton grant proposal)
One speaker at the conference, University of Cincinnati researcher Michael Loadenthal, presented the "Pyramid of Far-Right
Radicalization," portraying it as an accurate depiction of the "modern far-right" and extremism in America.
According to Loadenthal, the MRC is "misinterpreting and misrepresenting" the diagram as well as his role with it. He sent Fox
News Digital a full copy of the image, which included text underneath the pyramid describing the bottom tier with the GOP, the NRA,
and the Heritage Foundation as "mainstream conservatism."
"The chart is meant to show that what is termed 'the right' is not monolithic and that some individuals travel to a path of
radicalization, beginning with more mainstream sources," said Loadenthal. "This point is not controversial nor is it deterministic; it is
NOT meant to imply that engaging with level 1 inherently leads to level 4. That would obviously be false."
When the pyramid was presented at the seminar, the text at the bottom was not visible. However, Loadenthal's notes visible on the
screen of the slideshow to the right of the image provide an abbreviated version of the text.
"So today we're talking about the modern far-right, which depending on who you ask, can include things as mundane as the
Heritage Foundation, all the way up to underground cells of militants," the on-screen text reads. "I like the use of this 4-part
taxonomy, although I disagree with some of the groups' placements."
Loadenthal also noted that he did not create the pyramid, telling Fox News Digital that he believes it was authored around 2018 —
the upper left corner attributes the image to two scholars, McCauley and Moslalenko. "I found it a helpful conceptual scaffolding and
used it," he said.
Full, original image of the "Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalization." (Image provided by Michael Loadenthal)
The MRC report noted that at the same seminar, another speaker, Alexander Hinton, a member of the Rutgers University faculty
who specializes in genocide, compared the Trump administration to the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge of Pol Pot's regime in
Cambodia killed an estimated 1.5 million-2 million people from 1975-79.
A third speaker — Nicole Widdersheim, deputy Washington director for Human Rights Watch and former senior policy adviser to the
U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum Center — compared Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis proposing a volunteer civilian military force to
assist the National Guard in emergencies such as hurricanes to the Nazis' Holocaust during World War II.
A DHS official — Joseph Masztalics, a regional prevention coordinator at the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, of
which TVTP is a part — was another speaker and appeared virtually in his official capacity at the event to deliver a short
presentation about the center's mission and resources.
According to DHS, the University of Dayton was not a TVTP grantee at the time of the seminar and received a grant the following
year — when the department was already aware of what was presented at the event. A DHS spokesperson told Fox News Digital
that the award was unrelated to the seminar and rejected the notion that it supports any form of discrimination.
"This seminar was not funded, organized, or hosted by the Department of Homeland Security," the spokesperson said. "Similarly,
the presented chart was not developed, presented, or endorsed by the Department of Homeland Security, and was not part of any
successful grant application to the Department of Homeland Security. DHS does not profile, target, or discriminate against any
individual for exercising their constitutional rights protected by the First Amendment."
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas testifies during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, Tuesday, Nov. 16,
2021, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
BIDEN’S WAR ON ‘DISINFORMATION’ RAMPS UP AS GOP ACCUSES OFFICIALS OF PLAYING POLITICS WITH THE TRUTH
The University of Dayton similarly described the seminar as being separate from the PREVENTS-OH program.
"The speakers at the programs referred to in the Media Research Center's report are from the University of Dayton Human Rights
Center's Social Practice of Human Rights Conference in the fall of 2021, which had no affiliation with and predates PREVENTS-
OH," the university told Fox News Digital in a statement. "The University of Dayton Human Rights Center received its PREVENTS-
OH grant in the fall of 2022 and, to date, its community awareness events and dialogues have focused on all forms of domestic
terrorism, targeted violence, and extremism. As we stated when awarded the grant, 'We look forward to partnering with Ohioans
throughout the Miami Valley across all political and social affiliations and sectors of the community.'"
The school did not note its inclusion of the seminar in its grant application.
"Extremism, Rhetoric, and Democratic Precarity" wasn't the only controversial conference conducted by the University of Dayton.
Indeed, at a separate seminar titled "White Natioanlism Workshop," Loadenthal also spoke and explained how "antifascists" could
"pressure" financial services, retailers, service providers, and various platforms to "kick people off," promoting the "de-platforming"
of alleged fascists who he compared to the mainstream political right.
"A lot of things we're doing are illegal," he said. "A lot of it involves breaking the law."
Loadenthal also described hate speech as an act of war, calling it the "strategic deployment of organizational energy and power,"
and called for shutting down forces deemed extremist.
"To deny people that, to shut down their websites, to close their meetings, [and] to physically prevent them from assembling in
public — this is the belief," he said, also displaying an infographic of how "antifascists" can "infiltrate," "surveil," and "disrupt" far-
right forces.
Infographic presented by University of Cincinnati researcher Michael Loadenthal at University of Dayton seminar titled "White
Nationalism Workshop." (Screenshot from University of Dayton's YouTube channel)
Loadenthal additionally noted that in his "younger years," he engaged in "direct confrontation" with alleged white supremacists,
seemingly describing himself as a member of Antifa.
"We organized largely through networks — today people would call Antifa, at the time it was known as anti-racist action — to follow
white supremacists where they go, to outnumber them, and then to physically confront them and deny them the space to physically
meet in public," he said. "This is the idea of de-platforming. I worked in that realm for a long time."
Loadenthal, who added that at the time he was also a medical worker who provided "abortion services," has frequently retweeted
Antifa accounts and appeared to defend left-wing violence on social media.
Not found
At the same event, University of Dayton Professor Paul Becker displayed images of anti-COVID lockdown and anti-vaccine
mandate protesters, suggesting they were infiltrated by hate groups.
In order to promote its work to the city of Dayton, PREVENTS-OH sent the city an image, named Anti-Rights Movements and
Democratic Regression, featuring a caricature of a Second Amendment supporter above the words "Why do we have a radicalized
society."
The MRC described its findings in a new letter sent to Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, chairman of both the House Judiciary Committee
and the newly established Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government. The letter from Bozell called for an
investigation and "criminal prosecution" while asking to meet with Jordan to discuss the DHS documents.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, presides over a hearing of the Weaponization of the Federal
Government Subcommittee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on Feb. 9, 2023 in Washington, D.C. (Chip
Somodevilla/Getty Images)
"The Media Research Center has uncovered disturbing documentation that proves that the government is colluding with left-wing
activists, academics, and state and local officials in an active effort to target some of the most prestigious conservatives and
prominent political, religious, and media groups in the country, linking them directly to Nazis and terrorists," the letter states. "The
American people need to know that those who are abusing their positions in the federal government will be held accountable for this
criminal behavior."
The first version of the TVTP was created by the Obama administration, which in 2011 unveiled a plan titled "Empowering Local
Partners to Prevent Violent Extremism in the United States" to give taxpayer-funded grants to local groups — including police
departments, universities, and non-profits — to prevent domestic "violent extremism." The first grants weren't rolled out until 2016 in
the "Countering Violent Extremism Grant Program."
The Trump administration halted the program for three years before DHS resurrected it in 2019 through the newly launched Office
of Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention. DHS officials had reportedly circumvented the White House to seek congressional
funds for the program.
In August 2020, then-presidential candidate Joe Biden vowed to "end the Trump administration's Targeted Violence and Terrorism
Prevention Program" and replace it with his own. Once in office, Biden and his secretary of homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas,
replaced the Office for Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention with the new Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships
(CP3), of which TVTP is a part. According to a DHS press release from the time, "the creation of CP3 [is] … [among] the latest
actions DHS is taking under Secretary Mayorkas' leadership to comprehensively combat domestic violent extremism, including
violent white supremacy."
The majority of TVTP grants, 52%, have gone to public institutions like universities and county governments, while 48% have gone
to private organizations, such as the University of Dayton and the LGBTQ+ advocacy group Out Boulder County.
President Joe Biden in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, Oct. 14, 2021. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
DIVIDER IN CHIEF? BIDEN CONTINUES REPEATED ATTACKS AGAINST POLITICAL OPPONENTS WHILE CALLING FOR
UNITY
According to the MRC, DHS has resisted producing documents pursuant to its FOIA requests to date, but the watchdog has
acquired numerous documents directly from DHS grant recipients and other related organizations.
TVTP was very much on the radar of DHS leadership. Indeed, Mayorkas called the program a "high priority" in a document obtained
by the MRC.
"Secretary Mayorkas thanked the grantees for their work, and he reassured all in attendance that this program is a priority for the
department and that the work being done is of the highest importance," the Maryland Department of Emergency Management wrote
in its notes and documentation of the 2022 TVTP Grantee Symposium, which Mayorkas hosted.
The MRC report comes amid calls for Mayorkas to resign due to his handling of the ongoing crisis at the country's southern border.
Several Republican lawmakers have pushed the idea of impeaching him for allegedly neglecting his duties.
The report also comes amid outcry over the findings of Special Counsel John Durham, who had been investigating the FBI's original
Trump-Russia probe — another instance of critics accusing a federal government agency of mobilizing against a political opponent.
"On the heels of the Durham report, we now have evidence that the Biden administration is ratcheting up its anti-American targeting
of Christians, conservatives and Republicans. This is abhorrent and criminal," said MRC Free Speech America Vice President Dan
Schneider. "We call on federal prosecutors to hold violators accountable under our civil rights laws, 18 USC Section 241 and 18
USC Section 242 accountable."
Last week, Special Counsel John Durham released a final report on his investigation into the original probe concerning whether
former President Donald Trump and his campaign colluded with Russia to influence the 2016 presidential election. Durham found
that there was never any information to justify opening the FBI's investigation and that the bureau and the Department of Justice
"failed to uphold their mission of strict fidelity to the law."
MRC founder and president Brent Bozell (Media Research Center)
MAYORKAS IMPEACHMENT GAINS STEAM AMONG REPUBLICANS IN PURPLE DISTRICTS AS BORDER CHAOS
CONTINUES
The MRC argued in its report that TVTP grants are just the latest example of the Biden administration using taxpayer dollars to
attack political opponents, citing DHS's now-defunct and much-maligned Disinformation Governance Board and the FBI reportedly
targeting parents with anti-terrorism tools.
To conclude its report, the Media Research Center noted it obtained documents for several other TVTP grantees allegedly showing
DHS funding efforts to targe and demonize political opponents of the Biden administration.
CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"This report only scratches the surface of the Biden DHS's nefarious TVTP grant program," the document states. "MRC Free
Speech America has obtained more documents from other DHS grantees and other organizations through our concentrated FOIA
initiative and will be presenting further evidence of the Biden administration's efforts to target conservatives, Christians, and the
Republican Party going forward."
Aaron Kliegman is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital.
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Case 1:23-cv-03179 Document 1-3 Filed 10/24/23 Page 1 of 5
SENT VIA: Secure Release
May 25, 2023
Department of Homeland Security

2707 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave SE
Washington, DC 20528-065
Dear FOIA Officer,
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552, and the

implementing FOIA regulations of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), 6
CFR § 5.1, et seq., I respectfully request the following records (or records containing
the following information):
All records containing the terms “Heritage!” or “Heritage Foundation!”
“!” denotes a root expander for the purposes of this Request.
Please limit all searches in response to this Request from January 20, 2021 to the
present. Please limit this search to the following custodians: (1) the Office of the
Secretary; (2) the Office of Public Affairs; and (3) the Center for Prevention Programs
and Partnerships’ Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Grant Program.
Please exclude all press clippings and mailers if the press clipping or mailer is
the only record containing the responsive term(s).
The terms “pertaining to,” “referring,” “relating,” or “concerning” with respect

to any given subject means anything that constitutes, contains, embodies, reflects,
identifies, states, refers to, deals with, or is in any manner whatsoever pertinent to
that subject.
The term “record” means any written, recorded, or graphic matter of any
nature whatsoever, regardless of how recorded, and whether original or copy,
including, but not limited to, the following: memoranda, reports, expense reports,
books, manuals, instructions, financial reports, working papers, records, notes,
letters, notices, confirmations, telegrams, receipts, appraisals, pamphlets, magazines,
newspapers, prospectuses, inter-office and intra-office communications, electronic
mail (emails), MMS or SMS text messages, instant messages, messaging systems
(such as iMessage, Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Google Chat,

Twitter direct messages, Lync, Slack, and Facebook Messenger), contracts, cables,
telexes, notations of any type of conversation, telephone call, voicemail, meeting or
other communication, bulletins, printed matter, computer printouts, teletypes,
invoices, transcripts, diaries, analyses, returns, summaries, minutes, bills, accounts,
estimates, projections, comparisons, messages, correspondence, press releases,
circulars, financial statements, reviews, opinions, offers, studies and investigations,
questionnaires and surveys, and work sheets (and all drafts, preliminary versions,
alterations, modifications, revisions, changes, and amendments of any of the
foregoing, as well as any attachments or appendices thereto), and graphic or oral
records or representations of any kind (including without limitation, photographs,
charts, graphs, microfiche, microfilm, videotape, recordings and motion pictures), and
electronic, mechanical, and electronic records or representations of any kind
(including, without limitation, tapes, cassettes, disks, and recordings) and other
written, printed, typed, or other graphic or recorded matter of any kind or nature,
however produced or reproduced, and whether preserved in writing, film, tape, disk,
videotape or otherwise. A record bearing any notation not a part of the original text is
to be considered a separate record. A draft or non-identical copy is a separate record
within the meaning of this term. By definition a “communication” (as that term is
defined herein) is also a “record” if the means of communication is any written,
recorded, or graphic matter of any sort whatsoever, regardless of how recorded, and
whether original or copy.
The terms “and” and “or” should be construed broadly and either conjunctively
or disjunctively to bring within the scope of this request any information which
might otherwise be construed to be outside its scope. The terms “all,” “any,” and
“each” should each be construed as ‘encompassing any and all. The singular includes
the plural number, and vice versa. The present tense includes the past and vice
versa. The masculine includes the feminine and neuter genders.
The term “communication” means each manner or means of disclosure or

exchange of information (in the form of facts, ideas, inquiries, or otherwise),
regardless of means utilized, whether oral, electronic, by document or otherwise, and
whether in an in-person meeting, by telephone, facsimile, e-mail (desktop or mobile
device), text message, MMS or SMS message, messaging systems (such as iMessage,
Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Google Chat, Twitter direct messages,
Lync, Slack, and Facebook Messenger), regular mail, telexes, releases, or otherwise.
“Communications with,” “communications from,” and “communications between”

means any communication involving the related parties, regardless of whether other
persons were involved in the communication, and includes, but is not limited to,
communications where one party is cc’d or bcc’d, both parties are cc’d or bcc’d, or some
combination thereof.
Please consider all members of a document “family” to be responsive to the

request if any single “member” of that “family” is responsive, regardless of whether
the “family member” in question is “parent” or “child.”
This request for records includes any attachments to those records or other
materials enclosed with those records when they were previously transmitted. To
the extent that an email is responsive to our request, our request includes all prior
messages sent or received in that email chain, as well as any attachments to the
email.
In the interest of expediency and to minimize the research and/or duplication

burden on your staff, please send records electronically if possible. If this is not
possible, please notify me before sending to the mailing address listed below. If access
to this request will take longer than twenty business days, please let me know when I
might receive records or be able to inspect the requested records. Please produce
responsive documents as soon as they become available. In all cases, please
communicate with me at the below email address.
Please comply fully with 5 U.S.C. § 552(b). Accordingly, without limitation to

the foregoing, if any portion of this request is denied for any reason, please provide
written notice of the records or portions of records that are being withheld and cite
each specific exemption of the Freedom of Information Act on which the agency relies.
Moreover, to the extent that responsive records may be withheld in part produce all
reasonably segregable portions of those records. Additionally, please provide all
responsive documents even if they are redacted in full.
Fee Waiver Request
This request is primarily and fundamentally for non-commercial purposes. As a

501(c)(3) nonprofit, Heritage Foundation does not have a commercial purpose and the
release of the information requested is not in Heritage Foundation’s commercial
interest. The Heritage Foundation’s mission is to is to formulate and promote public
policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual
freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense. Heritage

Foundation uses the information requested and analyzes it in order to educate the
public through social media, 1 broadcast media 2 (traditional and nontraditional) and
press releases. 3 The requested information is in the public interest because the
conflation of political opponents with terrorism relates to the ongoing controversy of
the ideological weaponization of law enforcement that has been covered extensively in
national media. Indeed a recent report highlights specific concerns that conservative
policy and news organization are currently being targeted by DHS grantees simply
because of their political believes. 4
Because this is a request by a member of the news media for information of

public interest, made in my capacity as an author for The Daily Signal 5 (a major news
outlet 6), I actively gather information of potential interest to our Daily Signal
audience, and I use my editorial skills to turn raw materials into a distinct work, and
I distribute that work to our Daily Signal audience through podcasts 7 or articles. I
request that you waive all applicable fees associated with this request.
If you deny this request for a fee waiver, please advise me in advance of the
estimated charges if they are to exceed $50. Please send me a detailed and itemized
explanation of those charges.
1 Heritage Foundation. [@ Heritage] (Accessed: 2023, May 17). 669.8K Followers Twitter.
2 Fox News. (Accessed: 2023, May 17). Heritage Foundation launches Conservative Oversight Project
aimed at 'exposing' Biden admin, leftist policies. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/heritage-
conservative-oversight-project-biden-admin-leftist-policies
3 Heritage Foundation. (Accessed: 2023, May 17). Press. https://www.heritage.org/press
4 Fox News, https://www.foxnews.com/politics/university-program-linking-christians-republicans-nazis-granted-dhs-
funds-part-anti-terror-initiative (Accessed: 2023, May 25).

5 Daily Signal. (Accessed: 2023, May 17). Mike Howell. https://www.dailysignal.com/author/mike-
howell/
6 Daily Signal. [@DailySignal] (Accessed: 2023, May 17). 81.7K Followers Twitter.
https://twitter.com/DailySignal
7 Apple. (Accessed: 2023, May 17) The Daily Signal Podcast.
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-daily-signal-podcast/id1313611947
If you have any questions, or feel you need clarification of this request please contact
me at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Mike Howell
Director of the Oversight Project and
Investigative Reporter at The Daily
Signal
The Heritage Foundation
214 Massachusetts Ave, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20002
Firefox https://outlook.office.com/mail/[email protected]/id/A...
HQ - Ack Letter - 2023-HQFO-01701

[email protected] <[email protected]>
Wed 8/9/2023 1:38 PM
To:OversightProject <[email protected]>
08/09/2023
SENT VIA E‐MAIL TO: [email protected]
Mike Howell
The Heritage Founda on
214 Massachuse s Ave, NE
Washington, District of Columbia 20002
Re: 2023‐HQFO‐01701
Dear Mr. Howell:
This le er acknowledges receipt of your Freedom of Informa on Act (FOIA) request to the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS), dated 5/25/2023, and to your request for a waiver of all assessable FOIA fees. Our office received your
request on 5/25/2023. Specifically, you requested:
All records containing the terms “Heritage!” or “Heritage Founda on!.”
“!” denotes a root expander for the purposes of this Request.
Please limit all searches in response to this Request from January 20, 2021 to the present. Please limit this search to the
following custodians: (1) the Office of the Secretary; (2) the Office of Public Affairs; and (3) the Center for Preven on
Programs and Partnerships’ Targeted Violence and Terrorism Preven on Grant Program.
Due to the increasing number of FOIA requests received by this office, we may encounter some delay in processing your
request. Consistent with 6 C.F.R. Part 5 § 5.5(a) of the DHS FOIA regula ons, the Department processes FOIA requests
according to their order of receipt. Although DHS’ goal is to respond within 20 business days of receipt of your request,
FOIA does permit a 10‐day extension of this me period in certain circumstances under 6 C.F.R. Part 5 § 5.5(c). As your
request seeks documents that will require a thorough and wide‐ranging search, DHS will invoke a 10‐day extension for your
request pursuant to 6 C.F.R. Part 5 § 5.5(c). If you would like to narrow the scope of your request, please contact our office.
We will make every effort to comply with your request in a mely manner.
You have requested a fee waiver. The DHS FOIA regula ons at 6 C.F.R. Part 5 § 5.11(k) set forth six factors DHS must
evaluate to determine whether the applicable legal standard for a fee waiver has been met: (1) Whether the subject of the
requested records concerns “the opera ons or ac vi es of the government,” (2) Whether the disclosure is “likely to
contribute” to an understanding of government opera ons or ac vi es, (3) Whether disclosure of the requested
informa on will contribute to the understanding of the public at large, as opposed to the individual understanding of the
requester or a narrow segment of interested persons, (4) Whether the contribu on to public understanding of government
opera ons or ac vi es will be “significant,” (5) Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by
the requested disclosure, and (6) Whether the magnitude of any iden fied commercial interest to the requester is
sufficiently large in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is primarily in the commercial interest
of the requester.
Upon review of the subject ma er of your request, and an evalua on of the six factors iden fied above, DHS has
determined that it will condi onally grant your request for a fee waiver. The fee waiver determina on will be based upon a
sampling of the responsive documents received from the various DHS program offices as a result of the searches conducted
in response to your FOIA request. DHS will, pursuant to DHS FOIA regula ons applicable to media requesters, process the
first 100 pages free of charge. If upon review of these documents, DHS determines that the disclosure of the informa on
1 of 2 9/13/2023, 1:35 PM
contained in those documents does not meet the factors permi ng DHS to waive the fees, then DHS will at that me either
deny your request for a fee waiver en rely, or will allow for a percentage reduc on in the amount of the fees corresponding
to the amount of relevant material found that meets the factors allowing for a fee waiver. In either case, DHS will promptly
no fy you of its final decision regarding your request for a fee waiver and provide you with the responsive records as
required by applicable law.
In the event that your fee waiver is denied, and you determine that you s ll want the records, provisions of the FOIA allow
us to recover part of the cost of complying with your request. We shall charge you for records in accordance with the DHS
FOIA regula ons as they apply to media requesters. As a media requester you will be charged 10 cents per page for
duplica on; the first 100 pages are free. In the event that your fee waiver is denied, we will construe the submission of your
request as an agreement to pay up to $50.00. This office will contact you before accruing any addi onal fees.
We have queried the appropriate component(s) of DHS for responsive records. If any responsive records are located, they
will be reviewed for determina on of releasability. Please be assured that one of the analysts in our office will respond to
your request as expedi ously as possible. We appreciate your pa ence as we proceed with your request.
Your request has been assigned reference number 2023‐HQFO‐01701. Please refer to this iden fier in any future
correspondence. The status of your FOIA request is now available online and can be accessed at:
h ps://foiarequest.dhs.gov/app/CheckStatus.aspx, by using this FOIA request number. Status informa on is updated daily.
Alterna vely, you can download the DHS eFOIA Mobile App, the free app is available for all Apple and Android devices. With
the DHS eFOIA Mobile App, you can submit FOIA requests or check the status of requests, access all of the content on the
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If you have any ques ons, or would like to discuss this ma er, please feel free to contact this office at 1‐866‐431‐0486 or
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v.E.1
2 of 2 9/13/2023, 1:35 PM
follow up on case 2023-HQFO-01701

[email protected] <[email protected]>
Wed 8/9/2023 4:40 PM
To:OversightProject <[email protected]>
08/09/2023
Request Number: 2023‐HQFO‐01701
Mike Howell
Washington, District of Columbia, 20002
Good a ernoon,
Our tasking office told us the results of your search was voluminous at 48gb. In order to process this much data, we would
need a substan al amount of me. Would you be able to narrow your me frame for the search and also provide addi onal
keywords to use in addi on to what you have provided? That would help narrow the results of the search. Please respond
within 30 days.
Thank you.
prohibited.
v.E.1
1 of 1 9/13/2023, 1:39 PM
Re: follow up on case 2023-HQFO-01701

OversightProject
Thu 8/10/2023 3:29 AM
To:[email protected] <[email protected]>
To further narrow down the scope of the request, we do not seek correspondence that merely forwards press
clippings, such as news accounts or opinion pieces, newsletters, and published or docketed materials, if that
correspondence has no comment or no substantive comment added by any party in the thread.
Please let me know if this helps.
From: [email protected] <[email protected]>

Sent: Wednesday, August 9, 2023 10:40 PM
To: OversightProject <[email protected]>
Subject: follow up on case 2023‐HQFO‐01701
08/09/2023
Request Number: 2023‐HQFO‐01701
Mike Howell
Washington, District of Columbia, 20002
Good a ernoon,
Our tasking office told us the results of your search was voluminous at 48gb. In order to process this much data, we would
need a substan al amount of me. Would you be able to narrow your me frame for the search and also provide addi onal
keywords to use in addi on to what you have provided? That would help narrow the results of the search. Please respond
within 30 days.
Thank you.
prohibited.
v.E.1
1 of 1 9/13/2023, 1:37 PM
SecureRelease™ Portal https://www.securerelease.us/request-details/2441e8c6-270a-4055-a499...
2 of 2 9/13/2023, 11:55 AM

Heritage Lawsuit

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Case 1:23-cv-03179 Document 1 Filed 10/24/23 Page 1 of 9

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

THE HERITAGE FOUNDATION )

thereof, Plaintiffs state the following:

1. The University of Dayton’s PREVENTS-OH Program released a report

prominently including Plaintiff Heritage on a “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalism” (“TVTP”). See,

America—such as neo-nazis—only by degree.

2. According to news reports, University of Dayton’s PREVENTS-OH Program was

was awarded after the “Pyramid of Far-Right Radicalism” was created.

in the same group as Nazis.

5. Plaintiff The Heritage Foundation is a Washington, D.C.-based nonpartisan public

Foundation, About Heritage, found at https://www.heritage.org/about-heritage/mission (last

The Daily Signal.

at @OversightPR (last visited Sept. 28, 2023).

7. Defendant U.S. Department of Homeland Security (“DHS”) is an Executive Branch

possession, custody, and control records to which Plaintiffs seeks access.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

9. Venue lies in this district pursuant to 28 U.S.C. section 1391(e).

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

1) the Office of the Secretary;

14. The requests further sought a fee waiver. Id.

“conditionally” granted Plaintiffs request for a fee waiver. Id.

pieces, newsletters, and published or docketed materials, if that correspondence has

ready to work with DHS in good faith.

produced documents in response to the request. DHS’ SecureRelease Portal confirms no

additional action has been taken on the matter. (Ex. G).

to provide a determination. See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(A).

See 5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(6)(C)(i).

Violation of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552

paragraph of each count as applicable to each other count.

23. DHS has failed to produce any responsive records.

to comply with applicable federal statutes.

controversy exists regarding DHS’ actions.

Violation of FOIA, 5 U.S.C. § 552

paragraph of each count as applicable to each other count.

provide lawful reasons for withholding any materials deemed exempt.

31. DHS is wrongfully withholding non-exempt records requested by Plaintiffs by

failing to produce any records response to Plaintiffs’ request.

to comply with applicable federal statutes.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

For these reasons, Plaintiffs asks this Court to:

a. Declare unlawful DHS’ refusal to disclose requested records;

b. Declare that DHS’ failure to make determinations to Plaintiffs’ request within

the statutory time frame violates FOIA;

FOIA request and demonstrate that it employed search methods reasonably

likely to lead to the discovery of records responsive to Plaintiffs’ FOIA request;

responsive to Plaintiffs’ FOIA request as well as a Vaughn index of any

responsive records withheld under claim of exemption;

responsive to Plaintiffs’ FOIA request;

Dated: October 24, 2023 Respectfully submitted,

/S/ Joseph B. Edlow

SAMUEL EVERETT DEWEY

Counsel for Plaintiff

How Biden’s DHS Is Weaponizing an Anti-Terror

Our FOIA investigations are producing tangible and much-needed

The University of Dayton, one of several grantees, targeted groups including

The Department of Homeland

we’re doing are illegal,” he boasted in the lecture. “A lot of it involves

obtained by MRC Free Speech America. At the DHS’s direction, many of