ST. LOUIS — Freedom Principle MO has filed a formal complaint with the Missouri Attorney General’s Office, alleging two political committees violated the state’s new campaign finance law by accepting large donations from a fund linked to foreign sources.
The organization said “Stop the Ban,” and “People Not Politicians” accepted contributions from the Global Impact Social Welfare Fund that it claims are unlawful under Senate Bill 152, which took effect earlier this year.
The complaint, announced Oct. 20 in St. Louis, accuses the committees of “knowingly or willfully” accepting money from prohibited sources to influence Missouri ballot measures.
Freedom Principle MO contends the donations, $500,000 to “People Not Politicians” and $100,000 to “Stop the Ban,” came from a fund that received millions from entities with foreign ties.
Senate Bill 152, passed during the most recent legislative session and now part of Chapter 130 of the Missouri Revised Statutes, prohibits campaign committees from taking contributions from “foreign nationals.”
The statute defines those as foreign individuals, governments, political parties or entities organized under foreign law or majority-owned by foreign interests.
The law also requires committees to obtain affirmations from donors contributing more than $2,000 that they have not accepted more than $10,000 in aggregate funds from prohibited foreign sources during a specified period, two years for individuals and four years for entities.
Violations of the law can lead to civil penalties, including fines and potential disqualification of ballot measures. The law’s supporters have said it is intended to prevent foreign influence in Missouri elections, while critics have raised concerns about the complexity of compliance for committees that receive large or indirect contributions.
In its filing, Freedom Principle MO cited reports from the Missouri Ethics Commission showing the two committees’ September contributions from the Global Impact Social Welfare Fund.
According to public data from Candid.org, the fund received several large grants in 2023 from organizations with what Freedom Principle MO describes as “foreign-linked” connections.
Those included $8.9 million from Global Impact, a Washington, D.C.-based organization with international operations; $2.3 million from the Sixteen Thirty Fund, a D.C.-based nonprofit that has reportedly received donations from Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss; and $50,000 from Der Action Inc., a New York-based entity with international advocacy ties. In total, the filing states, more than $11 million in foreign-linked funding flowed into the Global Impact Social Welfare Fund in recent years.
Freedom Principle MO argues that these inflows mean the fund “aggregated prohibited foreign-linked funds,” making its subsequent donations to Missouri committees unlawful under SB 152.
The law forbids committees from accepting funds directly or indirectly from prohibited sources and mandates record-keeping and donor affirmations to ensure compliance.
“Missouri voters deserve elections free from foreign interference, and SB 152 was designed to protect our state from exactly this kind of dark money laundering,” Byron Keelin, president of Freedom Principle MO, said. “By accepting these tainted contributions, ‘Stop the Ban’ and ‘People Not Politicians’ have undermined the integrity of our ballot process. We urge the Attorney General to investigate swiftly, enforce the law, and hold these committees accountable to ensure Missouri’s elections remain in the hands of Missourians.”
The complaint calls for the Attorney General’s Office to conduct a full investigation into whether the two committees followed SB 152’s affirmation and record-keeping requirements.
Freedom Principle MO also requested potential civil penalties, enforcement actions, and any necessary remedies, including the possible invalidation of ballot measures affected by the alleged violations.
Freedom Principle MO stated that it remains committed to promoting transparency and fairness in Missouri’s electoral process and to ensuring that state ballot campaigns comply fully with campaign finance laws.
The organization’s filing represents one of the first formal complaints invoking SB 152 since the law took effect earlier this year.
