Switchboard Trainers Network (STN)

Switchboard Trainers Network had its federal tax-exempt status automatically revoked by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in May 2020 for failure to file required nonprofit tax returns for three consecutive years, and its Texas nonprofit registration was forfeited in February 2020. ^{2 3}

Background

The Switchboard Trainers Network was incorporated in Texas on August 16, 2017. ⁴ The organization described itself in a March 2018 announcement on the radical-left website It’s Going Down as “a network of direct action trainers“ who believed “trainings should prioritize a diversity of tactics, recognize the intersectionality of oppressions, consensus, affinity groups, non-cooperation with police, and other radical principles.” ⁵ The organization offered trainings in direct action, security culture, and activism. ⁵

The Switchboard Trainers Network was based in Denton, Texas. ⁶ The organization received grant funding from RESIST, a left-of-center grantmaking organization, which described the Switchboard Trainers Network as “committed to training trainers and bringing in trainers that prioritize the principles of equality, empowerment, and solidarity.” ⁷

Activities

The Switchboard Trainers Network trained activists in tactics for organizing direct-action protests.  ⁵

In November 2020, left-wing activist Winona LaDuke transferred ownership of a property in Hubbard County, Minnesota, to the Switchboard Trainers Network, with Tara Houska as designee. ⁸ The property became the site of the Namewag Camp, where opponents of the Enbridge Line 3 pipeline established a camp in order to protest and obstruct the pipeline as part of their opposition to the “climate crisis.” ^{9 10} Houska is the founder of the Giniw Collective, an indigenous-led environmental organization. ¹¹

In June 2021, Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes and other law enforcement officials created a blockade preventing vehicle access to the property, citing violations of a county ordinance prohibiting motor vehicle traffic on tax-forfeited land. ¹² On July 16, 2021, the Switchboard Trainers Network, along with Tara Houska, Winona LaDuke, and AhnaCole Chapman, filed a lawsuit in the Ninth Judicial District Court for the State of Minnesota seeking removal of the blockade. ¹¹ On July 23, 2021, Judge Jana Austad granted a temporary restraining order requiring law enforcement to remove the blockade and stop issuing citations for use of the driveway. ¹¹ In September 2022, the court granted summary judgment to the plaintiffs, making the temporary restraining order permanent. ¹¹

Tax Status

The federal tax exemption for the Switchboard Trainers Network was automatically revoked on May 15, 2020, for not filing a nonprofit tax return or notice for three consecutive years. ³ The Internal Revenue Service posted notice of the organization’s automatic revocation on August 11, 2020. ³ The organization’s Texas nonprofit registration was forfeited on February 28, 2020 for the same reason. ⁶