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U.S. NEWS Thursday 25 June 2020
U.S. inmates got virus relief checks, and IRS wants them back

Continued from Front check for someone, the
person in prison is not the
“It’s not a rule just because only one who benefits from
the IRS puts it on the web- that,” Bertram said.
site. In fact, the IRS actually Intercepting relief checks
says that stuff on its web- may also have a dispro-
site isn’t legal authority. So portionate impact on Black
there’s no actual rule — it’s and Hispanic inmates,
just guidance — and that who are incarcerated at
guidance can change at a higher rate than white
any time.” Americans. Black people
After Congress passed the are imprisoned at roughly
$2.2 trillion coronavirus res- twice the rate of Hispanic
cue package in March, residents, and more than
checks of up to $1,200 were five times the rate of whites
automatically sent in most as of last year, according
cases to people who filed to the U.S. Department of
income tax returns for 2018 Justice’s Bureau of Justice
or 2019, including some Statistics.
who are incarcerated. A Prison officials nationwide
couple of weeks later, the have been trying to in-
IRS directed state correc- tercept the checks, with
tion departments to inter- varying results. Officials in
cept payments to prisoners In this Jan. 30, 2018, file photo, inmates walk across the grounds of the Idaho State Correctional Vermont, Mississippi, Penn-
and return them. Institution in Kuna, Idaho. Associated Press sylvania, Arizona and Cali-
The IRS doesn’t yet have fornia estimated that they
numbers on how many citing an IRS request for tion. She says prison officials Lockdowns can increase each had intercepted fe-
payments went to priso- confidentiality. While the are accustomed to inter- expenses for inmates be- wer than a dozen checks
ners, Smith said. But ini- IRS says checks sent to jail cepting tax documents to cause they are often given as of early June. Oregon
tial data from some states inmates also should be re- screen for potential scams, lower-quality food or fewer prison officials had seized
suggest the numbers are turned, the sheer number priming them to follow this meals and need to sup- 25 payments, with 21 re-
huge: The Kansas Depart- of jails and detention cen- request. “It appears that plement by buying food turned to the IRS and four
ment of Correction alone ters across the U.S. makes the IRS is just making this from prison commissaries. others given to relatives or
intercepted more than it difficult to tell if many are up,” Bertram said. Family and friends on the other joint tax filers.
$200,000 in checks by early following those instructions. Inmates and their families outside often cover those Kaitlin Felsted, a spokes-
June. Idaho and Montana The IRS seems to have de- need the money, she said, costs, and many have lost woman for the Utah prison
combined had seized over cided by itself to pull back especially as prisons try to jobs during the economic system, said the state had
$90,000. Washington state, the payments approved by reduce the spread of the downturn, Bertram said. intercepted 28 checks so
meanwhile, had only inter- Congress, said Wanda Ber- virus by instituting lock- “Loved ones right now are far but noted that any re-
cepted about $23,000 by tram, a spokeswoman for down conditions or relea- also under a squeeze be- lief money sent to an inma-
early June. Some states, the Prison Policy Initiative, a sing thousands of inmates cause of the pandemic te’s home address would-
like Nevada, have refused think tank focusing on the who are then trying to get and being out of a job, so n’t be touched by prison
to release the numbers, harm of mass incarcera- back on their feet. when you send a stimulus officials.q

Twitter bans pro-Trump meme maker for copyright violations

By DAVID KLEPPER Cook doctored the clip, for a reason to boot him.
Associated Press set it to ominous music, and "They didn't like my politics,
A conservative social me- inserted a fake misspelled they found an excuse to
dia user whose far-right CNN caption reading "Ter- get rid of me," he said.
memes have been praised rified todler runs from racist Cook's account has been
and reposted by President baby," then a clip from the temporarily suspended
Donald Trump has been original video before show- multiple times in the past
kicked off Twitter for re- ing the message "America for violations of Twitter's
peated copyright viola- is not the problem. Fake copyright rules. He was also
tions. news is the problem." suspended for eight days
Logan Cook, a Kansas man Twitter later placed a "ma- last year for posting a video
who posts under the name nipulated media" warn- depicting Trump as a cow-
Carpe Donktum, was per- ing label on the clip. It boy attacking CNN journal-
manently banned from the was originally posted last ist Jim Acosta.
platform Tuesday night, year but received signifi- Twitter rules prohibit Cook
days after he posted a vid- cantly more attention after from creating a new ac- This April 26, 2017, file photo shows the Twitter app icon on a
eo criticizing CNN that used Trump's retweet. count to replace the old mobile phone in Philadelphia.
doctored footage from the Cook, who also posts his one, which had more than Associated Press
news channel. work to other platforms 270,000 followers at the
The clip, which Trump and websites, said in an time of the suspension. condemn journalists and Trump has himself run afoul
retweeted last week, used interview that his posts are Trump often retweeted those who have criticized of Twitter's rules. In March
footage from a CNN story satirical and are therefore Cook, who had emerged the president. Trump called the platform placed the
from last year about the exempt from copyright as a prominent creator Cook a "genius" during a "manipulated media" warn-
friendship of two toddlers, rules. He said he believes of right-wing memes that meeting last year at the ing on a video of Joe Biden
one Black and one white. Twitter was simply looking uses humor, often dark, to White House. shared by Trump. q