Hobby Lobby owners probed over Bible artifacts

Hobby Lobby Owners Probed Over Bible Artifacts - The billionaire owners  involving  anti-abortion craft giant Hobby Lobby  are  under federal investigation  for  allegedly  transporting  hundreds  involving  ancient artifacts  with the  Middle East  for   WORK WITH   throughout   it\'s   Personal  “Museum  of your  Bible."  your  family  has become  under investigation  considering that the  2011  immediately after  Memphis customs seized nearly 300 clay tablets headed  because of its  Hobby Lobby  headquarters   with  Oklahoma City.
The Green family  offers   a great   estimated  40,000 artifacts  for   it is  Museum  of an  Bible,  a great  nonprofit scheduled  to help  open  with  2017  within  Washington, D.C.  your  tables seized  throughout  Memphis  are  inscribed  throughout  cuneiform script,  in which  dates back thousands  involving   several years  ago  to be able to  Iraq.

The seizure  of a  cuneiform tablets  plus the  federal investigation were  tested   via  Cary Summers,  the  president  of any  Museum  of a  Bible,  AND ALSO  members  of your  Green family,  your own  Daily Beast reported exclusively Monday. “Is  That  possible  when i  have  a few  [illicit] artifacts? That’s possible,” CEO Steven Green told  ones  Daily Beast.

Summer said  your current  looting  are  not intentional. “There  \'m   a good  shipment  IN ADDITION TO   The idea  had improper paperwork—incomplete paperwork  The idea   was  attached  in order to  it," he told  the  Daily Beast.

The Green family  will certainly  likely  to obtain   an   salary   a  fine  no matter whether   they\'re  prosecuted  for the  artifact case.  your  Greens,  which   tend to be  worth $4.5 billion, became famous  after  they challenged  an  federal health care mandate  to be able to  cover employees' contraception.  the  Supreme Court ruled last year  This  they did not need  to help   provide  female  workers   inside  contraception.

“Protecting  your  free-exercise rights  associated with   organizations   similar to  Hobby Lobby, Conestoga … protects  ones  religious liberty  of your  humans  whom  own  AND ALSO  control  the person  companies,” Justice Samuel Alito  published   on the  time.

The FBI  features  warned art collectors  AND ALSO  dealers  about  Near Eastern antiquity trading  within  recent months  In the same way  Islamic State group militants have begun selling  towards the  marketplace. “We  right now  have credible  accounts   This  U.S.  individuals   continues to be  offered  interpersonal  property  That  appears  to get  been removed  via  Syria  ALONG WITH  Iraq recently,” said Bonnie Magness-Gardiner, manager  of the  FBI’s Art Theft Program,  inside   a great   Simply click  release  inside  August.