![]() ![]() In 2021, Leo was the beneficiary of the largest-known dark money donation in United States’ history, putting him in control of an unprecedented $1.6 billion political advocacy fund to influence the courts, politics, and policy, as The Lever reported with ProPublica. That work has culminated in the high court rolling back federal protections for abortion rights, gutting environmental protections and gun control policies, eliminating affirmative action at colleges, and throwing out President Joe Biden’s student debt relief plan. As former President Donald Trump’s judicial adviser, Leo helped select three of the court’s six conservative justices, while his dark money network spent tens of millions to boost their confirmations. That man is now suing two officers for wrongfully arresting him and violating his right to free speech.Ī longtime executive at the Federalist Society, the conservative Washington lawyers network, Leo operated under the radar for years. ![]() Last week, the public learned how Leo actively persuaded the local police to arrest one of these protesters last summer. Wade decision, allowing states to ban abortion. Leo’s house is now the site of regular protest, and has been ever since the Supreme Court overturned its landmark Roe v. In 2018, Leo purchased a $3.3 million mansion on Mount Desert Island, home to Acadia National Park and a longtime summer refuge for the “old money” elite, including the Rockefellers, Fords, Vanderbilts, DuPonts, and Pulitzers. ![]() Leo declined to speak with The Lever as he was walking to his church on Saturday. “Sacred Spaces Foundation is caring for Saint Ignatius Catholic Church on Mount Desert Island in Maine because it is a significant historical, spiritual, and artistic landmark,” Leo said in an emailed statement Sunday, adding: “This was the first of several efforts that are being undertaken by the foundation in its first year to highlight the beauty and value of sacred spaces and art, as well as literary works, in our local communities, centers of faith, and civil society.” Make sure you’re subscribed to The Lever on YouTube to get our latest video reports and other special content. Leo’s church purchase appears to be the launch of a broader religious advocacy mission: starting with the exclusive Maine community that’s already enraged by how he’s worked to imprint his conservative religious views on American society. That freedom of conscience theme has been at the center of the conservative movement’s push to allow businesses to cite religious objections as rationales for denying services and products to women and LGBTQ+ customers. The nonprofit says its purpose includes “educating the public on the importance of religious expression and human rights of conscience.” ![]() In March, he quietly purchased the local church through a charitable nonprofit he formed last year, according to financial records reviewed by The Lever. Leo, a devout Roman Catholic, is the architect of the Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority and oversees a billion-dollar political influence machine. Ignatius of Loyola Catholic Church in the serene seaside town of Northeast Harbor, Maine, there was one recognizable face present along with his family and his bodyguard: the head of the charity that recently took control of the church, Leonard Leo. As fog rolled in on a mild Saturday evening, and Mass convened at St. ![]()
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