Art Pope
September 8, 2015 -
An incoming University of North Carolina freshman made headlines for claiming that the school's "Literature of 9/11" course — which he has not taken — sympathizes with terrorists. It turns out the student has connections to a think thank founded and funded by conservative mega-donor Art Pope that has targeted UNC classes emphasizing non-Western and non-white perspectives.
October 15, 2014 -
Baker Mitchell is a politically connected North Carolina businessman who celebrates the power of the free market. Every year, millions of public education dollars flow through Mitchell's chain of four nonprofit charter schools to for-profit companies he controls.
September 5, 2014 -
Now that he's stepping down as North Carolina's budget director, conservative kingmaker Art Pope will have more time to devote to his discount retail company, which recently announced controversial plans to open a grocery in a historic black Raleigh neighborhood that's also a food desert. But Pope may face competition from a food cooperative offering a dramatically different business model.
June 6, 2014 -
The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing this week on the corrupting influence of money in politics, and a North Carolina state lawmaker testified about the role of conservative political money man Art Pope.
August 29, 2013 -
The conservative mega-donor, now the state budget director, played important but behind-the-scenes roles in the passage of one of the nation's most restrictive voting laws, from ginning up fear of voter fraud to backing politicians who fought for voting restrictions.
July 11, 2013 -
More legislators in North Carolina than in any other state have signed Americans for Prosperity's pledge that discourages action on climate change. Credit for the pledge's political success goes to the billionaire brothers of Koch Industries who founded AFP -- but also to North Carolina's own Art Pope, a conservative mega-donor and longtime AFP leader.
June 16, 2013 -
Facing South's report on Art Pope's role in killing a pioneering election reform in North Carolina garners national attention -- and a statement from Pope that doesn't dispute any facts of the original story.
