The Record

The Incident

In October 2020, Kent Hovind threw his then-wife, Cindi Lincoln, to the ground at the Dinosaur Adventure Land property in Repton, Alabama, causing her bodily harm. An arrest warrant was issued on July 19, 2021. Lincoln simultaneously filed a petition for a protective order against Hovind.

Conviction and Sentence

On September 21, 2021, Hovind was found guilty of third-degree domestic assault in Conecuh County, Alabama.

He was sentenced to:

• One year in prison, with 30 days to be served
• Several thousand dollars in fines and court costs
• Payment of Cindi Lincoln’s medical bills

Context

This conviction came less than a decade after Hovind completed his 8-year federal prison sentence for tax fraud. It represents his second criminal conviction and adds to a broader pattern of behavior documented on this site — including harassment of critics and legal intimidation tactics against those who report on his record.

Hovind has continued operating Dinosaur Adventure Land and his online ministry following the conviction.

Kent Hovind and his associates have engaged in a pattern of targeting critics and scientists who challenge his claims. Documented incidents include:

Doxxing and personal information exposure: Hovind has published or encouraged the publication of personal information — including home addresses and phone numbers — of individuals who publicly criticize his claims or his legal history. This has been documented by multiple content creators and scientists who engage with creationist claims.

Frivolous legal threats: Hovind has a history of threatening defamation lawsuits against critics, including scientists, YouTubers, and bloggers who accurately report his criminal conviction and credential issues. These threats rarely result in actual litigation, functioning instead as intimidation tactics.

Organized harassment campaigns: Critics have documented receiving coordinated waves of hostile messages, threats, and harassment following Hovind’s public identification of them in his videos or social media posts. This pattern of “siccing” followers on critics has been described by multiple independent targets.

Property disputes and confrontations: Following his release from prison, Hovind was involved in property disputes in Conecuh County, Alabama, where he attempted to rebuild “Dinosaur Adventure Land.” These disputes involved confrontations with local officials and neighbors.

This pattern of conduct is relevant context for evaluating Hovind’s public persona as a good-faith educator and minister.

The Lawsuit

Following his release from federal prison, Kent Hovind filed a lawsuit seeking $500 million in damages from the United States government. The suit named the IRS, the Department of Justice, and multiple individual government employees as defendants.

Hovind alleged that his prosecution and conviction were unjust, that his property was illegally seized, and that his civil rights were violated throughout the process. The claims echoed the same arguments that had been rejected at trial, on appeal, and in numerous post-conviction motions.

Dismissal

The court dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous, finding that Hovind’s claims lacked any legal basis. The dismissal was consistent with the pattern of courts uniformly rejecting Hovind’s legal theories about tax obligations, property rights, and religious exemptions from federal law.

Context

This lawsuit was one of numerous post-conviction legal filings by Hovind attempting to relitigate his tax fraud case. Federal courts had already rejected his arguments multiple times:

• His original trial arguments were rejected by the jury (2006)
• His appeal was denied by the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals (2008)
• Multiple post-conviction motions were denied
• His fraudulent lien filings resulted in additional criminal charges (2014)

The $500 million figure — exceeding any plausible damages claim — underscored the frivolous nature of the filing. The case was dismissed without any recovery, adding another entry to Hovind’s long record of failed legal challenges against the government.

Background

While Kent Hovind was serving his 10-year federal prison sentence for tax fraud, the government moved to seize properties associated with Creation Science Evangelism (CSE) as part of the forfeiture proceedings in the original case. A court injunction was issued prohibiting interference with the forfeited properties.

The Charges

Despite the injunction, Hovind and co-defendant Paul John Hansen filed lis pendens (fraudulent liens) against the government-forfeited properties via the U.S. mail. These filings attempted to cloud the title on properties the government had legally seized.

On October 21, 2014, a federal grand jury indicted Hovind and Hansen on:

• 2 counts of mail fraud — for using the mail system to file fraudulent property liens
• 1 count of conspiracy — to commit mail fraud
• 1 count of criminal contempt — for violating the court order prohibiting interference with forfeited property

Trial and Outcome

The case went to trial in early 2015:

• The jury found Hovind guilty of criminal contempt for violating the court injunction
• The jury hung (could not reach a verdict) on the mail fraud and conspiracy charges
• The contempt conviction was later dismissed by the court
• The government dismissed the remaining charges in May 2015

Context

This case demonstrated that even while incarcerated, Hovind continued to challenge the legal system using sovereign-citizen-adjacent tactics. The filing of fraudulent liens against government-forfeited property is a well-known strategy in the sovereign citizen movement — a movement whose legal theories Hovind has repeatedly echoed in his tax arguments and property claims.

On November 2, 2006, a federal jury in Pensacola, Florida, found Kent Hovind and his wife Jo Hovind guilty on all counts in a 58-count indictment. The charges included:

• 12 counts of willful failure to collect, account for, and pay over federal income taxes and FICA taxes for employees of Creation Science Evangelism (CSE)
• 45 counts of structuring financial transactions — making cash withdrawals just under the $10,000 reporting threshold to evade currency transaction reports (a violation of 31 U.S.C. § 5324)
• 1 count of corruptly endeavoring to obstruct and impede the administration of the internal revenue laws

Hovind claimed his workers were “missionaries” not employees, that his ministry’s property “belonged to God” and was therefore not taxable, and that he had no income because everything he earned was assigned to his ministry. The court rejected all of these arguments.

Hovind was sentenced to ten years in federal prison on January 19, 2007. He served approximately eight years and was released in 2015, followed by a period of supervised release. Jo Hovind was sentenced to one year and one day.

During the trial, the government presented evidence that Hovind had paid employees in cash, maintained no employee records, filed no tax returns for 17 years, and withdrew nearly $1 million in structured transactions designed to avoid bank reporting requirements.

The Arrest

In August 2002, Kent Hovind was arrested in Escambia County, Florida, on charges of assault, battery, and burglary. The incident involved a secretary at Creation Science Evangelism (CSE), Hovind’s ministry organization based in Pensacola, Florida.

The charges were ultimately dropped in December 2002, and no conviction resulted from the case.

Zoning Violation

In the same year, Hovind was cited for a misdemeanor zoning violation related to the operation of Dinosaur Adventure Land, his creationist theme park in Pensacola. The park was operating without proper county building permits, in defiance of local zoning requirements.

Hovind had argued that as a ministry, Dinosaur Adventure Land was exempt from building permits — a claim the county rejected. This pattern of claiming religious exemption from civil law would later feature prominently in his federal tax fraud case.

Context

These 2002 incidents represent the earliest documented legal troubles for Hovind, predating his 2006 federal indictment by four years. The assault arrest, while not resulting in a conviction, established a pattern of confrontational behavior. The zoning violation demonstrated Hovind’s long-running refusal to comply with government regulations — a defiance he framed as religious liberty but which courts consistently rejected as legal obligation avoidance.

Kent Hovind routinely refers to himself as “Dr. Hovind” or “Dr. Dino,” basing this on a doctoral degree from Patriot Bible University (PBU) in Del Norte, Colorado.

The institution’s status:

• PBU is not accredited by any agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education or the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA).
• The State of Colorado lists PBU under a religious exemption that explicitly states the exemption “is not an endorsement of the institution” and the state “does not evaluate the quality of education” provided.
• The institution has been widely described as operating from a small residential structure. It offers degrees through correspondence with no residency requirement.

The dissertation:

Hovind’s doctoral dissertation has been obtained and reviewed by multiple scientists and educators. Notable issues include:

• It begins with “Hello, my name is Kent Hovind” — a stylistic choice inconsistent with academic writing at any level.
• It contains no original research, no methodology section, and no literature review.
• It was reviewed by Dr. Karen Bartelt (chemistry professor), who described it as failing to meet the standards of an undergraduate term paper, let alone a doctoral dissertation.
• The work would not be accepted at any accredited institution.

No legitimate academic institution recognizes Hovind’s degree. His use of the “Dr.” title in scientific contexts is misleading.