Lori Vallow Daybell's Father Penned Anti-Government Book in Part of His Decades-Long Battle With the IRS (2024)

By

Inside Edition Staff

Newly discovered documents are shedding light on the anti-government views ofLori Vallow Daybell's father, who penned abookon how not to pay taxes that refersto an "IRS cabal" and accuses it of imposing "an evil regime" on Americans.

Barry Cox and his wife, Janis, have spentdecades fighting with theInternal Revenue Service, rackingup more than $300,000 in back taxesbecause of Barry'sbelief that "federal income tax is unlawful" and "the IRS is a rogue agency," court documentsshow.Barry was also reprimanded by an Arizonajudge for "engaging in the unauthorized practice of law" in 2018, according toArizona State Bar records.

Barry'santi-federal government stance sheds potentiallight on the woman whor*fused to tell authorities where her twomissing children were for months before their bodies were found on her new husband's land. Joshua "JJ" Vallow, 7, and Tylee Ryan, 16, were last seen in September and authorities now believe they were killed shortly after and buried in the backyard of Lori's fifth husband, Chad Daybell.

Throughout the search for the children, investigators accused Lori of refusing to help them find JJ and Tylee, and Janis and Lori's sister, Summer Shiflet, told CBS News Lori "can't tell us" where the children were becauseher phone calls were being recorded in jail.Supporters of Lori and Chad also took to social media to say it was none of the government's business where JJ and Tylee were.

Chad was also an active member ofLDS AVOW, an end-times preparedness forumthat appears in theSouthern Poverty Law Center's 2019reportonanti-governmentextremism.

The group counted LDS AVOWamong 576 groups that generally "define themselves as opposed to the 'New World Order,'engage in groundless conspiracy theorizing, or advocate or adhere to extremeanti-governmentdoctrines."

Barry's book and his decades-long battle with the IRSappear to show thatLori's family held their own anti-government views. Records showBarry's battle with the IRS began in the late 1980s, and in 1998, he"admitted to using false statements to avoid paying federal income tax for the years 1988, 1989, and 1990" andentered into a plea agreement with the government,according to court records.

In 2004, the U.S. government sued Barry and Janis,claiming they owed more than $300,000 in back taxes. Acourt ruled in the government's favor in 2008, but the following year, Barry filed an administrative claim refusing to pay.

Barry's claim namedtheUnited States, the IRS, the Department of the Treasury andTreasurySecretary TimothyGeithner among thedefendants, and hisarguments centered on his assertion that collectingincome taxis an "unauthorized exercise of federal power" and that "the IRS is a rogue agency without legal authority," according to a motion to dismiss filed by the government in 2010. An Arizona judge ruled in favor of the government in the case and dismissed Barry's complaint.

Barry was also reprimanded for representing himself as a lawyer and advertisinghis services as a "legal document writer" inNovember of2018, according to the State Bar of Arizona, leadinga superior court judge in Pinal County toissuea cease and desist order against him forengaging in the unauthorized practice of law.

Then, inNovember 2019, weeks after his grandchildren went missing,Barry published a book entitled How the American Public Can Dismantle the IRS,arguing in its prologue thatAmericans have been"illegally and deceptively held captive and in bondage by a gang of self-policing liars who have arrogantly and without conscience imposedan evil regime to do whatever they want, whenever they want and to whomever they want to the American public with impunity."

In thebook, Coxalso repeats prominent right-wing conspiracy theories that accuseformer President Barack Obama of being "anti-Christian" with a "Muslim education" and a "background with the LGBRQ [sic] society."

Following the discovery of the children's remains in June, the Coxfamily'sattorneys, Robert Jarvis and Garrett Smith, issued astatementsaying Janis, Barry and Summer were"deeply saddened by the recent findings in the investigation into the whereabouts of J.J. and Tylee. Their love for them knows no bounds.

"The family has maintained a strong hope and belief that they were alive and well. With that hope and belief apparently shattered, they struggle to find comfort and hope in this potential new reality. They miss J.J. and Tylee very much," the statement read in part."The family is very grateful to those who have expended so much time and effort in trying to locate them."

Smith, one of the Cox family's attorneys,did not respond to Inside Edition Digital's request for comment for this story.

Lori is set to be arraigned on felony charges ofconspiracy to commit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence in Fremont County, Idahoon Thursday. She has previously pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

In addition to the two felony charges in Fremont County,Lori also facesmisdemeanorchargesof resisting andobstructingan officer, solicitation of a crime and contempt in nearby Madison County. A trial has been set on thosechargesforJan. 25 to Jan. 29,2021before Judge Michelle Radford Mallard,according to court documents.Lori has previously pleaded not guilty and denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

Chadis settogo ontrial in Fremont County, Idaho inJanuary after pleadingnot guiltytofelony charges ofwillfully destroying, concealing or altering evidence andconspiracytocommit destruction, alteration or concealment of evidence of JJ and Tylee's remains. He has denied all allegations of wrongdoing.

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