There were a handful of people protesting outside of the Internal Revenue Service office building in downtown Rochester on Tuesday.
The rally is part of a series of protests nationwide in response to the IRS admitting that the agency targeted tea party and conservative organizations for additional scrutiny. That included audits and invasive reviews of their tax-exempt applications.
"It's putting the fear in people," says Yvonne Donnelly is the national chair of the groups singled out by the IRS, the 9-12 Project. It was founded by television and radio personality Glenn Beck.
"Some groups actually gave up because the IRS was having them jump through so many hoops and asking such invasive questions. I mean they were absolutely absurd. They just gave up. So what happens to groups like ours is that some people will feel like they are not making a difference and will slow down or give up."
The former chief of the IRS is testifying before the Senate Finance Committee in Washington today, which has launched a bipartisan investigation into the matter.
