# Protect Freedom PAC **Protect Freedom Political Action Committee** (FEC **C00657866**) is the super PAC aligned with **[[Rand Paul]]**. It registered with the FEC on **2017-10-11**, files as an **Independent Expenditure-Only Committee**, and in the 2026 cycle is funded almost entirely by **[[Jeff Yass]]**. ## Identity | Item | Detail | |---|---| | FEC committee ID | **C00657866** | | Committee type | **Super PAC (Independent Expenditure-Only)**, designation **Unauthorized** | | First filed | **2017-10-11** | | Address | **196 Alps Rd Ste 2-244, Athens GA 30606** | | Treasurer | **[[Paul Kilgore]]** | | Party / connected org | none | ## Q3 2026 — the one-donor quarter From **Form 3X file 2019765**, received 2026-10-12, coverage 2026-07-01 to 2026-09-30. Arithmetic reconciled per Rule 2: | Summary line | Period | Cycle to date | |---|---|---| | Cash on hand, opening | $434,654.77 | $5,052,665.40 | | Total receipts | **$3,139,284.53** | **$5,246,520.53** | | Total disbursements | $933,161.89 | $7,658,408.52 | | Cash on hand, close | **$2,640,777.41** | **$2,640,777.41** | **[[Jeff Yass]] gave $3,000,000.00 on 2026-09-21** — line **SA11AI**, aggregate **$5,000,000.00** cycle-to-date. That single row is **95.56% of the committee's Q3 receipts**. See [[Jeff Yass 3M to Protect Freedom PAC]]. The only other itemised receipt of consequence is a **$138,690.53** Line 11(c) item dated 2026-09-29. The rest is small-dollar individual contributions in the hundreds of dollars. ## Independent expenditure, 2026 cycle The Q3 report carries **eight Schedule E lines totalling $670,350.82**, of which — under **Rule 4h**, diffed with `rule4h_diff.py` — **six lines / $624,066.00 (93.10%) restate the committee's own earlier Form 24 notices** (files 2015658, 2006776, 2006327, 2006333). **First-disclosed: $46,284.82 across two lines.** | Position | Amount | Expenditure date | Payee | Status | |---|---|---|---|---| | **support [[Scott Perry]]** (PA-H) | $229,500.00 | 2026-09-28 | Rowan Ventures | **restates file 2015658** | | **support [[John E. Sununu]]** (NH-S) | $229,500.00 | 2026-09-28 | Rowan Ventures | **restates file 2015658** | | support Catalina Lauf (FL-H) | $125,000.00 | 2026-08-14 | Advictory, LLC | restates a prior notice | | support Catalina Lauf (FL-H) | $31,303.85 | 2026-08-07 | Conversion Creative | restates a prior notice | | oppose James Oberweis (FL-H) | $15,000.00 | 2026-08-13 | Engagement Strategies, Inc. | restates a prior notice | | oppose Jim Schwartzel (FL-H) | $12,533.00 | 2026-08-16 | Engagement Strategies, Inc. | within first-disclosed remainder | | support Catalina Lauf (FL-H) | $12,533.00 | 2026-08-16 | Engagement Strategies, Inc. | within first-disclosed remainder | | support Catalina Lauf (FL-H) | $14,980.97 | 2026-08-18 | Engagement Strategies, Inc. | restates a prior notice | ⚠️ The per-line restatement attribution above is the diff tool's **union** result mapped back to the row set; the authoritative figures are the union total ($624,066.00) and the first-disclosed remainder ($46,284.82), not any single row's label. Rule 4h's own caveat applies: the union is the answer, and per-file overlaps are not additive. The committee's **cycle disbursements of $7,658,408.52 exceed its cycle receipts of $5,246,520.53** — it entered the cycle with $5.05M on hand and has been spending down. ## Why it is in this vault Two reasons, and they are separate. **One: the Yass concentration.** [[Jeff Yass]] is the vault's most documented funder of the libertarian-adjacent Republican apparatus — roughly $19 million to Club for Growth Action in 2024, which made him [[Club for Growth]]'s largest individual funder, and $8 million into a Paul-affiliated vehicle reported by Kentucky outlets. At **$5,000,000.00 in the 2026 cycle** into a committee whose quarter is 95.56% his money, the relationship is no longer donor-and-committee in any ordinary sense. **Two: the Athens, Georgia compliance signature.** This is the **sixth** committee the vault has recorded with **[[Paul Kilgore]]** as treasurer, and the first that is neither a 2026-vintage pop-up nor state-branded. It files from a **second Athens address** — 196 Alps Rd, as against the 824 S Milledge Ave suite associated with [[PDS Compliance]]. > [!warning] A shared treasurer is a vendor relationship, not a funding relationship > Kilgore signs for both this committee and [[Protect the Majority 2026]], the NRSC joint-fundraising > vehicle for [[John E. Sununu]] — and this committee has bought advertising supporting Sununu. The vault's > standing rule, set on 2026-09-18: **a shared treasurer is evidence of a shared compliance vendor until a > shared funder, officer or strategic actor is independently shown.** Roughly eight compliance practices > process most of the independent money in federal elections and they are as factionally indifferent as an > accounting firm, because that is what they are. See [[Paul Kilgore]]. ## Open questions - Whether the **$2,000,000.00 of Yass money disclosed before Q3** sits on one row or several, and on which report. - The **$138,690.53** Line 11(c) item of 2026-09-29 — Line 11(c) is a contribution from another political committee, so this names a committee-to-committee transfer not yet read at file level. - Whether the committee files a Form 24 in the final three weeks. **$2,640,777.41 on hand on 2026-09-30** and 34 days to the election. - How many committees in total file from **196 Alps Rd Ste 2-244** as against 824 S Milledge Ave, and whether the two addresses are one practice or two. ## See Also - [[Jeff Yass 3M to Protect Freedom PAC]] · [[Jeff Yass]] · [[Rand Paul]] - [[Paul Kilgore]] · [[PDS Compliance]] · [[Protect the Majority 2026]] - [[Susquehanna International Group]] · [[Club for Growth]] - [[Independent Expenditure]] · [[Super PACs]] · [[Dark Money]] - [[Organizations Hub]]