Sample Images of the Defendants in Rem

Hobby Lobby Stores will pay a $3 million federal fine and must return thousands of religious artifacts smuggled from the Middle East in a settlement with the U.S. Justice Department.

Hobby Lobby has been collecting artifacts from the Middle East since about 2009, according to the civil complaint released July 5. In December 2010, Hobby Lobby purchased more than 5,500 artifacts for $1.6 million.

The federal government says the Oklahoma-based retailer — a right-wing company that has led challenges against women’s reproductive freedoms and LGBT equality — purposely mislabeled thousands of items for import. The complaint described the items as “cuneiform tablets and clay bullae.”

The ancient clay artifacts originated in the area of modern-day Iraq and were smuggled into the United States through the United Arab Emirates and Israel contrary to U.S. law.

Packages containing the artifacts were shipped to Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and two of Hobby Lobby’s corporate affiliates. The shipping labels on these packages falsely described cuneiform tablets as tile “samples.”

Company president Steve Green said, Hobby Lobby is cooperating with the government and “should have exercised more oversight and carefully questioned how the acquisitions were handled.”

Green is the owner of one of the largest collections of religious artifacts in the world and is building the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., in the fall.

Hobby Lobby, according to the Justice Department, agreed to the fine and forfeiture and also to adopt policies and procedures governing its importation and purchase of cultural property.

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