Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Tea Party movement began with a 24-hour fundraising event on the 16th of December 2007 held by supporters of Congressman Ron Paul. Local protests started earlier in 2009 with Trevor Leach organizing the Binghamton Tea Party on the 24th of January 2009 and Keli Carender holding a Porkulus Protest in Seattle on Presidents Day, the 16th of February 2009.
The movement advocated for lower taxes, reduced national debt, and decreased government spending to operate without federal oversight. Participants sought to amend the Constitution by requiring a balanced budget and repealing the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Amendments while giving states veto power over federal laws under the Repeal Amendment.
Tea Party backed Senate Republican nominees won five of ten contested Senate races and forty of one hundred thirty contested House races during the 2010 midterm elections. Republicans gained sixty-three House seats overall and took control of the U.S. House of Representatives after these elections.
Americans for Prosperity was founded by David H. Koch in 2003 and FreedomWorks was led by Matt Kibbe with over one million members each. Jane Mayer asserted that brothers David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch provided financial support through Americans for Prosperity though a company spokesperson denied specific funding for tea parties.
The Internal Revenue Service flagged Tea Party groups for review of their applications for tax-exempt status during the 2012 election according to reports from the Associated Press and The New York Times in May 2013. Lois Lerner head of the IRS division apologized stating it was wrong and inappropriate before the Justice Department announced in October 2015 they found no evidence that any official acted based on political motives.