News (USA)

Pastor who said Pulse victims deserved to die busted for child abuse

Pastor who said Pulse victims deserved to die busted for child abuse
Pastor Ken Adkins Photo: The Florida Times-Union via the Glynn County Sheriff’s Office
Conservative Pastor Ken Adkins of St. Simons Island, Georgia, who has led a public campaign against the rights of LGBTQ Americans, is now an inmate at the jail of Glynn County, charged with two counts of child molestation.

Adkins, who also goes by the title, Bishop, has been busy of late tweeting about the massacre in Orlando, Fla. His two accounts are protected from public viewing now but the Florida Times-Union reported this is what he tweeted Monday:

“Dear Gays, Go sit down somewhere. I know y’all want some special attention; yall are sinners who need Jesus. This was an attack on America.”

That was followed three hours later by another tweet, which refers in part to a controversial effort in nearby Jacksonville, Fla. to add protections for lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people to an existing anti-discrimination ordinance. Adkins served as a panelist on one of the community forums convened last December to consider the expansion, which ultimately did not happen.

AdkinsTweet
Joe.My.God

 

Jacksonville’s mayor denounced the tweets Monday, saying, “We are on the heels of an attack on people, a terrorist attack, with people killed and maimed in our state. Suggesting that people should be victims is appalling.”

According to the Florida Times-Union, Adkins emailed Curry Tuesday denying the tweet about getting “what they deserve” had anything to do with Orlando.

“My tweet was strictly meant for the Jacksonville group that has made my life a living hell since I served on the panel and opposed the HRO,” Adkins wrote, referring to the human rights ordinance that was not expanded.

Adkins claimed it was he and his family who “are the victims here when you understand what I have had to endure for standing up for the Church during the discussions.”

The pastor has also stood up in a very clear way for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump by congratulating him for his nomination on his Twitter page. 

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation issued a statement about Adkins’ arrest Friday.

First Coast News in Jacksonville reports the investigation is ongoing. Adkins’ website lists his church headquarters as Brunswick, Georgia, with other churches in Jacksonville and Atlanta. According to the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Adkins had opened a GoFundMe account in April with the banner headline, “My Firm is under Attack by the LGBT by Kenneth Adkins.” The account has since closed.

Don't forget to share:

Support vital LGBTQ+ journalism

Reader contributions help keep LGBTQ Nation free, so that queer people get the news they need, with stories that mainstream media often leaves out. Can you contribute today?

Cancel anytime · Proudly LGBTQ+ owned and operated

Meet the men of TV’s first gay dating show, ‘Finding Prince Charming’

Previous article

Federal judge blocks UNC from enforcing trans provision of HB2

Next article