Richard Weber Jr., who was a member of the LGBT Bar Association of New York, passed away last week from coronavirus at age 57.
To most people, this is a tragedy. But to Rick Wiles of the website TruNews, it’s reason to celebrate.
Related: Rick Wiles says that because of gay marriage, people will die
Wiles made national headlines earlier this year when his website got White House press credentials. The site is known for its extreme anti-Semitism, homophobia, and disregard for facts.
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And now Wiles said on his webcast that Weber’s death is part of God’s judgment because Weber fought for LGBTQ equality.
“He was a senior lawyer for the LGBT Bar Association of New York,” Wiles said. “The lawyers who sue churches, the lawyers who sue ministries.”
One of his co-hosts interjected and said that Weber was pushing for “integration of bathrooms” to allow “men” to use the bathroom with children. Wiles responded, “Yes.”
“One of their senior lawyers for the gay rights movement died today in New York City of the coronavirus,” Wiles continued. “There is a judgment, I’m telling you, a plague is underway. Get under the blood of Jesus Christ. Do not be in opposition to the Lord Jesus Christ and his church.”
“There is a plague underway. There is a death angel across the world, and your only safety is in Christ.”
Wiles was one of the first conservative pundits to say that coronavirus was part of God’s plan to kill sinners and that Christianity will protect people from the virus.
“Spirit bears witness that this is a genuine plague that is coming upon the earth, and God is about to purge a lot of sin off this planet,” he said in January, well before entire states were going into lockdown in the U.S.
In 2018, Wiles said that if Democrats won Congress in the midterm elections, they would slaughter “tens of thousands of Christians.”
“Every nation that has been taken over by Marxist-communists, they immediately kill the pastors,” he said. “They immediately kill Christians. They immediately burn the churches.”
In 2014, Wiles said that Ebola would “solve America’s problems,” including the existence of LGBTQ people.
“If Ebola becomes a global plague, you better make sure the blood of Jesus is upon you, you better make sure you have been marked by the angels so that you are protected by God. If not, you may be a candidate to meet the Grim Reaper,” he said at the time.
Weber died last Wednesday, March 18, just two days after he emailed his colleagues to tell them that he had tested positive for coronavirus. He had only started showing symptoms a week prior, on March 10.
“He was just a wonderful human being with a real dedication to giving back to others,” said Eric Lesh, executive director of the LGBT Bar Association of New York.
In a message to the group’s members, Lesh and board president Kristen Prata Browde said: “We urge our members and friends to stay safe and healthy. Protect yourselves, friends and family. We are all in this together. We will continue to pursue equality and justice with Richard’s memory and generous spirit in our hearts.”
