Sen. Raphael Warnock, the incumbent Democratic Senator for Atlanta and pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, is now in hot water over what authorities discovered in the apartment buildings owned by his church.
According to The Washington Free Beacon, the church-owned properties have some shady characters, including a registered sex offender, a maintenance crew accused of murder, and a rotting corpse in one of its rooms.
Murder, Mayhem, and More
The article noted how the website got hold of court, police, and fire department records, as well as information obtained from interviews with the apartments' tenants. The living condition that came out of the news outlet's investigation ultimately painted a disturbing image of residential facilities in disarray.
The report said residents at the Columbia Senior Residences and Columbia Tower have called the Atlanta fire and police department in hundreds of instances beginning in 2020.
The responders reportedly saw cadavers and individuals stuck in elevators. Law enforcement authorities also allegedly responded to reports of auto theft, break-ins, and physical altercations in the two residential facilities owned by Senator Warnock's congregation.
The news outlet also learned that the management of Columbia Tower even procured the services of a convicted murderer named Anthony Bernard Stokes. Stokes allegedly killed his girlfriend, who lived with him in his apartment at Columbia Senior Residences, located just across Columbia Tower.
"They hired a guy who killed his girlfriend. He was the maintenance guy who was living in the senior building, and he had a record already. Why would you hire someone like that who has keys to the building? I understand second chances, but this person already had a background in murdering someone, and you give him keys to our apartment?" Free Beacon quoted a tenant saying.
Potential Effect of Discoveries on Sen. Warnock's Candidacy
The discoveries made by local authorities could have a negative impact on Senator Warnock's reelection bid.
Warnock, who is also a senior pastor at Ebenezer, is running against Republican bet Herschel Walker. Walker himself is facing his share of controversies - two women have come forward to accuse the Republican hopeful of being personally involved in abortion incidents. Ironically, Walker has been very vocal about his anti-abortion, pro-'traditional family' stance.
But for Warnock, the implication of what authorities discovered in the two apartment buildings his church owns could be career-ending. This is because Atlanta's voting population sees crime as a top concern going into the midterm polls. A report by 11Alive News bared that Atlanta saw a 60% increase in homicide cases from 2019.
Free Beacon disclosed that Senator Warnock has called for "softer crime policies," including pushing for an end to cash bail. Warnock also pushed for "safe housing" during his stint as a U.S. Senator.
Early this year, Senator Warnock emphatically commented that "housing is dignity," which now seemed to go in direct contrast with the discoveries made by Atlanta fire and police departments in his church's residential buildings.
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