A Kentucky pastor has received a number of death threats on social media for attending the "Save America Rally" in Washington, D.C. and over a photo taken with a man last year in Arizona.
Pastor Brian Gibson, a lead pastor of HIS Church in Owensboro, revealed that he has received death threats and being accused of involvement in the violence that took place in the Capitol. Thus, the pastor had to move to an undisclosed location and is currently receiving round-the-clock security protection, CBN News reported.
He denied the allegation and said that he did go to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 5 but only to share the gospel beforehand at a prayer rally - a day before the Capitol riot.
"We prayed for our nation, we prayed for our President and we prayed for the Capitol, Congress. You name it; we were there to lift up the country with prayer. I am also an evangelist at heart and so I had the opportunity out at Freedom Plaza...there was probably 8-10,000 people in attendance on Jan. 5th and I preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to that crowd," he said.
Gibson said nearly half of the crowd accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior. He described the event as like a revival.
He said that he also attended the Jan. 6 rally but noted that the event was peaceful and that President Trump said nothing that could incite violence.
"I never saw the president call for violence. I never saw the president call for a storming of the Capitol. "I condemn every violent act that day and so did the president," he added.
But the peaceful event quickly turned violent. The pastor said that he was already in his hotel room when someone called that the rioters breached the Capitol.
"I put on my shoes and I took off to see what was happening and I could not believe what had happened. When they broke through those doors it was unreal. You can't win doing stuff like that...and I am praying for restoration for America," the pastor narrated.
After these events, his photo taken last year with a man who breached the capitol has emerged online. The man has since been arrested but Gibson has been accused of taking part in the violence. This accusation has resulted him and his family receiving a number of death threats.
The pastor has revealed that the photo with a man identified as the 32-year old Jake Angeli, was taken during the Trump pro-life rally in Arizona in 2020. He said that he only took the photo with the man thinking that the latter had a "cool outfit".
NTD quoted Gibson saying, "People took that picture. And then they took the picture of him inside the Capitol and began to accuse me of masterminding the Capitol siege, which is insanity. I take thousands of pictures, selfies, I'm a public figure. So from that point, on Twitter, on Facebook, on all these social media platforms, people started finding my information, publishing it, saying let's make this man famous, and thousands of calls, death threats started pouring in."
CBN added that the pastor is trusting God despite the death threats and said, "We are watching ourselves, but ultimately we know that God protects us. God has not given me a spirit of fear, but love, power and a sound mind."
