U.S.

Pentecostal Pastor Says Jerry Falwell Jr. Kicked Him Off Campus, Threatened to Have Him Arrested

By Nov 1, 2017

A pastor says he was arrested by Liberty University police and told to never return to the campus.

Jonathan Martin thinks it’s because he is vehemently against President Donald Trump, while LU President Jerry Falwell Jr. is an active supporter and activist for the president.

Tonight after the @JOHNNYSWIM show, 3 armed @LibertyU police officers (& I think 2 not in uniform)came & escorted me out of their green room pic.twitter.com/eigyE1LjaG

— Jonathan Martin (@theboyonthebike) Oct. 31, 2017

This was evidently in response to my strong criticism of @JerryFallwellJr’s alignment not only with the darkest contours of Trumpism, but

— Jonathan Martin (@theboyonthebike) Oct. 31, 2017

I committed no crime except perhaps to sing too loudly to my favorite @JOHNNYSWIM songs 🙂

— Jonathan Martin (@theboyonthebike) Oct. 31, 2017

Martin is a writer, speaker and dreamer, who served as founding/lead pastor at Renovatus: A Church for People Under Renovation in Charlotte, North Carolina, and as teaching pastor at Sanctuary Church in Tulsa. He also received his degree from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary.

While the church does not claim a specific denomination, its website says they have Pentecostal roots, and Martin is from the Church of God.

Liberty University says Martin was removed from campus because he is not a student or employee, and he tried to schedule an event on campus without following the protocols.

“It may be possible that Jonathan Martin knew his unauthorized event would ultimately not be permitted to occur on the private property of Liberty University but he simply hoped to garner more attention to his cause by having his efforts stopped. So be it. The judgment was made that it was safer to stop the event before it started than to attempt to turn away an unknown number of people who traveled to Liberty’s campus. Either option likely gives Mr. Martin’s cause the publicity he apparently seeks. The University cannot be concerned with whether its actions provide additional oxygen to either side of a debate but rather must be concerned about safety and security of its campus,” according to the statement.