Photo: Paras Griffin / Getty Images Entertainment / Getty Images
Pastor Jamal Bryant is asking a pointed question after a man interrupted worship at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Georgia: if federal authorities are serious about protecting houses of worship, where is the arrest warrant?
The disruption occurred during a church service when a man Bryant described as a “white evangelical nationalist pastor,” accompanied by his wife, entered the sanctuary and began loudly condemning the congregation. Video of the incident circulated online, showing the individual filming himself as he shouted religious denunciations before being removed.
Bryant addressed the incident on his Let’s Be Clear podcast, framing it as more than a moment of disruption — but a test of whether the law is applied evenly.
“A white evangelical nationalist pastor had the audacity, he and his wife, to get out of his car… and for propaganda and disturbance, filmed themselves coming into our church using hate speech, condemning us with wrath, judgment, and correction,” Bryant said. “And since you are against places of worship being disturbed, this gentleman attempted to do it at a Black church. I want to know — where is the arrest warrant?”
Bryant’s comments come days after Attorney General Pam Bondi posted a video warning that the Department of Justice would aggressively enforce the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act — a federal law that also covers interference with religious worship.
“Make no mistake, under President Trump’s leadership and this administration, you have the right to worship freely and safely,” Bondi said in the video shared on X. “And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”
That declaration followed the high-profile arrests of journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort, who were taken into custody by federal agents in connection with their reporting on a January protest at a church in St. Paul, Minnesota. Both journalists have said they were documenting events, not participating in the protest itself.
Federal officials have characterized the Minnesota incident as a coordinated disruption of worship, while press freedom advocates and civil rights groups have raised concerns about journalists being criminalized for newsgathering.
Bryant drew a direct line between those arrests and what happened at New Birth, calling out what he described as selective enforcement.
“If you all are saying it’s not a Black or white issue, within 72 hours, the man who attempted to disrupt worship at New Birth should be arrested and, at the very least, should have a warrant,” Bryant said. “But y’all don’t want to talk about that.”
In a post shared on Instagram alongside video of the interruption, Bryant expanded on that point, writing: “Enough with the selective outrage! If it’s wrong to disrupt a white church, then have the same energy in protecting Black ones.”
As of now, authorities have not announced an arrest, named a suspect publicly, or confirmed whether an investigation is underway into the New Birth incident. The identity of the individual who disrupted the service has not been released.
Historically, Black churches have been frequent targets of harassment, intimidation, and violence — from the Civil Rights era to the present — a reality that has often prompted calls for equal enforcement of laws meant to protect religious freedom. Bryant’s question, he says, is not about special treatment, but consistency.
“Since you claim there’s no such thing as a Black church,” he said, “protect all the churches.”
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.