Pastor Jamal Bryant’s New Birth Missionary Baptist Church was met with a disruption that is now drawing national scrutiny.
On (Feb 1), an alleged agitator barged into the building, pulled out a camera, and began shouting condemnations at the congregation mid-service. While shouting, he called Bryant a “wicked dog” and warned that the parishioners will “burn.”
Congregants say the outburst was alarming and unexpected. The service was briefly disrupted as security responded. New Birth officials later contacted DeKalb County authorities and filed a complaint.
In response to the church worship disruption, the county issued a no-trespass order which bars the man from returning to church property.
Jamal Bryant speaks out
The man was described as a white evangelical preacher who traveled from Alabama with his wife seemingly with intention to disturb the service. “He drove all the way from Alabama to disrupt our services,” Bryant told WSB/Channel 2’s Audrey Washington.
On Bryant’s podcast “Let’s Be Clear,” the pastor called for the man to be formerly identified and arrested, arguing that houses of worship should be protected from targeted disturbances.
“This 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 explained, addressing his grievance to Bondi in the nearly seven-minute video. “And since you are against places of worship being disturbed, and this gentleman attempted to do it at a Black church. I want to know when is the arrest warrant?”
Bryant references Don Lemon’s arrest in comparison
In his passionate speech, Bryant referenced the recent arrest of Don Lemon and others during a protest inside a Minnesota church. Though Lemon was exercising journalism, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi issued an arrest for Lemon’s alleged disruption of a house of 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 posted to X. “And if I haven’t been clear already, if you violate that sacred right, we are coming after you.”
On his podcast, Bryant questioned why Bondi hasn’t acknowleged the white evangelical preacher who disrupted his church.
“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. But y’all don’t want to talk about that,” he concluded in the podcast clip.