Mark Robinson to Hold Event with Extreme Leaders of Church Under Investigation for Slavery and Sexual Abuse of Children

Mark Robinson to Hold Event with Extreme Leaders of Church Under Investigation for Slavery and Sexual Abuse of Children

WRAL News: “Victims of the violence included pre-teens and toddlers — even crying babies, who were vigorously shaken, screamed at and sometimes smacked to banish demons”

Today, Mark Robinson is set to hold a campaign fundraiser with leaders of an extreme religious group, Word of Faith Fellowship, that “has been publicly accused of wielding cult-like control over its followers and of engaging in criminal behavior including slave labor, financial fraud and the sexual and physical abuse of children,” according to WRAL News.

The report notes Robinson’s event with Word of Faith Fellowship leaders “has raised questions among critics about Robinson’s connections to the group, which has given him thousands of dollars in campaign donations.” One of the church members with a powerful position in the community and lead hosts of Robinson’s campaign event faces accusations of helping to cover up child abuse.

The group is notorious for their “blasting” sessions, a violent practice that “involves a group of people surrounding someone accused of being gay, or of questioning church leaders, or facing any other suspicion — and then hitting, shaking, choking or screaming at them, sometimes for hours at a time.” According to former members of the group, “victims of the violence included pre-teens and toddlers — even crying babies, who were vigorously shaken, screamed at and sometimes smacked to banish demons.”

Even more concerning, Robinson has previously encouraged the use of corporal punishment, saying “beat them in a circle” when talking about how to discipline children. Robinson’s campaign “did not address the topic directly” when “asked repeatedly” if he supports corporal punishment in schools despite his calls for increased discipline in North Carolina public schools.

Robinson was already facing major backlash this week for a recent campaign event where he alluded to endorsing political violence, arguing that “some folks need killing!” Robinson said the violence was needed to stop people he describes by saying, “We now find ourselves struggling with people who have evil intent,” but his campaign “did not respond to a question about who the people with ‘evil intent’ are…”

“Mark Robinson is a dangerous extremist, so it’s no surprise he would campaign with a dangerous group facing heinous accusations,” said DGA National Press Secretary Devon Cruz. “Robinson’s ability to embrace a dangerous group facing accusations of slavery and child abuse further underscores the threat he poses to North Carolina’s children, and proves he cannot be trusted to protect North Carolinians as governor.”

###