Controversial pastor and founder of the polemics blog Protestia, Jordan “J.D.” Hall, has been convicted of felony embezzlement and ordered to pay more than $15,450 to his Montana church, the Bozeman Daily Chronicle reported.

The fine is part of a deferred sentencing agreement filed Sept. 10 in a Richland County District Court, the Chronicle stated. For the next three years, Hall also must report to a probation officer, abstain from drugs and alcohol, refrain from owning any weapons, and not enter any casinos or bars.

If Hall satisfies the terms of the agreement, he will not be considered a felon, the Chronicle added.

Hall had been the lead pastor of Fellowship Baptist Church (FBC) in Sidney, Montana, and publisher of Protestia—a blog known for vitriolic attacks on “heretics,” “woke” preachers, and “feminists.”

But in June 2022, Protestia published a statement saying Hall had been disqualified from ministry by FBC for “serious sin” and removed from blog’s staff. In a statement on the FBC website, which is no longer available, the church said Hall had “fallen into a dependency upon prescription alprazolam (Xanax).”

In July 2022, FBC removed Hall from its membership for “failure to demonstrate repentance of sins.” Those sins included alleged violence against his wife and one of their children, as well as drug addiction.

Hall also was accused of embezzling from his church around the same time.

According to ChurchLeaders, prosecutors alleged that Hall misspent $100,000 in church funds over five years for personal and political purposes. Hall reportedly used the money to pay for a gun safe, personal travel, family cell phones, and employees of his political blog.

In court, former FBC treasurer Joyce Nesper stated that Hall took over some financial tasks at FBC, likely so she wouldn’t have to “look at bank statements.”

But Hall reportedly argued that some expenditures were improperly marked by church staff. He said money that went toward his podcast, for example, advanced his “evangelism strategy,” which was to “bring religion to politics.”

He also claimed that many of the travel expenses were justified because he was fulfilling his duty to represent the church in “civic matters,” according to ChurchLeaders.

Court documents reportedly show that Hall argued that all but 55 of the 1,186 alleged fraudulent charges were legitimate. These 55 charges totaled $15,454.44—the amount the judge ordered Hall to pay FBC.

In a recent court-ordered apology, Hall wrote to his former church, “It’s with my deepest regret and full admission of my own personal failures, and to be clear, sins, that I have deeply hurt the church I loved and formerly served for so long a time. I pray that resolution of this issue might bring healing and wholeness with your body. As I move forward to a different, better, and more quiet life . . . I pray that you are able to move forward with your very important mission as well.”

In addition to the criminal conviction, Hall also admitted in 2022 that he published a false story about a trans activist. As part of the settlement, Hall admitted guilt and apologized publicly to the activist.

*The headline and lead have been changed to say Hall was “convicted” of embezzlement, rather than “found guilty,” because TRR learned that Hall pleaded “nolo contendere” or no contest. A nolo contendere plea has the same effect as a guilty plea, but the defendant does not admit guilt. 

Court Ruling:

Julie Roys is a veteran investigative reporter and founder of The Roys Report. She also previously hosted a national talk show on the Moody Radio Network, called Up for Debate, and has worked as a TV reporter for a CBS affiliate. Her articles have appeared in numerous periodicals.