Following an outdoor worship gathering in Portland, Oregon last weekend, members of the event security team were reportedly involved in “extended clashes” with counterprotestors. Details have emerged since then that some of those volunteer security members have ties to militant groups.
Jeffrey Grace, a resident of Battle Ground, Washington, charged in connection with the Jan. 6 insurrection, maintained in a recent post to his Our House USA YouTube channel that a militant response is necessary to push back against anti-fascist protesters.
That response, Grace suggested, might include throwing concrete, frozen water bottles and balloons filled with paint at antifa foes. “If someone is going to protect something,” he said, “I would hope that you have enough common sense to protect yourself so you could stand true to what you believe.”
Grace was among those providing security for religious gatherings held on Aug. 7 and 8 at Portland, Oregon’s Tom McCall Waterfront Park, led by faith leaders Artur Pawlowski and Sean Feucht, that resulted in clashes between left- and right-wing groups.
This week, federal prosecutors asked a U.S. district court to modify the terms of Grace’s release from jail while he awaits trial, requesting new restrictions that would forbid Grace from “possessing any firearms, weapons, or destructive devices.” They cited his appearance at Pawlowski’s event, claiming that he provided armed “perimeter security.” At Feucht’s speech the next day, the prosecutors say, he carried a chemical irritant and a wooden baton.
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The presence of Grace and others have prompted grass-roots hate-watch groups to push for more information about Feucht’s security team, who he referred to as ex-military, ex-police “LOVERS OF JESUS.”
Locals who monitor hate groups said that they fear that the presence of conservative nationalists could invite more confrontations at future demonstrations.
Feucht, who couldn’t be reached for comment, shared a photo on Twitter Sunday in which he is flanked by men wearing military style vests and insignia. “If you mess with them or our 1st amendment right to worship God – you’ll meet Jesus one way or another,” Feucht wrote in the tweet.
THANK YOU to our security team (half pictured) tonight in Portland 🇺🇸💪🏽
These are all ex-military, ex-police, private security & most importantly LOVERS OF JESUS & freedom.
If you mess with them or our 1st amendment right to worship God – you’ll meet Jesus one way or another. pic.twitter.com/9FngoJYAM7
— Sean Feucht (@seanfeucht) August 9, 2021
Anti-fascist collectives such as Emerald Valley ARA and groups like Willamette Valley Hate Watch and Public Record and Data Archives Portland have been attempting to identify those seen volunteering as security personnel on the day of Feucht’s “Let Us Worship” gathering.
The groups have highlighted the presence of Tusitala “Tiny” Toese, of the Proud Boys, who, according to journalist Sergio Olmos, led far-right extremist groups in closing an intersection to allow attendees of Feucht’s worship event to exit the waterfront. They’ve pointed to Andrey Ivanov as leading security for Feucht and who Emerald Valley ARA referred to as a “christo-fascist.”
They also zeroed in on Grace’s involvement in Portland.
Federal documents note that Grace was carrying a firearm in Portland, and cite his YouTube channel, where in separate videos he talked about providing security over the weekend. In one video, Grace is wearing a black and white “Let Us Worship” T-shirt.
“God’s got this. He’s using us and he’s aligning us,” said Grace, who in a video Monday wore a shirt emblazoned with the image of the Capitol and the words “Our House.”
“It was all for God,” he said. “Portland, God’s coming. America, God’s coming. D.C., God’s coming.”
Grace referred to antifa as “ugly” and “evil” and said “they weren’t effective in stopping the Christian gathering.” He said he’s “looking forward to the next event I’m able to embrace.”
Pawlowski, who is known for his anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and who earlier this year held a lit tiki torch protest of COVID-19 restrictions in Alberta, Canada, attracted about 50 attendees Saturday, with a group of people holding bats and paintball guns serving as volunteer security, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Willamette Week reported that left-wing counterprotesters disrupted the event with smoke canisters and destroyed sound equipment.
Portland has become an epicenter of protests since the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, with federal agents regularly deploying tear gas to disperse crowds, and frequent clashes between anti-fascist protesters and far-right militias and groups such as the Proud Boys.
Feucht returned to Portland Sunday on the anniversary of his 2020 visit on his national “Let Us Worship” tour that protested COVID-19 restrictions. While some disagreements were deescalated during Sunday’s worship event, right-wing guards shot fireworks from their pickup trucks as night fell and black-clad anti-fascists threw metal spikes on the road as a countermeasure, according to Willamette Week.
Feucht, in an Instagram video Monday, said that he called churches to help with security after seeing the confrontations the day before. He denied being associated with the Proud Boys, saying he wasn’t familiar with the group.
Chris Overstreet — an outreach pastor of Bethel Church and the School of Supernatural Ministry in Redding, California — said he helped assemble a security team for Feucht, according to a Facebook video he shared Monday.
“Antifa is trying to put fear in the church across the North West. It’s time for the church to be able to say, ‘We are not backing down. We’re not hiding in fear … We’re not going to play it safe. We’re going to be bold with our faith,’” Overstreet said.
Overstreet, in the video, said he contacted security teams that he knew were involved in churches. Overstreet said their “Christian security” did not engage in vulgar or confrontational behavior, nor did they invite the Proud Boys.
Portland activist Jake Dockter said not inviting the Proud Boys is not enough. “They should say: Let’s make sure we’re going to do this right. Let’s make sure we’re telling those people, ‘No, thank you. We don’t want you to be involved,’” Dockter told Religion News Service.
Feucht, in his Instagram video, advised: “For any believers, Christians out there, progressives, whatever you want to call yourself, woke people, that are defending antifa right now, you need to stop, because these guys are blatantly demonic.”
Dockter, who describes himself as a spiritual person from a Christian background, said such statements undermine the advocacy and the protests involving leaders of all faiths in Portland.
“There’s all of these amazing things that are happening in the faith community, but Sean Feucht is using the language of Christianity to his benefit,” Dockter said.
Alejandra Molina is a national reporter for Religion News Service based in Los Angeles, California.
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29 Responses
So grateful for Sean and his team. ❤️???? God protect them and keep them safe as they fulfill our purpose of worship to Jesus ❤️
God please bring justice to the Capitol Protestors being held captive. Please bring the truths to light for all to see what’s really going on. ???? Please being justice to Your people being targeted by other Christians for their political views.
Let us hope the domestic terrorist insurrectionist traitors are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law – “if you can’t do the time – don’t do the time”.
And the orange magat messiah is brought to justice – for that which is done in the darkness – “the Big Lie” is being exposed – exactly as true Christians – vs evangelo-fascists – are called “to expose the evil works of darkness”.
God raise up 7,000 to stand against the orange magat cult!!!!
So you were expecting pacifist Quakers as a security team? Or a security team with progressive tendencies?
How is this journalism restoring the church?
I was Sean Feucht’s two rallies in Seattle a year ago where homeless and others tried to unplug his electricity, ran screaming through the crowd, poured some weird substance on a musician’s keyboard and generally raised hell. His second rally last summer was more peaceful (less protestors) because the city literally shut him out of GasWorks Park – put a fence around it. So he knew that he’s disliked in the Northwest. Then I attended his third Seattle rally last weekend,where there was only one incident but news was already out (and there were videos all over the internet) of a Christian group getting horribly attacked that very day on the Portland waterfront by antifa. So Feucht had to prepared for this and obviously he put out a call for anyone who could to help with security to be there. So it’s pretty nitpicky to complain about one member of his security team having a criminal record when the threat was truly real. They don’t play around in Portland. The police do absolutely nothing and antifa, when it wants, controls the streets. So it’s understandable why Feucht’s security geared up. If they had not, believe me, the concert would have been disrupted and all the equipment dumped in the Willamette River by antifa.
Actually you are misinformed. The Police in Portland have been rightly criticized for bending over backwards to accommodate Proud Boys last year and going after so-called Antifa counterprotestors for the same behaviors.
I have no problem people wanting to defend themselves. For some reason anti-fa always seems to be at any gathering that is conservative in any way. For example the guy in LA spa who says he identifies as a woman and wanders around naked in front of a mom and daughter. Anti-fa was there attacking people protesting the spa. A former member of daddy bush cabinet, Catherine Austin Fitts talks about why some community’s have such violent protests. There called sacrifice zones. Check it out. It’s on YT. It’s basically planned destroying of a community.
I have followed you for a long time. Have totally supported your efforts to give honest report on abuses in the church, faithfully reporting in RzIM against much pushback. But I agree with the above comments. So disappointing to see the slant your articles have taken recently. The organization ANTIFA is nothing less than Marxist (which always has demonic roots) and God bless this one brave pastor for continuing to preach the good news of Christ alone despite such opposition. He will be named along with Bonhoeffer and others who would not back down in the face of evil. And yes. More than a little nitpicky to have an entire article based on one person who has a questionable background when they were scurrying to give security for the attendees.
referring to another article, to call the January 6th almost entirely peaceful protest where people were just allowed to walk into the capital an insurrection by this organization is just as disappointing. How about an article on who killed Ashley Babbit? Or about the many amenrican citizens with no criminal record now held secretly in federal prison with no contact with family. Did anyone try to interview their family to find out if they are evil insurrectionists? If you need an example of real insurrection please refer to Afghanistan. See the difference? I’m not a Nationalist but Wokism is also a twisted false gospel, just as bad or worse. this is way off. If you need my credentials, I am saved by faith in Christ alone. I believe in the inspired inerrancy of scripture. I could quote the apostles creed but I won’t. And for American perspective, my mother, One of the most godly and loving people I knew, grew up and lived under Hitler’s Nazi Germany. When she was able to immigrate to America, she came to love this country and the ideals of freedom it brought to the world. She loved that she was able to travel without papers and fear. That there was food in the grocery store. While I am not a Christian nationalist, I am so sick of the false perception that anyone who would vote for Donald Trump is a Christian Nationalist Trumper! No. Maybe it was because we could see what the alternative was (and we have it now) But anyway. All this will be mute soon. the true church of Jesus will be underground in America one day also. And we will all know who are true followers by their love for their enemies, and by their persecution. (Oh sounds like Sean Feucht)
Thank you for your time.
Great post, thanks.
Amen
Leah, I try to eliminate any slant in articles I publish. I thought this story was important because the radical elements on the right are just as alarming as the radical elements on the left. I agree that Antifa is godless. But that doesn’t mean we should shrink from reporting about the Proud Boys who are equally godless.
Feucht may not have been aware of the radical background of some in his security. But I would hope that he would welcome this information and take appropriate action.
Leah- thank you for your post.
Such a Christlike showing by Sean and his security. How have we allowed ANTIFA and Marxism to hide and destroy all of the stories from the Bible, and all of the artwork, that show Jesus surrounded by military and weapons for his protection and to further His cause?!
C’mon folks, there’s nothing about this event or security that is honoring to God.
You are so right!
Pretty shocking to see all the support for Antifa on here and no support for our bros and sisters in Christ whose families were put in danger by actual criminals. Look it up- you’ll see Antifa throwing objects at people (with kids nearby), destroying the sound equipment, and spraying mace at unarmed, people (with little kids nearby).
I don’t see anyone supporting Antifa here. Criticism of the event and the security is not the same thing as supporting Antifa.
I am uncomfortable with Christians having ties to extremist organizations (far right or left). I cannot believe so many replies to this are saying “the end justifying the means.”
Does not represent Christ at ALL. We are so quick to blame the media, antifa, BLM, the Democrats…and on and on…for the decline of the impact and influence of the church. We really need to LOOK IN THE MIRROR.
Well said Marin,
The “christian” support for far right extremists and their constant blaming of the left (or those they feel aren’t far enough right) just makes me sad all over. It’s like they think our Lord was some kind of militant libertarian who needed milita support to spread the gospel.
On the other hand, I recall that famous bit of scripture where our Lord was being arrested and Peter said to the Romans…
“If you mess with them or our 1st amendment right to worship God – you’ll meet Jesus one way or another.”
… Our savior, the Prince of Peace, approved that message, right?
Agreed. While so many claim to love Jesus, there seems to be a certain ignorance/ contempt for what he actually taught. One response to Sean’s tweet was the quote from Ghandi: “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
One could ask what it was about Christians that drew Paul into the fold? He hated them and suddenly he was one. Was it because of their love for one another?
I wonder how many Christians who practice mindfulness like Buddha and why?
How many people outside India became Hindus because of Ghandi?
Since when is being a divisive [person] trying to stir up strife and go nuts with the politics anything that Jesus is behind? The Romans were 100 times worse than our politicians, yet God incarnate said nothing about all of that. These guys are just tools of Satan creating unnecessary strife at this point. The fact that they have supporters is scary…
So true, sir!
See in Roman times Christians had a stake driven through them and while still alive were set alight as human torches.
Still it’s really scary with Antifa down there in Portland Oregon, better get security.
It’s always the same. Evangelical Christians meeting to worship and volunteers providing security are scrutinized with a fine tooth comb. Where’s the scrutiny for the black-masked Antifa participants? None. We saw this insanity all through 2020. Thousands of rioters in a crowd burning down cities was okay; politicians gave them a pass because racism and the destruction of their cities was immune to covid spread. But they policed draconian rules for churches. Sure Grace was accosted by police. The police in Portland are prone to prosecute those defending themselves, not the attackers. Portland Prosecutors are releasing Antifa members who burned buildings! They released felons early because of covid. No bail release for homeless or mentally ill. My understanding from an interview online with Sean was that police barred them from meeting in a public park with a regular permit. The rationale was a crowd gathered in the park worshiping was a covid spread danger. However, lawyers told him if he called the meeting a protest he could legally meet in the street. So, the group has done this at various CA cities.
Of course, then the group is criticized as alt-right activists for gathering outdoors to praise the Lord in public. Public policy is idiocy on steroids. Stalwart Andy Ngo, a journalist who’ll dare cover Antifa, beaten with a pipe by Antifa in Portland, also covered Antifa assaults on the group as they left their worship time. He reports they hurled chunks of concrete and put metal spikes (like jacks) in the street to flatten tires. Thank God for the folks who provided security. He also reports that private businesses have all hired private security because of the neutered police force. If we don’t exercise our right to worship and practice our faith in public, it will be a right that only exists on paper.
I’ve evangelized in Third World dangerous areas where armed body guards had to drive you through rural areas to get to a village. I’ve preached with armed guards standing outside the church. Every Synagogue in LA has an armed security force and a guarded gated entrance to the parking lot. The right to self-defense is a right we cede to the State with the understanding that they will protect us. When the state reneges on that arrangement, we have the right to protect ourselves. Volunteer military and security is a much better solution than an armed assembly.
How anyone can over scrutinize the people who meet to worship and give Antifa a pass is beyond me. We are sometimes our own worst enemy. The real crime in Portland is the lawlessness and corruption of Leftist radicals and local political leaders.
The Roys Report specifically focuses on news and events within the Christian community. So, a story related to a prominent Christian worship leader is something we cover. Antifa, being an entirely non-Christian entity, would not be something we would cover.
I have met Sean and he loves The Lord. We need to pray for him and his ministry. He is out there taking The Gospel out. I commend him for this. This group wanted to fight. He wants to worship. The two different motives are clear.
I created that picture collage for my article on Sean Feucht’s “Let Us Worship” visit to #Portland. It’s not JUST a photo montage found on Twitter. Here’s a link to my article:
https://anewscafe.com/2021/08/12/redding/sean-feuchts-new-brand-of-bethel-church-inspired-radical-militant-christianity-on-display-in-portland/
I am no fan of Feucht or his “security” team or his agenda… But I would like to know in more detail the sequence of events surrounding his “return” to Portland… Did Feucht get permission to do an event and publicize it and then showed up with his “security” detail… or did he show up with himself and his praise band, attracted attention and some counter protesters threw stuff at him and went after his sound equipment and Then he called in his “security” team… OR did he come to town, publicize it, went to the park and was met with counter protesters, made it through some of his program and then came back the next day after more media hoopla (publicizing) and bring his christian “security” and then the real scuffling broke out?
These questions don’t seem to be answered by this report very well. Can anybody provide reports from the local area that would answer some of these chronological questions for us?
Question for all: What is Feucht actually trying to accomplish?
It seems, from my far away perspective, that this is the extreme end of the modern christian error that seems to think/believe that God will do things for us, if we make a lot of noise and draw attention to ourselves via loud rock’n music sets/concerts… with a grateful helping hand from the CCM praise&worship industrial complex. And how is Feucht’s thing just another version of american evangelicalism penchant for “hit & run” evangelism… but now more notorious and militant?
Does any of that fulfill the great commission? Does any of that address the mission raised in Matt 25. Does any of that actually connect Christian to antifa member in a meaningful and Spirit-working way, where the love of Jesus works its wonder through nurtured, long term relationships?
Wouldn’t Feucht and his fans get more accomplished by, individually, humbly, visiting the coffee shop where antifa Annie works and getting to know her? (or any other space where they live, work, relate?)
Note: none of this gives antifa a pass or excuses their sins. But the Church needs to worry about its own sins and make sure its walk and motives are as pure and undefiled as possible…
Yes. This. Especially the last paragraph.