Reverend Carlton Lee of the Flood Christian Church believe it’s possible there were KKK in the Ferguson riots who targeted and burned his church. But others believe it’s possible the protesters decided to target the church of the Michael Brown family during the rioting and that the Ku Klux Klan may have had nothing to do with the alleged case of arson.
In a related report by The Inquisitr , debate has launched over the nature of the Ferguson protests, with some either vilifying or supporting police officer Darren Wilson. When the police officer announced his resignation the decision was apparently made over “credible threats” to the police department.
Rev. Lee has been an open proponent for Michael Brown’s family. Lee is a regional representative for Al Sharpton’s National Action Network and even declared publicly that Darren Wilson should be arrested. That’s when the hate mail and death threats began flooding in from white supremacist groups.
“Seventy-one death threats. But I’ll never forget what one man said to me: ‘I’m going to come pick you up with all you other hateful n—– preachers and put you all in your church and burn you straight to hell.’?”
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are investigating the burning of the church where Michael Brown’s father was baptized as a possible arson. Rev. Lee believes it’s very likely that KKK in Ferguson were involved.
“The police called me and told me the church was on fire,” the Rev. Lee said. “I was in complete disbelief. I didn’t think anyone would set a church on fire. I feel like one of my children has died. I put my blood, my sweat, my tears into this church, getting this church built from the ground up. To see that it was taken down in a few minutes is really heartbreaking. Sunday, we do the baptism, Monday, the church is one fire.”
The church building has been declared a total loss, with the only surviving object a charred banner that used to hang on the front door. But they are not giving up and already they are talking about rebuilding. In order to reach that goal a GoFundMe website has been set up in order to receive donations and already they have reached $50,000 out of the hoped for $500,000.
Although Lee still blames the alleged KKK in Ferguson for the destruction, some like the Independent Journal Review have suggested that the Ferguson protesters might be to blame, not the Ku Klux Klan.
“On a night with widespread looting and vandalism, this is one more case of senseless destruction. Who is actually behind the arson? Let’s start with the KKK or any of the other racist groups that have descended on Ferguson like parasites to exploit the grief and anger of a distraught community. But no one should be surprised if the culprits ultimately turn out to be ‘protesters’ allegedly trying to get ‘justice’ for Michael Brown.”
Others have noted how Ferguson protesters have set fire to American flags and Louis Head , the stepfather of Michael Brown, was clearly caught on video saying, “Burn the b***h motherf***er down! Burn the b***h down! Burn the b***h!” In response, Lieutenant Governor of Missouri Peter Kinder believes Head should be indicted for inciting the Ferguson riots.
Regardless of the real identity of the arsonists, whether they be the Ku Klux Klan or rioters, Rev. Lee believes they need to be forgiven and that it’s time to move on.
“We pray now for the ones who did this to the Flood Christian Church,” the church’s pastor said according to the New York Times . “We pray first off, God, that you would forgive them. Secondarily, God, we pray that you will save them. Thirdly, we pray that you will deliver them, and, fourthly, God, we pray that you teach us how to love the hell out of them.”
Rev. Jacqui Lewis of the Middle Collegiate Church in Ferguson agrees with the sentiment, saying that love, not continued hate, is the answer.
“Our direct action about Ferguson is to acknowledge that there is a fault line called ‘race in America’ and that there’s something cracking wide open around it,” Lewis said according to NY1 . “But we also know that love is the only way we’re going to heal it, the only way we’re going to close the gap. So we are singing songs of peace today