March 28, 2024

Christian Activist Group Demands Criminal Investigation into Jerry Falwell


An online Christian activist group has launched a petition to open a criminal investigation into Liberty University President Jerry Falwell (AP Photo)

Faithful America wrote that the problem isn’t just “Falwell’s tyranny” but also his corruption.


By Elizabeth Tyree

An online Christian activist group has launched a petition to open a criminal investigation into Liberty University President Jerry Falwell.

Faithful America, founded in 2004, describes itself as the “largest online community of Christians putting faith into action for social justice” with more than 165,000 members, according to their website.

Our members are sick of sitting by quietly while Jesus’ message of good news is hijacked by the religious right to serve a hateful political agenda. We’re organizing the faithful to challenge such extremism and renew the church’s prophetic role in building a more free and just society.

So far, the group has collected more than 11,500 signatures with a goal of 15,000. They surpassed the original goal of 10,000 signatures.

The petition is asking the IRS and Virginia’s Attorney General Mark Herring to open the criminal investigation.

Falwell responded to the petition to ABC 13 News while on a flight to Dallas.

“They can look at whatever they want to. There has been more scrutiny over us than any other organization in Lynchburg,” Falwell said. “I could care less who investigates. We don’t hide anything and that’s the only reason we are still here.”

Two articles have been released in the past couple weeks blasting Falwell over his business practices and leaked emails showing him insulting staff members and students.

A Reuters‘ article came three days after a Politico article, written by a former Liberty University student, blasted Falwell for what “former Liberty University officials describe a culture of fear and self-dealing at the largest Christian college in the world.”

Falwell also allegedly insulted some Liberty students, calling them “social misfits”, “emotionally imbalanced and physically retarded”, and the school’s police chief a “half-wit”.

Other than the emails, according to the Reuters’ article he allegedly shared photos of his wife, Becki, in scandalous photos with employees, talked about their sex life in graphic details, and was seen drinking and dancing at clubs in Miami, Florida, which is opposite of the university’s ethos.

“It’s totally false,” Falwell told ABC 13 News. “There are no pictures. Period.”

The largest Christian university in the world’s president told The Associated Press he has evidence that the group improperly shared emails belonging to the university with reporters in an attempt to discredit him.

Faithful America wrote that the problem isn’t just “Falwell’s tyranny” but also his corruption.

It’s clear there is more than enough evidence to warrant an official investigation into Falwell’s apparent corruption and misconduct.

“The response has been great so far, more than we expected,” Rev. Nathan Empsall, the organization’s Campaigns Director, told NBC News. “But that shouldn’t come as a surprise given how fed up so many Christians are with the way Falwell and others have hijacked the Gospel to represent their hypocritical own self-interests rather than Christ’s teachings of love and justice.”

Falwell has asked the FBI to investigate what he called a criminal smear campaign against him by disgruntled former board members and employees.

He said the “attempted coup” was partially motivated by his ardent backing of President Donald Trump.

“When you take a stand, like I did for President Trump, I knew I’d be in the cross-hairs. That’s exactly what’s happening,” Falwell said. “You can’t get Trump because he’s got such a thick skin. They’re going to find out the hard way how thick my skin is.”

Falwell also said he’s hired “the meanest lawyer in New York.”

“I’m not going to say Jerry Falwell Jr. is not a Christian,” Empsall added. “But his behavior is not Christian.”

Last week, Liberty University students held a protest following the leaked emails. They called it a “Be the Change Protest.”

The protest was held after convocation the day following Liberty University released a 19 page document “to attempt to set the record straight.”

“Let’s show Liberty’s student protesters that they are not alone, and demand better from a school that claims to represent our faith!” the petition reads.

Liberty University was founded in 1971 by Falwell’s father, Jerry Falwell, Sr. with 154 students. The school has grown to more than 100,000.


Originally published ABC13 WSET News, 09.20.2019.