A Christian nationalist pastor in Texas has proposed that women who make a false report of sexual assault should be publicly executed.
“#MeToo would end real fast,” Joel Webbon said in a recent sermon at Covenant Bible Church in Austin. “False accusing, playing the victim when you’re actually not; you know how to end that real fast? All you have to do is publicly execute a few women who have lied.”
Webbon believes that a person who falsely accuses another of a crime should be subject to whatever the punishment for that crime is. Further, he believes that punishment should be dispensed publicly.
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It’s some truly Old Testament thinking, equal parts frightening and incoherent. In the U.S., sex abuse of any kind generally isn’t a capital offense, and then, false reports are a statistical rarity. It’s difficult to arrive at a definitive percentage, but the National Sexual Violence Resource Center places the incidence of false allegations between 2 and 10 percent, while other organizations estimate 8 percent at the upper end. Ultimately, it’s difficult to know, but legal systems stacked against accusers may well mean even these numbers are overestimates.
Still, it is unsurprising rhetoric for a preacher whose worldview runs very far to the right. He does not seem to believe women should be able to vote, and on his podcast claimed Black doctors didn‘t have to pass medical exams.
Webbon is also the founder of Right Response Ministries, which espouses an ultraconservative form of Christianity. His Covenant Bible Church, which meets at a local roadhouse, describes itself as a “biblical church with a spine, willing to take a stand against the WOKE NONSENSE of the culture and the CIVIL TYRANNY of the state.” And of course, he seems to be a fan of Donald Trump’s running mate, JD Vance. No surprises there.
