A homophobic Republican politician in Arkansas not only confirmed he said the LGBTQ+ community is “of the devil” in a recent sermon posted to social media, but also embraced the comments. The video clip has since gone viral.
Jason Rapert, the man responsible for the comments, is a former state senator most recently appointed to the Arkansas State Library Board. The video was uncovered and posted to X, formerly Twitter, by Right Wing Watch.
“The LGBTQ movement in the country is of the devil,” Rapert said at the beginning of the 38-second clip, beginning his comments with an anti-trans slur.
“That’s right,” one member of the congregation said, as others murmured in agreement
“Period. Of the devil,” Rapert continued. “So you don’t need to be supporting people or voting for people that do things of the devil."
“That’s exactly right,” an attendee said in approval.
“Amen,” said another.
“There’s no way a real Christian can do that,” Rapert said, before looking at the camera. “I don’t know if you’re live-streaming this or not. I’m telling all of you today: you cannot be a Christian and vote for people that do the devil’s work. You can’t do it.
Rather than shy away from the public spotlight on his anti-LGBTQ+ comments, Rapert embraced the controversy in a post to X Twitter.
“I am Jason Rapert and YES I endorse this message from my recent sermon,” Rapert said in a post to X Twitter on Monday.
Rapert is a former State Senator from 2011 to 2023 representing Arkansas’s 18th and later the 35th districts. He is also the founder and president of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers.
Rapert was appointed to the Arkansas State Library Board by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders. He made headlines recently after attempting to use the board to withhold state funds for libraries suing the state in opposition to Act 372, which requires libraries to segregate LGBTQ+ books deemed offensive by some community members, the Arkansas Advocate reported at the time.
He tried but was prevented from reading an excerpt All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson at a board meeting in August. He claimed the book was pornography and inappropriate for children.
“We do not ban books on this board,” board member Shari Bales, another Sanders appointee, told Rapert during heated discussions.
“I will never vote for censorship.” board member Pamela Meredith told Rapert at another point in the meeting.
Later in the same meeting, Rapert said he had been contacted by state politicians wanting to disband the board unless they approved his proposals.
“And unless the board acts, I say, amen, destroy it and put it in the hands of somebody who knows you shouldn’t be putting pornography in front of children,” Rapert warned.
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