Preacher who applauded Orlando mass killing asked to relocate
File Photo. (Joerg Carstensen/dpa via AP)
Harsch Investment Properties, the owner of of the building in which Verity Baptist Church and its Pastor Roger Jimenez preside, will not renew the parish’s lease, according to a report from ABC News.
The property management company, which owns rights to the Northgate Business Park in Sacramento, California, has asked church officials to consider moving, in the wake of the controversial sermon made by Jimenez, which condoned the mass killing inside Pulse Nightclub in Orlando two weeks ago.
READ: US preacher praises Orlando attack as ‘great’
While it cannot legally evict the church under the terms of the lease, the company said it could not tolerate “tenants who advocate hatred and the taking of innocent lives.”
“We have many places of worship and other religious organizations in the properties we manage,” company officials stated in a report. “Like all our tenants, their occupancy rights are protected in their leases.”
The company said that the church’s lease does not expire until March 31, 2017, but that they have reached out their views to the church officials and even asked them to consider moving out of the business park.
If they decide to move out, their lease would be canceled without any penalty, one of the company managers clarified.
“Just as we respect the right of individuals to speak their views, as distasteful as they may be, we also respect the right of others to protest as a reflection of their values,” the company said.
“For decades, the owners and staff at Harsch Investment Properties have supported the LGBT community…,” it added.
In a sermon last June 12, Jimenez told churchgoers they should not feel sad for the 49 casualties of the Orlando shooting.
“Are you sad that 50 pedophiles were killed today?” Jimenez asked the crowd. “I think Orlando, Florida, is a little safer tonight. The tragedy is that more of them didn’t die. The tragedy is I’m kind of upset he didn’t finish the job.”
Jimenez, on the other hand, spoke with ABC News at his Sacramento home last week. The pastor stood his ground and claimed he did not have any regrets about the sentiments he made during his sermon. Khristian Ibarrola
