Greg Locke, a Tennessee pastor known for controversial stands on COVID-19 and the 2020 election has been banned from Twitter.
“Twitter just permanently suspended my account. Welcome to America,” Greg Locke said in a Facebook message posted Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 14.
Locke was just a simple pastor of the independent Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, until he started using social media sometime in 2015 when the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage nationally.
He posted his opinion on Facebook about how he is not okay with transgender people using the bathroom of their choice which instantly became viral.
“It’s been a whirlwind,” he told Religion News Service in an interview earlier this year at America’s Revival, a God-and-country conference held in Dallas, where Locke was a featured speaker. “I’ve just been hanging on for the ride.”
Locke mocked those who wear masks to protect themselves of Covid-19 and told everyone that if they show up at his church in a mask, they will be asked to leave.
The pastor even posted an anti-mask sign outside the 3,000-seat tent where he holds outdoor services for his church. He says that the church campus is mask-free.
“We celebrate FAITH over FEAR,” the sign reads.
“Don’t believe this delta variant nonsense. If they go through round two and you start showing up all these masks and all this nonsense, I’ll ask you to leave. I will ask you to leave. I am not playing these Democrat games up in this church. If you want to social distance, go to First Baptist Church, but don’t come to this one.” Locke said.
He also added that the Covid-19 vaccine is just an experimental potion.
“Do not get vaccinated,” he told his congregation in August. “Do not get vaccinated.”
Locke also made comments about the 2020 presidential election. He called people who believe that Joe Biden won the election “crack-smoking, demon-controlled leftists”. He declined to be interviewed regarding the Twitter Ban and claimed that he was the first pastor to be banned on Twitter. Locke said that his banning was an attack on Christians.
“if you don’t think persecution is here, you are not paying attention,” he said in the Facebook Live video.
In the video, Locke claimed he would sue Twitter and called for his fellow Christians to fight what he sees as liberal forces destroying the nation.
“We are not going to stop,” he said.
Locke said that the church has baptized more than 1,000 people during the pandemic and he has no plans to stop despite its lack of masks, Global Vision has drawn large crowds, often drawing out-of-state fans of Locke’s videos.
In his Facebook Live, Locke said that he had been banned from Twitter for short periods in the past and he encouraged viewers to follow him on Facebook and other social media channels. Locke’s Twitter page notes the suspension and says: “Twitter suspends accounts which violate the Twitter Rules.”
“I think people are hungry for the truth,” he said. “I think I say things that people think but they’re afraid of the repercussions.”