Christian pastor and author Jonathan Martin was expelled from Liberty University campus after planning to hold a prayer vigil protesting against the evangelical institution's president, Jerry Falwell Jr.
Martin attacked Falwell for his recent comments where he called for a declaration of 'war' against 'fake Republicans' and said he was organising a 'peaceful action' to demonstrate against 'this toxic hybrid of nationalism and religion from President Falwell does not reflect the student body or faculty as a whole'.
But in a lengthy statement Falwell said Liberty University has 'a longstanding tradition of not allowing uninvited demonstrations or protests on campus'.
Falwell went on to attack Martin and said: 'Mr Martin seems to believe that it is impossible to be a Christian and support Donald Trump's America First agenda.'
He added: 'We understand that it is upsetting to leftist leaning and progressive Christians to see so many Evangelicals supporting Donald Trump but many at Liberty University believe Evangelicals are among the forgotten men and women in this country who voted for change in 2016.'
Martin attended a concert on the Virginia university's campus on Tuesday night where he was approached by police and warned he would be arrested if he returned in the morning for his planned prayer vigil.
Falwell confirmed that police warned Martin he would be arrested for trespassing describing his 'protest disguised as a prayer meeting'.
He said: 'If Liberty university began allowing uninvited groups to protest on campus, the next group might be the KKK, the Nazis, white supremacists or Antifah.'
In response Martin asked: 'What does it mean for a college administration to be this afraid of free speech? What precisely is Jerry Falwell afraid of?'
He said the ban 'confirms what I've heard repeatedly of the authoritarianism of Falwell from students' adding that, 'like the president for whom he serves as a full-time apologist, Falwell does not easily tolerate robust dissent.'
He tweeted:
.@JerryFalwellJr openly encourages students to carry weapons, but is afraid of public prayer from Christians who openly embrace nonviolence.
— Jonathan Martin (@theboyonthebike) October 31, 2017 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">One might rightly ask what sort of Christianity Falwell represents, or what it has to do with "liberty."
— Jonathan Martin (@theboyonthebike) October 31, 2017 " data-caption="null" data-credit="null">
