Last night, MAGA cultist pastor Shane Vaughn used his broadcast to ask his audience to collectively pray that God will embolden just one juror to refuse to convict former President Donald Trump, who has been charged by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg with falsifying business records in order to hide hush money payments made to cover up adulterous affairs that he feared might hurt his 2016 presidential campaign.
Vaughn, who has openly declared that he does not care about Trump’s alleged infidelity and law breaking, said last night that he has been “led by the spirit” to begin a prayer campaign for Trump in this case.
After falsely claiming that even if Trump is found guilty, he can just pardon himself when he is reelected president (presidents cannot issue pardons for state crimes), Vaughn urged his viewers to join him in praying that “the will of God” will be done on Earth by having one juror “mess up the whole thing.”
“You need one juror that does the right thing and it shuts all the other jurors down because in a criminal verdict, it has to be unanimous,” Vaughn said. “I’m praying, whoever right now in jury selection—listen to me by the Spirit of God—we need to be praying right now for the will of God on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
“We need to begin praying for that juror, for that one person, that Yahweh will touch their heart because they can mess up the whole thing,” he continued. “For a guilty verdict, it has to be everyone on that jury has to be in agreement. Your job: Let’s begin to pray. During jury selection this week and next week, we are the army of the Lord. We—you and I—are the army of the Lord, and I am believing God—I’m not prophesying, and I’m not predicting—but I am declaring by faith, ‘Not guilty.’ Or a mistrial. I will take either one.”
It should be noted that a not guilty verdict and a mistrial are not the same thing, as Vaughn seems to believe. Whereas a not guilty verdict must be unanimous and results in all charges being dismissed, a mistrial occurs when the jury cannot agree on a verdict, thereby leaving it up to the prosecutor to decide whether to try the case again. Therefore, should just one juror “mess up the whole thing,” as Vaughn is praying, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Trump will be off the hook for these charges.
| Every day, Right Wing Watch exposes extremism to help the public, activists, and journalists understand the strategies and tactics of anti-democratic forces—and respond to an increasingly aggressive and authoritarian far-right movement. The threat is growing, but our resources are not. Any size contribution will help us continue our work and become more effective at disrupting the ideologies, people, and organizations that threaten our freedom and democracy. Please make an investment in Right Wing Watch’s defense of the values we share. |
