Pastor E.J. Newton of 433 Church in Miami, Florida, says he was questioned and his congregants searched after officers from the Miami Police Division pressured an abrupt finish to his sermon over a toddler custody dispute between him and his ex-wife Marissa Pardun.
A recording of the incident captured in the course of the church’s YouTube Dwell broadcast of the service exhibits Newton, 34, ending his sermon in just below 12 minutes and advising his shocked congregants to hope as he left his pulpit to speak with officers.
The Miami Police Division didn’t instantly present their account of what occurred subsequent when contacted by The Christian Publish on Monday.
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Newton alleged in a press release on Instagram that he was “secluded” from his church members as a result of a choose “granted an emergency extraction” of his kids. Courtroom paperwork reviewed by CP present he was not forewarned in regards to the extraction as a result of there was concern he would flee together with his kids.
“I’ve been secluded by the police, not allowed to leave,” Newton wrote in a publish that included a video of law enforcement officials on church property. “Now, they’re searching members’ cars and preventing them from leaving church grounds.”
Final Friday, Circuit Courtroom Decide Samantha Ruiz Cohen granted an ex parte emergency movement for the return of Newton’s three minor kids filed by Pardun as a result of Newton violated a custody settlement and allegedly threatened to take them to his native Nigeria.
“The Petitioner is in fear that the Respondent is making arrangements to flee the United States to Nigeria which is Respondent’s country of origin. The Respondent has threatened to take the children out of the country and the Respondent is in possession of the three children’s passports. The Respondent has refused to allow the Petitioner to see the children and continues to conceal the minor children and their whereabouts,” the movement stated.
“The Petitioner has made multiple attempts to have the Respondent served with the pleadings. Due to the Respondent’s behavior with regard to the minor children, it is reasonable to believe that advanced notice of this motion and hearing date would cause Respondent to flee and conceal the whereabouts of the minor children.”
On-line media persona Larry Reid, who first highlighted the police intervention at Newton’s church on his “Larry Reid Live” Fb web page on Sunday, raised concern about how the dispute between Newton and his ex-wife has affected their kids.
“I can’t imagine how he (Newton) felt and what he thought in that moment. The kids are the main victims here in my opinion. The whole church is locked down with guns drawn until the kids are returned along with their passports,” Reid wrote.
In his Instagram assertion, Newton alleged that rivals who he solely referenced as “THEY,” had weaponized his ex-wife to make false allegations towards him as a result of he wouldn’t cease “speaking truth and exposing darkness.”
“The moment I stepped off stage, our online service was flooded with false accusations. THEY — the same people who recruited my ex-wife — are now working together. They have my ex-wife claiming that I’m trying to flee the country in the middle of a parenting schedule case. A judge granted an emergency extraction,” he defined. “They had people come also into the service which we spotted. This whole thing has been so weird.”
The Miami pastor, who couldn’t be reached for added remark, insisted that he had no plans to cease his ministry as a result of “God will prevail.”
“I will not stop speaking truth and exposing darkness. If this is the cost of repentance and speaking up against occultism and witchcraft in the church, then use me, Lord. Purify me. Strengthen me. Make me more like You,” he shared with a crying emoji. “I love my children, and this breaks my heart. My babies do not deserve this. I am a great father. A great husband.”
For the reason that pick-up of the youngsters was ordered, he and his ex-wife are anticipated to look in court docket for an evidentiary listening to on Jan. 13.
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“Well bless their hearts.”
