Pastor Who Said Christians Don't Need COVID Vaccine Challenges Republican

A conservative preacher and 2020 election denier who discouraged his congregation from adhering to COVID-19 protocols is running for a seat in the Texas Legislature.

Joshua Feuerstein announced Monday that he is vying for a seat in the Texas House of Representatives in 2024, with the message accompanied by a photo of him, his wife and their six homeschooled children. He is squaring off against Republican Representative Keith Bell, who won his current District 4 seat with about 77 percent of the vote in 2022.

Feuerstein told Newsweek via phone that he is running against Bell because "nobody else would stand up and run against him." He said Bell's position on school choice was a big factor.

"[Bell's] flipped his vote a record 159 times," Feuerstein said. "He dresses like a Texan but votes like a Californian. He claims to be pro-Second Amendment but restricts firearms at the business he owns.

"We're tired of him being two-faced and not representing the values of the people in our district."

Feuerstein has been described as a far-right and radical evangelist who has routinely commented on social and cultural issues. For the past three years, he has been lead pastor at AmericasChurch in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and conducts a nationally televised church service.

"It's time we have a real conservative representing the families in our district!" Feuerstein wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "We don't want a Rep who's [sic] vote has been bought by Drunk [Texas House Speaker] Dade Phelan!"

Feuerstein told Newsweek that "Dade has not only been drunk on the House floor, but he must have been drunk to appoint Democrats to positions of power in the House."

Newsweek reached out to Bell and Phelan via email for comment.

During the COVID pandemic, Feuerstein implored his congregants to buck restrictions in the name of religion.

"I realize that for this last year you've been fed fear and fear and fear, but the Bible says that God has not given us the spirit of fear but of power and love and a sound mind," he said per a video posted by Right Wing Watch, which monitors conservatives on social media. "You have a sound mind. You don't have to wear the mask, you got Jesus. You don't need the vaccine, you got Jesus."

His history of various provocations based on his views on religion, same-sex marriage and abortion have drawn attention online and have helped build his brand.

While working as an evangelist in Arizona in 2015, he called the Cut the Cake bakery in Longwood, Florida, and accused them of being anti-Christian. He recorded a phone call with bakery owner Sharon Haller, requesting a sheet cake made with an anti-gay-marriage message.

The four-minute recording, which the bakery originally thought was a prank call, led to Feuerstein posting the conversation online and ultimately led to myriad calls to the bakery containing insults, threats and accusations of not being religiously tolerant, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The incident was reported to the FBI.

"People said we should go kill ourselves," Haller said following the incident. "They are being very threatening."

Also in 2015, Feuerstein gained public attention due to social media posts criticizing Starbucks for their red holiday-themed cups that did not include mentions of Christ and Christmas. The videos were described by the Arizona Central as part of a larger effort to boost his social media footprint, which, at the time, it did, at least on Facebook.

The Starbucks Christmas cup hoopla even drew the attention of Donald Trump, who following the conservative backlash of the moment encouraged his supporters to boycott the coffee chain. Another group called "Faith Driven Consumer" also urged people to shop at Dunkin Donuts and Krispy Kreme instead.

Other incidents have included Feuerstein encouraging violence against same-sex marriage proponents and Planned Parenthood for abortion-related procedures.

"I say, tonight, we punish Planned Parenthood," he said in a video posted on Vimeo in July 2015 that was later taken down from the site. "I think it's time that abortion doctors should have to run and hide and be afraid for their life."

On January 5, 2021, one day before the Capitol riot, Feuerstein spoke at a rally in Washington, D.C., alongside other anti-abortion pastors and proclaimed that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against Trump. He said then-Vice President Mike Pence was a "little coward, the little swamp monster, the little slimeball" for certifying the election.

"I feel like patriots are finally getting so irritated and so upset that they're moved to action," Feuerstein said, according to The Spokesman-Review. "We're never going to be able to do anything until we're moved to action. And that's what's actually transpiring now. You can feel the patriotism. It's like testosterone flowing through the veins of an American red-blooded male."

Asked if he wanted to clarify or amend any of his statements or beliefs, Feuerstein remained strong in his convictions.

"I stand by anything and everything I've said," he said.

Update 12/6/23, 10:05 a.m. ET: This story was updated with comment from Feuerstein.