Tennessee pastor Greg Locke, an outspoken supporter of former President Donald Trump, urged his congregation to burn books and other items representing "witchcraft" during a Halloween night church service.
Locke, who leads the Global Vision Bible Church in Mount Juliet, told followers on Tuesday that they were breaking "an agreement with witchcraft" by allowing the supposedly evil materials to go up in flames. The service also offered what it claimed was a "mass deliverance" for children, being presented as an alternative to the "demonic" practice of trick or treating on Halloween.
The "occult burning" event, one of several that Locke has hosted in recent years, was streamed live on YouTube. The service lasted more than two hours and began with indoor music and preaching. It ended with Locke and his flock burning items that included books, Native American dreamcatchers and the church's old microphones in a giant bonfire outside.
Locke boasted that the burning was a return to "first-century Christianity," telling the cheering crowd that it was "time to get clean before the Lord." As books and other items burned in the fire, Locke urged his congregants to avoid inhaling "witchcraft fumes" that he said were part of the smoke.
Prior to the burning, Locke said that he had received messages from people who "pulled their kids out of school early and drove four or five hours just to be at this service tonight."
While announcing the event in an Instagram post earlier in October, Locke said that "all things related to witchcraft and the occult" would be set alight. He did not specify all of the items that qualified, later telling Newsweek that "the list of items is too long to mention."
Newsweek reached out for comment to Global Vision Bible Church via email on Thursday.
One person commenting during Tuesday's service on the YouTube livestream said that they hoped "no wackos showed up again trying to burn a Bible."
During one of Locke's burning events in 2022, a married gay couple tossed a Bible into the fire and mocked the service by shouting "Hail Satan," according to LGBTQ+ news website Them.
Past events have focused on the burning of supposedly demonic books that have been popular among children and young adults, such as those from the series Harry Potter and Twilight, which Locke claims promote witchcraft.
Last year, Locke said that he had been forced increase his home security after his family was "threatened with death by a witchcraft practicing psycho."
In addition to his anti-witchcraft burning events, Locke is known for his promotion right-wing politics and conspiracy theories related to COVID-19.
The pastor has suggested that the pandemic was "fake," while claiming that "political elites" had duped Americans into taking COVID-19 vaccines by being injected with "sugar water" themselves.
Locke has also referred to President Joe Biden as a "fake" president, claiming that he "stole" the 2020 presidential election from Trump. He has denounced rank-and-file Democrats as well, calling them "God-denying demons that butcher babies and hate this nation."
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
